07/02/2024
Forceless prayer is the topic of our contemplation this morning. My morning reading dealt with how prayer should be an earnest and inward movement towards God, and then it went on to say that although there was much prayer in the time of Isaiah that it was indifferent and self-righteous... with very little real movement towards God. Isaiah was a greater prophet and sent to prophesy for his time, but he also prophesied regarding the Messiah to come... Jesus.
“And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”
Psalm 9:10 KJV
I find it worth noting that in times of stagnation, or a movement away from God, that He doesn't forsake Israel... He sends a powerful prophet to pray, prophesy, and deliver His message of warning, or hope (as the case may be), to the people. God doesn't give up on His chosen even in their most ungodly times. He sends someone to lead them back to Him through powerful prayer and a deep relationship with Him. His will has never been thwarted.
Today we hear people lament the church's dire state; we hear "woe is me" messages from pulpits regarding our society, our country, and the future of faith. I am here to say that God's will never fails and that our prayers don't fall on deaf ears. God will right His ship now, just as He has in the past, and in a powerful manner! God will most certainly right His ship, and it will involve the second coming of Jesus; who remains our one great prophet in this time of trouble.
“And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.”
Matthew 21:11 KJV
As men and women of Faith we need to continue in our prayers... Not weak and ineffective prayers, but powerful, persistent, and forceful prayers that are full of strength and bent on praising God, asking that His will be done, and that Jesus come quickly. Our trust should always be in the fact that our God loves us, and remains with us.
“And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”
Psalms 9:10 KJV
On the way to work each day, I used to drive by the campus of a local religious university. Every spring they put out a display of hundreds of small white crosses next to the road to symbolize the babies lost to abortion. It was a powerful image, but the message was also a political one and made the point that to reverse this horrific plague, our government needed to change. However, I was moved by the Spirit one morning and wrote a poem that dealt with our role in this. As I read it to myself I was further led to send it blindly to the President of that University. I was surprised when I received a return email requesting me to broadly share my poem. Her email stated that this poem had changed her faith and the way she viewed the hopeless laws on abortion that our national government passed.
You see, the poem made it clear that regardless of our government and society's position on abortion, the responsibility for these deaths lay firmly with each of us as individuals. Isn’t this true of all sin? God deals with nations, the bible tells us as much, but nations don't have souls. The important point to understand is that He deals with each of us individually regarding our faith and salvation. The decision to end each of those baby’s lives was not made by a nation, but by a mother and a father whose very souls were in jeopardy. Nations are but the earthly governance of an accumulation of people.
The forceful prayer of each of us supersedes all other laws, and answers only to God. We are told to pray for one another so that we might be strong, and our bodies and souls be healed. Our prayers are personal and should be prayed fervently from each and every believer’s heart.
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
James 5:16 KJV
Forceful prayer is righteous prayer, and should move us towards God. The rote repetition of words is ineffective and bland in the mouth of God. He desires that our fervent prayer be from our hearts and souls.
This morning when we pray, let's open our hearts to God. Let's pray powerful prayers that allow our souls to reach out to Him. It is good to pray for the earthly future of nations because they impact real lives, but remember this morning that the only government in heaven is God, and although there will be many souls, there will only be one flag... His.
Let's pray for the mothers and fathers who gave up their children to abortion and ask God to lead them back to Him. Let's pray that they beg for His forgiveness. Let's fervently pray that their repaired faith will bring them to Him in true penitence. Then, let’s ask God's help in determining the choices we each make in our own lives. Let's ask that His will guide us and rule us above all else and all others.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for always being with us and guiding us back from the brink of spiritual disaster through the use of your prophets, and the forceful prayers that change our lives as we seek your will. Thank you Lord for your Son Jesus who stands at the ready to return and reclaim His Church and every soul represented in it. Help us through your Word, the gospel of Jesus, and your Holy Spirit, to pray as we should, and to pray fervently for what matters most to you, and your kingdom Father. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you who was, and is, and is to come, and great are you above all. Show us those things we should pray most for Lord. Reveal to us those that are of greatest consequence to you, and lead us into forceful prayer for them. Stop us Father when we look to place the blame for our sins on governments, organizations, and other people, since the true source of that sin lies solely within each of us. Show us that it is our faith, our belief, and our individual prayers, that honor you, please you, and bring you glory. Hear our prayers today; those for our earthly needs, but more importantly the righteous and forceful prayers of great spiritual consequence and importance. Hear us as we say from our hearts… “Even so come quickly Jesus!” and pray for the lost souls we encounter every day. In these prayers find us worthy Abba, worthy of being called your friends, and children. In these fervent and humble prayers find us worthy of spending eternity in your presence as we continue praising your Holy Name.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Amen!
Rich Forbes