God Speaks About Prayer

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Have you ever wondered if God really pays attention to our prayers?  Do you wonder what is the point in praying?  The second question in particular is one that I often think about.  Why should Christians pray?  God already knows how things are going to turn out, so what good does it do for us to pray? This is a personal struggle of mine. I feel like my meager petitions do little to sway God and His plan. But consider this, even Jesus prayed when He was about to be captured by the Romans and He knew that He would not sway God's plan of salvation that had been in place since the beginning of time. So why would He pray if He knew there would be no change? The Bible tells us a lot about prayer. It tells us how to pray, what to pray for and why to pray.  Prayer is the simple act of speaking with God. Sharing your heart with God; your concerns, your joys, your needs, and even your desires.  Here is what God has to say about prayer. 

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First, we must establish a routine. Jesus prayed in the morning, as described in Mark 1:35, "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed." We each should decide when and where to pray where we won't be distracted and we will be able to focus on the message God wants to give us through our prayers. Furthermore, we are told to "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Moreover, Ephesians 6:18 tells us to "Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints." We know from this that we have a continuous open-line of communication with God and can present to Him our joys and concerns as we go through the day. 

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Second, we are told in several places to pray with thanksgiving and to be thankful.  This holds true, not just in our prayers with pleasing outcomes, but also those with less pleasing outcomes. Philippians 4:6 tells us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." In Colossians 4:2 we are further told, "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." Additionally 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;" Notice this last verse says, "in all circumstances". No matter whether a good or bad situation, we should give our thanks to God for what He will do to bring us through it.

Third, the Bible shares about our intentions for prayer. What is our personal reason for a particular prayer?  Matthew 6:6-7 explains how our prayer is to be heartfelt and personal, not for the ears of others, but for the ears of God.  "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words."  This in no way reflects the idea that we can't pray for others or in front of others, but it reflects the attitude of our heart.  Are we praying sincerely to God or are we praying so that others will hear US and not God?  

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Fourth, who should we pray for? Surely we pray for our family and friends, but is that all? James 5:16 tells us to "pray for one another".  1 Timothy 2:1-2 says, "I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions..."  All who are in high positions...this is often a troublesome phrase as we don't often care for or disagree with those who are in the high positions, but God's word is clear.  We are still to pray for them.  It doesn't say, pray for them if you agree with them, but just pray for them. James 5:13-14 adds, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him." Finally comes the toughest of all of the "who" we should pray for. Luke 6:27-28 declares, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." This is a hard thing to do. We don't often want to pray for those who do us wrong, but God tells us to pray for them.  After all, it is God's desire that none should perish. He desires that everyone will come to know Him; He made each one!

Last, we come to the personal reasons that we should pray. These reasons are not necessarily to gain an answer to our personal requests, but they do benefit us in ways we may not realize.  Praying can provide peace for us as described in Philippians 4:6, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Remember our lesson on the word "but",  we have a choice to make in a different direction.  We are anxious, BUT pray, we will gain peace!  James 5:16 states, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed." Prayer can bring healing, not specifically physical healing, but spiritual healing. If we place our life and circumstances in God's hand, we can obtain spiritual healing. Earlier in his book, James reminds us that God can give us wisdom if we ask, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." Even further, Romans 8:26 gives us encouragement for those times where we just can't find the words to pray. Sometimes we may be too worried or distraught to even mentally come up with the right prayer.  It is at these times, we can rely on the Holy Spirit.  "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."  I don't know how many times I have just said, "God, I just don't even know what to pray for right now in this situation, so please take care of it." I can take comfort knowing that at those times the Holy Spirit delivers that message to God for me. 

God desires prayer from us. He desires communication with us. God knows what we go through; He already knows our joys, concerns, worries, and problems, and how the issues will turn out, but He wants us to call out to Him in prayer and communication.  God is waiting to give us spiritual healing, give us peace and assurance and grow our faith through prayers to Him. If you feel you aren't able to pray, remember that the Spirit will intercede for you when you can't come up with the words! Also remember that God created each one of us and desires a relationship with each one of us!

