Must-pray prayers of the New Testament (III)

 

The Colossians’ prayer for Paul

Col 4.3-4, “Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison-- that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.”

Paul’s request to the Colossians teaches us to pray for a servant of God. They are called to proclaim the Gospel. Indeed, people cannot call on the Lord if they have not previously heard of Him and believed in Him - hence the need for preachers of the Gospel (Rom 10:14-15). Therefore, He Who sends them to preach must also open doors in order for them to accomplish their mission. It is Him Who has the key of David: He opens and no one shuts, He shuts and no one opens (Rev 3:7). Thus, it is not because God calls you to do something -a job, a business, a project, evangelise etc. - that the door is necessarily open. He can speak to you, call you and send you while the doors are still closed. He sent Jesus to His own, but they did not receive Him: they closed the door on Him (Jn 1:11). It also took some time for Moses to finally have a favourable access to Pharaoh to who he had already been sent. God had to force Pharaoh Himself to let the Israelites go worship and serve Him; He had to open the doors Himself. “Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.” Is 45:1-2

While we intercede for our leaders that God may open doors for them within the confines of their calling, let’s also pray for ourselves that God will also open doors for us wherever He has sent us. And when a great and efficient door is finally open, let us not forget that the adversaries are many (1Cor 16:9): let’s be vigilant.

Paul also wanted the Colossians to pray for him to preach the mystery of Christ as he should; i.e., rightly and faithfully. Indeed, God's revelation often comes as a dream, vision, impression, feeling, word, figure, a parable etc. to be decoded and translated for the masses. Paul knew the responsibility that weighed on his shoulders. He knew what he would have risked if he had erred in the interpretation and said: “Thus says the Lord…” for something that the Lord had not said.

The Ephesians’ prayer for Paul

Eph 6.19-20, “(Praying) and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Paul was imprisoned in Rome and in chains when he wrote this letter. Some would have taken the opportunity to sit back and twiddle their thumbs until God releases them before getting back to work. But Paul was fully aware of his role as an ambassador of the Gospel. He may have been chained, but the gospel was not. As he still aspired to freedom, he asked the brethren to pray for him to boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel. The French version adds the word, freely, which is to say, other than in chains. Who knows? By being frequently jailed and whipped, he may have become a little cooler and hesitant in his choice of words and could really do with more spiritual courage.

We need to pray that our pastors and leaders should always be free to preach the Word of God and that they should always have the courage to say exactly everything that God asks them to say. It does not necessarily take physical chains to deprive a servant of God of freedom. The issue of gay rights, and their right to marry in particular, is gagging many men and women of God in the United States and even in Europe. The often-constitutional law/rule of political correctness has become an invisible prison for many of them. The Lord can even ask a pastor to talk about a specific issue, but the latter decides to cut corners and dilute the soup in fear that some members of their congregation will feel personally attacked by his sermon. And at the end, the message has little to do with the warning that God wanted to give to X, Y and Z. That is why we must pray for our pastors to always have the courage to tell us the Gospel truth without any dilution or manipulation whatsoever. After all, it is the knowledge of the truth which sets us free (Jn 8:32).

Let us also pray for ourselves, that we may always be free to boldly do what God asks of us and free to always worthily represent the Christ. Let us pray that we may always have the courage to stand on the side of truth and defend it. Let us pray that He who works in us both the willing and the doing, always gives us the right words to convey what He gives us to say with the confidence that the Spirit communicates, whether inside or outside of the church.

May God bless you with a great week.

Beware, danger (II)! Need for discernment

 

I was supposed to write on another must-prayed prayer this week; but the Spirit of God laid something else on my heart which forced me to make a break in the series on prayer.

If we take a poll asking Christians what spiritual gifts they would like to have, prophecy, miracles, healing, word of knowledge, tongues (speaking and interpreting), will probably be on top of the list. Yet, there is a gift that should be particularly sought after, especially in these last days: the gift of discernment; the ability to know if something or someone comes from God or not.

The devil has many ways to attack the men, but he does it primarily through the realm of thoughts or through human channels. I will not speak of his action in the field of thoughts today; I will focus on his second mode of action.

