IT'S TIME TO PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

Date: Sat Mar 21 10:17:18 2009

Some people believe we are entering a golden age. Others are so frightened of catastrophe in the wings that they can hardly spit. What I do know is that God has called those who truly love him to pray as never before. Prayer has never had the respect it deserves. Ever hear the phrase - "He doesn't have a prayer." Or how about, "There's nothing left to do but pray." Prayer is seen as a last resort, and a pretty dicey one at that. Why is that?

I believe that the real problem is that most people do not know what prayer is. They speak from their experiences. They repeated words in church. Perhaps they said some "Hail Mary's" or recited the "Lord's Prayer". Some who spurn liturgical repetition pray formula prayers they have heard taught that are designed to force God to respond in a favorable way.

Prayer is about communication with God. The whole point of Jesus coming to earth was for the veil between God and man to be torn down so that man and God could freely speak with each other. If we are walking with God, we communicate with him. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we sing. Other times we use an unknown tongue so that the Holy Spirit can pray what is deep in our spirits - groanings too deep for words. The point is that this is not supposed to be confined to 30 seconds before eating or on the way to falling asleep or in a quiet moment at church. Prayer is to be done "without ceasing". Have you ever wondered about that? How on earth can you pray without stopping? Wouldn't we be "so heavenly minded we would be no earthly good"? Not a chance. We who have accepted the provision of Jesus Christ are called to live in a continuous relationship with God that is analogous to marriage (or is it the other way around?). Paul says that marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church. When we are married, we walk together, we eat together, we sleep together. We are not non-stop talkers. That would drive us crazy! Rather, there is an unbroken line of communication where either partner can speak at any time and expect the other to listen! We are aware of each other's presence at all times. With your spouse, sometimes who may be at work or separated for a time. God is NEVER separated from his beloved!

Our prayer relationship with God should be such that he can speak whenever he wants and so can we! So aware of God being always with us, we shun sin and foolishness. Have you ever seen someone sin while he is worshiping?

Many people can verbalize to God. The bigger problem seems to be hearing God. We sort of freak out when people say they talk to God. Many consider them mental. They restrict God to speaking through the Bible. Now, do not misunderstand me here! The Bible is the ONLY infallible word of God. A perusal of Elijah's List or any prophecy magazine will surely confirm to you that an awful lot of what people say God told them is patently untrue. People like to place the imprimatur of God's authority on what they are speaking from within themselves. I do not believe that people have tea with Michael the archangel and I am well aware of the Biblical warning that men will make up fantastic stories to try to deceive you.

I am actually more concerned of what men of God who DO respect the Bible and who WANT to please him say God told them. I am concerned about David Wilkerson's prophecy about New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut burning. Actually, it is a true prophecy, but it doesn't go far enough! The Holy Spirit has already prophesied that the heavens and the earth will be burned up. Nonetheless, it is timing and circumstances that need attention, and he tends to have these apocalyptic predictions. I am concerned about Harold Camping saying Christ will return in 2011. Now, Christ will return, but it is not ours to know the time it will happen. All who have predicted dates have been wrong, and since Jesus himself doesn't know the date, I don't believe Camping or anyone else does either. Paul assures us it will not overtake us as a thief, because we are looking for it. I wish it were today before you even read this message (if you were left behind, that is, which I trust you would NOT be!)

God does speak to us. He has spoken to me every day for years. I write it down. Did I ever think he said something he didn't? YES! If it didn't happen, it is not from God, because everything God says is true! Everything God predicts comes to pass (here's an aside for free - people call Jesus a prophet, and indeed he is. If you REALLY want to know what is going to happen, read the prophecies of Jesus!) Everything God tells you must agree with the Bible! God is not making up new stuff to tell you. Rather, through the Holy Spirit he is taking of his complete revelation and relaying and applying it to your situation!

If you are single and dating, God will not tell you to fornicate! He is likely to say, "My Grace is sufficient for you!" or "Flee fornication." That is the Word of God. He will likewise not tell you to turn your back on the poor, he will not tell you to be prejudiced or partial. He will not tell you to be stingy or fearful or proud. He will not tell you to watch the Sopranos or Desperate Housewives on TV. He will not tell you he understands if you want to get drunk or eat like a glutton. He won't tell you to cheat your employees or make a public display of your religion as the Pharisees did. He won't tell you to tell your wife you don't love her anymore, but will command you to love your wife!

