…praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit… —Ephesians 6:18
{CHAMBERS} “As we continue on in our intercession for others, we may
find that our obedience to God in interceding is going to cost those for whom
we intercede more than we ever thought. […] It is impossible for us to have
living and vital intercession unless we are perfectly and completely sure of
God. […] Identification with God is the key to intercession… [ …] God gives us
discernment in the lives of others to call us to intercession for them, never
so that we may find fault with them.”
{ELGIN} Do you see someone who has faults? I am not referring to the
one you see when you look in a mirror. Sure you do. It is inescapable. (Romans
3:23) “All have sinned” (Romans 3:10)
“There are none righteous” That pretty much covers everyone. So you are going to see the works of the
flesh every day .. (Galatians 5:19-21)
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity,
sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger,
rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like
these.” That list just about covers it.
Those things you see in others that upset you, make you to not want to be
around them, to be angry about what they have done or are doing. Perhaps what you should do is pray for
them. Most of us don’t for a three
reasons, I can think of. One, we think
they should be punished for their behavior and should not be allowed to get
away with it, and maybe they should be. Two, we don’t think they are deserving
of God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness (ours too), and they are not but then
again neither are we. Three, we have a pretty much non-existent prayer life
and don’t pray for ourselves, unless we are in trouble, let alone people who
are doing things we don’t like.
But God did not say pray if
you feel like. No, we are to pray because it is our responsibility and critical
to the health and growth of our personal spiritual life. For most of us we treat prayer as an
option. Sunday morning and perhaps at
dinner time. That’s it. Prayer is not a spiritual gift for some. It is a responsibility for all
Christians. If becoming a Christian is
the most significant thing that has happened in your life, and it should be,
then communicating with the Father should be important to you as a child of
God. If it’s not, well “Houston we have
a problem!” Prayerlessness is a symptom
of spiritual apathy and spiritual apathy always lead to spiritual atrophy which
always leads to spiritual impotence. You
need to pray .. you can’t afford not to!
Here is a simple way … a
friend shared this with me years ago. First make certain that your heart is clean - clear up any unconfessed sons with God. (1 John 1:9) Use your fingers and thumb as a guide. Start
with your thumb, it represents your family, index finger those who point you to
Jesus - Spiritual leaders. Middle finger,
those in authority over you – government, work, etc. Ring finger, others –
those you care about and maybe don’t care about. Pinky finger – yourself – last and
least. Try it. Why not make it a habit?
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