Pastor’s Blog 3.31.21
Matthew 26:36-41
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” 39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” 40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” NKJV
How hard is it to stay consistent in prayer? If it was this hard for the disciples, when only a few feet from the present “in the flesh” Jesus, it will be real hard 2000 years later! It is not easy to pray consistently. But, we have been given the mandate to “pray without ceasing”. I try to stay in an attitude of prayer at all times, but it is so easy to be distracted. I believe Jesus is still saying to the church today, “Could you not watch with me one hour?” It seems crazy to me that Muslims will pray several times a day, and their prayers do not get answered! That is the irony of religion versus grace. They pray to work for their salvation, whereas we have been given the gift of salvation and don’t want to work!
However, we must always remember and consider faith without works is dead. A great part of our works is to continually be praying for God’s Kingdom to come and His will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Faith is believing He hears us, and the work is doing the actual praying by speaking it out loud. We are not Biblically taught to think a prayer, we need to speak our prayers. There is no doctrine in scripture for the practice of silent or thinking prayers. Even Science, through the knowledge of Quantum Physics, has shown that subatomic particles respond to the sound of a voice.
We are not Biblically taught to think a prayer, we need to speak our prayers.
I remember how intimidating it was to try to pray for more than just a few minutes at a time when I first got saved. But, as I learned the pattern of the Lord’s prayer, my prayer life took on structure and meaning. Remember, you cannot improve on the methods of Jesus! He is “the way, the truth, and the life” If we continue in His pattern, we will find a great fulfillment in our prayer times, as well as doing our part to change the world.
Acts 3:1
3:1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. NKJV
Eastern culture to this day, has a greater discipline of prayer than western culture. Again, I understand that the motive to pray is works for righteousness, but we should want to pray out of gratitude for the gift of righteousness we have been given. As I have been teaching these last several weeks on aspects of prayer and the unseen realm, I have reinforced the principles of the power of the praying church, and I believe we will see great outcomes as we persevere and overcome in prayer.
We should want to pray out of gratitude for the gift of righteousness we have been given.
Psalm 55:16-18
16 As for me, I will call upon God, And the LORD shall save me. 17 Evening and morning and at noon I will pray , and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice. 18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, For there were many against me. NKJV
It was customary to pray 3 times a day in Israel, why isn’t it in the Church?
Psalm 118:24-29
24 This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now, I pray , O LORD; O LORD, I pray , send now prosperity.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. 27 God is the LORD, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You.
29 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. NKJV
We need to bind our souls to the altar to pray and not relent!
Tonight, I am going to be teaching and giving an example of praying in the pattern of Jesus. I know it will help motivate us to pray when we have an understanding and practical exercise of doing it. We will make a soundtrack that can be followed and learned to help get you into a routine of prayer.
Come and let’s pray together!
- Date - March 31, 2021
- Author - David Chisholm