God had lots of things to say to us. The problem is we don't listen. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus stands at the door and knocks. He will not come and sup with us if don't open the door. My friends, have an OPEN DOOR POLICY with God!

I treasure every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. As Mark Altrogge wrote in his song, "Lord, I Love By Your Word". Psalm 119 gives us 176 aspects of the Word of God. God is so encouraging to me! God comforts me! God pushes me when I am reluctant to do what he wants! He causes me to repent when I am wrong! He gives specific direction for me. It is not just in the time I set aside to journal as I pray. It is throughout the day. Two examples:

I find buildings for churches. I was driving years ago in Abington. God told me to turn onto Edge Hill Road and go north. I did. I saw a little white church on the corner of Ferndale. The Lord said it was available. I wrote down the phone number and called the Pastor. She told me that as matter of fact, her church was consolidating with another and she was interested in renting and then selling the building. This resulted in Cornerstone Christian Fellowship getting that building where they minister today.

I have two sons. My older one had totaled a car in an accident. I was driving and the Lord said to go to Jarrett Dodge in Hatboro. I did. I saw a red Toyota mid-engined MR2 on the lot. Not many Toyotas on Dodge lots. It was mint with 45,000 miles. A man was looking at it, but passed. I got my son on his cell phone and he came over and we bought it for a good price. He loved that car. They call them a poor man's Ferrari. One day my son was out with his friends, but was coming home at 5am so he could go to a men's breakfast with me. He was tired and fell asleep at the wheel. He veered off the road between two giant sycamore trees, went through a phone pole and flipped several times. The officer told me my son would have been severely injured or killed in ANY other car. The car looked like an egg, but the mid-engine meant that his body was not sliced in half by the impact. He barely had even a scratch. He told me it hurt more playing football. The Lord had woken up my wife at a women's retreat ninety minutes before to intercede for him. You see, God knows everything and we are fools if we do not beseech him to intervene on our behalf. Prayer prevented a tragedy in our family. There were doubtless many other times different members of our family were saved from tragedy by our prayers and the prayers of others.

I started this post with a statement that we need to pray more. I personally have greatly increased my intercession time this year. We live in perilous times where much is as stake. Change is in the air. Some change is good - we need all kinds of change to be more like Christ in our character and to operate more by kingdom principles. Some change is bad - we must not repudiate the moral standards of God or get into yokes of bondage. Here are some things I believe God wants everyone to pray for:

1) We are to pray for kings and those in authority. I pray daily in depth for our government. We need to pray for the president to facilitate peace and prosperity per Paul's instructions. We also need to pray on the issues so that only Godly decisions will be made. We need to pray against pending decisions we know are evil. We must include our Senators, Representatives, Governors, Mayors, and Councilpersons. For sure we need to pray for judges. I also have taken on praying for each of the 195 countries in the world. God says we do not have because we do not ask. I ask God to encourage the good and bring down the bad. We are not an island in America or whatever country you may live in. Jesus will come when the gospel of the kingdom is preached in the WHOLE WORLD. Some things have to change in some countries to bring that about. God's people are also suffering in some areas, and they need our intercession so that they would have courage and gain relief and justice.

2) We need to pray for our Christian leaders, for pastors, for friends. Those who are strong need to help those who are weak. We need to pray for those who are going through sickness, oppression, and/or economic deprivation. We need to pray for marriages and for Christians struggling against principalities, and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world. We need to pray Ephesians 6, and the armor of God is corporate. Our shields of faith must be like Hannibal's - they overlap and render the saints totally protected in a way that individual shields not linked together can never equal. Those of us with people who look to us for spiritual guidance need to pray for those sheep in detail.

3) We need to pray for our work, for our outreach, for our families, for our economic, spiritual, and emotional well being. We need to pray for those in our families who are yet to be saved, and for those who know God to develop a voracious appetite for him. We need to pray for Godly spouses for our children.

You cannot do that in five, ten, or even thirty minutes. It takes quite a bit of time each day. You can break it up if you must, but you must pray, pray, pray. And that is not the limit of our communication with God. We need an ongoing conversation so that EVERYTHING we do is to the glory of God! Jesus did not do ANYTHING he did not see his father doing. Who are we to do any different???

So Pray, Pray, Pray. Never say Amen. Keep the conversation going. Keep an open Spirit to God. He who trusts in him will never be disappointed!

COMMENTS

Name: AZRON

Date: Sat Mar 21 10:21:56 2009

Comment: amen!