Perspectives

John 17:9-11… 9) I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10) All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11) I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. (NIV)

There is an old saying. “Those who pray within their homes, surround them with a wall that is stronger than iron”. Have we ever asked ourselves the question … why is it important to pray? Well, first, prayer is important because it changes attitudes. It removes the mysteries that so many folks struggle with. It opens our minds so that we may know what is right and what is wrong. But there is another point we must explore… prayer quiets our fears and calms our nerves. How many times have we prayed out of fear of the unknown? How many times have we prayed because we were hopelessly at an end? How many times have we prayed… to do otherwise would have caused us to give up. We may come to prayer distressed and anxious but, when we give our worries to the Lord, we come away carefree and confident. Prayer is after all; making deliberate contact with God in word or in thought. It pries us from our seats as we become co-workers with God in matters of future events.

When we pray, we spend time in his presence, His thoughts gradually become our thoughts, and reshapes our attitudes. Prayer changes the way we think. Our thoughts will go beyond our own selfish nature as we open our mind for Christ to speak to us privately. Prayer must never be an attempt to bend the will of God to our sinful desires… prayer ought always to be an attempt to submit our will to the will of God. Prayer transfers our burden? Who in his right mind would say, or even think about hanging unto all the heavy burdens that life brings? We have enough to think about without that enormous load of guilt and disobedience and whatever other nonsense we sometimes work around? Jesus says, “I’ll take the load we have been carrying and shift it to my shoulders, for you see, my shoulders are able to carry the heaviness”.

We cannot forget to mention this one more point… prayer uphold others in need. Most of us have heard the saying that others need to learn to pray for themselves so that they can better over-come life’s problem’s. True, however, Jesus prayed for others!

Prayers have helped you and me to find victory. We know that they were not our prayers only, but the prayers of many others. Prayer is the way we help bear one another’s burden. Intercession occurs when we earnestly labor in prayer for others. There are times when it involves great emotional and spiritual labor to take the burdens of another person into the very presence of the Lord.

Philippians 4:4-7… 4) Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5) Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7) And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

These few Scripture verses encourage us to be full of the joy of the Lord. We must strive to be considerate and gentle in all that we do. Remembering that the Lord is coming soon. We are not to worry about anything; instead, we are to pray about everything, I mean everything! Telling God our needs… not our wants… and we must not forget to thank Him for His answers. If we do this, we will know God’s peace which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. God’s peace will keep our thoughts and our hearts quiet and at rest as we put our trust in Christ Jesus… To God Be the Glory

Would you pray this prayer with me? “Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive my sins. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I do not have the peace in my heart that I yearn for. I want that peace, joy and happiness that fulfills my heart’s desire. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will honour Your Name. Amen”