The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is going through the book Prayer Does It Make A Difference? by Philip Yancey. In his book Philip explores the intimate place where God and humans meet in Prayer. Polls reveal that 90 percent of people pray. Yet prayer, which should be the most nourishing and uplifting time of the believer’s day, can also be frustrating, confusing, and fraught with mystery. Writing as a fellow pilgrim, Yancey probes such questions as: Is God listening?; Why should God care about me?; If God knows everything, what’s the point of prayer?; Why do answers to prayer seem so inconsistent?; Why does God sometimes seem close and sometimes seem far away?; How can I make prayer more satisfying? In Session 14 we talk about prayer for others.l
We often approach intercession as if we are going to talk God into something that He might otherwise not want to do. We need to change our view from our perspective to God’s perspective.
To purchase a copy of the book click this LINK or the one in the notes.
To hear the audio of the session click on the YouTube link.
We often approach intercession as if we are going to talk God into something that He might otherwise not want to do. We need to change our view from our perspective to God’s perspective.
To purchase a copy of the book click this LINK or the one in the notes.
To hear the audio of the session click on the YouTube link.
Strength in Waiting
Isaiah 40:28-31
God has a purpose and plan for your life, and His timing is perfect. Sometimes He answers our prayers with "yes" or "no." But at other times, He says "not now"--when that is the case, we can avail ourselves of the rich rewards that come when we wait.
One very practical blessing is that God strengthens us as we lean on Him during delays. Isaiah 40:31 tells us that "those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength." We are given the metaphor of an eagle with wind beneath his wings. It is interesting to note that the words "wind" and "spirit" come from the same Greek word--pneuma. The spirit of God lifts us up, and His energy and strength sustain us as we abide in Him.
When we are facing a difficult decision, the real key is learning to wait. There is no verse of Scripture that tells us to take control and fight our own battles. God is the one who fights them on our behalf
2 Chronicles 20:15 NLT He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
We are to be patient and trust in Him. When David faced his greatest battles, he waited upon the Lord. God delivered him from destruction and set his feet on solid ground.
Psalms 40:1-3 NLT I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord .
He will do the same for you. When you abide in Him, He gives supernatural energy to accomplish the things He requires of you--His Spirit does for you what you cannot do for yourself.
In reading through the Scriptures, we see that every time one of God's saints gains a victory, he or she is waiting and trusting in the Lord. You can likewise experience triumph in your life. When you have the omnipotent Creator of the universe acting on your behalf, you can't lose.
Do You Pray?
Kelly Givens
Editor’s Note: The following devotional is based on J.C. Ryle’s A Call to Prayer (Banner of Truth, 2002).
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9, NIV
Do you pray?
In J.C. Ryle’s small but important book, A Call to Prayer, he challenges readers with this simple question. Ryle asserts “there is no duty in religion so neglected as private prayer.” I’m sure many of us would agree; of all the spiritual disciplines, prayer is often the hardest habit to form and one that is most quickly broken. However, we should strive to pray often, because prayer is an incredibly important element of our faith.
Here are a few reasons Ryle gives for why prayer is so important:
1. A habit of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian. The greatest heroes and heroines of the Bible often shared a similar attribute- they were men and women of prayer. To take your frustrations, challenges, joys, hopes and dreams to God on a regular basis requires a great deal of faith - you are essentially relinquishing control and telling God, “I trust you will work on my behalf in this situation.” Do you have this kind of faith? Do you pray?
2. A habit of prayer brings great encouragement to the one who prays. In the Bible, we see that prayer moved God to raise the dead, heal the sick, save souls, draw water from a rock and send bread from heaven. Prayer even made the sun stand still! The fact that prayer moves God to action should be a great encouragement to us. Are you encouraged by God’s provision and power? Do you pray?
3. A habit of prayer creates holy men and women. The more we seek God out in prayer, the more our hearts are aligned with what God desires for us and we become holier men and women in the process. Are you growing closer to God? Do you pray?
