The overwhelming importance of Prayer in the Christian Faith!

07 Jul 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 65:2.       O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.

One more Sunday; one more time to attend the Lord’s sanctuary on His day, and in association with other believers, to offer up sincere thanks and praise for His goodness and mercy towards us. And why do we do it? Because the Lord commands it, so that we can have joint fellowship, to release the frustrations and pressures of the past week and refresh our souls and spirits for the upcoming one. 

So, let’s get right to today’s song of worship, one from the female Gospel Artist known as Da Flame and very truthfully titled, ‘God Answers Prayer.’ And we’re going to offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a rich, soulful, heartfelt, mid tempo version. Singing: ‘If you’re ever feeling down and like you have no where to go. If you’re feeling like an outcast as your problems overflow, just remember there is someone, and all it takes is for you to know, is that God is the answer, and God answers prayer. 

(Chorus: He sees every weakness, every trial, every mountain and sea, and He sees every tear drop, and He wipes them for me. I get down on my knees, and I say Saviour help me please. Because one thing is for certain, is my God answers prayer.) You may be broken and feel battered, but your strength will surely come, in the midst of all your heartache. Your battles are already won. Just remember in the hard times, don’t give up, don’t say you’re done, because God is the answer, and God answers prayer. 

(Chorus: He sees every weakness, every trial, every mountain and sea, and He sees every tear drop, and He wipes them for me. I get down on my knees, and I say Saviour help me please. Because one thing is for certain, is my God answers prayer. Oh, He sees every weakness, every trial, every mountain and sea, and He sees every tear drop, and He wipes them for me. So, let’s get down on our knees, and say, Saviour, help us please. Because one thing is for certain… our God answers prayer.’  

And of that very thing we can be one hundred percent sure my people: God does answer prayer…although there are some whys and wherefores and addendums attached. (smile) But before we get into the nitty gritty of the prayer situation, let’s get a definition of prayer. 

Prayer is our biggest privilege in the Christian faith. It’s basically talking to God, but in the greater scheme of things it is so much more. One commentary tells us that ‘Prayer is the complete submission of my heart, mind, body and soul to Him. We are told that sometimes we don’t even know what or how to pray so the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groans and utterances.’ 

And we find the scripture to corroborate that in Bruh Paul’s letter to the Romans. ‘Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities (weaknesses): for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.’ (Rom. 8:26-27) 

Yes friends, when our inner being is in so much turmoil that we don’t how or what to pray, the Holy Spirit steps in and interprets those innermost groanings.  ‘And the Father who knows all hearts, knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.’ 

Now that statement ‘according to God’s will’ is a most important one, because if what we pray for, even through ignorance, is not in His plan for us, or in His general will, then most likely we won’t get it. As James says in his epistle: ‘Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (pleasures).’ (James 4:3) 

And that’s no lie, for many of us take the scriptures for granted which say, ask and ye shall receive, (Matt. 7:7) so we ask for all the lustful stuff that goes against God’s will, and when we don’t get them, we wonder why, and complain that God is not real or truthful. 

But then, sometimes God gives us stuff that we ask for that is not in His will, to show us the error of our ways. Instead, we should be taking account of this scripture from Jesus: ‘If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto (for) you.’ (John 15:7) So the best way to know God’s will is to read His Word and talk to Him, through the medium of prayer.  

Now here are two interesting scriptures on prayer. This first one we all know from Bruh Paul’s letter to the Philippians: ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:6-7) That’s the awesome power of prayer my fellow believers! 

Then there’s this verse from Psalm 65 – Praise to the Lord, where Bruh David says in no uncertain terms: ‘O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.’ (Ps. 65:2) And that’s the gospel truth friends, for all of us, even the staunchest unbelievers, when we suddenly find ourselves between a rock and a hard place, the first words to come out of our mouths are ‘O God!’ 

