Title: Have faith in prayer (Colossians 4:2)
Contents
☞Text:2 Continue to pray and stay awake in prayer with thanksgiving.
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The common answers of those who stop or give up while praying are “there was no answer” even if they did not research, “nothing changed even when they prayed” “what they wanted did not come true” “even though they tried…” “There is no difference between those who do and those who don’t. no” and so on.
A significant number of Christians have a disbelief in prayer. I have no faith in prayer. There are people who greatly underestimate prayer. Unbelief and underestimation of prayer is unbelief in God and underestimation of God's power.
Even when I was trying to build the temple, I tried humane calculations and it seemed impossible, so there were people who pulled out the tail. We give various reasons and justifications, but the bottom line is that we underestimate the power of God and deny the power of prayer. Without realizing it, he makes good judgments as if he is very trustworthy, but others ignore them as if they are stupid and do not know how to judge them.
In the eyes of people without faith, people who live by faith are supposed to be seen as stupid. If you look at it with unbelief eyes, you start off doing something that doesn't make sense, so of course you look stupid.
But whoever prays does not pray because he believes in the power of God to bring things into being and to bring things into being. The pastor who preached during the prayer service said that he prayed while singing “God who makes things exist and makes things not exist” when pioneering in the midst of nothing. I pray a lot while singing “God created heaven and earth and all things with the word in six days.”
Dear saints, have faith in prayer.
Our prayers are directed to Almighty God. He is a God who can do anything you want. Moreover, we pray as His children.
Jesus said, “Who among you whose son asks for bread will give him a stone, or if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, being evil, know how to give to your children good things, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:9-11).
But there is a reason why you don't have faith in prayer. As I said at the beginning, “there was no answer”, “I prayed, but nothing changed” “I didn’t get what I wanted” “Even if I tried…” “There is no difference between those who do and those who do not.”
If you can, you should! Why not! It can be said that it is only natural that we cannot but distrust it because it cannot be done, and that it is not possible to evaluate it positively.
Even though Jesus and the apostles have said countless times to pray, people are amazed that their prayers are not being answered properly!
Bamboo only takes root in the ground for 3 years. And in one month it grows 30 meters. (Refer to bulletin diagram)
Why does bamboo take three years to take root? The reason is to be prepared to grow upwards. When you are ready enough to grow upwards, you lift them all at once.
I will explain the principle of prayer with the principle of this bamboo.
When we pray, God will answer us. I simply think of these words as simply asking for what I need and God grants what I ask for, but what can be so simply between becoming a child and a father because the relationship is restored through the blood of Jesus Christ? Wouldn't it have to mean something deeper?
So when we pray to God, let's see what God is doing before He answers us.
1) While praying, it is to mature the relationship between the praying me and the answering God.
Prayer is a means of approaching and meeting God. It is coming before the throne of God's grace through prayer. As the answer to prayer is delayed, the number of times we come to God inevitably increases. If God delays the answer, you and I still have to meet more. If you receive it as a message, there is no mistake. I want to see you more, but I feel sorry for you if you give up on yourself.
2) During prayer, God lifts you up to the spiritual level that God desires.
Because there is a spiritual relationship between God and man, we cannot go before God with sin, and we cannot go forward with a heart that hates our brothers. You cannot move forward with a grudge relationship in your heart. Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift at the altar and go first, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Malachi 3 According to the verse, not paying tithing is stealing from God. Would you give it to me if I ask for material without repenting for the theft? If you have a fight and say to God, “God, please enlighten that husband (wife),” would you respond? “God, I am a bad person. Let me love him.” He makes you feel guilty and upgrades you spiritually so that you can love him. He elevates your spiritual level by allowing you to constantly confess your sins and repent while praying. God knows that answering prayers to a person with low spiritual level will not help him!
3) During prayer, God allows us to fill the amount of prayer that God desires.
Prayer has the amount that God wants. Some titles are for the rest of your life, and some are for your children. Of course, it also has to do with the spiritual level. And the answer to prayer is in God's time, and at that time, it can be seen that it coincides with the amount of prayer. In other words, the day when the amount of prayer is filled will be God's time!
4) When prayers are answered, He prepares them to have the capacity and faith to bear.
While a sword-wielding samurai instructs a three or four-year-old child to become a good samurai, would you give him a sharp-edged sword to teach him? Give them a wooden stick to practice. Would there be a father who would give him a real sword when he says, “Dad, let me practice with a real sword”? When you give a real sword, the result is obvious. You could be wounded or killed by being stabbed by the knife. It is given when the father judges, when it is time for the child to wield a real sword.
These days, there is a tendency to buy children's cell phones too early. I send text messages during study time and worship service, and I don't do any business, but I wear a cell phone every day. It is appropriate for parents to judge whether their child has the ability and level to use a mobile phone before buying it.
When we receive answers while we pray to God, He increases our capacity and faith to bear them.
Just because a bamboo doesn't grow upward for 3 years doesn't mean it won't grow As if we are growing invisibly, it is not that our prayers are not answered because they are not answered, but we hope that you pray earnestly believing that God is doing a tremendous work for answers without our knowledge.