4. If we do not pray, we run the risk of backsliding in our faith. Let’s be clear - Ryle doesn’t mean we should fear losing our salvation. However, without prayer we run the risk of becoming stagnant in our faith, if not falling back into sinful habits and temptations we had once overcome through prayer. When a relationship turns sour, often a main cause is poor communication. So too with us and God. Do you feel stagnant in your faith or distant from God? Do you pray?
5. A habit of prayer brings peace and contentment. We live in a sin-filled world. Sorrows and troubles abound. So how do we combat sadness, disappointments, fears, slanders, and hurt? When we cry out to our Father, he offers us peace that transcends our understanding. This is one of the richest blessings. Are you experiencing this blessing? Do you pray?
Intersecting Faith and Life: Ryle says, “In every journey there must be a first step.” If you desire to become a more prayerful person, take time today and go somewhere quiet, shut the door and pray aloud that God would give you the grace and strength you need to develop a habit of prayer. Then be encouraged- God greatly desires you to be in regular prayer with him- if we ask, seek and knock, he will open the door for us to a richer prayer life.
Last Week
Last week Session 14 was Prayer and Me. We talked about the fact that we often pray because of fear because we are afraid of the unknown, and have no control. . Through prayer we transfer our fear to love because God’s love casts out fear.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
1 John 4:18 (NKJV) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
We pray because we become anxious. The solution is found in scripture.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV)6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Prayer is the way to transfer your anxiety to God.
Jesus’ solution was to create a God-space and pray. A God space is somewhere to go where it's just you and God. Jesus would go off by Himself to pray.
Luke 5:15-16 CEV News about Jesus kept spreading. Large crowds came to listen to him teach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray.
The Garden of Gethsemane is another example.
Mark 14:32-36, 39 CEV Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he told them, “Sit here while I pray.” Jesus took along Peter, James, and John. He was sad and troubled and told them, “I am so sad that I feel as if I am dying. Stay here and keep awake with me.” Jesus walked on a little way. Then he knelt down on the ground and prayed, “Father, if it is possible, don't let this happen to me! Father, you can do anything. Don't make me suffer by drinking from this cup. But do what you want, and not what I want.” Jesus went back and prayed the same prayer.
We are often impatient in prayer. We want everything right now. We are impatient and so are our prayers. We want God to act now.
Impatience is a sign of selfishness. We want God to do it our way not His. We want to get God to help us accomplish what we want to accomplish regardless of His will. The solution for impatience in prayer is to keep praying. Be persistent. One of the sources Philip Yancey quotes said that healthy prayer should be humble, reverent, loving, confident, and persevering - in other words, the exact opposite of impatient.
Isaiah 40:28-31
God has a purpose and plan for your life, and His timing is perfect. Sometimes He answers our prayers with "yes" or "no." But at other times, He says "not now"--when that is the case, we can avail ourselves of the rich rewards that come when we wait.
One very practical blessing is that God strengthens us as we lean on Him during delays. Isaiah 40:31 tells us that "those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength." We are given the metaphor of an eagle with wind beneath his wings. It is interesting to note that the words "wind" and "spirit" come from the same Greek word--pneuma. The spirit of God lifts us up, and His energy and strength sustain us as we abide in Him.
When we are facing a difficult decision, the real key is learning to wait. There is no verse of Scripture that tells us to take control and fight our own battles. God is the one who fights them on our behalf
2 Chronicles 20:15 NLT He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
We are to be patient and trust in Him. When David faced his greatest battles, he waited upon the Lord. God delivered him from destruction and set his feet on solid ground.
Psalms 40:1-3 NLT I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord .
He will do the same for you. When you abide in Him, He gives supernatural energy to accomplish the things He requires of you--His Spirit does for you what you cannot do for yourself.
In reading through the Scriptures, we see that every time one of God's saints gains a victory, he or she is waiting and trusting in the Lord. You can likewise experience triumph in your life. When you have the omnipotent Creator of the universe acting on your behalf, you can't lose.
Do You Pray?
Kelly Givens
Editor’s Note: The following devotional is based on J.C. Ryle’s A Call to Prayer (Banner of Truth, 2002).
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9, NIV
Do you pray?