When God wants to bless someone, He sends them a man / woman to help them move to another stage of life or breakthrough. Similarly, when the devil wants to destroy someone, he also sends them a man or a woman. However, neither Satan nor his agents will ever come to us with horns and a forked tail. Far from it; Satan disguises himself into an angel of light (2Cor 11:14), and so do his agents. When someone gets closer to us; if we have to walk together in any way whatsoever, the first question we should ask ourselves and which must imperatively find a clear answer, is to know who is sending them: God or the devil? Some people often seem so nice and friendly, so not ‘witchy’, that we just rule aside the possibility that Satan may be behind the encounter. Let us not forget that Jesus warned that the road leading to destruction is wide and spacious and many are those who go through it. All that glitters is not gold…

We also tend to think that Satan only uses wizards, witches, Freemasons, Rosicrucians or their likes. Therefore, once we are convinced that our new acquaintance is not one of them, we remove them from the list of ‘suspects’. However, the majority of those used by the devil are not even aware that they are puppets into his hands; and yet, this does not change the goals of their manipulator. So, the question is simple; and it is a matter of life or death: Can I say with certainty that God is at the origin of our meeting?

Because, if it is the devil who is unfortunately pulling the strings, my brother/sister, you will bitterly regret it. Satan has no good intentions vis-à-vis men, and worse,  Christians. The Lord warned us that he only comes to steal, kill and destroy. This is his only agenda. If Satan directs someone to you, it's either to steal something (a blessing, your peace, your health…), or to physically kill you, or to destroy you (your spiritual death; to ensure that you loose your salvation). We do not play with fire. Do not think you can control the situation, that there is no harm and this person is all ‘soft, innocent and nice'. The French playwright Jean Racine said in Britannicus, “I hug my rival, but it is to better choke/smother/suffocate him.” Beware, danger! Run away. Do not be fooled by whatever good thing this person / encounter may seem to bring or offer: it is only an apple full of worms inside. If you pursue this relationship, no matter how long it will take (Satan is patient), you will only have your tears to cry.

Pray for the gift of discernment; and while waiting for it, know that if you sincerely want God to tell you where you are putting your feet, as a Good Father, He will never let you embark on a destructive adventure: He will always respond. The problem is that very often, as James says, we ask when we are already lured and enticed by our own desire (Ja 1:14). This was the case with Balaam. He had a weakness: the love of money and honours. The devil knew it and used Balak to destroy him. God had told Balaam not to go. The message was very clear from the beginning; but Balaam still did as if God was supposed to deny Himself and deny His Word. He went back to Him in order to make another request of what God had forbidden. So, the Lord delivered him to the lust of his heart and Balaam set off. But God is Good. He did not want Balaam’s misfortune. There were signs on the way showing that He had neither agreed, nor was happy with this decision; but Balaam's heart was hardened. He desperately wanted to received the money promised (Nu 22). The rest is history. Indeed, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin brings forth death when it is fully grown (Ja 1:15); and Balaam did die of a horrible death (Jos 13:22).

Caution, danger! Beware of relationships; beware of angels of death looking like angels of light. Jesus said: “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.” In other words, if God is not in a business and you are a Christian, you have nothing to do in that business either.

May the LORD GOD Almighty bless you with prudence.

Must-pray prayers of the New Testament (II)

 

First prayer of Paul for the Ephesians

Eph 1.16-19, “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might”

I really like this prayer; it is so rich and profound. As with the Colossians, Paul was particularly happy with the Ephesians. He had only heard good things about their faith and charity. So, it is with a heart filled with joy and gratitude, that he constantly prayed God for them, asking:

· That He gives them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in His knowledge. The Holy Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God whom He knows the things (1Cor 2:10-11). However, Jesus promised that He would take what belongs to Him and reveal it to us; and as everything the Father has is also His, the Spirit actually takes and declares what belongs to the Father (Jn 16:14-15). Thus, Paul is praying that the Holy Spirit may reveal to them things that no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, that God has prepared for those who love Him (1Cor 2:9). He will even later say that it is also by revelation that he himself had had knowledge of the mystery about which he wrote (Eph 3:3). He then prays that they would be wise in the management of these revelations and of what they will know from God. That’s why Jesus often commanded those who had known Him as the God who heals (those He had healed or delivered), not to mention it. Paul also spoke of someone who was caught up into the third heaven, into paradise, and heard unspeakable words which are not lawful for a man to express. It was him (2Cor 12:2-4). This is the kind of prayers that we can also do for ourselves.

· That they may realise the riches of their glorious inheritance. Paul knows that with persecutions, Ephesians might wonder if all this is worth it and if they are not chasing a lure. So, he prays in advance that God should open the eyes of their heart and give them a glimpse of the glory which truly awaits them. As long as Peter and John had not seen, their faith wavered. However, the day God opened the eyes of their heart and they saw the resurrected One, they no longer feared any intimidation, nor blows, nor prison. They said to those who threatened: “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Ac 4:20). For the same reasons, we must also pray that the eyes of our heart be enlightened and that the Lord may reveal to us the wealth and glory that are attached with doing His will and fulfilling our mission on earth.

· That they may realise the exceeding greatness of His power toward those who believe. A power that He deployed by raising Christ from the dead, and sitting Him at His right hand in heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named (vs. 20-21). As I said, with the persecutions that would not fail to come – especially as Paul himself was writing from a prison -, they had to experience the power that could transcend any opposition so as to persevere and not to become discouraged. We similarly need this power because the world is increasingly hostile to anything that just alludes to the Gospel. On the other hand, what the Lord expects of us is not necessarily easy. We already know God is powerful and we know we received this power when we were baptised in the Holy Ghost; but we need to realise how great this power really is.

Have a wonderblessed week in CHRIST JESUS, the LORD!

Must-pray prayers of the New Testament

 

It is the prayer of Paul to the Colossians that inspired this article and I will therefore begin with it. In this series, I would like to look at a few prayers which I consider to be the most powerful of the New Testament (NT); those that any serious Christian should regularly pray. I will not mention the Pater Noster (Our ​​Father) - I have already written something on it in a previous article – which is more than a prayer to me: it is a way of life. Looking at these prayers, I hope we can find what the main concerns of those who prayed them (Paul and Jesus, particularly) were, what they deemed were essential to the first century believers and, by God’s grace, this could also help us transform our own prayer life.

Paul’s prayer for the Colossians

Col 1:9-11, “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.”

Paul wished above all things that the Colossians – Christians who bore the fruits of the Gospel and whose faith in Christ and brotherly love were renowned -, be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. He did not want them to only know it from time to time, but he prayed that they be filled with it. He wanted it to be revealed to them through the wisdom and knowledge that the Spirit communicates. In a way, he wanted them to be filled with spiritual knowledge and wisdom which would always enable them to discover the will of the Lord. Paul prayed like that because he knew how advantageous it was to be thus filled with His will. He knew it would help them to:

• Walk in a manner worthy to the Lord
• Be totally agreeable to Him
• Bear fruit in everything, because all they do would be a good thing
• Know God and grow
• Experience God’s power in trials so that they could cope with perseverance, patience and joy.

These are just as many things that we should ardently desire. I have largely discussed the importance of God's will in many articles and I will not repeat myself. Just click on the corresponding label on your left and you will have access to all of them. I will simply remind us that: “This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” 1Jn 5:13-14

Instead of focusing solely on material things, may the daily bread that we ask God rather be our daily measure of spiritual wisdom and understanding. In this way, filled with the knowledge of His will for each new day, we can honour Him and our day can glorify Him. Let us pray that He helps us to bear fruit and do EVERY thing well. Let’s ask Him to help us grow in Him by revealing us something new about Him. Let’s pray for Him to grant us the grace to endure with patience, joy and perseverance, any possible setback or testing during the day. If we pray like that, we can be certain that He is listening to us and will grant our requests because such prayers are made in accordance with His will.

Have a ‘wonderblessed’ week in CHRIST JESUS, the LORD.

Ministry redefined

 

When we speak of Ministry in Christian circles, people directly think of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, bishops, priests, praise and worship leaders, prison or hospital chaplains, intercessors etc. For them this is being in the ministry or having a ministry.

However, ministry is generally the profession or duties of a priest or a minister of religion; and the performance of these duties. Yet, the Bible says that every Christian is a priest of the Most High God (1Pe 2:9, Rev 1:6). This means that we are all concerned by the ministry and are all God’s ministers. What does this mean in practice?

According to Wikipedia, ministry is also a Christian activity done to spread or express the faith. The Wiktionary, which defines a minister as someone who serves others, also defines it as the action of ministering to someone. Bearing this in mind, we can now better understand the following verse:

Col 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

EVERYTHING we do is a way of serving Christ. Every job we have; every task or charge we fulfil and every service rendered to others is a way of serving the Lord: it is ministry.

When I get up in the morning and go to work, I go to do my job to the best of my abilities; not because of the fear of losing my job or a desire to impress my boss; but because my true boss is the One who gave me that job and in fact, it is therefore God that I serve. In so doing, I exercise my ministry; that is to say, the responsibility or office which the Lord has entrusted to me.

When I cook some food for my family or friends, I have to give special care to it because in reality, through them, it is JESUS ​​CHRIST whom I serve: I am ministering.

I will go even further. When I wash, dress, eat or even rest, it is also ministry in a way; because my body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 6:19) and therefore, when I take care of this temple, I serve the Lord. If I indulge in drugs, excessive eating, heavy drinking or sexual immorality, I do not minister to my body, the temple of God (1Cor 3:16-17), and thus I do not serve the Lord. Not to talk about all those that I may lead astray by being a bad example.

As a matter of fact, whenever we're sensitive to the needs of those around us (at home, school, university, work, church, in the neighbourhood or the streets) and do our best to meet them, whether they represent actual persons or legal entities, we are doing the ministry, we are serving the Lord. He said indeed : “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 40 …'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'” Mat 25:35-36, 40

I do hope this has given you another perspective on the ministry and Christian life. Actually, the Christian life is to live like Christ. Yet, there is not a second of His life which was not spent ministering; and every aspect of His life was an aspect of the ministry. You've probably realised that in my mind and certainly in that of the Lord also, ministry equals service. The Christian life is a life of service. A life where we constantly give our own life as a ransom for many; and where we are regularly impoverished so that others may be enriched. And the greater we will want to become in this life and beyond, the more we will have to serve men. Did He not say, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all?" The life of a Christian is that of a permanent ministry: learning to see and recognise Christ everywhere, and hastening to serve Him every time we have recognised Him.

Have a wonderblessed week serving others.

Thoughts from the Book of Matthew (IV)

 

Mat 24:42, “Watch; for you do not know what hour your Lord comes.” Beyond the Lord's return or the rapture, this is an exhortation to vigilance because God can surprise us positively (and not only negatively) at any moment. He may appear unexpectedly under any disguise to bless us. If we fail to recognise Him or are not ready to receive Him like the foolish virgins (25:1-13), well, that will be our bad.

We must be even more vigilant that we do not know when our darkest hour or night of darkness will fall on us. Throughout chapters 24 and 25, Jesus repeatedly insisted on the need to be watchful. Unfortunately, His words entered in one ear and came out in the other because the guys saw no danger on the horizon; and yet… Jesus went to Gethsemane with three of them to pray; but on three occasions, He had to wake them up and remind them that it was not the time to sleep but to watch and pray (26:36-45). Had they done so, they could have understood the spiritual dimension of the events; they could have found the strength not to deny or forsake the Lord at this crucial time; and they would not have tried to use carnal weapons (cutting somebody’s ear with a sword) in a spiritual warfare. We must watch and pray because we do not know when the Lord will come or when trials will knock on our door; but one thing is sure: they will come.

Mat 26:29, “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." Oh! Will we be drinking beverages in Heaven? In Mk 12:25, Jesus told the Sadducees that after the resurrection, people will not marry again, but will be like angels in heaven. Do angels or spirits drink? Mystery, mystery of the kingdom… “In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (Jn 14:2). Oh! The Father lives in a house into which there are many mansions. Do spirits or angels live in houses? Another mystery and food for thoughts for those who imagine heaven as a dull and boring place. Seek and you shall find/understand…

Mat 26:51-53, “And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” The scene takes place at the time of the arrest of the Lord. It reminds us that we must not always call upon the heavenly hosts or call the fire down from heaven on our enemies (real or imaginary), like Boanerges, the sons of thunder (Mk 3:17). All is not resolved with a display of flesh or power. We do not have to reply to every attack, question or provocation. Indeed, when Pilate questioned Him regarding the accusations of the clergy of the time, Jesus did not answer; but He replied when asked if He was the king of the Jews (27:11-14). “There is a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak… a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.” (3:7, 8) In fact, Jesus goes on to ask Peter who had drawn the sword (vs. 54), “How then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?" He perfectly knew who He was and what was written about Him. Do you know what has been written, said or prophesied about you? Are you capable, like Jesus, to refuse to go in a certain direction or do certain things because it would be going against the fulfillment of your destiny or of a prophecy concerning you?

Mat 27:19, “While he was sitting (Pontius Pilate) on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, "Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream."” God does not speak only to Christians. He can also use dreams and visions to speak to non Christians. He did so with Pilate’s wife, the Pharaoh in Joseph’s days, Nebucadnezzar and some others. The Magi who came to worship Jesus were obviously neither Jews nor Christians; yet, God spoke to them through the vision of a Star. When we consider the sorts of channels which God can use, we must be careful throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Test everything; hold fast what is good (1Th 5.21).

God bless you!

Thoughts from the Book of Matthew (III)

 

The parable of the wedding feast [Mat 22:1-14 – the guests of honour at a prince’s wedding decline the invitation and the king sends for people who were initially unworthy to attend the event to come and replace them. As they are about to eat, he spots someone without wedding clothes amongst the guests and asks: 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' Unable to answer, the guy is tied up and thrown into the 'outer darkness.'] reminds us that it is not all to enter into the kingdom of Heaven; there is also a dressing, a code of conduct and a protocol to observe. We do not do what we want in God’s presence. We are not saved to live the life that we want and do things our way.

Mat 24.1-2, “Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." This is a stern reminder of the fact that all the wonderful things that we presently admire in the world will pass away. They will all disappear one day. Jesus’ answer is an invitation to set our hearts and attention on that which is timeless.

Mat 24:12-13, “Because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” I had never paid attention to the beginning of verse 12 which actually has a causal relationship with what follows. The love of many waxes cold BECAUSE iniquity increases. Come to think of it, when I look at my own life, I realise how true this is and how much I need to persevere and guard my heart. For many years I strived to live like the early Christians, widely opening my door to brethren. I thought every Christian was filled with the love of Christ and wanted to please the Lord just like me. However, after many blows, some of which even nearly costing me my life, I became disillusioned and now handle Christians with very long tweezers. Likewise, I have seen many Christians withdraw into themselves after being offended and wounded in the church: love grew cold… This is why we really need to contain lawlessness as much as possible by engaging in spiritual warfare in order to push the territorial boundaries of wicked spirits as farther away as possible.

So, Jesus announces the end to His disciples and describes its warning signs. The thing seems settled. Yet, He tells them (24:21-22): “Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.” In other words, although the thing is inevitable, they still have a little room for maneuvering. This gives me a brand new perspective on irremediable events and situations. I realise that God always gives me an area, however small it may be, where I can act in prayer. He tells them to pray that those calamities should not happen in winter or on a Sabbath because He knows that God will grant their request. This reminds me of when the Lord decided to punish David after the census (2 Sam 24). It was impossible to avoid the chastisement and it would have been totally pointless begging for the Lord’s mercy. However, God left him the choice of the punishment (just as Jesus left the choice of the day and season to the disciples): "Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide…" David chose the pestilence…

May God grant you Peace and Grace this week.