Who Will Pray For Us? (Part 2)

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus speaks of the kingdom of God. He tells us that there is a great struggle taking place, a battlefield for allegiance. Satan loses the souls of those who choose God through Jesus Christ. After that happens he seeks to destroy the joy of the Christian and the effectiveness of his Christian life on earth. Jesus gives us guidance that will help us to avoid the pitfalls of Satan in this battle. How are you doing? If you feel you are losing the battle, there is hope. It is found in the guidance of Jesus. Part of the guidance Jesus gives us has to do with our prayer life. Jesus starts with the words, "When you pray...."

The warning Jesus gives us has to do with HOW we do good things. He doesn't tell us not to do righteous things "before men," but we are warned not to do them "to be seen by men," if it be giving to the needy, fasting or, as we see here, prayer. He says, "Do not pray like the hypocrites," (Mt. 6:5), and "do not keep on babbling like the pagans." The hypocrites prayed to be seen. We should not have such a selfish motive. The "pagans" prayed thinking their repetition of words would get the attention of the gods. We should not be so ignorant.

Our prayer life is not rightly influenced by how it "appears" to others, or how it "sounds" to God. It is influenced only by our right relationship with the Heavenly Father. Even Christians
can appear like hypocrites and speak like pagans. God raises up people to pray for the great things of the kingdom as well as kingdom people. They are those who have spent time seeking and finding God in a right relationship. God is not flattered by our eloquence nor our wordiness. But He is moved by our communion with Him.

As we see the "evil day approaching," where the ministry and even the faithfulness, and sometimes the survival of God's people is truly dependent on our prayers, who will pray for us? Who will be prepared? Who will have spent the time in the "school of prayer" to be able to come before God with such familiarity and experienced expectation to pray for God's people? Powerful prayer is "time tested." It is based on faith that must grow. Have you noticed, rising up from deep inside you, an occasional longing for a real person of prayer to come into your life? Maybe He is calling you.

And He will say... "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven....'" (Mt. 6:9) Start a newer relationship with the Father today.