Prayer: God’s Hotline
When Lois Evans died last December 30th at the age of 70, her church family celebrated her life and legacy for over four hours. They prayed for healing, and God answered with eternal healing. Son Jonathan Evans warned against the dangers of entitlement. Prayer is not a tool we use to advance our agenda; it’s a tool we use to advance His agenda!
Four Purposes in Prayer:
To
“I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name forever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name forever and ever.” —Psalm 145:1-2
Our Lord also taught us to begin our prayers with praise,
“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” —Matthew 6:9
The worship song “Raise A Hallelujah” was born out of prayer for a young boy who was battling E. Coli infection. When you praise God, you are wielding the most powerful weapon in the universe against the Enemy of our souls.
To
“All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men might know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.” —Psalm 145:10-12
Similarly, our Lord taught us to pray,
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” —Matthew 6:10
God desires for everyone to know him (II Peter 3:9; I Timothy 2:3-4; John 3:17). We must pray as the Apostle Paul prayed when he was on trial before King Agrippa,
“I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become like I am.” —Acts 26:29
To
“The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” —Psalm 145:15.
In like manner, Jesus taught us to pray,
“Give us this day our daily bread.” —Matthew 6:1
Can we pray for things beyond our essential needs?
“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” —Psalm 37:4
When you delight in the Lord, he develops appropriate desires within you. We are to pray about “everything” (Philippians 4:6).
“He fulfills the desires of those who fear him.” —Psalm 145:18
To
“The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.” —Psalm 145:20
This is why we need to heed the teaching of Jesus to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” —Matthew 6:13
Hell is a real place. It should break our hearts to think of someone going there.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers grew up in a godly home and attended a Bible-believing church. He accepted Christ as a boy, and enjoyed the ministry of Young Life as a teenager. But hell was a stumbling block for him as he could not fathom “a god who wants to condemn most of the planet to a fiery hell.”
Not true, for Psalm 145:13 says, “He is loving toward all he has made.” That’s why God sent Jesus to rescue precious human beings by dying a horrible death and shedding his blood as payment for their sins.
“There are only two kinds of people in the end; those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done’, and those with whom God says in the end, ‘Thy will be done’. All that are in hell choose it. Without that self-choice there would be no hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find.” (C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce).
Instead of turning to C.S. Lewis, Aaron Rodgers turned to apostate pastor Rob Bell for counsel. Since meeting Bell, Aaron has renounced his faith, calling Christianity “a crutch” that can have “a mind debilitating effect”. Teach your family to pray. Pray as Jesus taught, “Deliver us from evil.”