One morning I was reading about the multifaceted nature of prayer and paid special attention as the devotional spoke about the role that prayer played in consecration. I read on about the misconception that a person could be consecrated with little or no prayer, and wondered aloud to the Lord how that could possibly happen... how someone could truly dedicate their lives to Him without constantly speaking with Him in prayer.
In Paul's letter to the Romans he presents a list of greetings to the church in order to insure unity within the newly forming bride of Christ, and he warns them to separate themselves from those who would bring discord within the Church. Paul was concerned about the Church moving away from the true gospel of Jesus, and becoming fractured. We should be equally concerned about this today.
Does our life get in the way of our praying? Do the hardships we face each day stifle our inward enthusiasm for prayer, or do we redouble our effort in it as we bring those trials before the Lord? Often, when faced by incredible hardship or suffering we attempt to fix those things first and pray for them second. The pitfall in this strategy is frustration, depression, and a loss of hope. This inevitably leads to difficulty in prayer.
Prayer should bring us to repentance, and then transform our character. God revels in the repentance of sinners, but repentance involves much more than the empty words "I'm sorry", it requires a change of heart... A turning away from what offended. In fact, that is the literal meaning of the word; turning away.
Living righteously through our prayers and faith every day, and taking care not to reduce our faith to a simple mental exercise. This is the subject of our contemplation this morning. Christ will return suddenly and at an unknown time; and, in the meantime, our lives can be recalled and death come to us at any time... Are we living lives that at a moment's notice we would be comfortable laying at the feet of God?
This morning we explore a life of personal holiness and the prayer which leads us to it. If we pray continually, and seek God's presence, then the natural and inevitable result will be our consecration and eventual holiness.
Does what we do in practice affect who we are or will become? Or, is who we are inside the sole determinate of what we do? This is an interesting question dealing with works, faith, and their interaction... But it is also a developmental question for us as Christians. In seeking the answer to this question I enjoyed reading the words of Pastor E. M. Bounds who wrote..."It was the inner character, not the outward appearance of men like Abraham, Job, David, Moses and others, that had such great influence with God in the biblical days. Today, it is not so much our words, but what we really are that counts for much in our praying. At the same time, character affects conduct to a far greater extent and has a superior influence over prayer. Our inner lives give color to our praying."
As Christians we are the product of prayer. This morning we are contemplating the way that prayer changes who we are by making us righteous, perfecting our character, and dividing us from sin, thus giving us peace.
In our lives we can endeavor to be holy, but holiness belongs solely to the Lord and only He can make us so. It is only by the movement and filling of the Holy Spirit that we are granted true holiness. Although we can seek to be holy, only through the Holy Spirit can we realize that goal. Scripture tells us much of God's holiness and it also contains our call to become holy.
The devotional I read this morning was titled "God's Factory on Earth" and dealt with the duty of the Church on earth. This subject fit nicely with the discussions of character and conduct we have been engaged in. As I thought about this subject it occurred to me that there was a similar leaning to scripture which speaks of saving our individual selves... and what comes afterwards.
Our inward character is indicative of the success which the teaching and presence of Jesus Christ has had on our lives. The redemptive and life changing power of Jesus works within us to alter our character and produce a more faithful, righteous, and pure person. Is this what we see occurring within ourselves, or has the fallen world become our friend, and influencer?
Are we consecrated men and women or are we fooling ourselves? Most Christians view themselves as being consecrated, but are we doing those things in our lives that insures that this is true? To know the truth we must first understand what consecration actually means. It is the dedication of ourselves to God; allowing Him to sanctify us and make us holy. If we are consecrated then we must dedicate ourselves to God and His use; our lives should be centered on prayer, worship, and service to God.
This morning we contemplate the role of character and conduct as it applies to our faith and walk with God. So, as we study the Word of God, pray, and worship, our faith, which lives within us, is being increased and our character altered. Faith in God changes us and leads us towards eternal life...
Yesterday we contemplated the parable of the sower and the importance of preparing the ground for God's word. Interestingly, that parable ends not only with words regarding those seeds, but how we should hear and use the parable. Today let’s look at how this parable can lead us to places in our lives that we never expected.
It is a Sunday morning in 1985 and my heavily pregnant wife struggles to clothe our two young daughters for church. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle there hardly seems to be a moment for prayer. Does this sound familiar to you? Well it was certainly a weekly occurrence at our house. In reading my devotional message this morning, Pastor E.M. Bounds wrote about how pastors should prepare themselves to preach and how we, as lay persons, should prepare ourselves for worship. He spoke of the parable of the sower and how preparing the ground allows the seed to germinate, and how unprepared soil allows Satan to ruin the prospect of a bountiful crop. He is so right in this.