My House Shall Be Called A House of Prayer
I Timothy 2:1-4
1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
We don't pray enough, you and I. Paul exhorts Timothy, a young pastor in the making and his 'true son in the faith' to first and foremost, pray unceasingly for all things and for all men. Amongst the needs for prayer, he stresses the authority figures in power above us, pointing out that such acts of obedience are pleasing to our God, in whose veins beats the bloods of missions and evangelism. How often do we pray for all men, with a heart of desiring their salvation, that the good news go out into all the world?
If we fail to take the Gospel out ourselves, we have already failed once. If we fail to pray for their souls to be saved, then we fail twice. Jesus is in the work of changing hearts, and we are to be at the frontline with Him doing battle when the souls of Mankind hang in the balance. Overly dramatic? I think not. Why else would Paul stress to his protege the tremendous need for prayer and for spiritual wrestling? It is in authority that he commends his charge to take upon the prayer ministry as The Main Course rather than the side dish of the pastorate. Too often do we, in our churches imagine prayer as the backup and the support ministry. Rather, prayer is the basis for all ministry since it forces us to rely and trust and look to resources BEYOND our own.
I strongly encourage anyone with the time to listen to Jim Cymbala's video-message on "My House Shall Be Called A House of Prayer" here http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5015435750261664501&q=jim+cymbala and to 'lift holy hands in prayer' for our world, for all around us.
1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
We don't pray enough, you and I. Paul exhorts Timothy, a young pastor in the making and his 'true son in the faith' to first and foremost, pray unceasingly for all things and for all men. Amongst the needs for prayer, he stresses the authority figures in power above us, pointing out that such acts of obedience are pleasing to our God, in whose veins beats the bloods of missions and evangelism. How often do we pray for all men, with a heart of desiring their salvation, that the good news go out into all the world?
If we fail to take the Gospel out ourselves, we have already failed once. If we fail to pray for their souls to be saved, then we fail twice. Jesus is in the work of changing hearts, and we are to be at the frontline with Him doing battle when the souls of Mankind hang in the balance. Overly dramatic? I think not. Why else would Paul stress to his protege the tremendous need for prayer and for spiritual wrestling? It is in authority that he commends his charge to take upon the prayer ministry as The Main Course rather than the side dish of the pastorate. Too often do we, in our churches imagine prayer as the backup and the support ministry. Rather, prayer is the basis for all ministry since it forces us to rely and trust and look to resources BEYOND our own.
I strongly encourage anyone with the time to listen to Jim Cymbala's video-message on "My House Shall Be Called A House of Prayer" here http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5015435750261664501&q=jim+cymbala and to 'lift holy hands in prayer' for our world, for all around us.
posted by leb at 9:30 AM
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