American Reformation Church Prayer Journal 57
ARC Prayer Meeting:
Love has been the theme recently preached at the American Reformation Church. We have been going through Paul’s definition of love recorded in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. God’s Word states, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
Last Sunday we covered “Love does not Envy.” This Sunday, God willing, the plan is to cover “Love is not Boastful.” This has been an enriching time at the American Reformation Church exploring the height, length, width and depth of God’s love. It has been convicting as well.
Recently, I’ve been seeking to connect our Sunday messages with the brief teaching on prayer each Wednesday evening before our church intercedes. The challenge is to find how love and prayer work together in the Scriptures. Obviously, the act of praying shows a measure of faith and love towards God and if one intercedes for another person, there is probably at least a smidgeon of love detected.
It is in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, however, where we find the complete collaboration between love and prayer. The Lord‘s prayer life was so profound, it provoked and inspired His disciples. Out of the things they could have asked Him to teach them, like praise, worship, preaching, healing, and deliverance, they asked Him to teach them to pray.
It is here traditionally we have recorded in the Gospel of Matthew what the church has referred to as the “Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13). In Biblical reality, this was not the Lord’s Prayer, this was Him teaching the church the prayer targets God considered important concerning His Kingdom come and His will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
The actual Lord’s Prayer is discovered in John 17. It is known as the High Priestly prayer of Christ. It is here we discover a huge connection between prayer and love. Some of it is truly hard to comprehend and believe. It seems so outlandish, especially, if one considers the holiness of God and the sinfulness of men.
Yet, here our Lord prays, “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me… And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:23, 26).
Here our Lord not only dares to pray the same love that the Father loves the perfect, obedient Son of the living God be in us, but in the same manner and degree. If that does not smash our sinful pride and fill our souls with such wondrous awe, we are dead men walking.
Why should our Father in heaven love us like He loves Jesus? Think of all our failures, sins, disobedience, rebellion, and covenant breaking. Jesus did none of those things, so of course, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,” but what about us? This is one of the most remarkable prayers of God uttered by our Lord. A prayer that reveals the deep, deep love of God for His people.