In J.C. Ryle’s small but important book, A Call to Prayer, he challenges readers with this simple question. Ryle asserts “there is no duty in religion so neglected as private prayer.” I’m sure many of us would agree; of all the spiritual disciplines, prayer is often the hardest habit to form and one that is most quickly broken. However, we should strive to pray often, because prayer is an incredibly important element of our faith.
Here are a few reasons Ryle gives for why prayer is so important:
1. A habit of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian. The greatest heroes and heroines of the Bible often shared a similar attribute- they were men and women of prayer. To take your frustrations, challenges, joys, hopes and dreams to God on a regular basis requires a great deal of faith - you are essentially relinquishing control and telling God, “I trust you will work on my behalf in this situation.” Do you have this kind of faith? Do you pray?
2. A habit of prayer brings great encouragement to the one who prays. In the Bible, we see that prayer moved God to raise the dead, heal the sick, save souls, draw water from a rock and send bread from heaven. Prayer even made the sun stand still! The fact that prayer moves God to action should be a great encouragement to us. Are you encouraged by God’s provision and power? Do you pray?
3. A habit of prayer creates holy men and women. The more we seek God out in prayer, the more our hearts are aligned with what God desires for us and we become holier men and women in the process. Are you growing closer to God? Do you pray?
4. If we do not pray, we run the risk of backsliding in our faith. Let’s be clear - Ryle doesn’t mean we should fear losing our salvation. However, without prayer we run the risk of becoming stagnant in our faith, if not falling back into sinful habits and temptations we had once overcome through prayer. When a relationship turns sour, often a main cause is poor communication. So too with us and God. Do you feel stagnant in your faith or distant from God? Do you pray?
5. A habit of prayer brings peace and contentment. We live in a sin-filled world. Sorrows and troubles abound. So how do we combat sadness, disappointments, fears, slanders, and hurt? When we cry out to our Father, he offers us peace that transcends our understanding. This is one of the richest blessings. Are you experiencing this blessing? Do you pray?
Intersecting Faith and Life: Ryle says, “In every journey there must be a first step.” If you desire to become a more prayerful person, take time today and go somewhere quiet, shut the door and pray aloud that God would give you the grace and strength you need to develop a habit of prayer. Then be encouraged- God greatly desires you to be in regular prayer with him- if we ask, seek and knock, he will open the door for us to a richer prayer life.
Last Week
Last week Session 14 was Prayer and Me. We talked about the fact that we often pray because of fear because we are afraid of the unknown, and have no control. . Through prayer we transfer our fear to love because God’s love casts out fear.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
1 John 4:18 (NKJV) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
We pray because we become anxious. The solution is found in scripture.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV)6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Prayer is the way to transfer your anxiety to God.
Jesus’ solution was to create a God-space and pray. A God space is somewhere to go where it's just you and God. Jesus would go off by Himself to pray.
Luke 5:15-16 CEV News about Jesus kept spreading. Large crowds came to listen to him teach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray.
The Garden of Gethsemane is another example.
Mark 14:32-36, 39 CEV Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he told them, “Sit here while I pray.” Jesus took along Peter, James, and John. He was sad and troubled and told them, “I am so sad that I feel as if I am dying. Stay here and keep awake with me.” Jesus walked on a little way. Then he knelt down on the ground and prayed, “Father, if it is possible, don't let this happen to me! Father, you can do anything. Don't make me suffer by drinking from this cup. But do what you want, and not what I want.” Jesus went back and prayed the same prayer.
We are often impatient in prayer. We want everything right now. We are impatient and so are our prayers. We want God to act now.
Impatience is a sign of selfishness. We want God to do it our way not His. We want to get God to help us accomplish what we want to accomplish regardless of His will. The solution for impatience in prayer is to keep praying. Be persistent. One of the sources Philip Yancey quotes said that healthy prayer should be humble, reverent, loving, confident, and persevering - in other words, the exact opposite of impatient.
Prayer And Others
This Week we talk about prayer and others. We’ll be talking mostly about intercessory prayer today.
The purest form of love is given with no expectation of return. Measured by this standard, earnest prayer of others is a magnificent act of love. - David Hubbard
Those of us who are on social media often see posts where someone is asking that all their friends, and their friends pray for a friend, or relative, or for them. In the olden days, before social media, you use to see chain emails, and before that chain letters asking for everybody to pray. The question that this raises is if the number of people praying for someone or something makes God answer faster or at all. Here are the questions Philip asked on page 301. “Does prayer operate like a pyramid scheme - the more people who pray, the more likely the answer” ? Does a sick woman who happens to have praying friends stand a better chance for recovery than an equally deserving person who does not? Exactly how does prayer benefit someone other than the pray-er? And how can something I pray have an impact on another person without infringing on his or her free will?
The quandary is made more mysterious when you think about the millions of people who prayed for the end of apartheid in South Africa, or during the Civil Rights struggle. Those prayers were answered. On the other hand when an entire church prays for healing of one of their members, or a church program and what they prayed for does not happen. It appears that prayer doesn’t operate according to a mathematical formula where God calculates the amount or prayers before making a decision on the answer.
As God Sees
That brings us to a discussion of intercession which is praying for others. We often approach intercession as if we are going to talk God into something that He might otherwise not want to do. We need to change our view from our perspective to God’s perspective.
We do that by looking at Jesus as our example of how we should pray. He wanted everybody to experience the love of God, meaning that we too should desire health, both physical and spiritual health for everybody. Jesus healing never refused anybody who asked for healing. He also talked about our not worrying about anything, trusting God. So we should want that for our friends, family, and church family. God is love and wants the best for everybody.
Since we are the body of Christ then we are to do what Jesus would do in caring for others. The way we start to do that is to pray for them. However as we have said in this study prayer also causes us to act. God designated the church as the vehicle that He would use to preach the gospel and bring others to Christ so we have become His partners or ambassadors. We have experienced God’s grace so we should give grace to others sharing the grace that we have received.
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (NLT)18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
I use to, until reading this chapter, look at intercession the way Philip described his early view about it on page 301. He looked at intercession as bringing requests to God that God may not have thought of, then talking God into granting them.
Now, like him, I see intercession as an increase in my awareness for the person that I’m interceding for. A way to look at it is asking God to open our eyes so that we can see that person as God does, and then enter into the stream of love that God already directs toward that person. We see them as Jesus sees them as brothers and sisters loved by God. We know that God loves them, and wants the best for them in every aspect of their lives. When we are able to change our perspective we are praying for what God desires for them not just what we desire.
Widening Circle in Intercession
When we intercede for others we know that because God is omnipresent He’s there with us as well as with the people we are praying for. Especially in the case of the unsaved or rebellious God’s presence is important because as much as we might care for that person God cares more.
I talked a few minutes ago about intercession actually changing our view to God’s perspective, and while interceding for a specific person God may bring to mind things in our past that are connected with that person that we need to deal with.
On page 305 Philip recounts the story of a lady whose practice of prayer included a time after praying then listening to God. In our last study of prayer, “Prayer Begins With Relationship” and the study that we did of the Holy Spirit we talked about the several ways that the Spirit communicates with us. He communicates through His Word, through circumstances, through our heart or as we describe it that still small voice, and through others.
He spoke through this lady somehow in her sleep through a past memory. Have you ever had old things that you’ve forgotten about pop up and cause you to ask forgiveness? I have. It can cause us to intercede for others that we might have not even thought about. We talked about that in discussing our God-space. Often when we pray we are prompted to do something more than just pray.
Intercessory prayer can have a real impact on the person for which we are praying. There is the example of Philip telling another author that he would pray for her. Her response, probably was a surprise, because she responded that nobody had ever told her that they were praying for her and that caused her to work harder to be worthy of his praying for her. In my sermon, on Father’s Day, I said that fathers should pray for their children because they may be the only people doing it.
He tells the story on page 307 of a reader of one of his books on prayer when her three-year-old daughter underwent surgery. She started a Prayer Journal in which she had everyday, for a year, prayed for him. That Prayer Journal is a source of encouragement to him. That’s the kind of impact intercession can have..
Paul provides an example for us as intercessors. Paul constantly interceded for others.
Individuals
2 Timothy 1:3 (NLT)3 Timothy, I thank God for you—the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.
Philemon 1:4-7 (NLT)4 I always thank my God when I pray for you, Philemon,5 because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people.6 And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.7 Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.
The Church
Ephesians 1:15-23 (NLT)15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere,16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.
Ephesians 3:14-19 (NLT)14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Philippians 1:9-11 (NLT)9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
Colossians 1:9-14 (NLT)9 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
The Jews
Romans 10:1 (NLT)1 Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved.
He mentions others by name in his letters.
Romans 16:1-16 (NLT)1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deacon in the church in Cenchrea.2 Welcome her in the Lord as one who is worthy of honor among God’s people. Help her in whatever she needs, for she has been helpful to many, and especially to me.3 Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus.4 In fact, they once risked their lives for me. I am thankful to them, and so are all the Gentile churches.5 Also give my greetings to the church that meets in their home. Greet my dear friend Epenetus. He was the first person from the province of Asia to become a follower of Christ.6 Give my greetings to Mary, who has worked so hard for your benefit.7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews, who were in prison with me. They are highly respected among the apostles and became followers of Christ before I did.8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.9 Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.10 Greet Apelles, a good man whom Christ approves. And give my greetings to the believers from the household of Aristobulus.11 Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. Greet the Lord’s people from the household of Narcissus.12 Give my greetings to Tryphena and Tryphosa, the Lord’s workers, and to dear Persis, who has worked so hard for the Lord.13 Greet Rufus, whom the Lord picked out to be his very own; and also his dear mother, who has been a mother to me.14 Give my greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who meet with them.15 Give my greetings to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and to Olympas and all the believers who meet with them.16 Greet each other in Christian love. All the churches of Christ send you their greetings.
He tells us to pray for our leaders
1 Timothy 2:1-5 (NLT)1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.3 This is good and pleases God our Savior,4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.5 For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.
Philip says on page 309 that prayer for leaders summons an invisible spiritual force that can have real effects - not by persuading God to try harder, but by persuading the leaders to try harder. Then he gives the example of of something that Ben Franklin said during an impasse at the initial Constitutional Convention. It’s on page 309. He said “The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of the truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. Without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel” Then he made the following motion; “That henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning.” That practice continues today in the U.S. Congress.
Jesus told us that we are to intercede for our enemies.
Matthew 5:43-48 (NLT)43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
He didn’t give us any exceptions. For us today that includes the North Koreans, the Chinese, the Russians, ISIS, Iran.
The author C. S. Lewis, in a letter to his brother, this is on page 311, says that he prayed, every night, for the people he was most tempted to hate, with Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini heading the list. In another letter he wrote that as he prayed for them, he meditated on how his own cruelty might have blossomed into something like theirs. He remembered that Christ died for them as much as for him, and that he himself was not “so different from these ghastly creatures.
One reason that we should pray for our enemies is that we can live in peace and worship without fear. We need to show the love of God to them too because if we don’t nobody will. Through prayer for our enemies we plead to God on their behalf because they can’t do it themselves. We defeat our enemies by loving them and prayer activates that love, and who knows the may end up surrendering to Christ.
Through prayer we give God the harm that our enemies have or may inflict on us and we give the enemy to God because we can’t do this on our own. Jesus asked God to forgive those who crucified Him. He didn’t say I forgive you, but He asked God to forgive them. Same thing with Stephen.
Luke 23:34 (NLT)34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
Acts 7:59-60 (NLT)59 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.
You remember the response of the families of those murdered in Charleston?
When aChristian magazine asked its readers to reflect on their most difficult prayers, it received the following response from a woman in Arkansas:
Several years ago, when my daughter married, she revealed to me that my brother-in-law had repeatedly molested her when she was four. My first response was to pray for her healing from this man’s evil. But the more I read about sexual abuse, the more I learnedmany abusers have been victims of abuse as well. I felt compelled to pray for my brother-in-law.