And there’s so much that can be said about prayer, but the greatest reason for us to turn to prayer is because of the example that Jesus set. Although He was the Son of God, and deity in His own right, He never made any serious decisions without consulting His heavenly Father. There are numerous places in the Bible where we see Jesus going off by Himself to pray.  But my favourite scripture on Jesus’ prayer life is this one from the gospel of Mark. ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark 1:35) 

Oh my fellow saints, prayer was such an important part of Christ’s life that before the day even dawned He was up and about communing with His father in a quiet place. So if Jesus needed prayer continually, what about us eh? Now that’s an example we all should try to follow, so that our lives will have more heavenly guidance. Much LOVE!

…prayer…being able to go to God without fear…any time…anywhere…with anything…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 September 2020 Psalm 65:2.

07 Sep 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 65:2.     ​O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.

Well it’s Labour Day Monday again, which, to all intents and purposes means the end of the summer. But what a summer eh! Lockdown for most of it, unable to enjoy our usual summer pursuits…but thankfully we have health and life because of our safety practices. And I don’t know if there will be any, or as many Labour Day marches as we’re used to. I don’t even know if the big Labour Day street party in Brooklyn, New York will be taking place, but I doubt it. And that will be the first time in many a year, just like our Caribana here in T.O was cancelled this year. 

Oh what a blow this Covid-19 has dealt us this year eh! But there’s no need to worry because we are children of the King, the Most High God Jehovah, and that means we have lots of staying power, plenty endurance and the ability to persevere despite anything the enemy throws at us! So in God’s good time we will conquer the Covid virus and forget about our lost summer and all the other negatives and instead wisely look to the positive side of the ledger; count our blessings and the plenty that we still have. 

But to do that we first have to come alongside each other, work together in harmony and turn to God with repentant hearts and sincerely invite Him back into our individual lives and our society as a whole, from which we’ve hitherto been trying to oust Him. Remember the marvelous promise of Jesus: ‘Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ (Matt. 18:19-20) 

Wow mih bredrin! What a powerful promise. And therefore, it’s only logical to conclude that Jesus is currently in our midst, since right now more than two or three of us agree that we need divine help to solve our problems. So the next action we need to take is communicating our heartfelt desires to Him, that means going to Him in prayer. For as Bruh David says in Psalm 65 – God is powerful in nature – ‘O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.’ (Ps. 65:2) So let’s fulfil his words and do that now nuh, through what we call our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 

All together now. ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive and standing in faith despite the mass confusion that’s currently prevailing in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems; the pandemic of Covid -19, the racial, political, and religious strife that’s ignited worldwide, plus the natural disasters like storms, famine, drought, plagues, climate change, wildfires, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes that suddenly seem to be blossoming more and more as time goes by. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction to bring our problems under control. 

And for those who are currently suffering from the many negative situations, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them. Father, please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’ 

Ah my people, our God is a great God, but His truth and justice cry out for obedience and right heart motives, so if our hearts were right and our words true, then we know that He heard our prayer, and in His own time and manner, if we keep our promise, He will respond positively to our heartfelt desires. And that part about keeping our promise is oh so important, for according to Cousin Sol, writing as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes: ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.’ (Eccl. 5:4-5) 

What wonderful words of wisdom my brethren! And that doesn’t apply to God only, but also to our interactions between each other. If more of us kept our promises, life would surely not be as distrustful, deceitful and strife filled as it is. So since we’ve gone to the Lord with supposedly repentant hearts, earnestly seeking His face, let’s now keep that promise and obey His Word and do His divine will nuh… that is if we want Him to keep His bargain and heal our land and our people. It’s as simple as that. 

Remember it takes two to tango, and one hand can’t wash itself, it needs another to help it, and that we’re in a partnership with God, but we need to do our part first. Now it’s time for us to get in some Labour Day celebrations, but with ever watchful eyes and plenty caution, not forgetting that the Covid-19 virus is still out there, and as dangerous as ever, and also remembering Granny’s message: ‘Sonny boy, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business.’ (smile) Please have a blessed and joyful day, my fellow saints in Christ! Much LOVE!

…when will man learn eh…that it’s the Creator who rules…and not the created…