Tag: Prayer

Frequency in Prayer

At our men’s fellowship last Sunday evening, we approached the throne of our risen Lord in prayer.  I am grateful to the Lord and to my brothers in Christ that we shared that time together.  The following is from Spurgeon’s sermon on Psalm 116.1, and I hope it stirs us on to seek these times more and more – as individuals and corporately in the Body of Christ.

Let us note again THE FREQUENCY OF HIS ANSWERS TO OUR FREQUENT PRAYERS.

If a beggar comes to your house, and you give him alms, you will be greatly annoyed if within a month he shall come again; and if you then discover that he has made it a rule to wait upon you monthly for a contribution, you will say to him, “I gave you something once, but I did not mean to establish it as a rule.” Suppose, however, that the beggar should be so impudent and impertinent that he should say, “But I intend sir to wait upon you every morning and every evening:” then you would say, “I intend to keep my gate locked that you shall not trouble me.” And suppose he should then look you in the face and add still more, “Sir, I intend waiting upon you every hour, nor can I promise that I won’t come to you sixty times in an hour; but I just vow and declare that as often as I want anything so often will I come to you: if I only have a wish I will come and tell it to you; the least thing and the greatest thing shall drive me to you; I will always be at the post of your door.” You would soon be tired of such importunity as that, and wish the beggar anywhere, rather than that he should come and tease you so.

Yet recollect, this is just what you have done to God, and he has never complained of you for doing it; but rather he has complained of you the other way. He has said, “Thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob.” He has never murmured at the frequency of your prayers, but has complained that you have not come to him enough. Every morning when you have risen your cry has gone up to him; again with the family you have cried to the God of Jacob; at eventide you have gathered together and have prayed to him, and whenever ye have a trial, or a want, or a doubt, or a fear, ye have, if ye have done rightly, sped away swiftly to his throne and told him all.

Speak now, saint, has he once said to you “Get you gone, thou weariest me?” Has he ever said “Mine ear is heavy that it cannot hear, my arm is shortened that I cannot save?” Has he said, “Away with thee, I want not thus to be perpetually hearing thee? What is thy harsh grating voice, that I should always give mine ear to it? Am I not hearkening to the songs of angels, to the shouts of cherubim? Away with thee, tease me not. At certain seasons thou mayest come, on the Sabbath-day thou mayest pray, but I want not to hear thee in the week?”

No, no, he has sweetly embraced us every time, he has always bowed the heaven and come down to listen to our feeble cries; he has never denied a promise, never broken his word, even when we have pleaded a thousand times a day. Oh I will love the name of such a patient God as this, who bears with my prayers though they be as a cloud of hornets in the air.

Repentance and Restoration

This month, we have been discussing how to deal with sin in our lives as believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The following points represent some of the things that we must seek to do to overcome sin and live in the newness of life through the power of the Gospel.

1. Repent with godly sorrow and seek after holiness and righteousness through obedience to Christ.

Do you have sorrow for your sin?  This must be the first step that drives us to Christ and to restoration.  As 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 tells us, there are two types of sorrow.  There is a worldly sorrow that merely seeks relief from guilt and/or escape from punishment.  This is not the sorrow of true repentance.  Then there is godly sorrow, which comes from the gracious work of conviction by the Holy Spirit.  Godly sorrow creates a desire to put the deeds of the flesh to death and to turn from sin and seek holiness and righteousness.

If you struggle with sin and do not feel you have godly sorrow, then ask the Lord in prayer for it!  Turn in the Word of God and read of the enmity of sin…read how sin is contrary to God, to the glory of Christ, to your fellow believers, and it is contrary to your soul.  See that sin is heinous and it is the shameful expressions of hatred of the holiness of Christ.

2. Rest in the Gospel.

Realize that your restoration and your assurance of your faith in Christ must not stem from your ability to personally overcome sin.  You have sinned and no amount of obedience will make up for it.  No amount of tears will cover it.  Your sins can only be covered with the blood of Jesus Christ and your restoration will only occur if you are in union with Him by faith.  As Galatians 3:3 says, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

Perhaps it is made most clear by Paul in Romans 6:

Romans 6:4-11 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

It is by the power of the Gospel that we find not only forgiveness of sins, but also the power of sanctification from sin. As Paul states in Colossians 3:1, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”  The rest of the chapter deals with the mortification of sin and the obedience of holiness and righteousness that comes through faith and union in the Gospel with the resurrection of Christ.

– Excursus –

On a related note, I have found that there are many who do not believe in the power of the Gospel to overcome sin.  Many will look at the condition of the masses of people who attend churches and yet their lives are full of unrepentant sin.  They arrive at the conclusion that these people have believed the Gospel and yet the power promised in the Scriptures has not come to pass.   I think this attitude has created a dangerous misunderstanding of the Gospel and a failure to examine the so-called faith of these people.

I have found that in virtually every case where a person’s life is filled with unrepentant sin, with a little bit of questioning, you will find that these are not believers of the Gospel that lack the power of the Gospel, these are people who do not believe the Gospel according to the Scriptures.  Ask them what they believe the Gospel is, and you will find in most cases that they cannot begin to explain it.  If they have a basic understanding of the person of Jesus, the virgin birth,  and the deity of Jesus, ask them if they believe the resurrection of Jesus, His Lordship at the right hand of God, and the coming Day of the bodily resurrection and the Day of Judgment.  Are they still with you?  Ask them if they believe that Jesus alone is the way, the truth and the life and that only those who trust in Him will be saved from the wrath of God and an eternal punishment of damnation.  No other faith will do.  All other religions are false and lead to damnation.

I think when you get to this point, you will find in most cases, a person who does not care to repent of sin and seek holiness will deny the Gospel of Jesus.  Hopefully, you will be there to ask them to repent and believe the Gospel that you have just described to them.

– End of Excursus –

3. Ask for the power of the Holy Spirit and the new life through the resurrection of Christ.

As discussed above, there is no power to overcome sin apart from faith in the Gospel, and there is also no power apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, in order to effectively ask for the power to overcome sin, ask the Lord specifically to defeat the sin in your life through the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit.  Paul discusses in Romans 8:1-14 that it is only by the Spirit that we can overcome the deeds of the flesh.  In Galatians, it is the Spirit that produces the fruit of righteousness.  This passage does not mean that the Spirit just makes these things possible, it is by the continual work of the Spirit that we live out this fruit in our deeds, words, and thoughts.

I am not saying that Christ’s power will not operate in you if you do not specifically ask for the Spirit.  However, I do believe that we will be better at overcoming sin if we acknowledge the source of power (the Holy Spirit) to overcome sin and we seek this power in faith.  I fear that our tendency to not ask for the power of the Spirit is because we do not realize that it is only by the Spirit’s power that we will find the power to overcome sin.

4. Do not let sin drive you away from participation in the Body.

Apart from all the other things that must be done throughout our struggle with sin, I have noticed over and over again that those who withdraw themselves from the Body of Christ are often overcome by sin. I am not saying that it is hopeless if a person withdraws from the Body of Christ, but it is dangerous.  More times than not, such a person does not end up being restored in the faith of Christ…and they depart the faith.

Hebrews 10:25 is not simply a exhortation to “go to church”, it is a command to be followed, especially in light of those who may stop meeting with others in the Body of Christ and may fall into apostasy.

We are to be encouragements to one another.  This doesn’t mean we just say “Good job!” to each other…it means that we help one another when we are in sin!  Notice the connection with the “confession of our hope” of the Gospel (Hebrews 10:23) and the commands to “stimulate ourselves to love and good deeds and not forsake gathering together.”  The Body of Christ is critical to overcoming sin in our lives.

5. Examine your love.

There are two points that I am shocked to see are often missed in the discussion of repentance and restoration.  The first is to ask the Lord for the power of the Spirit to overcome sin, as discussed above.  The second is to examine your love.  If you are sinning, it is a heart issue and you are not loving the Lord or your fellow brethren in Christ as you should.

1 John deals with sin and even says in 1 John 3:4 that “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.”  How does this relate to love?  The NET Bible’s exegetical notes for the verse state the following:

The Greek word ανομία  is often translated “iniquity” or “lawlessness” and in the LXX refers particularly to transgression of the law of Moses. In Jewish thought the ideas of sin and lawlessness or iniquity were often equated because sin involved a violation of the Mosaic law and hence lawlessness.  For the author [of 1 John], it is not violation of the Mosaic law that results in lawlessness…The ‘law’ for the author is the law of love, as given by Jesus in the new commandment of John 13:34-35. This is the command to love one’s brother, a major theme of 1 John and the one specific sin in the entire letter which the opponents are charged with (3:17). Since the author has already labeled the opponents “antichrists” in 2:18, it may well be that he sees in their iniquitous behavior of withdrawing from the community and refusing to love the brethren. (NET Bible – Notes on 1 John 3:4)

John 13:34-35:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

And Paul states in Romans 13:8-10

Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Therefore, if we are struggling with sin, we ought to examine our hearts to see how our self-love is trumping our love of Christ and the love of our brethren.  As we do this, we can deal with the root of our sin that is often clouded by the various manifestations of our sinful deeds.

7. Seek Guidance from the Word of God

There are many reasons to study the Word of God.  In the context of seeking to overcome sin, the Word becomes essential to obtaining wisdom, which is necessary to be victorious in your life.  Search the Scriptures to find the godly things that you should be seeking.  Seek the Scriptures to find the wisdom that has been demonstrated throughout history by the people of God.  Here you will find that the lusts of the flesh, the pride of life, the pursuit of money and hedonism have all been proven to be the vanity of vanities.  You will learn that we must therefore fear God and obey His commandments.  You will see examples of how sin how brought destruction and despair.

Beyond all of the specific exhortations to forsake sin and live in holiness, you will also see the majestic character of our merciful God.  The more you know, the less you will be able to be comfortable sinning against the holy and loving Lord.

8. Implement godly disciplines.

Now, with all of the discussion above still in our minds, we must also seek to implement godly disciplines to help us in our struggle with sin.  Godly disciplines are of tremendous value, but they should never be viewed as a means to conquer sin apart from faith in the Gospel, the work of the Spirit, etc.

Prayer – Prayer is vital, and is involved with almost every step above.  It is beyond just including it as a “step” to deal with sin…it is essential throughout the entire process.  Your prayers must earnestly seek the power of the resurrection of Christ from the source of all life…Christ Himself.

Studies in the Word of God – We have already discussed the value of the Word to overcome sin, but we must also must make this a discipline, and not just a resource.

Service and devotion – Do not simply stop your sin, but replace the time, the energy, and the desire that you once had for sin with time, energy and desire for godly service and pure worship.

Environment – Examine the things that you are surrounded with…who you are with, what you listen to and watch.  Do everything possible to put a shield of protection around you to keep sin from gripping you.  For example:

• If you struggle with anger or gossip, avoid the situations that tempt you to become enraged or frustrated with other people.
• If you struggle with lust, don’t put yourself within arm’s reach and eye’s sight of the objects of your sin.
• If you struggle with laziness or are too tired to exercise spiritual disciplines, avoid the things that drag you down by doing things like getting a good night’s sleep as much as possible, throwing a brick through the television screen, or doing something out of the ordinary to break your bad habits.

Surround yourself with godly music.  Make time  for Christian fellowship.  Replace your television time with a good Christian book.

Accountability – Seek help!  Share your weakness with your spouse, a trusted friend, your pastors, etc.  Seek their prayer and their wisdom.  Ask for them to “check up” on you.  Study the Word together.

The things that you can do go on and on.  I by no means intend to be exhaustive with everything written above.  However, I hope that it helps us all to overcome sin and seek to honor our glorious Lord.  May we bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ!

Meet George Muller

If you are not familiar with George Muller, you should be!  Jim Elliff has written an introduction (available in full here) in the book A Million and a Half in Answer to Prayer by George Muller (Hardcover, 736 pages, Westminster Literature Resources).

As Jim writes,

Muller’s view of faith was simple, almost childlike. He believed that everything he did was to be guided by Scripture. He was no mystic, refusing to be lead by impressions or even to take Scripture out of context. He believed that living by impressions would lead Christians into much error. Rather, as a man of confidence in the Bible, he found out what God had promised and rested on it. Faith, to Muller, was finding out what God said or what he permitted, and doggedly hanging on to the promises even when circumstances were screaming otherwise.

George Muller’s life was incredible.  However, the incredible results stemmed from the simplest, child-like faith in the power of the Scriptures.  This sort of faith must be recovered where it is missing and fostered where it is found.  Muller cared for over 10,000 orphans, but this sort of faith does not only bring food for children.  It will bring food for our souls, and power for the expansion of the Kingdom of God.

May we earnestly seek in prayer such promises from God’s Word, knowing that He is faithful to grant the desires of our hearts.  May we preach the Word of God in the same manner Muller was guided by it: refusing to be led by impressions or taking Scripture out of context.  Let us trust that the Word is purposeful and divinely designed!

PTTS: Ephesians 2:1-3

Praying Through the Scriptures

Ephesians 2.1-3: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

My Savior and my God,
Thank you for rescuing your people from the death of sin. We have sinned greatly against you. We were bound to sin and controlled by it, but this was in accordance with our depraved will. We have loved the things of darkness, served the ruler of sin and lived to satisfy sinful lusts. We cared nothing for you or your ways of righteousness, rejecting the Lord of Lords in pride and hatred.

Let us be reminded of this again. For now we have been rescued from sin by the grace of Jesus and by his atoning work, but we never ought to forget the depth of our despair. Let us never look to others who have not be redeemed and think that they are different than we once were, and still would be if not for your sovereign grace. Prevent us from looking upon others as if we care not to see them saved!

May you send forth the Gospel in the power of the Spirit! It grieves us to see those whom we love still in the grips of sin. We long to see them rescued by the Gospel and ask now that you would extend your saving hand of mercy to them.

Teach us Father how to communicate the reality of sin and enmity to others who reject your Son. Help us to speak words of truth in a sober, but loving and graceful manner. As Paul now understood his sinfulness though he once considered himself righteous, let us show others that they are in great peril – they are children of Your wrath – and let us plead with them, in a manner that shows that You yourself were appealing to them through us to trust in the righteousness of Jesus.

And Lord, please continue to sanctify us by the power of the risen Lord Jesus. Deliver us from sins and trespasses and from the temptations of our lust, our greed, and our pride. We have no strength alone, but we trust in the power of the resurrection through our union with Christ through faith.

Cleanse us we pray,

Amen.

PTTS: Ephesians 1:20-23

Praying Through the Scriptures

Ephesians 1:20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Our Great God,
Wake us from our slumber and remove from us the fascination with temporal and trivial things. There is immense power on display before us in Your strength. It has not only been displayed around us, but it has be accomplished for us. Cause us to rejoice in your power, to be in awe of your power.

As believers, Jesus has been raised as our Lord. Your power raised Him from the dead and now this power is active as He reigns over the Kingdom. His Kingdom is above every kingdom. His Name is exalted above every name! He – the Word of God – has not returned to You void, but He has accomplished what You have sent Him to do. He has redeemed us to be His inheritance.

Now, Father, grant to us power. Raise us up with Christ! Grant to us willing hearts. Grant to us wisdom, love, patience, perseverance. For we are the Church, and He is our Head. We are His Body, and He is crafting us perfectly – completely – according to Your will.

Oh Father, let us be faithful servants of the King. We long to see the Gospel proclaimed all around us. We long to see the world transformed by Christian love. We long to see righteousness and godliness abound.

Please send the power of Your Spirit to enable us fully and to compel us to only seek the Glory of Christ.

PTTS: Ephesians 1:15-19a

Praying Through the Scriptures: Ephesians 1:15-19a

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. (NASB)

My loving and gracious God,

I have heard of wonderful things! I have seen it with my own eyes! You have blessed many whom I know and love with faith in the Gospel and granted us sincere and genuine Christian love for one another. Who am I, that I should be blessed with the fellowship of the Body of Christ? Thank you for your mercy, and for blessing me richly with this knowledge and this fellowship.

Help me, my God, to never cease from enjoying the faith and the love of my brethren. May I always praise You and thank You for this, and be faithful to pray for their strength. It is a joy and it is beautiful.

May you now give us each wisdom. We need this wisdom so that we may shine as lights in the darkness. We need wisdom so that we do not fall into the snares of sin. We need this wisdom so that we honor You, and bring glory to your Son, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Open our eyes, and let us realize that we have been called to the highest of callings! We have been called to serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Nothing can compare to this. Nothing should take our affections away from this calling. We are to building up one another in the Body of Christ, which is the inheritance of Christ. As such, we ought to be the most diligent of stewards, protecting one another, sheltering one another, and encouraging one another to be faithful witnesses, holy and sanctified vessels. Your Church is a treasure, filled with riches beyond all of the gold in this world. Let us value it as You do.

Please grant us the surpassing greatness of this power! We need it. We cry out to You to grant it. And we trust that You will pour out this power and transform us.

PTTS: Ephesians 1:11-14

1:11 In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will 1:12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, may be to the praise of his glory. 1:13 And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)—when you believed in Christ—you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, 1:14 who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession to the praise of his glory. (NET Bible)

I ask You, my God, to remove my pessimism and the things that have happened in my life that have made me cynical towards your possession, the Body of Christ. Let me not forget that the King of Kings has promised that the gates of Hades will not overtake the Church. It will remain strong and it will persevere until the end of all time. You have set Your sovereign affections upon it and eternally purposed it to be Your choice possession, to the praise of Your glory!

Thank you for allotting the corporate Body of believers as Your inheritance. It doesn’t even seem right in our feeble minds that You should be pleased to possess us! We seem so frail and depraved. By the Word we know that we were not chosen because of our wisdom, our fame, or our beauty. Yet You have sovereignly treasured us and You take pleasure in us. Help me to grasp that truth!

Selah.

With this truth upon my mind, let me then also treasure the Body of Christ. Let me do nothing to harm my brethren. Let me never promote divisiveness or slander, but let me seek to build up one another in the Body. Grant me a relentless love towards my brothers and sisters in Christ that is according to Your love.

Thank you for predestining this to occur. Thank you for letting nothing stand in the way of Your love toward each of us as the faithful ones in the Gospel. You indeed work all things according to the counsel of your will. Forgive the terrible inventions of man’s theology that asserts the opposite; namely that your will is worked by the counsel of all things. You are sovereign. Nothing happens apart from Your decree. Let our minds trust that, as Your Word tells us clearly in this passage.

Thank you for the work of Your Spirit. It is His work that gives us assurance that we are the inheritance of God, for the Spirit has sealed us as the pledge that we will be redeemed forevermore. Teach us, as the Body of Christ, to treasure the riches of grace that we already possess, as we also long for the day that we are corporately redeemed as Your possession and we will spend eternity together praising Your mighty and holy name.