Where I got the strength to pray this prayer, only God knows. It’s not natural for a mother to pray for those who hurt her children. But I realized he’d never change without God healing what probably were very old wounds in his life. I struggle daily to forgive him, and worry that by doing so, I’ll minimize the pain and suffering he's caused — but who else is going to pray for this man?
Praying for the Miracle
As I sat in church one Sunday, my pastor preached a convicting message on forgiveness, explaining how we should release those who’ve wronged us. As he read the words from Scripture commanding me to forgive, everything in me screamed, No! I don’t want to forgive Max! I refuse to release him!
My pastor preached on. And God ever-so-slowly chipped away at the rough edges of my heart. As church neared its end, I walked alone to the altar to ask God for his help to forgive. I remember telling God that I knew I should forgive this man I hated, but I didn’t want to. And even if I did want to, I wouldn’t know how to forgive such a wrong.
The next week, in my personal Bible study, I came across a verse that helped to soften my heart a bit more. In Luke 6:28, Jesus teaches us to “bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” I’m supposed to pray for those who mistreat me? Sure, I’ll pray for Max. I’ll askGod to give him a case of eternal hemorrhoids. I certainly wasn’t ready to pray for anything good.
Later I stumbled across another one of Jesus’ annoying commands. This one is found in Matthew 5:43 – 44, where Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” There it was again—love and pray for your enemies!
Knowing I couldn’t ignore this command any longer, I tried to pray for Max. In all honesty, I didn’t pray that God would bless him in every way. I didn’t ask that Godwould shower his love upon Max with a godly wife, healthy children, and a long and prosperous life. At the same time, I didn’t ask God to torture him eternally in hell.
In sheer obedience to God, I simply prayed a grudging but obedient three-second. prayer: “God, I pray you work in his life.”
Over the weeks and months, I continued uttering those same words. At first it was as painful as walking barefoot on burning coals. But eventually it became more bearable. Then I actually started to mean what I was praying. God, work in his life.
When we’re told to pray for those who’ve hurt us, I’m convinced our prayers are as much for ourselves as they are for the offender. As God has helped me move beyond my Christian Atheist doubts about prayer, now I see an added value of praying for those who hurt me. My prayers for others may or may not change them. But my prayers always change me.
Praying for Max over time changed me. It made me a different person, so different that I began to contemplate the impossible: asking God to help me forgive Max.
Reluctant Forgiveness
I knew I was supposed to forgive Max for what he did to my sister, but I honestly didn't have a clue how to do it. God had convicted me and convinced me to begin—God, I pray you work in his life—but Max’s actions still seemed unforgivable. How can a responsible grown man knowinglyand repeatedly lure young girls into sexual abuse? How can he strip away their innocence?
And how can I forgive that?
The answer is simple, but the farthest thing from easy. Colossians 3:13 teaches us to “forgive as the Lord forgave you.” God has forgiven us freely and completely, without any strings attached. And that's how we’re supposed to forgive others. In what’s now known as the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus Taught us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” (Luke 11:4).
I was torn between wanting to obey God and wanting just as much to continue hating. I wrestled mightily in prayer with these verses. Still swimming in a pool of pain and bitterness, I decided it was time to try to forgive Max. Notice I used the word “decided.” This was a decision based on my choice to obey Scripture, not a decision based on whether I felt like forgiving. Nothing in me felt like forgiving, but I still make the choice to try.
By faith, I asked God to help me forgive Max for what he’d done to my sister. By faith, I told God that I released Max from his sin. My prayer didn't feel sincere, but atleast I was trying. Daily I bounced between wanting to forgive and wanting revenge. By nothing short of the power of God, I finally started to believe forgiveness is possible.
I can’t overstate what God had to do in my heart to get me to this point. A grown man had maliciously abused my little sister—a sixth-grade girl. He cruelly groomed and preyed on other innocent children. This predator never apologized. He never attempted to right his wrongs. He never begged for our forgiveness.
My heart was stone hard. And only God could soften it to the point that I could even consider forgiving this molester. Miraculously, that’s what God did. To this day, I don’t know exactly how or when it happened. But it did. By God’s grace, I had forgiven Max for his sin and abuse. With God’s help I’d done the humanly impossible, and I felt as though a spiritual weight had been lifted. The Bible became clearer. God seemed nearer.
