Prayer
Bible Passage: Luke 18:1-4
Are our hearts prepared for the Spiritual Meeting that starts tonight? Are we prepared to make use of every prayer opportunity to cry out to the Lord?
The parable of the widow is often used to encourage church members who have yet to receive the Holy Spirit, to be persistent and earnest in their prayers.
For those who already have the Holy Spirit, we have to pray earnestly for the Holy Spirit to move our hearts, and for our hearts to be softened and willing to be moved.
Verse 8 tells us that not only will God avenge His elect, He will do so SPEEDILY, despite the hard heartedness of Man.
What is the one thing you have been praying for, for a long time now?
All we need to do is to have faith and persistence, God will certainly carry us all the way.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”
Philippians 4:6
God sees our hearts when we pray.
Are we humble and repentant like the tax collector? Or proud and self righteous like the Pharisee?
After reading the parable, do we then pray, “God, I thank you that I am not like the Pharisee, self righteous and boastful…”
God listens to those who are:
- Humble
- Contrite
- Reverance for God’s Word
Are there times when we feel we are doing more church work, covering for those who forgot or can’t do it and hence feel responsible and “superior”?
Sometimes do we feel we are more talented than other members and hence useful to the Lord in many ways?
Are there occasions where we attend church services three or four times weekly, and hence we feel we are more righteous than members who only come to church once a week?
The Pharisee is confident of his own righteousness and looks down on others. His condescending attitude reflects a lack of humility and he fails to make an honest evaluation of himself.
We condemn the Pharisee because the contents of his prayer are written clearly in the bible. While others are unable to see for themselves what our hearts truly are, God sees and knows.
Are our hearts black and evil like the Pharisee? Will God be pleased with our thoughts, our hearts and prayers?
Do our prayers give forth a fragrant aroma pleasing to God? Or a pungent stink that turns God away?
With humility there is praise. The humble worships in Spirit and Truth, acknowledging that God is merciful.
The Spiritual Meeting gives us ample opportunities for repentance, to worship and praise God, present our requests to Him and cry out to Him.
Let us come to church tonight with a sanctified heart prepared to receive His word.
Blessed Sabbath!
3 Comments
Brian
Thanks INHISTIME…. you have posted some very good questions for us to ponder over, esp on self-righteousness.
“Self-righteousness” can be a serious silent killer to our spiritual lives. Self-righteousness can really blind us from the our own weaknesses, and if it is not kept in check, we are heading towards our own downfall.
These weaknesses, since they are being blinded by self-righteousness, they are not easy for us to detect, sometimes we even try to ignore them, refusing to admit that we are harboring it in our hearts. So we need God who sees through our hearts to dig them all out.
Therefore in our daily prayers, we must not forget to ask God to seek our hearts for hidden pride and self-righteousness; and if God so reveals all these filth in us, we MUST repent and seek forgiveness from God sincerely.
In this coming Spiritual meeting, let us all put today’s reminder in our hearts, to pray incessantly for the Holy Spirit’s motivation and cleansing, so that we can continue to lead a prayerful life that is fragrant to the Lord and the people around us.
Have a wonderful and blessed Spiritual Meeting! 🙂
YSL
Alot to think about, thanks for sharing!
Simon Chin
The Mid-Year Spiritual Meeting 2012 is the occasion for us all to examine ourselves in our spiritual lives. We may claim to love Jesus Christ for He loves us. Yet are the deeds of ours and plans for ourselves that that makes us to have a closer walk with Him? Self-righteousness causes us to fall from His grace and it results in us being like the Pharisee in the Lord’s parable in Luke Chapter 18. Let’s all watch & take heed of the Lord’s words in v9. Have a blessed Spiritual Meeting.