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.
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.
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?
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!
For the fourth and last Sunday of Advent at our church, our theme was peace. Peace is nearly as elusive as Joy. Peace is defined as "freedom from disturbance". I think that is an appropriate definition, but piggy-backing onto last week's post, I think that peace is contentment as well...being content in your circumstances. I also believe that no one can find true peace without God. The Bible mentions that idea several times.
Isaiah 26:3--"You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."
John 14:27--"Peace I leave with
you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to
you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
Romans 8:6b--"but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."
How great is that second verse....Jesus gives us His peace. Jesus not only has peace, but He IS Peace. He is the Prince of Peace as we so often call Him this time of year. The rest of the year we tend to forget that He is the Prince of Peace!
Isaiah 9:6--"For to us a child is born,to
us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his
shoulder,and his
name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace."
Because we as Christians are brothers and sisters of Christ, it is our responsibility to exhibit that peace. We are called to be like Christ and share His love (and peace) with others.
2 Corinthians 13:11--"Finally, brothers,
rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another,agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of
love and peace will be with you."
Hebrews 12:14--"Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, since no one will see God without it."
Romans 12:18--"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."
As mentioned before, peace is one of those things in life which is sought after all the time by everyone. The Bible tells us in several verses to "seek peace and pursue it", which implies it is hard to find and hard to keep. Seek peace and keep seeking it. The good news is that if we know Jesus as our personal Savior, we can find that peace. We may not always keep it, but in Him, we can find it. Christmas is the time of year we focus on the birth of Jesus, who came from the glory of Heaven to the dregs of Earth to begin His journey to save Mankind.
Colossians 1:19-20--"God was pleased that all His fullness should forever dwell in the Sonwho, as predetermined by God, bled peace into the world by His death on the cross as God’s means of reconciling to Himself the whole creation—all things in heaven and all things on earth."
Ephesians 2:15--"He offered His
body on the sacrificial altar to bring an end to the law’s
ordinances and dictations. His
desire was to create in His body one new humanity from the two opposing
groups, thus creating peace."
May you find Jesus this Christmas! Only in Him will we find peace and peace that lasts for eternity!
