May I share with you what I think weakens our prayers? It is explained in today's edition of FaithWalk: Courage for the Journey.
What Makes Prayer Feeble
by Ron Susek
@Golden Quill Publications
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers,
that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
(Colossians 4:12)
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Have you ever wondered why we hear so much about the mighty power of prayer, then observe people neglect it when they do not see the wondrous works of God happening in response?
Proof can be seen in most every church. The larger the church, the greater the flurry of activity and lesser the gatherings for prayer. All the while the tide of evil becomes more ominous than ever. The cutting edge of the Gospel is dulled. Many gather around the social events of church, but true spirituality is on the wane.
One pastor of a mega church was honest enough to write a book about this crisis. In essence he said that they had great success in building a big church but failed miserably in developing disciples of Jesus Christ.
What is the core problem? It surfaced recently when someone said, "Often, when you ask someone to get involved in a project they are asking in the back of their mind, "What's in it for me"?
God is the opposite. His everlasting love is expressed in selflessness. His concern is always for you. If you read the words of Jesus carefully, you will discover that this is precisely how God expects us to be - deeply concerned about the other person. The assurance is that as we care for another, so God will care for us.
Mighty prayer that produces mighty results comes only when we step beyond self-interest to engage in God's concerns and the trials of another. We have not stopped asking, "What's in it for me," until we are so broken for God's will to be enacted in another person's situation that we fall to our knees in fervent prayer on their behalf.
This is what we see in the prayer life of Epaphras. Look at the focus of his heart: . . . always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
When we ask God to empty us of "What's in it for me" and ask to be endowed with the agony of His concerns and the needs of others, mighty prayer will prevail and awesome answers will flow.
And the God of all power will see to it that your personal interests and needs (that you did not have time to consider while praying for another) will be cared for.
Always remember, Immanuel: God is with you.
Your friend,
Ron
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