American Reformation Church Prayer Journal 4
ARC Prayer Meeting, 1/10/24:
Prayer does not necessarily change God, but it does, however, change the believer who prays. Sometimes when we pray about a situation, God does not necessarily change the persons or circumstances we struggle with in life, He changes us to deal with it in a mature, Christian way.
Paul begged God three times in prayer to take away the thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan that was buffeting him. God’s response was not what Paul expected or wanted. He basically told him no and that His grace was sufficient for him. God, indeed, answers our prayers. Sometimes to our dismay, He answers no. Heavenly Father knows best my brethren.
Prayerlessness, however, in a believer’s life is like trying to stay alive without breathing. We must understand that true prayer is not just a Christian obligation, a box we check off. It should neither be a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance to impress our religious peers like the religious leaders in our Lord’s day.
Jesus observed, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward” (Matthew 6:5).
No, there is a great length, height, depth and width in God’s Kingdom that comes with true prayer and intercession of the saints. It is a part of our co-laboring in the Lord’s vineyard to bear good Kingdom fruit and co-building on His House of Prayer for all the nations in the earth. It is a spiritual transaction contracted with the Most High God, Possessor of heaven and earth (Genesis 14:19).
When the Lord teaches His disciples to pray, high on the priority list, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” God wants the victory of heaven, where the enemy of our souls was cast out, manifested in the earth. We are to live, believe, think, act, and pray for it to come to pass.
Brethren, we need to follow the example of Epaphras. Paul wrote of him, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12).
