I. WE MUST PRAY IN UNITY.
In unity there is strength. We can accomplish together things that could never do separately. When the work load is heavy, you don’t use a single horse to pull the load. You use a team of horses, and I might add, equally yoked. When we pray together, we increase the spiritual force until it becomes overwhelming and irresistible in power. Units of prayer combined, like drops of water, make an ocean that defies resistance. There is no denying that God hears the prayers of one person but when hundreds or thousands of us pour out our souls in heartfelt prayer, we can storm the gates of heaven with a mighty voice. There is power in prayer. There is incredible power when we pray in unity.
When a church is a praying church, there is a decidedly different spiritual atmosphere that envelopes the church and community. There is love, unity, compassion for the pre Christians, and a contagious enthusiasm that permeates everything we do as a church. When we fail to pray, it is as if there were an invisible wall between the pulpit and the pew. Even when the pastor is well prepared, the words may get through without the message, thus rendering God’s Word ineffective. That wall can only be removed from the pew side. No matter how well prepared the pastor is or how powerful the message, it will stop at the wall. The only way to remove the wall is through prayer from the pew side. The more we pray, the more of that wall we can destroy because the Word of God is inseparably linked with prayer. Certainly preachers can preach without our prayer support but not nearly as effectively. Our prayer support is vital to see that preaching is rendered effective.
II. WE MUST FOLLOW AND PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS
Nowhere in the Scriptures was there an elite group of people who were set aside to do the church’s praying. The commands to pray are universal. There is no such thing as a certificate of exemption and there are no acceptable excuses. God wants us all to pray. It was true then and it is true now.
In Hebrews 13:17-18 Paul said, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. Pray for us; for we are convinced that we have a clear conscience, wanting to conduct ourselves honorably in everything.” Our leaders want us to pray for them. God’s Word commands us to pray for them. They will be blessed if we do. God’s Kingdom will be blessed if we do. We will also be blessed if we do.
Pastors have an awesome responsibility to care for the flock and protect them from the wolves. They must give account to God for what they do. They carry a heavy load. There are times when they must preach a message from God’s Word that isn’t pleasing to our ears. The church is under fire today more than ever from people who want to live unrestrained lives. The secular world and, unfortunately, some within the churches, want to shoot the messenger. When a preacher boldly preaches from God’s Word, he needs our support, and never an attack from within. One prayer Paul specifically requested in Eph 6:19-20 is “That the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel. For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should”. While this does not give the pastor permission to attack people, it does give him the serious responsibility of preaching the Word without excluding unpopular passages. It also gives us the responsibility to pray that our pastor can preach with boldness.
Jonathan Edwards said, “If some Christians who have been complaining of their ministers had said and acted less before men and had applied themselves with all their might to cry to God for their ministers—had, as it were, risen and stormed heaven with their humble, fervent, and incessant prayers for them—they would have been much more in the way of success.” Simply put, if you want to change your pastor, don’t criticize him, pray for him. I challenge you to find a scripture that will support criticizing the pastor, or anyone else for that matter. However, if you go searching, you will find many that command you to pray for your pastor and other leaders. One man said that he felt it was his job to protect the church from the pastor. Rather than assisting the pastor in ministry as a deacon should, this man was a thorn in the pastor’s side. How much better off he, the pastor, and the church would have been if he had prayed for his pastor instead of distrusting him at every move.
The preacher must pray, and he must be prayed for. We can help with both. First of all, we must allow him time to pray and help to keep him in the frame of mind that he can pray without worrying about so many distractions. When we inundate him with trivial matters and try to tell him how to run the church, we distract him and take up valuable time that could be put to much better use. When the first deacons were called, the principle reason given was quoted in Acts 6:4, “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and the preaching ministry”. By taking up responsibilities that enable the pastors to focus on prayer and preaching, we enable them to focus on the crucial matters of the church. Secondly, we must pray for them as well as to pick up part of the load. This should be much more than a casual, occasional, “God bless our pastor” prayer. We need to under gird their ministry with regular, sincere, heartfelt prayer. We can do this much more effectively when we know what their needs and the church’s needs are.
What was it that made Paul such an outstanding leader? Except for Jesus, he really has no equal in the New Testament. Some might say that his greatest strength was his educational background or conversion experience. Some might suggest that it was his gift of preaching or his boldness. As you study his prayer life and how he urged people to pray for him, you become convinced that prayer was his greatest strength. When he asked for prayer, he was specific in his prayer requests. Had it not been for the Christians in the churches praying for him, he probably still would have had a good ministry. But with the prayer support he had, his ministry was phenomenal.
When we help carry the load, we help our pastor to be a better preacher and a better man of prayer. When we fail to carry our share of the load through prayer and service, we add to his burdens rather than lighten them. To fail to pray for the pastor and the church is to be disobedient to the numerous scriptural commands to pray. The deacons are to assist the pastors in ministry and prayer support is certainly crucial in that effort. Deacons, especially, ought to be leading out in praying regularly for our pastors. All other members of the church share in that responsibility to pray.
Many benefits result in praying for the pastor. First and foremost is the awesome power of prayer. God does indeed hear the faithful fervent prayers of righteous men and women and He will answer them. Secondly, when we pray for someone, it’s difficult to be critical of them so praying for your pastor reduces criticism and increases support at the same time. The third benefit is that we will be increasing our support for the pastor and in so doing we will be strengthening the entire support base of the church. Fourthly, when we unite in prayer for the pastor, we promote unity as we pray for God’s hand to guide him. Therefore praying for the pastor promotes unity as we pray for God’s vision for the church to be revealed to him. When God does reveal the vision, it will be that for which we have all been praying and we will be unified in our commitment to that vision. The fifth benefit is that when we are called on by the pastor to accept a certain responsibility, we will be inclined to say yes and follow through on it. A sixth reason is that praying for our leaders, especially our pastor, is scriptural. Therefore, it is an act of obedience to God’s Word.
