It could be very easy for me to crowd prayer out of my life and I would suffer as much as those I see do it every day. I did see prayer missing the same passion in Church life as activities, programs and service but am happy to say that has definitely been changing.
We ourselves, then, will give our full time to prayer and the work of preaching. – Acts 6:4 GNT
I have pointed out, in recent posts, two other times God telling Jeremiah not to pray on behalf of the people of Israel. I ran across this and the context took my by surprise as I applied it to my story of today.
Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were standing here pleading with me, I would not show these people any mercy. Make them go away; make them get out of my sight. – Jeremiah 15:1 GNT
How many times do we run to super Christians for prayer, especially when it comes to healing? Here God is calling out two super followers and saying that even their prayers could not save the people. God had decided what He had decided.
“Those two were famous in their generations for hearty love to, and prayers for, that rebellious people, and did much for them.” – Trapp
On a more encouraging note for Jeremiah, God was not saying that he was not a man of faith or prayer, for even if Moses and Samuel were to be present and pray, their prayers would not be more effective than his.
Do you want to read how Jeremiah prayed – it was quite heartfelt, contrite and God-honouring intercession (Jeremiah 14:19-22). There was no reason for God not to relent but God’s answer never changed. Sometimes I think, as I am praying, that if I pray a certain way, if I bring the most broken and God centred prayer, truly genuine and transparent, that God will give me the answer I hope for. Not so.
Here is what Jesus did and what I continually need to do.
Very early the next morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and left the house. He went out of town to a lonely place, where he prayed. – Mark 1:35 GNT
Jesus’ public ministry was sustained by private prayer. Jesus needed to pray. Why does He need to pray? I believe that Jesus valued the relationship with His Father more than anything else. He delighted in talking with Him. They enjoyed conversing and being with each other. I believe that prayer was joy for Jesus. I believe that He prayed because He loved being in relationship.
I am challenged to keep creating a lifestyle of prayer. It is not something I do now and then. There is something about having a set time to pray – like making an appointment with God that repeats every day. I believe that it could very well be in a certain place that this appointment is kept.
“This is all in Martin Luther’s first Wittenberg thesis. If we knew we are loved and accepted in spite of our sins,that makes it far easier to admit our flaws and faults. It gives us the deep spiritual and psychological security necessary to be quick to admit when we have been wrong. This softens almost all conflicts, since getting admissions of wrong is no longer like pulling teeth. This simplifies many personal problems, because when we have taken a wrong course of action, we are more readily able to see it and turn back. Most of all, we can more immediately and more often go to God with our sins, confess them, remember Jesus’ sacrificial death, and relive in miniature the joy of our salvation. While there always is some bitterness and grief in repentance, deepre realizations of sin liead to greater assurances of his grace. The more we know we are forgiven, the more we repent; the faster we grow and change, the deeper our humility and our joy.” – Timothy Keller
The Practice of Prayer 