The power of unity

 

Genesis 11 tells us the story of a people who rallied behind their king (Nimrod) to achieve a titanic task: building themselves a city and a tower which was destined to reach the heavens. This mission had a double-purpose: make themselves a name and avoiding dispersion over the face of the earth (vs. 4). The Bible tells us that God ‘came down’ to see what they were up to, and after seeing it, He acknowledged that: “they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them” (vs. 6). However, as the project was hubristic, God could not let them continue. In the meantime, NOTHING, not even Him, could stop them as long as they were united, ONE. So, He decided to confuse their language and scatter them over the face of the earth (precisely what they wanted to avoid at the beginning of their initiative). Unable to understand each other any longer and no longer together, they had no option but to stop building the city.

There is a formidable power behind unity. It is not for nothing that the motto of several countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Bolivia, Angola, Haiti, and Malaysia) is “Unity is strength” and that many other countries have the word Unity or Union in their respective mottos as well.

This is why God wanted the husband and the wife to be ONE, one flesh, when He instituted marriage. Paul goes even further and adds that it is a mystery: “…the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” Eph 5:31-32

It is for this reason that Jesus, the Bridegroom of the Church, prayed: “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one… I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” (Jn. 17:11, 20-23) Notice the number of times that He asks for the unity of the Church. He is about to depart and return to His Father and He knows that the only way that the work that He had started –the Gospel- will stand and spread is through the unity of the disciples. So, He asks them to love one another as He loved them for it was only love which was able to cement that unity. This is one of the most powerful prayers of the New Testament.

United couples form united families and kids who will try to reproduce the holy and healthy model that they have seen and known. United families —> united teams, churches and societies —> strong nations, which does not please the devil at all. When he wants to destroy an individual, a family, a team, a project or a nation, he brings in division. Jesus thus warned the disciples that a kingdom divided against itself was laid waste and a divided household would fall (Mat 12:25, Lk 11:17). Yet, all this starts at an individual level with doubt and indecision which are actually nothing else than a divided mind. This is why James warned us saying: “the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (Ja. 1.6-7) Those who doubt cut themselves off from the LORD’s favour and put themselves at the devil’s pleasure. So, Jesus said: “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mk 11:23-24). In other words, “when you ask something in prayer, let your lips, mind and heart be ONE. They must all be on the same wave length and say the same thing.”

There is a power behind unity. Be ONE with yourself and be ONE with your spouse. May your family and church be ONE: this unity will be the strength of the projects that you will undertake together. Also remember that unity does not grow with wishful thinking; it is nurtured and consolidated in/by love.

God bless you as He helps you not to be double-minded and unstable in your ways. Have a great week!

Must-pray prayers of the New T. (IX)

 

Praying for healing

Ja 5:13a, 14-16, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray... 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

I am not aware of anyone who hasn’t been through pain or illness at any point of their lives. We must also all know of some people who are in the middle of such situations. Therefore, we all need to understand this prayer in order to be able to pray it effectively.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. We pray so as to know what to do. It is written indeed: “In the day of adversity consider” and also, « No temptation/testing has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (Eccl. 7:14 & 1Co 10:13). It is in reflective prayer that we will find a way out and the strength to deal with and overcome whatever afflicts us. Therefore, we pray to seek God’s wisdom (see last week’s posting).

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church… Paradoxically, we are not asked to pray straight away. In fact, I would have even thought that we would be asked to call the elders when we suffer and pray when we are sick; but the opposite is recommended. On the other hand, this passage mentions several things that seem necessary for healing. It seems that prayer alone is not enough.

Let him call for the elders of the church: This implies that you are a member of an assembly and you recognise its leadership. Let them pray over him: By requiring you to go through them, God requires you to respect authority and submit to it. Otherwise, you will have a hard time enjoying biblical healing. Remember the Roman centurion whose faith Jesus praised. His servant was sick and he called the Elder of the time, Jesus. Yet, it is his understanding of authority and submission to it which triggered the healing miracle (Mat 8:5-13).

Confess your sins to one another: Here it is the obligation of dependence vis-à-vis other Christians, and the need to walk in light. In other words, this forces us to consider that we are not free electrons. We are part of a Body and what affects us (sin or sickness), also affects the rest of the Body (1Co 12:12-27). It also shows the direct relationship that some of our diseases may have with sin. That is why Paul said, speaking of Holy Communion, that those who take it unworthily (e.g. while living in sin) are at risk of infirmity, disease and even death.

Pray for one another. The dependence we are talking about goes in both directions. On the one hand, we submit to others by confessing our sins, but we are also sensitive to their problems on the other hand. Let’s not be selfish people who always ask people to pray for them but never really take time to intercede for others. We will be measured by what we use to measure others (Lk 6:38). Let us suffer with those who suffer and be compassionate.

Let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. This reminds us of the importance of faith and anointing oil in the prayer for healing. Moreover, it is not the elders who heal, but the name of Jesus. The elders are only the instruments of the LORD.

If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Here is another aspect of authority. It is the prayer of the elders which causes sins to be forgiven. Jesus had said to Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” He later repeated it to the other apostles: “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mat 16:19 & 18:18). Your pastors and elders have the keys for your welfare: they watch over your soul (Heb 13:17). When a Christian tries to hide and appear super-spiritual and refuses to open up to his/her leaders, he/she just returns a knife against themselves. Indeed, there is no power against the truth and, he who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy (2Co 13.8, Pr 28.13).

…. That you may be healed. One must do all this; one must meet all these steps to be healed. However, we know that in practice, this is not always possible nowadays. As all steps are mandatory and none can be short-circuited, what can we do then, in such cases?

Well, you can always pray yourself, providing you are righteous. Indeed, let me summarise. If I'm sick and want to be healed through prayer, I must:

• Belong to a church
• Acknowledge its leadership, accept it and submit to it.
• Confess my sins to my leaders and possibly to the brethren as well (my leaders will tell me if this is necessary)
• Carry the burdens of my brethren in prayer, have compassion.
• More than my own faith (which is indispensable still), it is the faith of the elders that matters the most here.

But, all these conditions -and even more- are easily met by the righteous. This is why James ends by saying that: The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. I do not have time to expand on the characteristics of the righteous, but carry out some research using a biblical concordance and you will be greatly enlighten.

 

Have a great week and God bless you.

Must-pray prayers of the New Testament (VIII)

 

Prayer for wisdom

Ja 1.5-6, « If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. »

Wisdom is a right natural or acquired knowledge of things. Indeed, the Bible tells us that it knows the interpretation of things (Eccl 8.1). Wisdom is soundness of mind. It is the ability or result of an ability to think and act utilising knowledge, experience. It is thus the ability to make intelligent decisions especially in everyday matters.

So, James encourages all those who feel they lack wisdom to pray to receive it. It can be obtained. The book of Proverbs tells us that the LORD gives wisdom (2:6) which will come into our heart if we call it (2:3, 10). Solomon exhorted his son saying: “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding” (Pr 4:7). Why? Why is it so important?

Her gain is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing one desires can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace (Pr 3.14-17). She makes us walk securely on our way without stumbling (3:23). That is: she helps us live an exemplary Christian life, worthy of the Lord. She gives more strength to the wise than ten rulers who are in a city (Eccl 7:19). She brings glory and elevation and places a beautiful crown or a graceful garland on our heads (Pr 4:8-9). Wisdom protects like money; but the advantage of knowledge is, that wisdom gives or preserves the life of those who have it (Eccl 7:12). There are still so many other examples we can mention, but we will not be exhaustive. The ones that we have listed are more than enough to understand the importance of wisdom and desire to possess it.

If we pray this prayer, since it is in line with the will of God, we can be certain we are heard and our request is granted (cf. 1Jn 5:15). However, we are not going to receive crowns, prosperity etc. in a matter of days. In other words, though we have received it and it is dormant in us, we will not necessarily display the signs of wisdom overnight. To pray this prayer is to open ourselves to wisdom.

After listening to Job and his friends argue for a while, Elihu, the youngest visitor, said: “If you have any words, answer me… If not, listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.” (Job 33:32, 33). Then he reminded Job that nobody gives orders to God (34:13), nobody disputes with Him (34:23-25), He does what He wants and is not accountable to anyone (34:29), He is not affected –changed in what He is– by our actions at all and our deeds only affect us or our fellow men, not Him (35:3-8). He finally gave him a glimpse of the greatness and omnipotence of the Creator (chap. 36 & 37). Following this, God also spoke to Job. He asked him a series of questions about the origins of the world, the domicile of the stars, the unusual strength of some animals, the reasons behind the choice of their habitats, the triggering of childbirth, the doors of the sea, the Sheol, the path of light, the laws of heaven etc. And of course, Job could give no answer to any of them.

