Unleashing The Power - Part One
This is another in the "Sermon Series."
Unleashing the Power - Part One
John 11:41b-42
Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Prayer. I seem to be coming in contact more and more with people who have needs. I mean serious needs: illness of a child, themselves, or a parent; loss of a job, financial and emotional needs; family, personal, or spiritual needs. And my immediate response is always, “I’ll pray for you.” or “I’ll put you on my prayer list.”
And the more I did that, the more it began to burden me. Not the fact that there were so many to pray for, but just “why?” Why did I think I could make a difference? Why did I think my prayer would carry any weight, especially when a lot of the time, I really didn’t know what to say anyway. Either I didn’t know the whole story, or I couldn’t discern what might be God’s will.
It’s like a ballgame, both teams pray to win, but, well, somebody’s prayer is not going to get answered; at least not the way they wanted it.
And what’s one more prayer anyway? God is not the kind of god that would say, “Oh well, if you’d have had just one more prayer, then I would have answered…” NO! That’s not God! God doesn’t “keep score”. He doesn’t answer prayer based on the number of people we have praying for us. The scriptures tell us that God knows our needs before we ever ask anything, and even before we know we have a need!
So what’s the deal with prayer?
The more I thought about it, and meditated on it, the more I began to suspect that there was more to it than I realized; more than what to say, more than how to say it, and more than remembering all the names.
Just what happens when you or I say to someone, “I’ll be praying for you?” Why not just say, “I’ll be thinking about you?” What difference does it make?
To be continued tomorrow…
Betty
Unleashing the Power - Part One
John 11:41b-42
Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Prayer. I seem to be coming in contact more and more with people who have needs. I mean serious needs: illness of a child, themselves, or a parent; loss of a job, financial and emotional needs; family, personal, or spiritual needs. And my immediate response is always, “I’ll pray for you.” or “I’ll put you on my prayer list.”
And the more I did that, the more it began to burden me. Not the fact that there were so many to pray for, but just “why?” Why did I think I could make a difference? Why did I think my prayer would carry any weight, especially when a lot of the time, I really didn’t know what to say anyway. Either I didn’t know the whole story, or I couldn’t discern what might be God’s will.
It’s like a ballgame, both teams pray to win, but, well, somebody’s prayer is not going to get answered; at least not the way they wanted it.
And what’s one more prayer anyway? God is not the kind of god that would say, “Oh well, if you’d have had just one more prayer, then I would have answered…” NO! That’s not God! God doesn’t “keep score”. He doesn’t answer prayer based on the number of people we have praying for us. The scriptures tell us that God knows our needs before we ever ask anything, and even before we know we have a need!
So what’s the deal with prayer?
The more I thought about it, and meditated on it, the more I began to suspect that there was more to it than I realized; more than what to say, more than how to say it, and more than remembering all the names.
Just what happens when you or I say to someone, “I’ll be praying for you?” Why not just say, “I’ll be thinking about you?” What difference does it make?
To be continued tomorrow…
Betty
posted by Betty Newman at 10:31 PM
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