Master Jesus Christ

Inspiring prayers are answered

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Acts 4:24-30 contains one of the most inspiring prayers in Scripture. The believers were living in dangerous circumstances. Peter and John had just been arrested after the healing of a crippled man.

When they prayed for boldness they knew what they were praying for. The mission the Lord had given them had not changed, and neither had the source of their power. The prayer recorded in this passage is marvelous in its simplicity and its comprehension of the Person and purposes of God.

Compare that to a person, maybe the one who knows about God but chooses each and every day to ignore Him.

He has seen you do the things he hates. He has seen you go after pagan gods on the hills and in the fields, like a man lusting after his neighbor’s wife or like a stallion after a mare. People of Jerusalem, you are doomed! When will you ever be pure? – Jeremiah 13:27  GNT

One thing is noted in both these cases – without God is is impossible to believe in the impossible. Can I be made pure? Though difficult, it is not impossible. When could I say that something is impossible? When my obstinate refusal of God’s grace renders it impossible. I cannot change myself, I need to come before God and pray for Him to do it and I do that through Jesus Christ. If I can pray and believe what I am praying, God’s power is available to me. If I do not, I will not survive.

Think about Jesus’ own words.

At about three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me? – Matthew 27:46  GNT

That was a difficult moment. I know that as a teenager I asked the question – where was God? I know now that He was in the same place He was yesterday, today and forever. My immediate response is – God show up now and deliver me now. In my spirit I know He will show up in His time. I have learned that when God is quiet, He is up to something. I am inspired to pray, which is an expression of my trust in God, and then wait for an answer. The answer will not be what I think it will be so I best be on the lookout and careful not to miss it.

Other inspiring prayers include Hezekiah who was so sick he was going to die. God called it out and told him so. He did not freak out and start to swear and curse God, he did not complain, pout, beg or go into a depression, and he did not feel that God was picking on him. What he did do was turn to God in prayer, remind Him that he had been serving Him since he was a young. He turned his face towards the wall and started praying.

As a result he was given another 15 years of life. Such was the strength of his prayer in the face of adversity and such was the importance of having a relationship with God where He can be trusted and who would come when needed.

When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. – Martin Luther

 

Prayer is the shield, spear, thunderbolt, defense – this is for you

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Psalm 70 captures my attention today mainly because of a quote from Martin Luther. He said that “prayer is the shield, spear, thunderbolt and defense against every attack of fear, presumption [and] lukewarmness…which are especially dominant today.” The quote was written by James Montgomery Boice but I could not find its source.

This plea, here in the Psalm 70, is for deliverance but it is also one of remembrance of the many times God had already delivered.

Save me, O God!
    Lord, help me now! – Psalm 70:1 GNT

I wonder if I even come close to praying with such a sense of urgency. If I had maybe I would be praying more often.

“The petitions in this form of the psalm emphasize the urgency of the matter. There is not a moment to lose; or so it appears.” Kidner

“The circumstances were those of suffering…made more poignant by the gloating gladness of enemies…The troubled soul knew that help was only to be found in God. His difficulty was that God did not seem to be acting with sufficient speed. (God) was at least leisurely, when the need seemed pressing; He was not hastening, in spite of the urgency. So it appeared to this troubled heart, and so it has constantly appeared to those who have suffered. One of the supreme glories of the Psalter is that it gives us a song like this, expressing a common human experience, even though it reveals a mistaken conception of God. God never needs to be called upon to hasten. He is never tarrying uselessly or carelessly. Indeed, we may say that often: “Through the thick darkness He is hastening,” that is, through the very darkness which makes us imagine He is inactive, or unduly delaying His help. Nevertheless, He understands our cry. We may use any terms in our prayers, if they are directed to Him, knowing that He will understand, and in His understanding, interpret our faulty terms by His own perfect knowledge, and give us His best answers to our deepest need.” – G. Campbell Morgan

May those who try to kill me
    be defeated and confused.
May those who are happy because of my troubles
    be turned back and disgraced.
May those who make fun of me
    be dismayed by their defeat. – Psalm 70:2-3 GNT

“The psalmist prays for his enemies’ fall and shame in accordance with the principles of justice and with the promise of God to curse those who cursed his own.” – VanGemeren

“For success in evil encourages even more evil and establishes the evil doer in his or her ways. The kindest thing we can pray for people who do wrong is that their plans will fail, for it may be that in their frustration they will see the folly and true end of evil and be reached for God.” –  James Boice

Peter offers an additional perspective – a post evil – or maybe it is an attitude that gets me through it so that when I am delivered I am wiser and better for it.

But after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who calls you to share his eternal glory in union with Christ, will himself perfect you and give you firmness, strength, and a sure foundation. – 1 Peter 5:10 GNT

There is a calmness to Peter’s prayer – maybe it is one of confidence that He trusts God to answer. It is an exhortation that I am encouraged to pray for those who are suffering – and the good news is there – this is for them.

“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance”. – Martin Luther