It's been too long since I last published a post on my blog! In fact, I haven't done so since last year!! So, safely back home, and having caught up on a lot of other essentials, it's time to do some serious work. The subject of this post is the very important one of prayer.
The apostle to the Gentiles, Paul, asked his Christian friends in the great Roman metropolis to pray for him: "I appeal to you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company." (Rom 15:30-32).
Paul asked these fellow-believers in the capital city of the Roman Empire to join with him in prayer as he anticipated his visit to Jerusalem with the contributions he had gathered from Gentile (non-Jewish) believers. He not only needed deliverance from hostile opponents, but desired also that his service among the saints of God (i.e. every one who has come to Father God in repentance, and faith, accepting the salvation so graciously offered through the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus at Calvary) would be acceptable. He fully believed that the Lord works when His people spend time in earnest intercession for others. He then expected that he would be able to joyfully travel to Rome and find further refreshment in the company of the disciples of Jesus who dwelt there.
The whole story is recorded in Acts 21:17 - 28:16, but you must look that up, and read it in a Bible, as it is too much for me to put into a post! Things didn't work out quite as Paul had expected! However, what we must emphasise is that he submits himself, with his whole being, to the sovereign will of Almighty God for life, and death, and eternity. That is why he writes "... by God's will ..."!
One day, a humble labourer was on his knees smashing stones on an anvil, when his pastor came by. Impressed by the man's untiring effort, the pastor exclaimed, "John, how I wish that that I could break hard hearts the way you break those stones!" John immediately responded: "You can, pastor - but you must do it on your knees."! Every disciple of Jesus who longs to be truly effective in touching lives for the Master, must learn this lesson - a lesson that is not easy to learn!
Intercessory prayer is a wonderful source of strength and encouragement to those who are brought to the Throne of Grace. One minister of the Gospel records that one of the greatest blessings he ever received came at the bedside of an elderly, and infirm, woman whom he had visited. After he had prayed with her, she placed her hand on his and said: "Now, pastor, let me pray for you." She did so and, then informed him that she had been faithfully praying for him for the past ten years! He left that home greatly renewed in his own spirit.
A Scandinavian pastor preached before a congregation to which my wife and I belonged, many many years ago. I regret to have to confess that I remember little of his message. However, what I do recall is of great importance, as he encouraged us to specifically inform brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus when we were praying for them! What we might term "the other side of that coin" is that, like Paul, we should not be hesitant in asking fellow-believers to pray for us!
A final thought for this post. In his commentary on the great Letter to Hebrew disciples of Jesus, Raymond Brown makes this heart-searching statement: "To be prayerless is to be guilty of the worst form of practical atheism." Someone else has written, conversely, that the best way of influencing others for God, is to uphold them, in prayer, before God!
Please pray for me!
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