Tag Archives: kings

PRAYING GOD’S WAY – 14

Prayer, ,

PRAYING FOR ALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE

‭1 Timothy 2:1-2 NLT‬
[1] “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. [2] Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.”

Ephesians 6:18 NLT‬
[18]”Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

How do we pray for people everywhere,… those in authority over us, those in the world around us, and those who are the church all over the world? Sounds like a tall order doesn’t it?

We must first remember that, even if we don’t know them, God does! We pray, not for any reason we may have but because God commands us to pray.

Paul gives us instructions that will help us understand what God desires of each group of people.

  1. What do political leaders need most? Since God has His eyes and heart on the church, He wants leaders who will contribute to a peaceful society.

‭1 Timothy 2:1-2 NLT‬
[1] “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. [2] Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.”

Peaceful and quiet lives! God’s desire is for everyone to be saved. He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

‭Ezekiel 33:11 NLT‬
[11]”As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live….” !

Society in ferment is not a conducive environment for preaching and living God’s Word.

‭1 Timothy 2:3-4 NLT‬
[3]”This is good and pleases God our Savior, [4] who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.”

Does this mean that everyone will be saved? No, but it does mean that God’s wants peace in society so that the gospel will flourish….for the preaching of the gospel without hindrance, and for His people to live out the gospel without fear.

What must we pray? Paul mentions ‘petitions, prayers, intercession, thanksgiving’, which about covers all kinds of praying. No matter what we may think of those in government, prayer for them will effect change. God is in charge; God moves people in whatever direction He wants them to go.

‭Proverbs 21:1 NLT‬
[1] “The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he guides it wherever he pleases.”

What if we take this promise seriously and partner with God in the way He directs our leaders?

  1. God instructs us to pray for people in the world in the same way, for His help and intervention to bring about peace and stability for the propagation of the gospel.

The Holy Spirit is in the world, convicting people of their sin.

‭John 16:8 NLT‬
[8] “And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin…“

The Spirit’s role in the world is to awaken people to their sinfulness and to point them to the Saviour. Let’s partner with Him in His convicting work.

  1. What of the church? What does God want of His church on earth? Again, it does not matter if we do not know the people in the world-wide church. God does! The Word reveals two goals for God’s people…

Transformation into the likeness if Jesus

‭Romans 8:29 NLT‬
[29] “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

and…
Maturity in love and unity…

‭Ephesians 4:13, 15-16 NLT‬
[13] This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ…
[15] Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. [16] He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

With these goals in view, and armed with the reassurance that our “amen” to God’s promises will bring about God’s will on earth as it is done in heaven,

‭James 5:16 NIV‬
[16]… “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

So let’s obey God’s instructions to pray for all people everywhere for the gospel to do its work on every level of society in the world. .

THE BOOK OF ACTS – HE COULD SEE AGAIN

Bible Study, , ,

HE COULD SEE AGAIN

“But the Master said, ‘Don’t argue. Go! I have picked him as my personal representative to Gentiles and kings and Jews. And now I’m about to show him what he’s in for — the hard suffering that goes with this job.’

“So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on the way here. He sent me so you can see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes — he could see again! He got to his feet, was baptized and sat down with them to a hearty meal.” Acts 9:15-19a (The Message).

Jesus does not make mistakes. Sending Ananias to Saul was no guess-work. He had the inside story and His plan was right on track! Ananias took a little persuading and no wonder because he was aware that Saul was a dangerous man. Once he was convinced that Saul’s conversion was genuine, he no longer hesitated to obey the Master

The way he addressed Saul was touching. “Brother Saul!” Saul desperately needed acceptance in this crisis. What if he had become an outcast, rejected by the religious party he represented as a turncoat, and under suspicion by the group he needed so desperately to connect with? Ananias was the link and he did not fail the Master in his assignment. Perhaps this powerful moment prompted the apostle Paul to write:

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you in order to bring glory to God.” Romans 15:7 (NIV).

What a powerful experience! “Something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes.” This was much more that a miracle of physical healing. Paul knew what it was like to be spiritually blind. Was it Ananias’ act of brotherly love that was the final piece in the puzzle for him? Whatever happened in that moment, his sight was restored both outwardly and inwardly.

Paul must have drawn from his own experience over and over again as he poured his heart out in his letters to his many converts and fellow believers all over the Roman Empire. We are blessed to have the written record of his interpretation of the life and message of Jesus, filtered through his own mind and experience.

Speaking of his people and his state before he met Jesus, he wrote: “But their minds were made dull for, to this day, the same veil (of unbelief – writer’s comment) remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even today, when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But when anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” 2 Corinthians 3:14-16 (NIV).

Like the blind man of John 9, his unshakeable testimony was “‘One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!'” John 9:15 (NIV). The inward blindness of his heart was gone. The insight he received of the glory of Jesus and the kingdom of God so lit up his soul that he became as fiery a witness for Jesus as he had been an antagonist.

Nothing could put that fire out — not slander, persecution, suspicion, betrayal or even the threat of death could cool the passion of his heart for the Jesus who was alive, whom he had seen on the Damascus road and who had forgiven his misguided zeal and given him a new life.