WHAT ARE WE PRAYING FOR

What are we praying for in our prayers?

"Lord, teach us to pray"  Luke

The disciples had seen and heard Jesus pray and interact in deep ways with His Heavenly Father.  It is unclear, but seems natural to conclude that they knew that His intimacy in prayer with the Father was His leading, source of sustained power and Divine purpose of what and hwy He was doing what He was doing.  From the throne of God came this heavenly Spirit that filled Him and was overrunning to accomplish and do great things in teaching, miracles and salvations.   It was through prayer that this was done.

In these days every one is praying.  Just ask them, and they will be quick to confirm 'I pray all the time.'  The Muslims pray 5 times a day;  Buddhists and Hindu's pray much;  Catholics say their vain repetition and count their rosaries just as often.  Many a church goer recited the Lord's prayer and all of these religionists expound that they are praying.  And granted, by the definition of prayer, to speak unto one's God/god, they are literally correct.

But in view of the Christian prayer life, taken from Christ, their is a level of praying that far exceeds religion.  Religions recited words and phrases and go through rituals that justify in their minds they are doing the right thing and accomplishing something.  But Christians know that prayer is not just an act of religion, it is a direct conversation between God , Who hears our requests and receives our honor unto Him; as well, as we give ear to Him, Who speaks from the throne.  This dialogue is based upon both sides of it, hearing and speaking.    God gave the directive to prayer, 'Call unto Me, and I will answer thee; and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not."  Jeremiah 33:3  As well God gave directive, 'give ear to Me and hear what I will say unto you.'

Jesus went before His Father and brought forth petitions to pray in agreement with His Father, as well to hear what He said.  'I speak that which I have heard My Father speak'   And this level of intimacy in prayer developed this relationship of a Divine moment by prayer, and through prayer for the will of the Father to be done.  Jesus gave us this example as He was here on earth to pray as He did.  This level of praying is far richer and deeper than simply vain repetition and religious duty of rhetoric, which accomplishes nothing.   The level of praying must be understood and examined in light of what we are up against in these days.

What are we up against in these days:
. . . "The enemy has come in like a flood. . ."  Isaiah 59:9   Due to our great sin against the Lord, He has withdrawn and departed from us.   We are in the worst of situations because of this.  Are we still blest?  are we still prosperous?  are we still atop the nations?  Yes, we have all these things, in which God has allowed and blest us with.  But it is these same things that has caused us to commit the two great sins that Israel and Judah committed against the Lord that led to their destruction and captivity:  the forgot the Lord and they forsook the Lord.

From these two great evils, has come our enemy, the Devil, to destroy, maim, steal and kill.   due to God's absence from us, Satan has taken full advantage to work his work of evil on our nation, homes, and hearts.  And all the things that we are up against is found in this.   Everything whihc God blessed and used for His glory has all but been shattered, ruined and destroyed.  




--Too often the focus of our prayers is the circumstances of the moment; rather than the point of what caused it.   One goes to the doctor and diagnosis is that the patient has cancer.  He prescribes 2 aspirin to be taken twice a day to help with pain and fever.   The aspirin may help with the pain and fever, but the cancer is not touched.  The only way to deal properly with the sickness is to remove and attack the cancer causing the fever and pain.  Only then will it be dealt with rightly.   And often our prayers are for the symptoms caused by evil, by sin.  We deal with the issues that come from sinning against God.   Rarely does Christians, or church groups tackle the cancer of evil directly and root out the sin that causes evil and its symptoms on our nation, families, and in the minds and hearts of men.

The priority of prayer is God.  The outflow of God is the things of God.  And out of these things is the will of God.  


Started:  June 18, 2018

Continued:  6/20;

Finished: