This morning we are contemplating a couple of words that define the scope of prayer; or perhaps they remove the boundaries of prayer altogether. The words are "anything" and "whatsoever" or if you prefer, "whatever", and then we will ask ourselves if our prayers are being heard. Let's begin by reading a passage of scripture from John 14…
Prayer as a tool for spreading the gospel continues to be our thought this morning, and Pastor E.M. Bounds observes that "The gospel moves altogether too slowly..." and suggests prayer as the cure for this lumbering pace when he says "Prayer, more prayer and better prayer will do the deed." He goes on to write; "This means of grace will give swiftness, splendor, and divinity to the gospel." We live in a world filled with wickedness and unbelievers. Some know who Jesus is by name but have never heard the gospel, while others may be entirely ignorant of God, Jesus, and faith. Our task at hand is to deliver that message and allow these poor souls to make a spiritual decision based on biblical facts and not their own conclusions… then to help them on their spiritual way.
Our souls set alight for God... What a wonderful thought for today, and a powerful use of prayer. Pastor E.M. Bounds wrote: "Prayer opens possibilities for the spread of the gospel.... Prayer makes the gospel move with glorious speed. It moves with God's power and with saintly swiftness." Have we ever considered the fact that prayer should be the first step we take as we witness to others, or send missionaries to distant lands? Those missionaries pray for resources and guidance before taking their first step and setting out to answer the call. Our prayers for them are equally important, and by praying we are stepping out with them to obey the will of God.
The proof of prayer is our study this morning. Although scientists have presented evidence in an attempt to destabilize our belief in its effectiveness, believers continue to experience the positive effects of prayer in their faith and lives. Proving prayer scientifically evades us because it is vaporous and spiritual in nature, but it also shows us hidden things that we could not know or experience otherwise.
The incredible width and breadth of prayer is our contemplation today. The magnificent blessing and power of prayer should be evident to all believers, and yet some can’t seem to grasp the enormous magnitude of it. God’s promise wasn’t that if we prayed he might do something for us, or that he might give us food, but not something else. No, His promise is that if we pray within His will, and in the name of Jesus, He will give us anything we pray for. What an amazing promise this is. So, if we pray as we should then there is nothing He will not provide us. There are many scriptures that make references to this truth, so let’s begin by using one from the New Testament and another from the Old Testament for reference…
We can get caught up in the business of our worldly life to the point where we forget about God, and Jesus Christ, altogether; it is like driving to work and suddenly realizing that we can’t remember how we got to where we are. It is a scary feeling, and so is traveling through our spiritual lives and suddenly realizing that we have gone a great distance without a conscious thought of the Lord. Trouble can do many things like breaking our pride, and it can humble us before the Lord; it can bring us to our knees in prayer, but it can also gently stop us and cause the love within us to well up and flow forth in prayer… and thusly return our thoughts to our Heavenly Father.
Today I encourage you to read through Romans 12; this is a wonderful chapter that tells us how to live each day as Christians. Among instructions such as feeding the hungry and blessing those who persecute us, there is a short little verse that instructs us to constantly pray during our times of trouble. Praying without ceasing is an important theme, and there is another short verse in 1st Thessalonians that tells us the same thing. This verse in Romans instructs us to “be constant in prayer”, and both are repeated biblical reminders of an important message regarding our prayer life… live in constant prayer.
Molding our souls into the image of God through prayer is the topic for this morning's devotional thought. Pastor E.M. Bounds says this of prayer... "It has everything to do with enriching, broadening, and maturing the soul's experience of God." He stresses this point further by writing this about the Christian... "Therefore, if he does not pray, he is not of the household of faith." Second Corinthians chapter 4 is a wonderful source for studying the change that is occurring within us as we mature as Christians. A verse which summarizes this conversion is verse 16...
Today I am basing my devotional on something that Pastor E.M. Bounds referred to as "A Chain of Graces" and how prayer is an integral part of this chain. The scripture we are studying is Romans 3:5, and regarding this verse Pastor Bounds writes: "Prayer brings us into that state of grace where suffering cannot only be endured, but where there is a spirit of rejoicing over it." He goes on to say "It is in the furnace that faith is tested, patience is tried, and where all those rich virtues are developed that make up Christian character." I hope you love these comments as much as I do. But what I want to talk about today is how life leaves its physical as well as spiritual marks on us as we age, and the difference between the marks of the world, and those left by God, and Jesus Christ.
We have spoken of our troubles and afflictions as they relate to our faith through prayer, and today we revisit this topic again. Pastor E.M. Bounds simply called his short devotional thought "Affliction", and wrote "The greatest value in trouble comes to those who turn to God in prayer. In fact, the only way to endure trouble patiently, is to pray consistently.” Scripture tells us this...
06/10/2024
This morning we contemplate the sufferings of this world and life as compared to the spiritual rewards we have through our faith. The pain, disappointment, and anguish we have as we pass through this existence seems great, but when compared to our final reward it is nothing.
Yesterday we contemplated a faithful mother who sought a miracle for her daughter (Mat 25:22-28). The persistence of that mother caught the attention of Jesus and left us with a lesson for all time. When every hope is dashed and desperation appears to be our closest friend... that is when we should cling most to our faith... that is when prayer can bring the most amazing things to bear… even a stronger faith.
This morning we study the story of the Canaanite woman who pursued Jesus, asking him to cure her daughter who was vexed by a devil. She knew that she wasn't a Jew, and thus unworthy of His attention, but she persisted in her worship of Jesus until He saw the faith she had in Him and granted her request.
Do we have the faith required to persist in prayer, but not the perspective we need to see His answer? Is there depth enough in our belief in prayer, and trust enough in God, that we can continue to pray for an unanswered desire, but lack the understanding of God’s will it requires to see His answer? Pastor E.M. Bounds wrote that "God sees His praying child's faith. He honors this faith that stays and cries by persisting in prayer, so that it is strengthened and enriched. Then He rewards it abundantly." God rewards us in prayer, but we are often expecting it to come in different way than it does.
We continue our study of persistent prayer this morning with some examples from the bible. There are stories like that of Moses praying forty days and nights to stop the wrath of God, Elijah repeating his prayer seven times to bring rain, and Jesus praying three times in the a Garden of Gethsemane. Moses and Elijah were powerful men of God, and Jesus was the Son of God, yet they prayed persistently in times of great strife and trouble. Going to God over and over again with a prayer regarding something we feel strongly about is like adding an exclamation point to its Amen. God hears each word of every prayer, but as we pray them in this manner we are increasing our own understanding, dedication to the effort, and our faith and trust in God as well.