By Way of Prayer

I have recently read a couple of books on prayer and have been contemplating my own prayer life in light of what the Bible teaches. It is interesting to note that Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach but He did teach them how to pray. Prayer is the means that God Himself has instituted to perform the will of heaven on earth. How it all works is hard to really put your finger on exactly just like so many other spiritual realities, but nonetheless, we can be assured that when we pray angels and demons are moved into action.

But why does it seem that so often our prayers never reach higher than the ceiling? I think James 5:16 provides a clue, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” The key word being “righteous.” Our prayers are only as effective as our life is holy and obedient to God. Of course, Jesus tells that if we put His kingdom first than all things will be added unto us. The Apostle John echoes this same sentiment when He tells us in his first epistle, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14)

Do you see a pattern emerging? If our prayers are to be heard then they need to be according to the will of God which is only possible if we are abiding in Christ. In other words, God is not obligated to answer any prayer from anyone who is not following His commands. I would also go one step further and add that if we are not following Christ then it is impossible for us to even ask the Lord for the right things in our lives or the lives of others. And I believe this point is paramount. Many of the prayers in the Bible are intercessory in nature. The praying person is praying for someone else. Abraham prayed for Lot and spared him from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Moses prayed for the people of Israel after they had erected the golden the calf and the Lord spared their lives because of Moses petition.

Our prayer life becomes strangely void of self the closer we are to God because he lays His will on our hearts. This is not to say that we are not to pray for ourselves as the Lord tells us to bring all our cares to Him but I have found in my own walk that the closer I am to the Lord the things that burden the Lord’s heart become my prayers. So often in mid-sentence my prayer will change as the Holy Spirit prompts the prayer that is most needful.

The Bible also admonishes us to prayer fervently and unceasingly. Prayer is to be the central focus of lives as believers. We see this in Acts chapter 6 when the church was in its infancy and it was brought to the apostles attention that the widows were being neglected. The apostles called the other disciples and told them to appoint seven men to help minister to the widows so they could give themselves completely to the ministry of the Word and prayer. Right here we see the importance of prayer as the apostles understood that it was critical that they did not neglect this area as the power of God over the church was at stake.

We seem to have lost this sense of urgency regarding prayer in today’s churches. I am not sure if it is because we do not believe in the power of prayer as much anymore or if it is because we have gotten too busy with life or even the ministry. It is critical that we get back to constant communion with God. I know it is something I want to be a focus in 2012. I hope it is for you as well.
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"Prayer strikes the winning blow; service is simply picking up the pieces." - S.D. Gordon

The Storyteller

When you hear the word “theology” what comes to your mind first?

Most likely you first think of theology as the study of God. You may also have the image of a gray-haired professor writing on a chalkboard about the attributes of God and how He interacts with mankind. I often think of the numerous Christian literature books I have read that methodically extract the hidden truths contained in the Word of God.

When Jesus sought to teach about God and His kingdom he did not use a chalkboard, a flow chart, or pass out a stack of Theology 101 textbooks. He told stories. Many stories. The majority of Jesus' stories or parables refer to simple everyday things, such as a woman baking bread (parable of the Leaven Bread), a man knocking on his neighbor's door at night (parable of the Friend at Night), or the aftermath of a roadside mugging (parable of the Good Samaritan); yet they deal with major religious themes, such as the growth of the Kingdom of God, the importance of prayer, and the meaning of love.

One notable author states, “To move through the language and imagery of Jesus’ parables offers some fascinating insights into His sensibilities. Webster’s dictionary defines an iconoclast as ‘one who makes attacks on cherished beliefs and institutions, one who destroys or opposes the veneration of religious images.’ Jesus, the master storyteller, was clearly an iconoclast. His parables expressed in words what His actions demonstrated. He shattered idols and blew away preconceived ideas of who God is what men and women are meant to be.”

Upon reading Jesus’ parables, I have often found myself scratching my head at God’s sense of justice and mercy. Why did the prodigal son receive such preferential treatment from his father over his hard working, loyal brother? Why did the king so willingly pardon the unpayable debt from a servant who boasted before him that he would repay him in full? And why on earth did the guys that only worked one hour in the field get the same pay as the guys that worked all day?

The Storyteller unsettles us. Jesus’ parables are an affront to our traditional beliefs about God, justice, and how we are to respond to others. But yet Jesus stands by His stories and urges us, as He did His Jewish audience two thousand years ago, to trust Him. As one writer so eloquently stated when discussing why Jesus taught using parables, “Because, above all, Jesus knew what God was like, so good to the poor, so glad when the lost are found, so overflowing with a father’s love for the returning child, so merciful to the despairing, the helpless and the needy.” This is the God we serve. A God who tells us so tenderly in Romans 5:8 that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And that all the angels rejoice when ONE sinner repents.

Quite simply, I believe Jesus told us stories because He knew that was the most effective communication vehicle for conveying the love of God to us. Perhaps we would not have understood Him if He just simply stated the truths about who God is and how He loves us in a bunch of declarative sentences. I also believe He taught this way because stories are memorable. The images of His stories are burned in our minds as we think of the father running toward the wayward son and kissing him, the beaten man being bandaged on the side of the road by his sworn enemy, the beggar Lazarus being carried to Abraham’s bosom. These are the pictures that the Lord Jesus left us to provide a glimpse into the heart of God. Over and over again, Jesus reminds us that God does not love the way we do - based on conditions, status, or favor. He accepts us unconditionally regardless of our position in life and regardless of how we will respond in return. All of us are equal at the cross. And His expectation is that we, who call ourselves His disciples, will love others the same. Let’s begin today.