How awesome a church would be if every member prayed daily for his or her pastor. The power of God would be seen in so many ways. Some of those ways are; evangelism, worship, personal growth, commitment, service, unity, love, healing broken hearts, stewardship, and a host of other ways. A church that seriously prays for its pastor will unite in vision and passion for the mission of the church.
The more of us who are praying for our pastor and the church’s ministry daily, the more of the benefits of prayer we will reap. The better we are informed as to how to pray, the more effective our prayers will be. PRAYER MATTERS will keep you informed on how to effectively pray for the pastors and the church’s ministries. In addition, ask various pastors and ministry leaders how you can best pray for them. It will both encourage them and make you better informed. Offer to meet with them for prayer sometime.
III. WE MUST PRAY FOR THE CHURCH
Prayers for the church are closely tied to the prayers for the pastor. His ministry is not just the pulpit. It is the entire life and ministry of the church. Therefore when we pray for one of the ministries of the church, we are praying for the pastor and the church. When we pray for the other pastors and ministers, we are also praying for the pastor since he is the overseer of their ministries.
IV. WE CAN AND SHOULD GROW
Do you want to see change in our church and community? Do you want to be a part of something really dynamic? Do you want to grow spiritually? Do you want to see souls saved? Do you want to have a full and meaningful prayer life? All of these things can happen and we hold the key. It will take all of us praying and working together to make it happen. Prayer is not a key to making it happen. It is THE key. Without it, we can do nothing that will last. We will only continue to maintain the status quo. Even though our church is in the best spiritual condition it has been in years, we should never be satisfied with simply maintaining what we have. If staying where we are is all we focus on, we will soon start going backwards. God wants His church to grow without focusing on growth. God is so interested in numbers that there is even a book of the Bible called Numbers. What God wants us to focus on is being obedient to His Word. And when we are, He will produce the growth as He sees fit. By praying for our pastor and church, we are being faithful to God’s commands. Those who sincerely pray for the pastor and church will actively support the church through service and stewardship. Change will begin with prayer and what better way to begin than committing to praying for the pastor and church?
Someone said that we have all of the power of God that we want in our lives. Our first response is probably that that’s not really true. We all want more than we have right now. But think about it. You have not because you ask not. We can appropriate more of the power and spirit of God anytime we really want to. All we have to do is ask but our asking is often spasmodic, weak, and doubting. Begin now to pray for our pastor and church. As you do, you will strengthen your prayer life and begin to experience more of the power of God in your life. Don’t read between the lines and think that I am implying that prayer for the pastor and church alone should constitute your prayer life. Our prayers should begin with adoration of and praise for the great God we serve. They should also include confession and intercessory prayers. When the petitions focus on praying for our pastor, church, and others, our outward focus will bring us a great sense of fulfillment..
If you are truly compassionate about God’s church, you will have a heartfelt desire to pray for it on a regular basis. You will want to pray for our pastor, all of the other ministers and for the various ministries of the church. To fail to do so is to leave blessings laying on the table for yourself and the church.
VI. HOW TO PRAY FOR THE PASTOR
Pray for him as he studies. Pray that he will daily bathe his ministry in prayer and devotional study in addition to studying to preach. Pray that God will reveal to him the truths in His Word that he needs to apply to his own life and those he needs to share as he preaches. Pray that God will keep him strong spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically that his ministry will not be hindered in any way. Pray for the responsiveness to his ministry both by the saved and by pre-Christians. Pray for him as he meets with different committees and leaders in the administration of the work of the church. Pray that we will be able to take as much of a load as possible off of him so he can focus on preaching and praying. Pray for him as he leads the other pastors that they will have an incredible bond of love and unity and that they will be able to pray and work together. Pray for his ministry assistant as she assists him in ministry in so many ways Pray for harmony on the entire church staff that everyone will see how their work contributes to the mission of the church. Pray that he can effectively respond to all of the encounters he has with people. Pray that God will give him a vision for the church that we as a congregation will enthusiastically endorse and support. Thank God for our pastor and how effectively he is leading our congregation.
VI. HOW TO PRAY FOR THE PASTOR’S FAMILY
Pray for God’s protection for the pastor and his family on a regular, daily basis. Pray that God will keep his mind and heart free from any family distractions that would hamper his ministry. Pray that he will have adequate time to be a loving and caring husband and father. Pray that his church responsibilities and family responsibilities will not conflict with each other. Pray for Cheri that she can be supportive of him and his ministry and be a loving, caring mother. Pray that Cheri will be effective as she serves in the church and that she will be a good example to all. Pray for the children, Marley, Delaney, and Drake, that they would do well in school and that being a pastor’s child will be a blessing to them. Pray that there will always be harmony in the family. Pray that the entire family can be free to be who they are and not have to pretend to live up to expectations of someone else. Pray for the pastor’s extended family--brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, etc. As most pastors live away from their extended family, pray that the distance will not be a hindrance and that their families will support them in ministry. When you pray for the family, pray for each family member by name.
VIII. HOW TO PRAY FOR THE OTHER PASTORS AND MINISTERS
As you pray for each of the other ministers, pray for them just as you would the pastor. Also pray that they will align their ministries with the pastor’s and that there will never be any jealousy, strife, envy, or any such negative thing. Pray that there will be complete harmony as he or she endeavors to submit to the pastor’s authority and minister in a way that helps to achieve the vision of the church and pastor. Pray that they can create unity in the church by what they do, what they say, and who they are. Pray that the people in the church will be supportive of them.
