PRAYER - THE CHRISTIAN'S DUTY OR LOVE OFFERING?
Prayer. Time spent in the presence of G-d. Or has it become a difficult time for you?
Prayer was always considered to be the heartbeat, the pulse, the Breath of Life to the Christian disciple. A special time. A time of expression. A time when we meet with Father, Son and Holy Ghost. A time of worship, praise and thankfulness. Lifting up the Name of Jesus. Lifting Him high so that others may be drawn to the Father through Christ Jesus. A time of refreshing. Times of renewal. A time of penance for ourselves and for our friends, relatives, nation and others in need. Oh our need to be in Him in prayer!
That precious place here we experience joy in the Lord. Crying, weeping, confessing the sins of our nation and our own, our leaders and our people, whose hearts have waxed cold and sin crept into their lives. Being sorry for the state that we as what was once referred to as a G-d Fearing people, now but a mere shadow of what once was. A time of calling on the Lord for forgiveness, petitioning, interceding, laying our burdens at His feet. Our churches and their leaders needing guidance from on high, needing to realize our deep dependence on G-d in making a difference to our world. A positive difference. Turning the hearts of the people back to G-d. We need to be revived in our own hearts FIRST! Turn our own hearts back to G-d. Allow the Holy Spirit to show us what we look like to Father. Removing the log out of our own eye before telling our brother to remove the splinter out of his eye?!?
But - through time and our rushed lives, we seldom get to spend quality time in His Presence. Our first love is lost. Our zeal and fervour have waned! You hear it in the "dead sermons preached by dead preachers falling on the ears of dead congregants" (Leonard Ravenhill referred to this in his book "Why Revival Tarries"). Moses spent time with G-d on the Mountain and when he returned to the children of Israel, was asked to cover his face because the Glory of G-d shone forth from it, blinding those who looked upon him. Oh Lord, that we would return to that first love and be changed into Your likeness. That Your Shekinah Glory be seen on us.
To many, the prayer meeting at the local assembly is not a time of prayer, but singing and preaching. In Afrikaans we advertize the midweek Prayer meeting as a "Biduur", directly translated as Prayer (Bid) Hour (uur). I have knelt beside some brethren who are leaders in the assembly and listened to their 3 minute prayer. When we allow the Spirit of G-d to start praying protracted prayers through us, the spirit of prayer falls on people who submit to and desire to be in conversations with G-d. This spirit of prayer will fall on one, then another, and another until many are moved by this but where prayers are stifled and suppressed, people don't breakthrough into the Divine Presence of G-d and no special meetings occur. Many folk cannot even recite the "Our Father" prayer taught by Jesus as a model for us to pray by.
Prayer can be taught but only when you personally take time to seek the Lord, does it become effectual, fervent and filled with passion and fire. An old chorus rings out:
" Lord bring back, bring back those happy days,
when the Holy Ghost fell on every place
and the Love of G-d shone on every face,
Lord, bring back those happy days"
I want to open a page where we can write out our prayer requests. A place where concerned Children of G-d can unite in prayer, confession, raising our petitions, in repentance outside of the walls and barriers that separate us through dogma and teachings. We can hold our own dogmatical views yet be one in spirit and love. We can pray together that G-d's Will and Purpose be achieved and the Kingdom of G-d be properly established without losing our identity. In Christ Jesus, we have become one body.
Please feel free to post your requests so that many others can join in praying for your request and please remember to let us know when your prayers have been answered so that we can thank the Lord for answered prayers and be strengthened by your testimony that G-d can and always will answer prayer.
Gal 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Prayer. Time spent in the presence of G-d. Or has it become a difficult time for you?
Prayer was always considered to be the heartbeat, the pulse, the Breath of Life to the Christian disciple. A special time. A time of expression. A time when we meet with Father, Son and Holy Ghost. A time of worship, praise and thankfulness. Lifting up the Name of Jesus. Lifting Him high so that others may be drawn to the Father through Christ Jesus. A time of refreshing. Times of renewal. A time of penance for ourselves and for our friends, relatives, nation and others in need. Oh our need to be in Him in prayer!
That precious place here we experience joy in the Lord. Crying, weeping, confessing the sins of our nation and our own, our leaders and our people, whose hearts have waxed cold and sin crept into their lives. Being sorry for the state that we as what was once referred to as a G-d Fearing people, now but a mere shadow of what once was. A time of calling on the Lord for forgiveness, petitioning, interceding, laying our burdens at His feet. Our churches and their leaders needing guidance from on high, needing to realize our deep dependence on G-d in making a difference to our world. A positive difference. Turning the hearts of the people back to G-d. We need to be revived in our own hearts FIRST! Turn our own hearts back to G-d. Allow the Holy Spirit to show us what we look like to Father. Removing the log out of our own eye before telling our brother to remove the splinter out of his eye?!?
But - through time and our rushed lives, we seldom get to spend quality time in His Presence. Our first love is lost. Our zeal and fervour have waned! You hear it in the "dead sermons preached by dead preachers falling on the ears of dead congregants" (Leonard Ravenhill referred to this in his book "Why Revival Tarries"). Moses spent time with G-d on the Mountain and when he returned to the children of Israel, was asked to cover his face because the Glory of G-d shone forth from it, blinding those who looked upon him. Oh Lord, that we would return to that first love and be changed into Your likeness. That Your Shekinah Glory be seen on us.
To many, the prayer meeting at the local assembly is not a time of prayer, but singing and preaching. In Afrikaans we advertize the midweek Prayer meeting as a "Biduur", directly translated as Prayer (Bid) Hour (uur). I have knelt beside some brethren who are leaders in the assembly and listened to their 3 minute prayer. When we allow the Spirit of G-d to start praying protracted prayers through us, the spirit of prayer falls on people who submit to and desire to be in conversations with G-d. This spirit of prayer will fall on one, then another, and another until many are moved by this but where prayers are stifled and suppressed, people don't breakthrough into the Divine Presence of G-d and no special meetings occur. Many folk cannot even recite the "Our Father" prayer taught by Jesus as a model for us to pray by.
Prayer can be taught but only when you personally take time to seek the Lord, does it become effectual, fervent and filled with passion and fire. An old chorus rings out:
" Lord bring back, bring back those happy days,
when the Holy Ghost fell on every place
and the Love of G-d shone on every face,
Lord, bring back those happy days"
I want to open a page where we can write out our prayer requests. A place where concerned Children of G-d can unite in prayer, confession, raising our petitions, in repentance outside of the walls and barriers that separate us through dogma and teachings. We can hold our own dogmatical views yet be one in spirit and love. We can pray together that G-d's Will and Purpose be achieved and the Kingdom of G-d be properly established without losing our identity. In Christ Jesus, we have become one body.
Please feel free to post your requests so that many others can join in praying for your request and please remember to let us know when your prayers have been answered so that we can thank the Lord for answered prayers and be strengthened by your testimony that G-d can and always will answer prayer.
Gal 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Gal 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
Job 42:10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. (All quotations from the KJV)
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