My heart was purer.
One Christmas, when I was visiting my parents, I decided to write Max a letter expressing my forgiveness. The task wasn’t easy, but that’s often par for the course. In the letter, I explained how much God had forgiven me. I told Max the story of Jesus and his love for us. I explained that I had forgiven him and that God could as well. Included a short prayer he might pray, asking Jesus to heal his heart and forgive his sins.
I didn’t realize that Max’s sickness had advanced. He was losing the battle with muscular dystrophy. In fact, at the time he received the letter, Max was under the care of a hospice nurse, waiting for inevitable death.
Months after Max passed away, his nurse sent us a letter asking if she could talk to us. When we agreed, she told us about the last days of Max’s life, believing we needed to know. The caregiver explained that Max’s eyesight had deteriorated and that he had asked her to read him my note. Although she wasn’t aware of what he had done (and I never told her), it was obvious to her that he had done something grievously wrong. According to the nurse, he listened with tears streaming down his face. He asked her to pray the prayer with him. She recalled that his whole countenance changed as he asked Christ to forgive him and make him new. He died a few days later.
Matthew 5:43-48 (NLT)43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
He didn’t give us any exceptions. For us today that includes the North Koreans, the Chinese, the Russians, ISIS, Iran.
The author C. S. Lewis, in a letter to his brother, this is on page 311, says that he prayed, every night, for the people he was most tempted to hate, with Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini heading the list. In another letter he wrote that as he prayed for them, he meditated on how his own cruelty might have blossomed into something like theirs. He remembered that Christ died for them as much as for him, and that he himself was not “so different from these ghastly creatures.
One reason that we should pray for our enemies is that we can live in peace and worship without fear. We need to show the love of God to them too because if we don’t nobody will. Through prayer for our enemies we plead to God on their behalf because they can’t do it themselves. We defeat our enemies by loving them and prayer activates that love, and who knows the may end up surrendering to Christ.
Through prayer we give God the harm that our enemies have or may inflict on us and we give the enemy to God because we can’t do this on our own. Jesus asked God to forgive those who crucified Him. He didn’t say I forgive you, but He asked God to forgive them. Same thing with Stephen.
Luke 23:34 (NLT)34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
Acts 7:59-60 (NLT)59 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.
You remember the response of the families of those murdered in Charleston?
When aChristian magazine asked its readers to reflect on their most difficult prayers, it received the following response from a woman in Arkansas:
Several years ago, when my daughter married, she revealed to me that my brother-in-law had repeatedly molested her when she was four. My first response was to pray for her healing from this man’s evil. But the more I read about sexual abuse, the more I learnedmany abusers have been victims of abuse as well. I felt compelled to pray for my brother-in-law.
Where I got the strength to pray this prayer, only God knows. It’s not natural for a mother to pray for those who hurt her children. But I realized he’d never change without God healing what probably were very old wounds in his life. I struggle daily to forgive him, and worry that by doing so, I’ll minimize the pain and suffering he's caused — but who else is going to pray for this man?
Praying for the Miracle
As I sat in church one Sunday, my pastor preached a convicting message on forgiveness, explaining how we should release those who’ve wronged us. As he read the words from Scripture commanding me to forgive, everything in me screamed, No! I don’t want to forgive Max! I refuse to release him!
My pastor preached on. And God ever-so-slowly chipped away at the rough edges of my heart. As church neared its end, I walked alone to the altar to ask God for his help to forgive. I remember telling God that I knew I should forgive this man I hated, but I didn’t want to. And even if I did want to, I wouldn’t know how to forgive such a wrong.
The next week, in my personal Bible study, I came across a verse that helped to soften my heart a bit more. In Luke 6:28, Jesus teaches us to “bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” I’m supposed to pray for those who mistreat me? Sure, I’ll pray for Max. I’ll askGod to give him a case of eternal hemorrhoids. I certainly wasn’t ready to pray for anything good.
Later I stumbled across another one of Jesus’ annoying commands. This one is found in Matthew 5:43 – 44, where Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” There it was again—love and pray for your enemies!