VIII. HOW TO PRAY FOR THE VARIOUS MINISTRIES OF THE CHURCH
The church consists of the entirety of what we do as a body of believers. When God’s people are in the work place, at school, on the golf course, attending functions with our children, ministering through various segments of our church life, and many other ways, that is the church. We meet and disperse. It is in the dispersion that much of the true work of the church takes place. Elton Trueblood described the church as being like a hospital where the sick and wounded come for healing and then go back into the mainstream of life healthy and whole. We never need to send wounded soldiers out to battle. All of the various ministries of the church have a part in this healing and growing process and they need to be healthy. Therefore every aspect of the church life ought to have as its ultimate mission, the same mission as the church. If it does not, then it might have difficulty justifying its existence.
Our church’s mission is to “Produce more Christians and build stronger Christians for God’s glory”. This finds its roots in the Great Commission in Mt 28:19-20, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you”. Sometimes we are direct in the application of the Great Commission as we are in worship and in the Bible teaching ministries where we share what God’s Word has to say and how to apply it to our lives. Our evangelistic outreach is sometimes direct in going out. Sometimes it is not as direct as we try to build relationships in hopes of sharing Christ sometime in the future. For example, even though we give someone a bag of food, our ultimate goal is to be able to share spiritual food with them. Our kindness and generosity may, at some point, open a door to share the gospel. Even the times when we have fun together can help to build stronger Christians as we build the fellowship.
Here’s how to pray for the various ministries. Pray they will never see their ministry as more important or less important than any other. Pray that they will see how what they do contributes to the church’s mission and will understand that their mission is to support the church’s mission. Pray that everyone who serves in the ministry will bless and be blessed by what they do. Pray that they will have sufficient workers for their task who understand why they exist and are committed to what they do. Pray that the workers in the ministry will become stronger Christians. Pray that they will not be so task minded that they don’t open doors to share Christ. Pray for the physical health and safety of all of their workers. Pray for those whose lives are touched by the ministry. Pray for their effectiveness that God will use their efforts to “produce more Christians and build stronger Christians”. Pray that they will contribute to the unity of the church by both their attitudes and actions.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
KEEP ON KEEPING ON
Luke 11:5-10
What friendship could not achieve, persistence and importunity did. The friend did not respond with the bread because of their friendship. He responded because the man was relentless in his asking. He would not give up until he got what he needed. Does God expect us to be this persistent? Do you really think He wants us to keep knocking in the middle of the night and keep asking even though He has already told us no more than once? Absolutely, positively, without a doubt, YES!
Remember this was Jesus telling this story. It wasn’t something made up by this author. Jesus said we are to ask and keep on asking. We are to search and keep on searching. We are to knock and keep on knocking. We are to be unyielding in our pursuit to get God to answer our prayer. If we ask God once for something and He says no, to walk away and not keep on asking is like saying, “That’s OK God. I didn’t really think you could do that anyway.” If that’s our attitude, we shouldn’t even bother praying. That kind of praying is worse than a waste of time because it teaches a wrong theology of prayer. If you don’t believe God can answer your prayer, there is no point in praying. God wants boldness, confidence and persistence in our prayers.
A similar story from my own life is the time when I was young and wanted to make a “long distance” call to a town seven miles away. My father said no but I kept on asking and asking until I wore him down. He finally said, “Go ahead, it’s worth a nickel (the cost of the call) just to get you to leave me alone”. When we want something badly enough to keep on asking and asking until we get what we want, that’s the kind of persistence God wants us to have. Is God bothered by our persistence? no! No! NO! What bothers God is our lack of persistence. If we ask once or twice (or even more) and then stop asking, He gets the impression that we don’t really want what we are praying for very much. He then refuses to answer that prayer because our heart isn’t really in it. When we keep on and finally convince Him (maybe even after seventy times seven times) that we are determined to get a positive answer, He will respond. He then becomes our strongest supporter.
God is waiting to hear from you. He may not hear you the first time just as Jesus did not hear the Syrophoenician woman. He heard her but was waiting for her plea to reach a certain level of intensity. He wanted her faith to come to the point that she was willing to pursue the matter in the face of obstacles. Her cries were bothering the disciples to the point that they asked Jesus to send her away. Several times Jesus told people their prayers would be answered because of their faith. This is one of only two instances where He said, “Your faith is great”. She knew Jesus had the power to heal and she would not give up easily. She wanted Jesus to heal her daughter. Two things attributed to getting her request answered. First of all, she had great faith. She really, beyond any shadow of a doubt, believed that Jesus could heal. Secondly, she believed it so much she was willing to be a nuisance if that was what it would take.
The Waiting Father is like the father of the prodigal son who watched and waited constantly for his child to come home. God is waiting for you to come to Him with your requests but He doesn’t want a mealy mouthed request. He wants you to come pleading and begging. Never give up.
Father, I have prayed many short prayers and walked away from them hoping you would hear and respond. I even tacked on, “….if it be your will” to give you an out in case you chose not to answer the prayer. Forgive me for my lack of faith and persistence. When I have a prayer request, I won’t quit asking. I will keep on asking until you answer……….
What friendship could not achieve, persistence and importunity did. The friend did not respond with the bread because of their friendship. He responded because the man was relentless in his asking. He would not give up until he got what he needed. Does God expect us to be this persistent? Do you really think He wants us to keep knocking in the middle of the night and keep asking even though He has already told us no more than once? Absolutely, positively, without a doubt, YES!
Remember this was Jesus telling this story. It wasn’t something made up by this author. Jesus said we are to ask and keep on asking. We are to search and keep on searching. We are to knock and keep on knocking. We are to be unyielding in our pursuit to get God to answer our prayer. If we ask God once for something and He says no, to walk away and not keep on asking is like saying, “That’s OK God. I didn’t really think you could do that anyway.” If that’s our attitude, we shouldn’t even bother praying. That kind of praying is worse than a waste of time because it teaches a wrong theology of prayer. If you don’t believe God can answer your prayer, there is no point in praying. God wants boldness, confidence and persistence in our prayers.
A similar story from my own life is the time when I was young and wanted to make a “long distance” call to a town seven miles away. My father said no but I kept on asking and asking until I wore him down. He finally said, “Go ahead, it’s worth a nickel (the cost of the call) just to get you to leave me alone”. When we want something badly enough to keep on asking and asking until we get what we want, that’s the kind of persistence God wants us to have. Is God bothered by our persistence? no! No! NO! What bothers God is our lack of persistence. If we ask once or twice (or even more) and then stop asking, He gets the impression that we don’t really want what we are praying for very much. He then refuses to answer that prayer because our heart isn’t really in it. When we keep on and finally convince Him (maybe even after seventy times seven times) that we are determined to get a positive answer, He will respond. He then becomes our strongest supporter.
God is waiting to hear from you. He may not hear you the first time just as Jesus did not hear the Syrophoenician woman. He heard her but was waiting for her plea to reach a certain level of intensity. He wanted her faith to come to the point that she was willing to pursue the matter in the face of obstacles. Her cries were bothering the disciples to the point that they asked Jesus to send her away. Several times Jesus told people their prayers would be answered because of their faith. This is one of only two instances where He said, “Your faith is great”. She knew Jesus had the power to heal and she would not give up easily. She wanted Jesus to heal her daughter. Two things attributed to getting her request answered. First of all, she had great faith. She really, beyond any shadow of a doubt, believed that Jesus could heal. Secondly, she believed it so much she was willing to be a nuisance if that was what it would take.
The Waiting Father is like the father of the prodigal son who watched and waited constantly for his child to come home. God is waiting for you to come to Him with your requests but He doesn’t want a mealy mouthed request. He wants you to come pleading and begging. Never give up.
Father, I have prayed many short prayers and walked away from them hoping you would hear and respond. I even tacked on, “….if it be your will” to give you an out in case you chose not to answer the prayer. Forgive me for my lack of faith and persistence. When I have a prayer request, I won’t quit asking. I will keep on asking until you answer……….
GOD IS LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD MEN AND WOMEN
Judges 7:2-7; Mt. 18:20
What a joy it would be if we had entire churches filled with men and women whose prayer lives were exemplary. It would even be great to have half or even a fourth of our churches filled with praying men and women. It doesn’t take a mighty army to accomplish God’s will. He can trim the forces down to a smaller force and use those men and women to win the battle.
How many does it take to start a strong prayer ministry? At least one! God can take those who are committed to Him and use them to bring others into the fold. Large groups praying together may not be the best way to go. In large groups, some of the lesser aggressive ones will remain silent and only a few have the opportunity to pray. The best way to pray with others is in smaller groups where everyone has the opportunity to pray. In large groups, individuals may feel intimidated because they feel they are “on stage” so to speak. In smaller groups it is easier to speak openly and honestly without feeling intimidated.
You can learn a lot about how to pray to be in a small group and listen to others pray, especially if people are praying from their hearts. It may take some people several times in the group before they will voice a prayer aloud. God is looking for a few good men and women who will learn how to pray. What you learn in a class if good but what you learn praying with others is invaluable. You cannot catch the spirit of prayer in a class or a book. The best way to learn to pray is to pray both alone and with others.
I have gone to prayer meetings weary and exhausted from a day’s work. I would much have preferred to have just gone home and rested. But after a time of praying with other believers who prayed heartfelt prayers, I was spiritually and physically invigorated. I was relaxed and felt good. What a blessing are times like that.
Jesus has promised to be in the midst of those gathered to pray in His name. When we pray, not just for the sake of praying but because of a heartfelt need, we receive power. Do the math! If one person prays and others just listen, that’s one prayer even if there are 1000 people present and if that prayer is not heartfelt and genuine, it’s not even one prayer. Take a small group of 12 people and each one prays. If the other 11 are actively praying by listening and participating in the prayer through their intense focus, that’s 12 prayers rather than one. If all 12 voice a prayer, that’s 144 prayers.
Active participation in group prayers could mean intense focus and attention or it could mean a silent or verbal response such as, “Yes, Lord”, “Amen”, or other appropriate statements. Don’t take away from the person praying but support him or her in their prayers. To passively listen means to merely hear with our ears but our hearts are not really in tune with the words being prayed.
God is looking for a few good men and women who will join their hearts together to pray for the needs of His people and for the salvation of lost souls. He wants those people to pray for sick people but not to limit their prayers to the physically sick. Would you like to join with His people as they approach His throne and see the power of the Spirit reign down? If so, find some other believers and pray with them.
Father, teach me to pray. I pray alone so much that maybe my praying is becoming stale and I need a fresh infusion of your Spirit. Please provide me with the opportunity to join with others to pray and grow in my prayer life. Thank You. Amen
What a joy it would be if we had entire churches filled with men and women whose prayer lives were exemplary. It would even be great to have half or even a fourth of our churches filled with praying men and women. It doesn’t take a mighty army to accomplish God’s will. He can trim the forces down to a smaller force and use those men and women to win the battle.
How many does it take to start a strong prayer ministry? At least one! God can take those who are committed to Him and use them to bring others into the fold. Large groups praying together may not be the best way to go. In large groups, some of the lesser aggressive ones will remain silent and only a few have the opportunity to pray. The best way to pray with others is in smaller groups where everyone has the opportunity to pray. In large groups, individuals may feel intimidated because they feel they are “on stage” so to speak. In smaller groups it is easier to speak openly and honestly without feeling intimidated.
You can learn a lot about how to pray to be in a small group and listen to others pray, especially if people are praying from their hearts. It may take some people several times in the group before they will voice a prayer aloud. God is looking for a few good men and women who will learn how to pray. What you learn in a class if good but what you learn praying with others is invaluable. You cannot catch the spirit of prayer in a class or a book. The best way to learn to pray is to pray both alone and with others.
I have gone to prayer meetings weary and exhausted from a day’s work. I would much have preferred to have just gone home and rested. But after a time of praying with other believers who prayed heartfelt prayers, I was spiritually and physically invigorated. I was relaxed and felt good. What a blessing are times like that.
Jesus has promised to be in the midst of those gathered to pray in His name. When we pray, not just for the sake of praying but because of a heartfelt need, we receive power. Do the math! If one person prays and others just listen, that’s one prayer even if there are 1000 people present and if that prayer is not heartfelt and genuine, it’s not even one prayer. Take a small group of 12 people and each one prays. If the other 11 are actively praying by listening and participating in the prayer through their intense focus, that’s 12 prayers rather than one. If all 12 voice a prayer, that’s 144 prayers.
Active participation in group prayers could mean intense focus and attention or it could mean a silent or verbal response such as, “Yes, Lord”, “Amen”, or other appropriate statements. Don’t take away from the person praying but support him or her in their prayers. To passively listen means to merely hear with our ears but our hearts are not really in tune with the words being prayed.
God is looking for a few good men and women who will join their hearts together to pray for the needs of His people and for the salvation of lost souls. He wants those people to pray for sick people but not to limit their prayers to the physically sick. Would you like to join with His people as they approach His throne and see the power of the Spirit reign down? If so, find some other believers and pray with them.
Father, teach me to pray. I pray alone so much that maybe my praying is becoming stale and I need a fresh infusion of your Spirit. Please provide me with the opportunity to join with others to pray and grow in my prayer life. Thank You. Amen
FIRST OF ALL
I TIM 2:1-8
Paul was a man of prayer. It seems that we spend a lot more time discussing his theological teachings than his teachings on prayer. Not that there is anything wrong with his theology or studying it. The problem is that we do so at the neglect of his powerful teachings on prayer. Let’s take a look at some of these teachings.
To begin with, he puts prayer first. He starts by saying “first of all”. Prayer is primary and should come before anything else. We do not pray to ask God to bless what we have already decided to do. If we make a decision to do something before we pray about it, then we are on our own. Sometimes that’s called the yoyo approach (You’re On Your Own). God wants us to come to Him for direction in our lives, not confirmation that we made the right decision without His help. We are so prone to choose things that we like to do because we enjoy doing them. That’s okay in our personal lives, at least to some degree but when it comes to serving God, it is disobedience. Just because we are filling a position in the church does not mean that we are serving God. Sometimes we are only serving ourselves or attempting to salve a bleeding conscience.
I love the story about the woman who, when she wanted to do something for her husband, would bake him a rhubarb pie. She loved baking rhubarb pies and was quite good at it. The only problem was that he did not like rhubarb pies. She was only doing what she enjoyed doing and wanted him to enjoy the fruits of her labor. Her efforts were self-serving. He did not get any satisfaction or fulfillment out of what she did. Neither does God pleased with our self-serving efforts in the church. Sometimes we accept a position to serve in the church in order to avoid what God really wants us to do. God doesn’t want substitute service. He wants us to do what He calls us to do.
If we do not seek first of all His will and direction, we will be misguided and will not find a sense of joy in service. More than anything else, joy comes as a result of obedience. It may come in the midst of doing something we thought we would not like to do. There is a song that says, “It is no sacrifice to follow Jesus”. No matter what we have to give up to follow Him in loving obedience, we will be more than rewarded both here on earth and later in heaven.
Prayer cannot be relegated to later when we have more time. God wants us to seek His leadership before we consult with ourselves. First of all means before anything else. Therefore He wants us to pray to begin each day. Prayer is to be the foundation of all that we do. Before we start looking for that new house or new car, we should pray. Before we go to work, before we start a project at home, before we start studying to teach a Bible Study lesson, before we go to choir practice, before we go to school, before we do anything we are to seek His guidance.
When we do some simple task such as go to the grocery store to buy a loaf of bread? Certainly not! Ask God to safely take you there and return you home. God may even give you an opportunity to minister to someone while you are out. He may have a blessing in store for you if you dedicate this simple little trip to Him. How long does it take to say, “God please give me a safe trip and bless any encounter I have with people on this trip”. This kind of prayer might prepare you for any difficult encounter you might have with someone. To pray for “mundane” things like this is “praying without ceasing”.
God wants us to pray first of all, during, and at the conclusion of all of our activities.
Paul was a man of prayer. It seems that we spend a lot more time discussing his theological teachings than his teachings on prayer. Not that there is anything wrong with his theology or studying it. The problem is that we do so at the neglect of his powerful teachings on prayer. Let’s take a look at some of these teachings.
