1/10/2024
Our study of prayer continues this morning with the theme of praying with our entire being. Are we totally engaged when we kneel to pray in the battle against evil, dark forces, and to win lost souls? When our prayers are asking that God’s will be advanced is our whole heart in them? E.M. Bounds wrote that "Just as it involves every part of a person's being to pray successfully, so in turn the person receives the benefit of such praying." In making this case Bounds uses Romans 15:30; which I have expanded to include verse 31 as well. Are we benefiting the Kingdom of God when we pray, and thus increasing in faith as we do?
“Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints;”
Romans 15:30-31 KJV
Critical battles of faith require intense prayer of us, and as Paul joins in the conflict against darkness and sin for the very souls of the Gentiles, he calls on fellow believers to pray with him, and for him. In this way Paul isn't praying simply for his daily bread, but instead he is praying for his very life, and victory in the spiritual war to win souls. So it is that dire circumstances of faith require us to pray with our whole heart too, and in this way we will become dedicated to the spiritual conflict that rages about us for the souls of the lost.
Paul’s age old battle continues to this very day. When we pray for our churches and church leaders, the struggle we are engaging in should not be for their financial solvency, personal gain, or the construction of a grand new sanctuary... It should be for success in the war against darkness, sin, and for the redemption of lost souls. If this is not what motivates our prayers then we are praying hollow words, and self-serving prayers into nothingness.
Paul is asking for prayer from those who know the conflict that is at hand. He is asking for others to join him in intense prayer; asking that God will give them victory in their struggle for the lost souls in Jerusalem... And abroad. Do we pray this same prayer today? Are we praying it fervently with our entire being engaged in the effort?
When we pray our daily prayers we should naturally ask for those things which will sustain us, and are important to us in our daily lives, but when we pray for our churches and the lost souls they have been given the mission to save; we should pray with a dedication that reflects the importance of this deeply spiritual mission. Church isn't just a gathering place for people of like mind... It is truly a forward operating base in the war to save souls and to defeat sin. This is where Christian soldiers gather to bind our wounds, comfort one another, and to scripturally rearm ourselves for the next day’s struggle that lies ahead. This is a place where our unified prayers join together to span the globe and renew the strength of fellow Christians a world away. This is the place where our entire beings should be dedicated to the will of God through focused prayers of great importance and intensity. Let's hear Paul's plea and lift our own prayers for this cause, and to strengthen those soldiers today who are continuing Paul’s struggle.
“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”
2 Timothy 2:3-4 ESV
Prayer:
Father, Thank you for hearing our prayers for sustenance, mercy, healing, and grace, but we thank you especially today for hearing our intensely fervent prayers that your will be done in the great missions you send us on, and for victory as we fight the spiritual battles against the dark forces of the world. Give us strength to pray as we should Lord. Send angels to strengthen us Holy Father, just as you did for your Son Jesus when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Let your Spirit teach us to pray mightily, and with all our being, that your will be done, and that victory be sealed by your people in this spiritual war we are engaged in. We give you all the glory as we march victoriously off this battlefield, following your banner and praising your name. Let our prayers be from our hearts, and ring through the streets of Heaven. Let none fall into nothingness while being prayed as empty words meant to serve ourselves. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who leads us into absolute victory through your Son Jesus Christ, and who marches before us into blessed eternity.
Rich Forbes