Knowing I couldn’t ignore this command any longer, I tried to pray for Max. In all honesty, I didn’t pray that God would bless him in every way. I didn’t ask that Godwould shower his love upon Max with a godly wife, healthy children, and a long and prosperous life. At the same time, I didn’t ask God to torture him eternally in hell.
In sheer obedience to God, I simply prayed a grudging but obedient three-second. prayer: “God, I pray you work in his life.”
Over the weeks and months, I continued uttering those same words. At first it was as painful as walking barefoot on burning coals. But eventually it became more bearable. Then I actually started to mean what I was praying. God, work in his life.
When we’re told to pray for those who’ve hurt us, I’m convinced our prayers are as much for ourselves as they are for the offender. As God has helped me move beyond my Christian Atheist doubts about prayer, now I see an added value of praying for those who hurt me. My prayers for others may or may not change them. But my prayers always change me.
Praying for Max over time changed me. It made me a different person, so different that I began to contemplate the impossible: asking God to help me forgive Max.
Reluctant Forgiveness
I knew I was supposed to forgive Max for what he did to my sister, but I honestly didn't have a clue how to do it. God had convicted me and convinced me to begin—God, I pray you work in his life—but Max’s actions still seemed unforgivable. How can a responsible grown man knowinglyand repeatedly lure young girls into sexual abuse? How can he strip away their innocence?
And how can I forgive that?
The answer is simple, but the farthest thing from easy. Colossians 3:13 teaches us to “forgive as the Lord forgave you.” God has forgiven us freely and completely, without any strings attached. And that's how we’re supposed to forgive others. In what’s now known as the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus Taught us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” (Luke 11:4).
I was torn between wanting to obey God and wanting just as much to continue hating. I wrestled mightily in prayer with these verses. Still swimming in a pool of pain and bitterness, I decided it was time to try to forgive Max. Notice I used the word “decided.” This was a decision based on my choice to obey Scripture, not a decision based on whether I felt like forgiving. Nothing in me felt like forgiving, but I still make the choice to try.
By faith, I asked God to help me forgive Max for what he’d done to my sister. By faith, I told God that I released Max from his sin. My prayer didn't feel sincere, but atleast I was trying. Daily I bounced between wanting to forgive and wanting revenge. By nothing short of the power of God, I finally started to believe forgiveness is possible.
I can’t overstate what God had to do in my heart to get me to this point. A grown man had maliciously abused my little sister—a sixth-grade girl. He cruelly groomed and preyed on other innocent children. This predator never apologized. He never attempted to right his wrongs. He never begged for our forgiveness.
My heart was stone hard. And only God could soften it to the point that I could even consider forgiving this molester. Miraculously, that’s what God did. To this day, I don’t know exactly how or when it happened. But it did. By God’s grace, I had forgiven Max for his sin and abuse. With God’s help I’d done the humanly impossible, and I felt as though a spiritual weight had been lifted. The Bible became clearer. God seemed nearer.
My heart was purer.
One Christmas, when I was visiting my parents, I decided to write Max a letter expressing my forgiveness. The task wasn’t easy, but that’s often par for the course. In the letter, I explained how much God had forgiven me. I told Max the story of Jesus and his love for us. I explained that I had forgiven him and that God could as well. Included a short prayer he might pray, asking Jesus to heal his heart and forgive his sins.
I didn’t realize that Max’s sickness had advanced. He was losing the battle with muscular dystrophy. In fact, at the time he received the letter, Max was under the care of a hospice nurse, waiting for inevitable death.
Months after Max passed away, his nurse sent us a letter asking if she could talk to us. When we agreed, she told us about the last days of Max’s life, believing we needed to know. The caregiver explained that Max’s eyesight had deteriorated and that he had asked her to read him my note. Although she wasn’t aware of what he had done (and I never told her), it was obvious to her that he had done something grievously wrong. According to the nurse, he listened with tears streaming down his face. He asked her to pray the prayer with him. She recalled that his whole countenance changed as he asked Christ to forgive him and make him new. He died a few days later.
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