Who Prays In A Modern Global Society?
By
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (May 16, 2014)
“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (I Peter 3:12 King James Version, KJV [Exhortations to godliness]).
Greetings in the Righteous Name of Jesus!
My brothers and my sisters, I ask you, “Who prays in a modern global society?” According to T.W. Hunt, a Baptist theologian with both a Masters and PhD degree, who conducted seminars on prayers for churches and denominational assemblies across the United States stated in his book, The Doctrine of Prayer (1986, 1987), “Supremely, it is Jesus who assures us with the most graphic pictures that God is deeply concerned for our needs” (p. 12). Jesus is the head intercessor! Jesus is the great intercessor. The problem is in our modern global society there are too many self-righteous pimps and whores in the pulpit and in the pews trying to give their brother man and their sister woman the hook up.
We all are looking for change but many pastors feel forced to preach to what they call the “abundant living”folks, who rather hear about the sort of change in a better lifestyle they inherit with Jesus than about the saving of their souls. The fact is they care little about the truth of Jesus in prayer. They are puffed up ready to zoom to the head without the spirit of Christ Jesus in them the same issue the Apostle Paul addressed in Ephesus, without what Nicodemus spoke of, “How can I be born again?” addressed in their lives, without transforming to a new creature, seeking the power of Jesus, seeking the authority of Jesus, seeking the wealth of inheritance with Jesus yet we feel compelled to ask, Are the power grabbing, position snatching, self-righteous, prayer mongrels, the truth of Christ Jesus? Hunt (1987) said,
“Prayer can have no meaning unless it takes into account God's total nature.
He is holy; we come to Him on those grounds. He is love; we pray knowing
that He is concerned about our needs. Because he is merciful, God understands
and cares about human need. In most of the prayers of the biblical characters,
God took the initiative. It is that initiating God who tells us: “'Ask, and it shall
be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened'”
(Matthew 7:7-8).”
Most importantly, the modern man and the modern woman evolved hopefully in the nature of Christ Jesus in the nature of God Almighty so that they know, “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1). However, those who failed to leave the shadows of betrayal as Uncle Toms and Aunt Tom-esses, those who fitted in where they could get in, squandering the truth of God's words to compromise, devalue and deny the truth of Christ Jesus in order to survive yet another day ignored the feeling of slavery that crept up along the spines of their backs as they uttered their shame day in and day out, those who emerged out of the quagmires of sinking in the corruption of worldly sin, made a stand so that they might run their race, fight the good fight and become “I AM” in the truth of Christ Jesus suffer, indeed so much on the battlefields of their hearts and their minds yet they do prosper because there is no amount of hate on the face of this earth that can stop the love of God as He blesses his own. Hunt said, “The greatest saints have always known intuitively, from the depths of their spiritual nature, that God desires to provide for His own. Abraham assured Isaac as he was preparing to ascend Mount Moriah, “'God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:..” (p.12). There was nothing that stopped the blessings of God from showering down upon Abraham's head because he desired to bless him, God promised to bless him; God blessed Abraham.
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More importantly, Hunt (1987) said, “Prayer is effective because God has chosen to hear when we call to him” (p. 13). Our research leads us to Psalms 116:1-2 (...He hears my voice...), Psalms 140:6 (give ear, O Lord...), Zechariah 10:6 (...I will answer...). What is your history of your family's prayers? Let us look to the history of the family of God, “a sovereign God who desires the fellowship of those He created” (Hunt, 1987, p.15). How many of you have found yourselves amongst those who said they prayed for you but they are scared to death to take a stand in their own lives so you can forget about them holding on to the truth of Christ Jesus in their hearts to believe to receive on your behalf---they are in worldly fear yet they show up every Sunday to church, show up to all church meetings; buying their way in but this sort of love, this sort of prayer truth that moves mountains is not something you can buy your way in? Is that not why there are those folks who refuse to let those they know are struggling in their belief of Jesus, pray for them? Is it an offense to God to tell those who profess they are Christ Jesus, the great intercessor that you do not want them to pray for you?
According to Hunt (1987), “Prayer is the shaping force of history. God used Moses' prayers to preserve Israel through the wandering years; He used Nehemiah's prayer to make possible the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem; Jesus' prayers shaped His disciples and helped to develop them into the kind of people that would populate a new kind of kingdom; Paul's prayers were God's instrument for shaping the personality and destiny of the new church as it spread across the Mediterranean world” (p.16). According to a catholic priest, “I do not like to work with those who are not disciplined”. God's work is divine and moves the people He created and gave the gift of free will to through His plan of salvation, the grace of redemption and the wealth of a holy and righteous family of priests to share in and be a part of the one body. We, humans, chosen before we were born must freely surrender to the will of God. May God bless you in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Let us pray, in the Name of Jesus:
“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
They kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us
our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen”
(Matthew 6: 9-13, KJV [The Lord's Prayer; The sermon
on the mount]; Luke 11:2-4, KJV [Lord teach us to pray]).
This is a gospel reading peculiar to St. Matthew and St. Luke, disciples of Christ and saints of the world.
