Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Daniel 2: 17-18
Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.
2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Last month we had a glimpse into the life of Hannah and we saw what her prayer life consisted of and how God transformed her heart through it. After receiving the one thing she prayed for, she willingly gave it back to the Lord. That’s the kind of power I want to experience over and over in my life. The kind where my heart completely aligns with God’s will and purpose and it bleeds through my daily life. The power emerges from bowing low and praying high. In the past few weeks, this power has become very real in my life and the life of my family. We have gone through some difficulties that seemed, quite frankly, hopeless, but we continued to pray and cry out to God. I have to admit, I wondered if He was listening because when I wanted Him to come through, He didn’t. Yet in a matter of days, literally hours, I saw God’s power working and changing hearts. It was almost unreal. Yet it was very real and my prayers, my family’s prayers became reality. God doesn’t always answer this quickly, but the enormity of the power that is stirring behind our prayers is overwhelming and many times forgotten.
Being able to approach the Throne of Grace, the place of prayer, is a gift. We are communicating with God, speaking with Him, crying to Him, and sometimes screaming out, but it is simply humbling ourselves in front of a righteous, powerful, but extremely loving God. In the passage above, Daniel and his friends and the rest of their people, have been taken captive by Babylon. They are in service to the king and Daniel has been asked to interpret a dream the king has had that the wise men of Babylon cannot understand. What is Daniel’s response? He asks his closest friends to pray for him. His friends pray and plead on his behalf. God answers their prayer that very night. I truly believe that the most powerful and intimate action a person can take towards a friend is prayer. Praying for a friend and praying with a friend is very intimate and sweet. We have to share what’s going on in our life and our heart when prayer is usually involved. That person gets to know you intimately so they know how to pray for you. I believe this is a side effect of praying for people, but a great side effect. Daniel and his friends were intimate friends because of their prayer life together and their circumstances. Prayer is a common bond I share with those that are closest to me. We pray for each other and we pray with each other. In our American culture, showing weakness is not looked highly upon, and yet admitting our weakness is where we find God’s strength. If we can’t be real with people, then who do we be real with? In a sense we have to be weak and vulnerable with one another to share our hearts. I need others praying on my behalf. The Holy Spirit works amazingly in me through other’s prayers just as much through my own prayers. The Holy Spirit works in you when others pray for you. We are affected by each other’s prayer. James 5:16 reminds us that we should “therefore confess our sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” Pretty powerful stuff, eh?
Prayer isn’t just about our weaknesses or struggles, but if prayer is communication, then we also get to praise God for the joys in our life. We also saw last week of Hannah’s joyous words of praise over Samuel being born. He was her answered prayer and her response was correct. If my pain draws me to cry to God, then my joy shall draw me to praise Him. He should be my response in and to every situation. Prayer is fellowship with God and with friends. I hope as you are cultivating and strengthening your prayer life with Christ that you are also nurturing your prayer time with friends. He desires that we commune with other believers, that we share our hearts, our weaknesses, and joys. This is how we grow. Hebrews 3:13 says “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Prayer is part of that encouragement. If the Holy Spirit is in you and in them, then how can you and they not be blessed, encouraged, rebuked, or sharpened? In fact, we should expect this each time we come together. And yet how much more does the Spirit testify to each other’s hearts when we pray together?
“God’s conquering days are when the saints have given themselves to mightiest prayer…..
The secret of success in
Christ’s kingdom is the ability to pray.”
~ E.M. Bounds ~
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Daniel 2: 17-18
Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.
2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
The Fellowship of the Believers
Last month we had a glimpse into the life of Hannah and we saw what her prayer life consisted of and how God transformed her heart through it. After receiving the one thing she prayed for, she willingly gave it back to the Lord. That’s the kind of power I want to experience over and over in my life. The kind where my heart completely aligns with God’s will and purpose and it bleeds through my daily life. The power emerges from bowing low and praying high. In the past few weeks, this power has become very real in my life and the life of my family. We have gone through some difficulties that seemed, quite frankly, hopeless, but we continued to pray and cry out to God. I have to admit, I wondered if He was listening because when I wanted Him to come through, He didn’t. Yet in a matter of days, literally hours, I saw God’s power working and changing hearts. It was almost unreal. Yet it was very real and my prayers, my family’s prayers became reality. God doesn’t always answer this quickly, but the enormity of the power that is stirring behind our prayers is overwhelming and many times forgotten.
Being able to approach the Throne of Grace, the place of prayer, is a gift. We are communicating with God, speaking with Him, crying to Him, and sometimes screaming out, but it is simply humbling ourselves in front of a righteous, powerful, but extremely loving God. In the passage above, Daniel and his friends and the rest of their people, have been taken captive by Babylon. They are in service to the king and Daniel has been asked to interpret a dream the king has had that the wise men of Babylon cannot understand. What is Daniel’s response? He asks his closest friends to pray for him. His friends pray and plead on his behalf. God answers their prayer that very night. I truly believe that the most powerful and intimate action a person can take towards a friend is prayer. Praying for a friend and praying with a friend is very intimate and sweet. We have to share what’s going on in our life and our heart when prayer is usually involved. That person gets to know you intimately so they know how to pray for you. I believe this is a side effect of praying for people, but a great side effect. Daniel and his friends were intimate friends because of their prayer life together and their circumstances. Prayer is a common bond I share with those that are closest to me. We pray for each other and we pray with each other. In our American culture, showing weakness is not looked highly upon, and yet admitting our weakness is where we find God’s strength. If we can’t be real with people, then who do we be real with? In a sense we have to be weak and vulnerable with one another to share our hearts. I need others praying on my behalf. The Holy Spirit works amazingly in me through other’s prayers just as much through my own prayers. The Holy Spirit works in you when others pray for you. We are affected by each other’s prayer. James 5:16 reminds us that we should “therefore confess our sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” Pretty powerful stuff, eh?
Prayer isn’t just about our weaknesses or struggles, but if prayer is communication, then we also get to praise God for the joys in our life. We also saw last week of Hannah’s joyous words of praise over Samuel being born. He was her answered prayer and her response was correct. If my pain draws me to cry to God, then my joy shall draw me to praise Him. He should be my response in and to every situation. Prayer is fellowship with God and with friends. I hope as you are cultivating and strengthening your prayer life with Christ that you are also nurturing your prayer time with friends. He desires that we commune with other believers, that we share our hearts, our weaknesses, and joys. This is how we grow. Hebrews 3:13 says “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Prayer is part of that encouragement. If the Holy Spirit is in you and in them, then how can you and they not be blessed, encouraged, rebuked, or sharpened? In fact, we should expect this each time we come together. And yet how much more does the Spirit testify to each other’s hearts when we pray together?
“God’s conquering days are when the saints have given themselves to mightiest prayer…..
The secret of success in
Christ’s kingdom is the ability to pray.”
~ E.M. Bounds ~
No comments:
Post a Comment