To begin with, he puts prayer first. He starts by saying “first of all”. Prayer is primary and should come before anything else. We do not pray to ask God to bless what we have already decided to do. If we make a decision to do something before we pray about it, then we are on our own. Sometimes that’s called the yoyo approach (You’re On Your Own). God wants us to come to Him for direction in our lives, not confirmation that we made the right decision without His help. We are so prone to choose things that we like to do because we enjoy doing them. That’s okay in our personal lives, at least to some degree but when it comes to serving God, it is disobedience. Just because we are filling a position in the church does not mean that we are serving God. Sometimes we are only serving ourselves or attempting to salve a bleeding conscience.
I love the story about the woman who, when she wanted to do something for her husband, would bake him a rhubarb pie. She loved baking rhubarb pies and was quite good at it. The only problem was that he did not like rhubarb pies. She was only doing what she enjoyed doing and wanted him to enjoy the fruits of her labor. Her efforts were self-serving. He did not get any satisfaction or fulfillment out of what she did. Neither does God pleased with our self-serving efforts in the church. Sometimes we accept a position to serve in the church in order to avoid what God really wants us to do. God doesn’t want substitute service. He wants us to do what He calls us to do.
If we do not seek first of all His will and direction, we will be misguided and will not find a sense of joy in service. More than anything else, joy comes as a result of obedience. It may come in the midst of doing something we thought we would not like to do. There is a song that says, “It is no sacrifice to follow Jesus”. No matter what we have to give up to follow Him in loving obedience, we will be more than rewarded both here on earth and later in heaven.
Prayer cannot be relegated to later when we have more time. God wants us to seek His leadership before we consult with ourselves. First of all means before anything else. Therefore He wants us to pray to begin each day. Prayer is to be the foundation of all that we do. Before we start looking for that new house or new car, we should pray. Before we go to work, before we start a project at home, before we start studying to teach a Bible Study lesson, before we go to choir practice, before we go to school, before we do anything we are to seek His guidance.
When we do some simple task such as go to the grocery store to buy a loaf of bread? Certainly not! Ask God to safely take you there and return you home. God may even give you an opportunity to minister to someone while you are out. He may have a blessing in store for you if you dedicate this simple little trip to Him. How long does it take to say, “God please give me a safe trip and bless any encounter I have with people on this trip”. This kind of prayer might prepare you for any difficult encounter you might have with someone. To pray for “mundane” things like this is “praying without ceasing”.
God wants us to pray first of all, during, and at the conclusion of all of our activities.
DON'T TIPTOE THROUGH THE PRAYER GARDEN
John 14:12-14
We give lip service to the sovereignty of God when we call Him omnipotent and then proceed to pray meekly and humbly “Thy will be done”. It can be a sin to pray for His will to be done if it is merely a cop-out for our lack of faith. We are to approach His throne boldly and with confidence but when we always include in our prayers “Thy will be done” as a disclaimer, we are woefully short on faith. We are to pray as if we actually expect God to answer our prayers. Naturally, when He answers our prayers, we should praise and thank Him but we should not be surprised.
God is absolutely all powerful. There is nothing He cannot do. Whether we actually believe this will be manifested more in our prayers than in our proclamations. God created all things. He is the God of nature. That means that since He made nature, He controls nature. What we see as the natural order of things means nothing to God because He is capable of the supernatural just as easily as He is the natural. The natural way of doing things can be considered as the default setting. The supernatural way of doing things is how we program the power of God into our lives by prayer. We often fail to access God’s supernatural power simply because we don’t ask. We assume that the default setting, the natural order of things is what will occur whether we pray or not. Therefore we don’t feel a lot of need to petition God to rearrange the natural order. We have a “Que sera, sera” (What will be will be) philosophy.
Has the God of the Old and New Testament days lost the power to interrupt the laws of nature and perform what we consider miracles? I don’t think so!! Has His people lost the power of confident praying to be able to ask Him to change His mind and to do something He had not planned to do or to do it differently? Houston, we have a problem!! This is exactly why we see so few answers to prayers. We tiptoe quietly and meekly through the prayer garden lest we disturb God. There’s nothing wrong with praying quietly and meekly with soft voices but perhaps those soft voices affect our boldness. If we pray aloud perhaps with loud voices, we will be more confident and bold in our praying. If we are talking to another person or to more than one person, we sometimes raise our voices when we feel strongly about something. Why do we need to be so quiet when we talk to God?
I’m not advocating continuous loud praying. That could become more of a show than anything else but if we afraid to pray aloud or loudly because we don’t want others to think we are a fanatic may mean that we are concerned more about how we impress other people than how we impress God. Why are we afraid to speak up and speak out in our prayers?
Dr. Charles Spurgeon was approached by a young minister one time who asked “Dr Spurgeon, every time you preach, someone gets saved. I am not having much response to my preaching. Do you have any suggestions?” Dr. Spurgeon replied, “Young man, do you expect someone to be saved every time you preach?” The young pastor said, “No sir, I don’t”. Dr Spurgeon replied, “Then there’s your problem”. We have a similar problem in our prayer life. We don’t expect God to answer all of our prayers but being the good Christians that we are, we dutifully pray. Dutiful praying is no more than a ritual. If we really expect God to answer all of our prayers, we must pray with confidence and actually expect God to rearrange the natural order of things just because we ask Him to do so.
