…I say to you, he who
believes in Me,…greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
—John 14:12
{CHAMBERS} “Prayer does not equip us for greater works— prayer is
the greater work. Yet we think of prayer as some commonsense exercise of our
higher powers that simply prepares us for God’s work. In the teachings of Jesus
Christ, prayer is the working of the miracle of redemption in me, which
produces the miracle of redemption in others, through the power of God. […] Prayer
is the battle, and it makes no difference where you are. However God may
engineer your circumstances, your duty is to pray. Never allow yourself this
thought, “I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly cannot be used
where you have not yet been placed. Wherever God has placed you and whatever
your circumstances, you should pray, continually offering up prayers to Him. […]
We must learn to work according to God’s direction, and He says to pray. “Pray
the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:38).[…]
When you labor at prayer, from God’s perspective there are always results.”
{ELGIN} As I read Chambers this morning, several verses came to
mind. “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) “In all things
with prayer and supplication”(Philippians
4:6) “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18) We fight our spiritual
battles on our knees not with our hands.
“It’s not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord God of
Hosts” (Zechariah 4:6) Prayer is not an option it is essential. But sadly many Christians treat prayer as if
they were in the drive through at McDonalds.
“I would like 2 paid bills, 1 new car, and a 401K to assure a
comfortable, worry-free future, oh, supersize that.” Prayer is a spiritual act and is not intended
to satisfy our lust for more of the world, but to seek more of the “other”
world, God’s kingdom. “Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) James wrote “You
do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you
ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (James 4:2-3)
Prayer is a critical
component of your new life in Christ. But most of us don’t prayer regularly. Only for emergencies. Prayer helps to gird your mind. To maintain spiritual perspective. Prayer is the only way we can communicate
with the Father. But wait there’s
more! Prayer is so important that God has
made a special provision for us “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our
weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself
intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows
the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in
accordance with the will of God.” (Romans
8:26-27) You don’t need a seminary
degree for God to hear your prayers. What
you do need is a clean heart and a humble spirit. It is a mistake to think that you can approach God with unconfessed sin in your heart. God is not waiting at the window to take your next
order. But He is waiting to talk with
you. That’s right … with YOU my friend!
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