Prayer II
February 2002
by Ruth D. Calk
Last month we started a series on prayer because of the importance of having a
relationship with God. It is only through reading His word and talking to Him in
prayer that we can have this relationship. We have talked about simple, believing
prayer, knowing that He hears us and wants to help us; about humble prayer
coming from a sincere heart; that we have authority through prayer, and that the
habit of prayer should become a part of us.
In 1 Thessalonians, we are told to “pray without ceasing.” For years I thought,
how could you possibly do that? Now, I have a better understanding of what Paul
was saying. He meant that prayer should be like breathing, something we do
continually, but usually unconsciously. Our physical bodies require breathing to
stay alive. Likewise, our spiritual bodies are designed to be nurtured and sustained
by continual prayer. The problem is that, because of religious thinking, we have the
mistaken idea that if we don’t keep up a certain schedule of prayer, we are missing
the mark. The important lesson about prayer is not the posture or the time or place,
but learning to pray in faith – at all times – unceasingly. It is the Holy Spirit who will
lead you into prayer without ceasing.
Prayer produces peace. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made
known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” In this passage, it does not say, pray
and worry. It says pray and DON’T worry. Why are we to pray and not worry?
Because prayer is the way we cast our care upon the Lord. When the devil tries to
give us care, we are supposed to turn and give that care to God. That is what
prayer is: our acknowledgment to the Lord that we cannot carry our burden of care –
so we lay it all on Him. If we pray about something and then keep on worrying
about it, we are mixing a positive with a negative. The two cancel each other out,
so that we end up right back where we started – at zero! Prayer is a positive force.
Worry is a negative force. You cancel out the positive power of prayer by giving in
to the negative power of worry. As long as we are worrying, we are not trusting God
and are unable to enter into His rest. Make a decision now to cast ALL your care on
the Lord and begin to watch Him take care of you.
Prayer produces rest. In the gospel according to Matthew we hear Jesus say,
“Come to me all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” If we are not at
rest, we are not believing, because the fruit of believing is rest. God wants us not
only to enter into His rest in our body, He also wants us to enter into His rest in our
soul. To me, finding rest, relief, ease, refreshment, recreation, and blessed quiet for
my soul means finding freedom from mental activity. It means not having to live in the torment of reasoning - always trying to come up with an answer I don’t have. I
don’t have to worry – instead, I can remain in a place of quiet peace and rest
through prayer.
Prayer produces patience and hope. It is easy to say, “Don’t worry.” But to
actually DO that requires experience with God. It takes years of experience to fully
overcome the habit of worry, anxiety, and fear, and to develop the habit of peace,
rest, and hope. When you and I are in the midst of battle against our spiritual
enemy, every round we go through produces valuable experience and strength.
Each time we endure an attack, we become stronger. If we hang in there and
refuse to give up, sooner or later, we will be more than the devil can handle. When
that happens, we will have reached spiritual maturity.
Corporate prayer. Whenever believers are united in corporate prayer (praying
together as a group), there is great power present. Jesus said, “For when two or
three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them.” Throughout the
book of Acts, we read that the people of God came together with one accord. It was
their united faith, their corporate agreement, and the presence of Jesus by means of
the Holy Spirit that made their prayers so effective. They saw God move in mighty
ways. When you come together to prayer, expect God to show His power.
God changes people through prayer. People who are hurting don’t need
someone with a spirit of pride trying to fix them. They need acceptance, love, and
prayer. In Exodus, Moses interceded for the children of Israel, when God would
have destroyed them for being a stiff-necked people. We need to do the praying,
and let God do the working. Jesus told the disciples at Gethsemane to watch and
pray. We need to pray for one another – not judge and criticize each other. If you
know that someone you care about is doing wrong, don’t gossip about it.
Remember, we are not the potter – God is – and we certainly don’t know how to fix
the broken vessels that we are. Pray, pray, pray! It is the only way to get things
accomplished in God’s economy. If we do things His way, we always get good
results.
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