God Speaks Through a Paralyzed Man

(Matthew 9:1-8) Imagine the scene! Jesus had just returned to Capernaum, the town where He had been living. He and His followers had just had interesting spiritual and political experiences across the Sea of Galilee.

As Jesus disembarks from the boat in which he and the followers are sailing, He is approached by a group of men carrying a mat.This may not necessarily be a strange sight back in those days in that area; however, on the mat, was a paralyzed man. The men were bringing this man to Jesus for healing. Right away, because of their confidence, Jesus knew they had the utmost faith in His abilities. In other words, they did not approach Jesus with a half-hearted request of, "Do you think you can heal our friend?" or "We would like to see if you can heal our friend." No, they came to Jesus in order for their friend to be healed. They knew it would take place!  

Matt. 9:2 (The Voice)--"When He got there, some men approached Him carrying a mat. On the mat was another man, a paralytic. The men evidently believed that Jesus could heal the paralytic, and Jesus saw their faith, how much faith they had in His authority and power."

Jesus says to the paralytic, "Rest assured, my son, your sins are forgiven." I'm not 100% sure this is what the friends had in mind. I think their intention was for the friend to be physically healed. To me, this was an interesting turn of events. Why in the world would Jesus have said the man's sins were forgiven and not healed him physically, when he had healed others of physical ailments without this assurance of forgiven sins?

I believe there are two reasons. The first is that Jesus knew that what the paralyzed man really needed was spiritual healing. Before he could receive physical healing, he needed to be right with God. (Thanks to my pastor {Linda Pevey} for this revelation.)  I believe the second reason has to do with setting the lawmakers in Capernaum straight and revealing to the crowds who He really is.

To quote Paul Harvey, "And now, the rest of the story." Nearby there were Jewish lawmakers and leaders who were listening and taking in this whole scene. They begin to call Jesus out on, what was in their minds, blasphemy. Blasphemy is pretending or claiming to be God. The Jewish lawmakers were likely thinking, "Who is He to forgive sins, only God can do that". Since Jesus IS God, He has the power to forgive sins; therefore, He is not blaspheming. Although they spoke this to themselves, He knew their thoughts. Next comes my favorite part of this passage. I feel like Jesus just rolls his eyes and then let's them have it!

Jesus asks the Scribes and Pharisees why they are mumbling about blasphemy and why they are being wicked in their hearts. 

Matt. 9:4-7(The Voice)--"Why do you hold such hardness and wickedness in your hearts?  Look, is it easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or 'Get up and walk'? To make clear that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins (turning to the paralytic man on the mat), Get up, pick up your mat, and go home. And the man did!" 

I can almost hear the exasperated tone in Jesus voice as He speaks to them. 

"Look, anyone can SAY that sins are forgiven. You or your spouse, or even the neighbor next door can TELL someone that their sins are forgiven. They might even SAY to get up and walk, but that doesn't mean it really happens. Now let me prove to you who I AM. I have not only healed the sins of this man, because I know you need to see something to believe it, I will heal this man physically as well. That way you know that I have the power to do both."

Back in those days (and often in these days as well), there were many "religious" sideshows that would come around and claim they could heal people, but their claims never came to fruition. 

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So Jesus did just that. He healed the paralyzed man. The Bible tells us that the crowd was in awe. They were amazed and they praised God. Not only had Jesus healed the sins and physical ailment of this man, He had revealed His power and Nature to the town and they were praising God for it! The Bible does not tell us of the reaction of the lawmakers, but I imagine they turned and walked away quickly. 

We can see the power of Jesus through this Scripture. We see that because He is God, He knows all things and can do all things. We know that He is necessary for our lives and for our eternal life. It is He Who is able to forgive our sins. It is He Who can set us on a right path if we will just ask Him.

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