God, as I come before you right now, I confess that I have been very meek and mild in my prayer life. Teach me how to be bold and aggressive in my praying. Forgive me for my lack of faith in Your ability and willingness to answer my prayers. I want to be able to claim Your promises that are so plentiful in Your Word and yet I walk so quietly in the prayer garden that you might not even know that I am there. Show me how to make my presence known toYou so that You will hear me and answer my prayers. Don’t let me be afraid to ask You to change Your mind. Your Word says that if I ask ANYTHING in Your name that You will answer it. I claim that promise!! Thank You!!! Amen. Now try praying this prayer aloud or even loudly.
We give lip service to the sovereignty of God when we call Him omnipotent and then proceed to pray meekly and humbly “Thy will be done”. It can be a sin to pray for His will to be done if it is merely a cop-out for our lack of faith. We are to approach His throne boldly and with confidence but when we always include in our prayers “Thy will be done” as a disclaimer, we are woefully short on faith. We are to pray as if we actually expect God to answer our prayers. Naturally, when He answers our prayers, we should praise and thank Him but we should not be surprised.
God is absolutely all powerful. There is nothing He cannot do. Whether we actually believe this will be manifested more in our prayers than in our proclamations. God created all things. He is the God of nature. That means that since He made nature, He controls nature. What we see as the natural order of things means nothing to God because He is capable of the supernatural just as easily as He is the natural. The natural way of doing things can be considered as the default setting. The supernatural way of doing things is how we program the power of God into our lives by prayer. We often fail to access God’s supernatural power simply because we don’t ask. We assume that the default setting, the natural order of things is what will occur whether we pray or not. Therefore we don’t feel a lot of need to petition God to rearrange the natural order. We have a “Que sera, sera” (What will be will be) philosophy.
Has the God of the Old and New Testament days lost the power to interrupt the laws of nature and perform what we consider miracles? I don’t think so!! Has His people lost the power of confident praying to be able to ask Him to change His mind and to do something He had not planned to do or to do it differently? Houston, we have a problem!! This is exactly why we see so few answers to prayers. We tiptoe quietly and meekly through the prayer garden lest we disturb God. There’s nothing wrong with praying quietly and meekly with soft voices but perhaps those soft voices affect our boldness. If we pray aloud perhaps with loud voices, we will be more confident and bold in our praying. If we are talking to another person or to more than one person, we sometimes raise our voices when we feel strongly about something. Why do we need to be so quiet when we talk to God?
I’m not advocating continuous loud praying. That could become more of a show than anything else but if we afraid to pray aloud or loudly because we don’t want others to think we are a fanatic may mean that we are concerned more about how we impress other people than how we impress God. Why are we afraid to speak up and speak out in our prayers?
Dr. Charles Spurgeon was approached by a young minister one time who asked “Dr Spurgeon, every time you preach, someone gets saved. I am not having much response to my preaching. Do you have any suggestions?” Dr. Spurgeon replied, “Young man, do you expect someone to be saved every time you preach?” The young pastor said, “No sir, I don’t”. Dr Spurgeon replied, “Then there’s your problem”. We have a similar problem in our prayer life. We don’t expect God to answer all of our prayers but being the good Christians that we are, we dutifully pray. Dutiful praying is no more than a ritual. If we really expect God to answer all of our prayers, we must pray with confidence and actually expect God to rearrange the natural order of things just because we ask Him to do so.
God, as I come before you right now, I confess that I have been very meek and mild in my prayer life. Teach me how to be bold and aggressive in my praying. Forgive me for my lack of faith in Your ability and willingness to answer my prayers. I want to be able to claim Your promises that are so plentiful in Your Word and yet I walk so quietly in the prayer garden that you might not even know that I am there. Show me how to make my presence known toYou so that You will hear me and answer my prayers. Don’t let me be afraid to ask You to change Your mind. Your Word says that if I ask ANYTHING in Your name that You will answer it. I claim that promise!! Thank You!!! Amen. Now try praying this prayer aloud or even loudly.
ASK OF ME
Ps 2:7-9; II Chron 7:14, 19-22
Ask of me is the condition. God has promised that He would give us the earth for our possession if we ask. We have not asked and therefore, Satan still has control. If we want to depose Satan and send him packing, we must ask God for possession of the land. Because we have failed in prayer, Satan has prospered. It’s time to reclaim the land. We can go back and blame previous generations for the rampant wickedness in our country. We can blame the Republicans or the Democrats. We can blame the liberal theologians or the fundamentalists for driving people away. The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter who broke it, it’s still got to be fixed. Why waste our time trying to analyze what happened or who caused it. Let’s just fix it.
II Chronicles tells us what we need to do. We are to (1) humble ourselves, (2) pray, (3) seek His face-be obedient, and (4) turn from our wicked ways-repent. If we are faithful to do these things, He will hear, forgive, and heal. If we forsake His commandments, He will uproot us from the land. He will give it over to the enemy and we will experience adversity. Since we have not done what God requires, we have not been given possession of the land. We are merely wannabees.
In Deut 1:21 God commanded His people to take possession of the land without fear. In verse 26 we are told that they disobeyed God by refusing to go. Verse 45 tells of their repentance but it was too late. They had to wait another forty years wandering aimlessly in the desert.
I get chill bumps thinking how exciting it must have been in the Israeli camp after the death of Moses and Joshua was given the charge to take the people in. Joshua 1:6-8 gives the formula for success that Joshua followed and is the same formula that will give us success today. We are to be strong and courageous, meditate on God’s Word day and night, and be perfectly obedient to God’s commands. After forty wasted years, their dream was finally going to be realized. Joshua sent word to the people to get ready. They promised to be obedient. When they were, they had great success. When they were not, they had great failures.
With Moses gone, and Joshua now in charge there is an opportunity for a new beginning. God’s plan was the same as it was from the beginning of time. Blanton Collier was a long time coach of the Cleveland Browns. Once when his team was losing at half time he came into the locker room and said, “We have got to get back to the basics.” Then he held up a football and said, “Gentlemen, this is a football.”
Don’t look for some new innovative program to revolutionize things. God has not changed the basics. The pastor might stand in the pulpit hold the Bible up and say, “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a Bible. We need to get back to the basics of studying His word, praying, and being obedient.” And when we do, we will see God pouring out His blessings on us day after day.
Our pastor recently shared a dialogue between a youth minister and Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, a great praying church. The youth minister asked Rev. Cymbala what he did for his own spiritual life. The response was, “Read the Bible and pray.” Not satisfied, the youth minister said, “No, what do you really DO?” The response was the same, “Read the Bible and pray.” Still not satisfied, the youth minister wanted to know his secret so he kept asking and kept getting the same answer. For whatever reason, we think there is something more effective than Bible study and prayer. God has not changed the basics.
Bible study and prayer time can be as deep or shallow as we want it to be. There is no devotional book or other aid that will take you to the depths of the Word if you are not ready. Until you are hungering and thirsting after God, your study time and prayer life will be on the surface level and you be disappointed.
Historically, great spiritual movements were preceded by a return to studying God’s Word. Many efforts have been made to have revival in a church but those efforts that rely on preaching alone are short lived. Studying God’s Word is not the icing on the cake. It is the basic ingredient. I’m not talking about the kind of Bible study that leads to edification but that which leads to changed lives. It is only when God’s Word finds its way into our behavior that it can take root. Bible study for the sake of knowledge alone is powerless.
Father, forgive me for being lax in my Bible study and prayer time. Don’t let me use another man’s writings as anything more than a jump start. Teach me how to encounter you personally in my quite time by studying Your Word and allowing You to show me how to fashion my life according to Your Word. Show me how to make the study of the Scriptures and prayer the foundation of my life…………………….
Ask of me is the condition. God has promised that He would give us the earth for our possession if we ask. We have not asked and therefore, Satan still has control. If we want to depose Satan and send him packing, we must ask God for possession of the land. Because we have failed in prayer, Satan has prospered. It’s time to reclaim the land. We can go back and blame previous generations for the rampant wickedness in our country. We can blame the Republicans or the Democrats. We can blame the liberal theologians or the fundamentalists for driving people away. The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter who broke it, it’s still got to be fixed. Why waste our time trying to analyze what happened or who caused it. Let’s just fix it.
II Chronicles tells us what we need to do. We are to (1) humble ourselves, (2) pray, (3) seek His face-be obedient, and (4) turn from our wicked ways-repent. If we are faithful to do these things, He will hear, forgive, and heal. If we forsake His commandments, He will uproot us from the land. He will give it over to the enemy and we will experience adversity. Since we have not done what God requires, we have not been given possession of the land. We are merely wannabees.
In Deut 1:21 God commanded His people to take possession of the land without fear. In verse 26 we are told that they disobeyed God by refusing to go. Verse 45 tells of their repentance but it was too late. They had to wait another forty years wandering aimlessly in the desert.
I get chill bumps thinking how exciting it must have been in the Israeli camp after the death of Moses and Joshua was given the charge to take the people in. Joshua 1:6-8 gives the formula for success that Joshua followed and is the same formula that will give us success today. We are to be strong and courageous, meditate on God’s Word day and night, and be perfectly obedient to God’s commands. After forty wasted years, their dream was finally going to be realized. Joshua sent word to the people to get ready. They promised to be obedient. When they were, they had great success. When they were not, they had great failures.
With Moses gone, and Joshua now in charge there is an opportunity for a new beginning. God’s plan was the same as it was from the beginning of time. Blanton Collier was a long time coach of the Cleveland Browns. Once when his team was losing at half time he came into the locker room and said, “We have got to get back to the basics.” Then he held up a football and said, “Gentlemen, this is a football.”
Don’t look for some new innovative program to revolutionize things. God has not changed the basics. The pastor might stand in the pulpit hold the Bible up and say, “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a Bible. We need to get back to the basics of studying His word, praying, and being obedient.” And when we do, we will see God pouring out His blessings on us day after day.
Our pastor recently shared a dialogue between a youth minister and Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, a great praying church. The youth minister asked Rev. Cymbala what he did for his own spiritual life. The response was, “Read the Bible and pray.” Not satisfied, the youth minister said, “No, what do you really DO?” The response was the same, “Read the Bible and pray.” Still not satisfied, the youth minister wanted to know his secret so he kept asking and kept getting the same answer. For whatever reason, we think there is something more effective than Bible study and prayer. God has not changed the basics.
Bible study and prayer time can be as deep or shallow as we want it to be. There is no devotional book or other aid that will take you to the depths of the Word if you are not ready. Until you are hungering and thirsting after God, your study time and prayer life will be on the surface level and you be disappointed.
Historically, great spiritual movements were preceded by a return to studying God’s Word. Many efforts have been made to have revival in a church but those efforts that rely on preaching alone are short lived. Studying God’s Word is not the icing on the cake. It is the basic ingredient. I’m not talking about the kind of Bible study that leads to edification but that which leads to changed lives. It is only when God’s Word finds its way into our behavior that it can take root. Bible study for the sake of knowledge alone is powerless.
Father, forgive me for being lax in my Bible study and prayer time. Don’t let me use another man’s writings as anything more than a jump start. Teach me how to encounter you personally in my quite time by studying Your Word and allowing You to show me how to fashion my life according to Your Word. Show me how to make the study of the Scriptures and prayer the foundation of my life…………………….
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