“I will teach you wisdom” is followed by a very long hymn to the greatness of the Creator-Sovereign-Lord-God-Almighty. This deployment of divine majesty is such that Job suddenly feels stupid (not wise) and very small. Indeed, when you sit down to be taught wisdom, the first thing you understand is that wisdom begins with the fear of the LORD. To pray as James advocates is to sit at Jesus' feet, the Master’s feet, so that He Himself will teach us wisdom. That is why, if one does not have reverence for the Teacher, if one is not able to discern the preciousness of each and every one of His words and if one is not able to know their place (student, ignorant) then, there is no point undertaking this pilgrimage.

Sorry I did not post anything yesterday; I simply was not ready. I hope I have made up for it. Have a wonderful week, God bless and thanks for your understanding!

Must-pray prayers of the New T. (VII)

 

Praying for the authorities

1Tim 2.1-4, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

On the eve of the U.S. presidential election, one of the largest in the world by its international repercussions, it is good to remind ourselves of Paul’s recommendations to his spiritual son, the Bishop of Ephesus, Timothy, to pray for our authorities.

The principle of separation of Church and State is so deep that the majority of Christians thinks it means: “Christ and politics do not go together. Or, you cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit and do politics. It is impossible to do politics without dirtying your hands (hence, every politician Christian is automatically suspected of corruption).” To ensure we stay away from the 'affairs of the city' (politics), the devil has even greatly help us diabolised it. Yet, the Bible is full of people who have held high offices in the State without corrupting themselves: Joseph, David, Daniel and his friends, Esther, Deborah, many kings mentioned in the Books of Kings and Chronicles, and Erastus, the treasurer of the city of Corinth (Rom 16.23), to mention only a few. It is therefore possible for a Christian to be involved in politics and remain faithful to the LORD. Why should we pay more attention to politics?

1) It has an interest in us. It takes decisions that affect us directly. This is why Paul says: “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” and Jeremiah asks to seek the welfare of the cities and countries of residence, and pray to the LORD on their behalf, for in their welfare is ours (Jer 29:7). The best way to seek the welfare of a city, a country or even an organization, is to procure them good leaders – ideally God-fearing ones, but if not, at least some who genuinely have the best interests of the people at heart. Leaders who do not covet the position because of their stomach or, in order to promote the agenda of small occult groups. Indeed, the Bible repeatedly shows us how the entire nation prospered each time it was run by a pious king. If we want to see the Crisis end, or crime rate fall, or jobs being created and if we want the notions of family, marriage and sanctity of life preserved, we need to kneel down before the LORD and present Him every election. Once a person is elected, it's too late: when you have signed to collect a delivery, you must accept all that the package contains. As soon as the child is conceived, its genetic code is in place: you cannot start praying for him not to have grandma’s nose afterwards. Yes, the king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD who turns it wherever He wills. So, He can still shake them from time to time and force them to implement or revoke some decisions, even after the election (Pr 21:1); but, prevention is better than cure. It is better not to have grandma’s nose than to have to remove it surgically. My pastor often says that since the Church has lost her power (in prayer), she now resorts to petitions to influence government decisions. We have become too retroactive instead of being proactive. If we do not define the rules of the political game, we will spend our time dealing with what the agents of darkness would have inspired the politicians to do.

2) There will be a judgment of the nations (Mat 25:32). For it to be as fair as possible, Jesus ordered us to make disciples of all nations and preach the gospel of the Kingdom everywhere, that it may serve as a testimony to all nations (Mat 28.19 et 24.14). To discipline a nation is to convert systems; to submit them to the authority of divine Commandments. It is to align what is done down here with what is being done up there. There are only two ways to achieve this: the fervent prayer of the righteous (cf. Elijah) or the appointment of worthy representatives of Christ who can make and undo laws in high places. We must therefore take an interest in politics and participate in public affairs. The Church must become militant again.

3) We must pray for the authorities because they are the stake of interests that we cannot even begin to fathom. Think of Daniel and his friends. They were attacked from all sides because two opposing camps sought to control them. They belonged to God’s camp when they arrived in Babylon. However, the devil quickly took an interest in them (read Dan 1). We cannot afford to abandon people as important and strategic as the authorities into the hands of the devil. This can only turn back against us.

4) Finally, we must pray for those who are in authority because God wants them to have an opportunity to be saved and it is pleasing unto Him as well. But Jesus said: He who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him (Jn 8.29). God shows no partility (Ac 10:35); if we do what pleases Him, He will also de with us, always.

Have a great week and God bless you!