CHAPTER 21: PRAYER 2022
“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”
—Colossians 4:2
I was young once, too young to read the book, not too young to pray for what I wanted, but too young to understand why I wanted anything, or what purpose I truly had in the eyes of God, man or even myself. In a word, I was clueless — with a whole lot of potential. Potential becomes very uncool after thirty, actually after 25, or possibly before, especially if never realized. By then one should have a visible result in themselves. Not necessarily a boat load of hard assets, however, one should be able to provide for family and self. You see, most of us rebel against whatever we think is the “machine” if you will, i.e., parents, government, bosses, corporate this or corporate that. At the end of the day all that truly means nothing. All that came before me and had it’s own problems that I know nothing about. Men and women of that time built what I now enjoy. For me to fight against it, before I know anything about it, or why it exists, is immature. Generally, youth fights for selfish, not for the good of the cause, even though it is masked as if it is altruistic and for the better of mankind, as if youth knew anything about mankind. There is also a very sinister problem that lurks behind our youth. Spent incorrectly our belief system is not cultivated, thereby leaving us horribly depilated in our mature years, stunted in our mental and spiritual growth, and now we are all grown up and virtually worthless to the cause of anything relevant.
2 Timothy 2:22
New King James Version
22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
The bible in and of itself is a powerful writing. It exists throughout time, selling more than all the books that stand and have stood against it, even now. As a youth, I’m sure my prayers were answered in one way or another, however I don’t remember what I prayed, for sure it was about self and what I wanted, never about anyone else or asking God for His wisdom. I understood all that after a lot of time in the Bible. The bible offered me information about myself, realizing what came before me, why and who had been responsible in history for events that changed the course of history, then and now, thousands of years before this very moment and now, in this very moment, people just like me and you, answered the call of greatness and succeeded in the power of God. How can I pray without such knowledge? You see, without the book, prayer, the most exponentially crafted gift given by the creator is almost worthless based in the selfish nonsense of youth. Carried into adulthood, as it was with me, such behavior could’ve cost me whatever destiny the Lord had prepared. It took a prepared heart to pray correctly and decently to God, the almighty presence, in Jesus our Lord and savior. To grasp the gravity of this knowledge is to have the meaning, dare I say the necessity of prayer and the great gift of a direct line to the Almighty Himself. What can one accomplish with prayer, in a prepared heart, an honest heart, a heart that has learned the Word and realized the magnitude in the mind of God and the reality of you or me? You are His creation, I have, you have a dedicated purpose, a Devine appointment given to you before your birth, before the beginning of time. With that in mind prayer becomes more evident, a conversation with the director of your talent, my talent, purpose, the very meaning of you. In that prayer is a vital key in the exchange, i.e. conversation with God, asking for direction, pleading for the hope of others that they may find what is necessary for them to understand. Realizing the world and why these problems in it exist. With the Word, prayer is the beginning of all things that matter — let our youth pass whether it be then or now into prayer, and by doing so, let our insignificant self also leave us to a more relevant, significant individual. A force prepared by God, through prayer and the understanding of why we pray — against chaos, selfish nonsense and rage, all things that haunt our lives today and those things that will ultimately cause the end. You and I have been given the gift of God’s “chosen,” as it was with Abraham and all his descendants. In that we have access to God, an inalienable right given to us by Jesus Christ. We are now descendants of Abraham, and the promise God made to all of them is now all of you. This world, and Satan himself, would have you believe that is not true and that God, if He even exists has forsaken you. Remember, when you feel alone, tempted and tested. God is with you and the devil is a liar. God will never forget His Zion, the church, what Christ did for you, for all mankind, God will never forget.
Isaiah 49:14-16
New King James Version
God Will Remember Zion
But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
And my Lord has forgotten me.”
“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
[a]And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
In Psalm 10 David writes about prayer in the deepest sense. Sometimes, we have desires that we cannot express; they are too big, too deep; we cannot clothe them in language. At other times, we have desires which we dare not express; we feel too low, we see too much of our own undeserving nature to be able to venture near the throne of God to utter our desires; but the Lord hears the desire when we cannot or dare not turn it into the actual form of a prayer.” (Spurgeon) Who is Spurgeon? A preacher in the mid to late 1800’s, I quote him now and again.., you might do the same.
