know

Pray for them and for me when desperate

I am reading about David trying to prove to King Saul that he has nothing against him. It reminds me how I ought to pray for others who I find turning against me.

You can see for yourself that just now in the cave the Lord put you in my power. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I felt sorry for you and said that I would not harm you in the least, because you are the one whom the Lord chose to be king. Look, my father, look at the piece of your robe I am holding! I could have killed you, but instead I only cut this off. This should convince you that I have no thought of rebelling against you or of harming you. You are hunting me down to kill me, even though I have not done you any wrong. May the Lord judge which one of us is wrong! May he punish you for your action against me, for I will not harm you in the least. – 1 Samuel 24:10-12 GNT

I ran across this poem that speaks right into this message.

Vengeance will not be mine
Even though they come against
To them I give my prayers
Their fate now to the Lord
For He is judge and deliverer
And here I pray for them
That they may find in Him
The peace in this heart I hold

With this gift of prayer it is as if I have become a watchman for others.

“Mortal man,” he said, “I am making you a lookout for the nation of Israel. You will pass on to them the warnings I give you. – Ezekiel 3:17 GNT

Obviously not just for those who are against me, but for my brothers and sisters in Christ. I do find myself enjoying the task of discipleship – watching for their safety, preaching for their edification and praying for their eternal welfare.

I believe I enjoy it because I myself have established my walk with God by faith and prayer – God communicates to my spirit and that is what gives me strength of spirit and life in my words I choose to use – it is only by His Spirit that they become bread from heaven.

I have spent time, like David, asking God to take away my sin first, and then following that up with my ask to remove the troubles that have come against me.

Don’t punish me any more! I am about to die from your blows. – Psalm 39:10 GNT

One thing I know, I must not stop praying. I am also resigned to pray for the removal of trouble or trials. It is in my heart to pray for deliverance and when I have sin in my life I notice that is not so.

I added the word trials to my description of troubles because sometimes I do feel it is the hand of God correcting my ways. As I set my relationship right with Him it is there that I can pour out my heart and pray for relief.

Hear my prayer, Lord,

    and listen to my cry;

    come to my aid when I weep.

Like all my ancestors

    I am only your guest for a little while.

Leave me alone so that I may have some happiness

    before I go away and am no more. – Psalm 39:12-13 GNT

All I ask is that God will hear my prayer. It is here in this prayer that I see a witness to God’s understanding of how I need to speak when I am desperate.

Here are two verses from a hymn written by William Cowper that speaks into this.

SOMETIMES A LIGHT SURPRISES

1. Sometimes a light surprises
The Christian while he sings;
It is the Lord Who rises
With healing in His wings:
When comforts are declining,
He grants the soul again
A season of clear shining,
To cheer it after the rain

2. In holy contemplation
We sweetly then pursue
The theme of God’s salvation,
And find it ever new;
Set free from present sorrow,
We cheerfully can say,
Let the unknown tomorrow
Bring with it what it may.

Doing what is right

Found another prayer verse to use when you desire someone to be following God.

Genesis 7:1      May You find ______ “who does what is right” just as you found Noah to be righteous in his generation.

The Lord said to Noah, “Go into the boat with your whole family; I have found that you are the only one in all the world who does what is right. – Genesis 7:1 GNT

Ezra was another person who set himself with an exemplary life for he determined in his heart to know, study and teach God’s word. As I do the same, I pray that I may be used by God to turn the hearts of some to Jesus.

Ezra had devoted his life to studying the Law of the Lord, to practicing it, and to teaching all its laws and regulations to the people of Israel. – Ezra 7:10 GNT

What does that look like – this kind of determination, especially when it comes to prayer?

Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to those who knock.  Would any of you who are fathers give your son a stone when he asks for bread?  Or would you give him a snake when he asks for a fish?  As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!  “Do for others what you want them to do for you: this is the meaning of the Law of Moses and of the teachings of the prophets. – Mathew 7:7-12 GNT

Jesus is inviting me to pray – in fact, I believe I count three times where I am not only invited but it comes across as almost a command. One thing is noted for sure, the repetition is meant to say – “I mean this.”

There are promises to me when I pray. I believe I count seven promises.

[1] it will be given to you; seek, and [2] you will find; knock, and [3] it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks [4] receives, and the one who seeks [5] finds, and to the one who knocks [6] it will be opened.” Then at the end of verse 11b (7): “How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

I like the variety of ways I can reach out to God in prayer. If I am in His presence, I can ask. If I need to find Him, I can. If He is somewhere doing something that requires me to get His attention before I interrupt, I can knock.

Is it not true that for everyone who asks, they receive. What an encouragement to me to put aside my timidity, even my hesitancy. It puts away my self doubt that such blessings are for others and not for me.

Why am I so excited about all of this? I am coming before my Father in all of these situations. When I come to my Father through Jesus, He will never give me anything that is bad for me. He is better than my earthly father. So I can trust His goodness because I am His child.

“For what would he not now give to sons when they ask, when he has already granted this very thing, namely, that they might be sons?” – Augustine

The cross is the foundation of prayer. How is it that one who is a sinner is called a child of an all holy God? How can I presume to be a child, let alone ask and expect to receive, seek and expect to find, and knock and expect to have the door opened?

The death of Jesus is the foundation for all the promises of God and all the answers to prayer that we ever get. This is why we say “in Jesus’s name” at the end of our prayers. Everything depends on him.

The scriptural reason for prayer is based on biblical precedents for praying – especially when I look at Jesus. I think of how similar the prayer of Stephen was to the prayer Jesus gave at the cross.

They kept on stoning Stephen as he called out to the Lord, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 He knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord! Do not remember this sin against them!” He said this and died. – Acts 7:59-60 GNT

This is the journey of prayer – “Finding our way through duty to delight” – J.I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom