07/21/2024
This morning we are delving into the phenomenon of Christians who do not pray, and the ramifications of that lack of communication with God on their faith. We also will touch again on the fact that pastors should not only pray but request prayer of their congregations. Pastor E.M. Bounds wrote strongly of the disappointing fact that there are Christians who do not pray, or who pray very little. Here is an example of his thinking on this subject: "The more holy a person is, the more he values prayer; clearer he sees that God gives Himself to praying people." – E. M. Bounds.
God gives Himself to praying people.
“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”
Psalm 37:5 ESV
Growing up as the child of an Army officer, I moved around the nation and the world. Each time we moved I had to establish new friends and encountered new cliques or groups... Then I had to make a choice. I could fully engage with a group and develop deep and lasting friendships, I could hang around the periphery of the group, or I could abandon them all together. The benefits of totally immersing in a social group are apparent, but if you just hang out in the margin, you are never truly considered a member... You are tolerated and courted to join by those who have committed themselves but you are not one of them.
Our commitment to faith is very similar, we can immerse ourselves in prayer, worship, and the Word of God, we can form that deep bond of faith in God that is not only rewarding, but rewarded, or, we can hang around the margins of faith, praying when something dire occurs, and claiming a relationship that doesn't actually exist except in some faint shadowy form.
Prayer leads us to commit ourselves, and commitment leads us to increased prayer. This is the relationship that endears us to God, but more than that... it allows us to know and love Him as scripture encourages us. We hear it frequently because it is important. Listen to these scriptural examples…
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV
“And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”
Matthew 22:37-38 ESV
“And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."”
Luke 10:27 ESV
Prayer is the communication between our souls, and God the Father. Prayer is the vehicle that allows the thought of knowing to become the active and full embodiment of that knowing. Prayer takes us from the periphery of faith into its heart. Where do we strand today?
Jesus taught that we should love our neighbors as ourselves and there is no more powerful way to do that than to pray for someone. In this act we are sharing the essence of ourselves and our faith with them and allowing them to claim our prayer, our faith, and our blessings, as their own with a simple word… "Amen".
Even Pastors occasionally miss the importance of Amen. They don't understand that this word is powerful and has, since ancient times, allowed someone to hear a prayer or truth and in one short word claim it as their own.... totally. We often use the word today as if we are shaking our heads in an affirmative yes, but it is much more than that. Having others pray for you is incredibly important and never diminishes your authority... On the contrary, it allows you to utter "Amen" and by doing so to share in their blessing, and their efforts on your behalf, just as if they were your own... completely.
“At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.”
Colossians 4:3-4 ESV
Asking others to pray for you isn't a weakness, but a gathering of strength... A joining of blessings through the shared blessing of an "Amen."
So, This morning as we pray for not only ourselves, but our families, those around us, and so many other things; let's understand that we are imparting a blessing upon them or at very least allowing them the opportunity to share in our blessing through the power of the word “Amen”. Let's love our God and our neighbor as we pray and through our prayers. Let's join with God fully and not just flit around the periphery of His presence.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the strength of the relationship that we foster with you through our prayers. Thank you for our being able to hear the ideas and prayers of others, and to claim them for our own by saying “Amen”. Thank you for the fact that this word is a transliteration and sounds the same in every language so that regardless of the prayer or action, we can clearly hear the agreement of others, and let them know when we are joining them in theirs. Thank you Lord for every prayer we pray, and for your promise to not only hear them but to act on them. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who is true to your word, and keeps every promise. Holy are you who allows us to share in one another’s thoughts and prayers, and to join in the blessings of others. You are merciful Father, and full of grace. You have sent us into the world to share the Gospel of Jesus, and to offer every soul the opportunity to claim an “Amen” to it. You desire that none should perish, and that all should believe and be saved. For this we praise you, and give you all the glory. Loving and mighty are you in our lives, and in no way more graciously than to accept every “Amen” that we offer. Today we thank you Holy Father, ask your forgiveness for our sins, and claim Amen to all that Jesus Christ is. Today we begin a renewed prayer life, and offer it to all who will hear us so that they too might be blessed… will they say Amen?
Amen!
Rich Forbes