We should
consider it a tremendous blessing to sit down at the Thanksgiving Day
dinner
table with family and friends to enjoy a bountiful feast with turkey,
dressing
and all the fixin’s. God has been so good to you and me and
we need to impress
upon him that we are truly grateful.
But, think with
me about the heavy feeling that comes over us about 30 minutes to an
hour
following the meal. Maybe you’re sitting in your recliner
trying to watch a
football game, but find yourself saying, “For the life of me,
I just can’t stay
awake.” “Good night.” “Oh, but
it’s just 1:30 p.m.” “zzzzzzz”
Could it be that
this is the current state of the church in today’s world? We
are full and
satisfied. We are content and complacent. We are sleepy, lifeless and
without
the energy to accomplish anything productive for our Master.
Admittedly, there
are times when one has to catch his breath. That’s ok. Jesus,
our busy Lord,
took occasional breaks from His pressing work. However, we have not
been called
of Jesus to be “sleepers.” “And that,
knowing the time, that now it is high
time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when
we
believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand…
(Romans 13:11-12).
Are you still in
your spiritual p.j.’s? How long have you been resting?
Haven’t we had enough
rest? Is there not a cause? Some of us could use an old fashioned dose
of work
and exercise in the kingdom. Let’s exercise our faith and see
it grow. On the
other hand, if we don’t get up and work for the Master, we
are going to die an
early death.
Pray for Me
By
Andy Robison
It is biblical, right and helpful to ask brethren to
pray for you, as long as the purpose for prayerful consideration is
right,
moral and godly. Such a precedent is clearly set in the course of the
Bible.
In closing remarks to the Thessalonian church, Paul
requested simply, “Brethren, pray for us” (1
Thessalonians 5:25). He does not
there specify a need, but the brethren there knew his life was devoted
to the
service of Christ. A prayer for Paul would certainly be a prayer in
accordance
with Christ’s will (as prayers must be, 1 John
5:14-15). Paul
himself
bolsters this conclusion with his words in Hebrews 13:18:
“Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a
good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.”
It follows that
godly servants of modern times may legitimately request prayers of
faithful
brethren — not necessarily for any explicit work, but simply
for that person’s
well being. This is, of course, often done. Missionaries, preachers and
elders
are heard making the requests of supporters and congregations.
Prayers may also be requested for specific works.
Second Thessalonians 3:1-2 has Paul asking the same brethren this:
“Finally,
brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be
glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from
unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.”
Two particulars are the subjects of the requested
petitions: 1) That the Word of God may have free course, and 2) That
its
messengers would be delivered from potential persecution at the hands
of the
faithless. There occur, in the course of church work, grand
opportunities for
evangelism. Leaders in those efforts are right and wise to request
prayers of
faithful brethren in regard to these. Also, occurring in the regular
course of
church action is persecution. People can be unreasonable, hateful and
just
plain mean. Praying for deliverance from such people’s plots
is an offshoot of
many Psalms (see Psalms 17; 27:12; 31
for example). It is also
somewhat akin to the Lord teaching his disciples to pray,
“And do not lead us
into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew
6:13).
Reversing the field, one should remember that Paul
often prayed for his brethren. In reading the openings to his letters,
one will
often find phrases like this: “I thank my God upon every
remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine, making request for you all with
joy”
(Philippians 1:3-4). One can find a long prayer for Paul’s
beloved brethren,
beginning at Ephesians 1:15.
Brethren ought to remember these examples. Of course,
prayer for one another should be accompanied by action when possible.
At times,
however, some may feel helpless at being able to do little for others.
May we neither
forget the power God bestowed in prayer, nor the injunction he gave to
all: “Confess
your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may
be
healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails
much” (James
5:16).
