2-9-2019

 Good Morning All,

        1 Timothy 2:1; “First of all, I encourage you to make petitions, prayers, intercessions, and prayers of thanks for all people”

     We, as God’s redeemed children, have access to the greatest source of power that the world cannot even fathom.  We have the power of prayer.  Prayer is one of the gifts that God gives to his Church; the “royal priesthood”.  Prayer, as a gift from God, comes with three elements to it.  It comes at God’s command.  It comes with His promise and it comes with His blessing. 

    God commands us to pray.  God knows that we need to be in constant contact with Him.  God knows that the devil, even though defeated, will continually poke and prod at us.  The devil will always whisper in our ears to try and cause doubt.  Prayer keeps us connected to God.  That is why we are to pray constantly; we are to be constantly connected to God.  

    Yet this command is not because God needs our prayers; this command comes because we need to pray.  We need prayer.  It is half of the “holy conversation” that we have with God.  God speaks to us as we read His Holy Scriptures and He reveals to us the truths we need to know.  We read of His love for us, His desire for us and the fact that we need not fear for He alone is God.  Our response, our speaking back to God, revealing our fears, our joys and our offers of thanks is prayer.   

   With this command comes a promise.  God promises to answer our prayers!!  The Creator of the universe takes the time to listen to us.  God the Father inclines his ear to us.  He leans down to listen closely to what we say; like a loving grandparent leans in close to hear every word of a grandchild.  We have that promise.

   With the promise to hear our prayers comes the blessing of answering our prayers.  These prayers are answered when we pray according to God’s will.  We are to pray to advance God’s will.  When we pray like that, God answers.  When we pray to move God’s will forward, when God’s house on earth, the church, is truly a house of prayer; heaven moves with all its potent plans as God’s people are clothed with the triumphant victory wardrobe and the world sees results.  Prayer is at the heart of the sanctified life with power to change the world.  The Word of God; in the hearts of men (and women) changes lives and that cannot be stopped.  We express this change through prayer.

    So, we pray; we pray for all the saints now and to come.  Just as the saints that went before us prayed for us; we need to pray for those who are to come as well.  Pray and see what happens.  Set up a prayer group and agree to pray at the same time every day and share your prayers; the thanksgivings, the intercessions and the supplications.  Prayer is our greatest source of power and we rarely use it.

Lord Jesus, just as your disciples asked you to teach them to pray; we ask that you teach us.  And yet as they fell asleep and were unable to pray; we too fall asleep.  Forgive us our frailties and our weaknesses.  Empower us to go forward praying for our needs and the needs of all the saints that Your Holy Will shall advance.  In Your holy and powerful name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret