Do You Believe in Prayer?
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (Jeremiah 33:3) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. (James 4:8)
BIBLE-BASED PRAYER IS THE HEART AND SOUL of living the Christian life. Do you believe in prayer? Have you worked at making prayer a vital part of your daily life? God wants us to talk to Him and listen to Him. We’re nearing the end of the Easter season. It’s a good time to draw near to God and get on a prayer footing with Him. For the Christian, prayer is like breathing. Take everything to God in prayer. Prayer is not talking God into doing something He is doesn’t want to do. Prayer is taking hold of God’s willingness if we ask Him.
READ A CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE AND PRAY, even for a few minutes. Sing songs about prayer. Many of the better hymns are great prayers to God, set to music. To carry out what Jesus wants us to do, we must be filled with the Spirit of God. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; (Ephesians 5:18) “Be filled” means to “be being filled.” Continuously. We need to set a time to pray in the morning and then pray throughout the day as we go about our work.
TO DO THE WORK OF GOD,WE NEED TO CONTINUE the praying done by the early church when Jesus rose from the dead. They could not do the work of God without being people of prayer. When Jesus was raised from the dead, the attending angel who was sitting on the round door stone, said to the women: “Come and see” and “Go and tell.” They were the first messengers proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. At that moment, they had everything they needed to go inside the empty tomb, look around, and to go tell the disciples what they had seen. (Matthew 28:6,7)
A NEW DAY WAS DAWNING. Jesus was going to announce a plan that was beyond their imagination and beyond their ability. He was going to tell them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Of course, eleven disciples and a hand full of women couldn’t begin to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. But they would begin the project…in Jerusalem. To carry out this program, they would need the heart and commitment of a soldier, nothing less.
TWO THINGS WERE NECESSARY FOR THEM TO GET HE PROGRAM STARTED. 1. They would need to be thoroughly convinced that Jesus had truly risen from the dead. 2. They would need the power and direction of the Holy Spirit. They would need to tarry until they were endued with power from on high. He was directing all His inner circle to meet Him in Galilee, a hundred miles north of Jerusalem. All but one of Jesus’ disciples were from Galilee. The Bible Knowledge Commentary (Dallas Seminary people) summarizes this meeting. I hope you will take the time to look up the references in green.
“Jesus’ appearance to the gathered followers (Luke 24:36-49) (Matthew 28:16- 20; Mark 16:14-18; John 20:19-23) In this appearance three things about Jesus are evident.
First, Jesus proved to His followers that He had really been resurrected. Not only did He stand in their presence so they could see Him and His wounds (Luke 24:39-40), but He also ate food (a piece of broiled fish) before them to show that He was not a ghost”.
JESUS SUMMARIZES AND INSTRUCTS THEM as He is about to leave for Heaven:
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:44-51)
Let’s do whatever it takes to truly walk with God. Do you believe in prayer? We can cultivate our prayer life if we want to. Anyone can learn how to pray. Is there a greater need than the need to be a person of prayer? We can pray when we can’t say a word. We can pray when we cannot be heard. We can pray anytime, anywhere. Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
APRIL 9, 2018 – MONDAY
A.M. 1Samuel 1-3 P.M. Luke 12:1-34
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Please note: If you are behind in your reading, you may want to dial in today and go back to where you have been reading. This will help you to eventually catch up. I read here on Bible Gateway and also read YouVersion on my iPhone, whichever is most convenient for the day.
Memory Verse This Month:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20)
Song for Today:
All to Jesus I Surrender (5:12) – (Fountain View Academy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqQvda1Q0xk
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