David goes on to say that the spiritual preparation of the heart is a great gift, an answer to prayer, and a mark of God’s blessing. “Surely none but the Lord can prepare a heart for prayer. One old writer says it is far harder work to raise the big bell into the steeple than to ring it afterwards. This witness is true. When the bell is well hung you can ring it readily enough; but in that uplifting of the heart lies the work and the labor.” (Spurgeon)
Thomas Horne, a Christian scholar also in the 1800’s wrote “hearts ‘prepared’ to prayer, are so many instruments strung and tuned by the hand of heaven.”
Earlier in the 1600’s, John Trapp, prominent scholar writes “Where God giveth a praying heart it is sure that he will show a pitying heart. If he prepare the heart, he will also bend his ear.”
Adam Clarke, British theologian popular throughout the late 1700’s into the 1800’s writes “See the economy of the grace of God: 1. God prepares the heart; 2. Suggests the prayer; 3. Hears what is prayed; 4. Answers the petition. He who has got a cry in his heart after God, may rest assured that that cry proceeded from a Divine preparation, and that an answer will soon arrive. No man ever had a cry in his heart after salvation, but from God. He who continues to cry shall infallibly be heard.”
Spurgeon writes: “When we think of Jesus in the temple of heaven, we remember that He is praying for us. “What plots can men devise which Jesus will not discover? Satan has doubtless desired to have us, that he may sift us as wheat, but Jesus is in the temple praying for us, and how can our faith fail?”
Patrick, a bum given a second chance by Jesus in the early 21st century, writes: “If I’m busy praying I generally don’t make as many mistakes.”
Jeremiah 29:12
New International Version
12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
Sometimes I make the mistake of praying about money, property and prestige, I need to stop that. That is returning to my youth and selfish, stupid prayers.
Luke 12:15
New International Version
15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
We have free will, and with it we cause our own headaches, all of them. Pestilence, pollution, civil unrest, marriage, divorce, murder, abuse, war, thievery, the list unfortunately is a long one. God, however always says the same thing.
Hebrews 13:5
New International Version
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”
Prayer is my conversation with God, a gift that He gave me and you. A one on one with the creator of the universe. I don’t believe God doesn’t answer prayer. I believe the teacher is quiet during the test, that’s for sure. Generally, He’s answered, lest I be careful to quit asking when the Holy Spirit has given direction. I read a scripture that sometimes stops me from asking for myself.
Ezekiel 22:30
New International Version
30 “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.
Pray for others while you’re waiting for God. Work on those things that are outside the box of your personal requests, other people, things take time. Prayer takes time, your brain takes time. Change takes time. God needs to move the whole world around you, to answer your request in a way that is beautiful for you. He is patient, we of course, are not, and sometimes that is a lesson in itself and a testimony. Did you ever hear me mention, “your head is a dangerous neighborhood, don’t go in there by yourself!” Crazy is everywhere. Sometimes I don’t know what to pray for. It all seems hopeless, but it’s not hopeless.
Romans 8:26
New International Version
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
A powerful weapon in your arsenal. Prayer clarifies the problem for me, whatever the problem is. When we pray consistently, daily, weekly, it’s easy to see what He’s doing, specifically for you. Prayer changes your brain. Prayer becomes normal, and that is the beginning of God and the end of all things treacherous. In the following verse, we see and exchange, a prayer, a request for good things from a good man. God answers and He always follows through, always.
1 Chronicles 4:9-10
New King James Version
9 Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name [a]Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my [b]territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.
He did it for Jabez, He has already done it for you and me. Can you imagine what happens if you continue praying. Jesus gave us the words to pray, even if we don’t know what to pray.
Matthew 6:9-13
New International Version
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’
Can you imagine what would happen if everybody just started praying. Can you imagine!! As Billy Graham once said, “there’s enough prayer in this room, to change the world…”
1 John 5:14 New International Version (NIV)
14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
“Revolt against yourself, and evolve into the original blueprint of you.” Let the Lord show you — you. Prayer. Instant connection. In closing, I investigate fear. Fear is without knowledge I say, I also say that caution is with knowledge. What do I say about terror? Terror is where I learned the power of prayer. Terror is what happens when I wait too long to pray. I am reminded that without Him — I’m vulnerable, weak, without backup.., alone
Don’t wait for such a time as this, timing is everything in life My friends, authenticity is required to approach the King, otherwise how will He know it is you? How will He recognize an imposter? Be yourself, be with your Father, Abba — He knows you, He made you, He will never forsake you and He knows what to do.
Psalm 12:6
New King James Version
The words of the Lord are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
Chapter 21, Prayer – “My Lord, we set this lesson at your feet, in the Holy Name of Jesus, I now understand, Thy Will Be Done is best for all. Amen.”
