20. PRAYER.

As a child, I was taught that PRAYER was lifting ones mind and heart to God. Try as I may I never knew if I ever achieved that lofty state. However one of the things I did discover in the process was, that prayer is not a substitute for work and to do it right demanded rigorous discipline. That’s why the ancient Saints knelt on cold hard floors in the middle of winter crying to the Lord. Attempting to assimilate themselves with the sufferings of Christ, we can be sure they didn’t drift off to sleep or their minds wonder away from the job at hand., the pain kept them focused on their prayer. Tradition has it that even the great apostle James spent so much time on his knees they became calloused and he was nick-named old camel knees. Prayer is a serious business and although I am not advocating flagellation, I do think we should give serious thought to whom we are praying and also to how, why and where we pray. God is not some casual acquaintance, He is the Creator and Master of the Universe and all that is in it. Often (if we are honest) we approach God with little more than an attitude of casualness instead of one of sincere faith and love. Although the ghosts of our Christian ancestors have dumped a deal of guilt on us resulting in an attitude of “No pain, no gain” Which I for one do not believe because, I can’t see God penalising His children or making them pay for their sins which He Himself has already paid for “By His stripes we are healed” What I do believe however, is that He does expect a contrite, humble and penitent heart which is truly sorry for having ignored, rejected or insulted Him, much like David said “Against You alone have I sinned” (that is true sorrow!) in those few words, David expressed his love for God, his true sorrow and His acknowledgement of who God is, this doesn’t have to be emotional, but it does have to be sincere. I believe our attitude to the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit should be one of humble submission, servitude and undying love, accompanied by a pure heart. This will bring us in to the very throne room of Almighty God where we can legitimately approach Him with our Praise,Thanksgiving and Requests. I also believe anything less than that is Pride. Maintaining a protocol can be a big help to us, it keeps us humble and prevents us from a familiarity with God which can so easily turn in to pride, like that of Lucifer. We are not equal with God, nor will we ever be, we have a relationship with Him not equality. When we have those death defying experiences and we need our God to act for us supernaturally, the first thought we have is, He is Almighty God, and there is nothing He cannot do, so our faith is not in His ability, but in His will to do it. Acknowledging this is where our faith must lie, It has to be in the fact that this all knowing God will do the very best for all concerned. Our God never has a failure or makes a mistake, sometimes this is hard to take, but if one truly loves God, acceptance of His will means our prayer has been answered, perhaps not the way we wanted, but we can be sure it is the right way. God can only do good, because that’s all He can do. Acceptance of this fact will keep you sane and strengthen your relationship with Him. I also discovered that prayer is not a religious exercise but a Human necessity, Human beings have been praying in one way or another, to one God or another for centuries. God doesn’t need us to pray to Him, the need is ours, we need a God to pray to. We humans have always prayed whether we called it that or not, we are devoured by something outside of ourselves, something beyond our reach, something spiritual or supernatural, a place to run to, to feel however slightly, that there is someone out there to cry to, someone who will take notice of our predicament and is capable of doing something about it. We long to escape the sense of crushing fate, the feeling that all things are fixed and are unable to be altered. That’s why I believe that prayer is much more than a religious experience it is actually a human necessity. As Christians we have been given the TRUTH OF GOD in His Word. Which other religions don’t have, therefore we can pray to a living God who understands all our problems and weaknesses, a God who is willing and prepared to help us through all the difficulties of life. The difference between us and Non-Christians is that we’ve been abundantly blessed by God Himself chosen and brought into a blood relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ and we KNOW we are in communion with the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD, Who has our best interest at heart. This is very important and something which we must always Understand, Believe, treasure and stand up for. This is what the Martyrs died for and in fact are still dying for in many countries of the world today. For a Christian, Prayer means we never have to say “There’s nothing I can do, we can always pray. We can achieve great things through sincere prayer. Things as great as Jesus did and even greater. (He said so) I believe prayer is the secret weapon of the Kingdom of God, it’s like a missile that can be fired undetected at the speed of thought from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world and never fail to reach its target, it can even be fired with a delayed deter nation device. In His prayer in John 17-20 Jesus said “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.” This spans the centuries and embraces all who have believed or will believe in Jesus and all He said and did. Over two thousand years later, Jesus’ prayer is still being answered every time someone turns to Christ. The implications are staggering, we can pray for our children and grandchildren that are still unborn even after we have gone. Satin has no defence against this weapon, he does not have an anti prayer missile. Whereas the unbeliever has many defences, he doesn’t have to go to church or accept the tract you hand him, he can change the channel if things get too “religious” for him, he doesn’t have to open the door to you, he can hang up the phone when you ring, but there is no way he can escape your intercessory prayer. People we cannot reach any other way can be reached via the throne of Grace through intercessory prayer. Often we think God doesn’t want to answer our prayer, but if we have approached God with a pure heart there is no reason for Him not to hear or want the very best for us, so why don’t we always get what we ask for? First let me ask you just one question, Did you always give your children what they asked for? No, Why not? Was it because in your wisdom and understanding of that particular child you didn’t think it was appropriate at the time. Like any caring father God may substitute what His child asked for with something which would be much better for him, or He will show reasons for no immediate action, and sometimes He will change circumstances so that the reason for the request is no longer valid. This, in no way negates perseverance in prayer. Let’s recall the parable Jesus told in Luke 18. about the widow and the unjust judge who had no time for God or people. You will remember, this old woman was prepared to take on the “Beehive” the law, and the Tax Dept and whatever else.!!. And who was she? The most destitute of people, shut out, alienated and alone,There was no Social Welfare, no medical insurance or charitable programmes. In those days a widow was the most helpless of creatures. She had lost her provider and protector. She was now a symbol of all who were poor and defenceless. When Jesus chose a widow for the staring role in this drama, He was emphasising in the strongest way possible the weakness and helplessness of the person fighting for justice. You know, this could be any of us, Life is tough and we often find ourselves struggling against the odds to squeeze a little justice out of an unjust world. But we can do more than wring our hands in despair, we can do what the widow did and pray. Does prayer make a difference? It made a difference with the widow who had no influence, no money, no prospects going for her but she was relentless. Finally the judge says ‘Though I do not fear God or have regard for man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her lest her continual coming weary me. Luke 18 4-5 The next two verses were no accident, Jesus went on to say”And shall God not avenge His own elect when they cry to Him.” If an unjust judge will grant the request of this troublesome widow, how much more will our Heavenly judge hear our cry and vindicate our cause. Then Jesus rams home this question in verse 8. “Nevertheless when the Son of Man comes will He really find faith.” The construction of this question implies a negative answer. “I don’t think so!” Understand this, when He returns, Jesus will be looking for a certain kind of faith on the earth”This kind of faith” In the Greek this is a definite article, which is specific. So the kind of faith Jesus will be looking for is like that of the widow’s who refused to loose heart and by her continual coming to the Judge received her request. We must continue asking, interceding, praying earnestly and always being on the lookout for what God might be telling us regarding our request. Are you standing in the gap (Interceding) for someone. God has always sought intercessors, someone to stand in the gap before Him, but He hasn’t found even one and “Wondered why there were no intercessors” Isaiah 59.16. God is looking and when Jesus returns He will still be looking for intercessors, someone with that kind of faith. I hope when He returns He will find you and me standing in the gap, doing something PRAYING. I hope this gives you some food for thought. Thank you for reading it. God bless us all Phaline.