Theme: Union with Christ in prayer and suffering
Text: Acts 1:12-14; 1 Peter 4:13-16; John 17:1-11
Prayer is the heartbeat of the Christian life and it is therefore not surprising that Jesus spent a lot of time in prayer. In John 17, sometimes referred to as the “High Priestly” Prayer, Jesus presents the blueprints of God’s programme for this age. Jesus expects His people to be a body - a Church - that would last throughout the ages and make a great impact on the world. For this to be realised Jesus prays for His disciples and the whole future of the church. This was absolutely necessary if His plan is to succeed. Prayer is to the believer’s spiritual life what oxygen is to the human body and without prayer, just as without oxygen, human beings cannot survive. To enable us accomplish God’s purpose Jesus prayed that God would unite and keep His chosen people - His disciples - safe from Satan’s power, setting them apart and keeping them pure and holy. Jesus knew that their success depended on their union with Him, and not on their abilities or methods. Too often the world cannot understand the gospel message and who Jesus is because His followers confuse them. It is only our union with Christ that will enable us to keep His truth and live before a doubting world in a way that glorifies His name instead of slandering His Name by the sin in our lives and the division in the body. Christ has sent us into the world to reveal His presence and His glory through our union with Him. There is no force in the world that can withstand His power and love in such a union. As Jesus Christ lived and worked in complete union with the Father so we also need to live and work in union with Christ, a union with Christ in prayer and suffering.
Our union with Christ in prayer and suffering deepens our intimacy with Him. It wakes us up and puts the desire in our hearts to see that His name is glorified by exalting Jesus over all principalities that have the world bound in misery and death. Intimacy with God allows Him to work in us and through us to reach the world with the message of salvation. It also enables us to manifest His nature and character to others. Many people, however, question the need for our union with Christ and the need to pray. They argue that if God is all-powerful and knows everything He should just go ahead and do what He wants to do without us? They question why events on earth should be related to our prayers at all? If God is going to do something regardless of whether or not we pray, then He doesn’t need us to ask Him and we don’t need to waste our time.
The answer can be seen in the words of John Wesley when he says, "God does nothing on earth save in answer to believing prayer." This is because according to the Scriptures the whole earth was given over to man’s rule or dominion and God was bound for all time and eternity to honour His commitment. When Adam and Eve surrendered to Satan’s lie, they lost this dominion and instead came under Satan’s dominion. When Jesus triumphed over sin and death God’s original intent and purpose for man was restored. God honours the dominion He has given to man and restored to him and therefore waits for us to come to Him in prayer before He enters the earthly arena. We must, however, pray in union with Christ if we are to fulfil God’s divine will. The Psalmist declares that we should delight ourselves in the Lord and He will grant us the desires of our hearts. If we delight ourselves in the Lord we will know what He wants and when we ask what He desires He will be only too glad to grant us our requests. Jesus always prayed for God’s will in the life of His disciples. He never prayed that his disciples might find escape but that they might find victory right where they were in the middle of difficulties. Christianity was never meant to withdraw a man from life; it was meant to equip him better for life. Sometimes we pray to be removed from circumstances that God may desire for us to stay in to strengthen us for battle. One of the greatest judgements God can send on us is to give us what we wrongfully insist on in prayer. In the wilderness the Israelites grew tired of their daily diet of manna – bread from heaven – so they asked for meat. According to the Psalmist “they lusted greatly in the wilderness and provoked God by their strong desires.” The Lord finally gave them what they asked for but it also brought them disease and death. Their wrongful desires brought a sad outcome to their lives as continues to happen today. God honours the dominion He has given to man but we can only exercise that dominion in union with Him. He waits for us to come to Him in prayer which should be in accordance with His divine will before He enters the earthly arena. God will not work on earth without someone who will work with Him. The ministry of prayer is open to everyone but unfortunately we do not consider it important enough. It is only by spending time with Christ in prayer that we will feel what He feels and see what He sees and know what He wants. Why do we so often seek from the world and its influence those things that can only be given by God? We have been given the very best in Him and yet at times, we settle for far lesser substitutes. We need to stay close to Him and He will fill us with more of what is real and lasting than what we can ever obtain elsewhere.
Christ has all power and could have used many methods and alternatives to evangelise the world. He chose however perfect obedience and perfect union with the Father to reveal God to mankind. Each of His servants has the task of advancing the kingdom of God in order to finish the task that He has given us. We can only do this when we work with Him and with each other. This is the only way to manifest the nature of Christ. As Jesus prayed in union with the Father, the Father’s nature and character was revealed in the Son. The result was that the lame walked, the blind received their sight, and spiritual captives were set free. So as we pray in union with Christ, Christ’s nature and character will be revealed in us so that we can also do the works of Christ.
When we are united with Christ His joy will remain in us even when we face adversity, suffering and physical death. Often it is this pervasive joy that reveals Christ to non-believers. They see joy in a Christian facing martyrdom or in one who has none of the world’s goods and they hunger for the source and consequently seek to know Him. Paul and Silas were able to rejoice and praise the Lord even in jail. They had been beaten and with bleeding backs had been chained to the prison walls for preaching the gospel. They did not complain and blame God but began to praise Him. As someone remarked, God heard their midnight praise session and was so thrilled that He joined in and His presence shook the prison walls and freed them from their chains. God’s work must be done in God’s way, in God’s time, and in God’s power. We can only do this in union with Christ as we discover God’s will and work with Him so that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Our union with Christ in prayer is our protection. No evil can remain in His presence. By declaring His glorious praises and glorifying His name we can defeat demonic powers that seek to destroy our Christian witness. Evil cannot remain where God is truly glorified. Through prayer we cooperate with God in establishing His Kingdom, rule and reign with Him. It is the most powerful means we have to release the life changing power of God. Jesus came to give eternal life so that we may know His Father, the only true God, as Christ knows him so that we can also do what Christ wants to be done.
Since God is infinitely wise, infinitely loving, and infinitely gracious we will never come to know Him fully in this life. It will take all eternity to know Him fully but through prayer we can cooperate with God in establishing His kingdom. In one of his books Paul Younggi Cho attributes the conversion rate of the Church where he ministers, 12,000 people per month, to prayer. In that Church several thousand people meet every morning to pray before going to work. Prayer does not only work for the Church as a whole but for every person individually. When Paul Younggi Cho was asked in an interview how he was able to cope in a Church with so many members, he only smiled and said, “I pray and I obey.” Our prayer in union with Christ is what makes a difference in our lives. Our union with Christ in prayer reveals that the battle is not ours but God’s and puts us in the place where God can deliver us. This truth is well illustrated in a battle fought by Jehoshaphat when he faced the greatest external threat of his reign. Through prayer he humbled himself and sought the will of the Lord. He then led his people into battle singing hymns of praise and experienced his greatest victory. The battle was won without the Israelites having to fight. We can also exercise this authority through our union with Christ in prayer. It determines the outcome of physical battles and is available to every believer. It is only through prayer that we can win the lost. That is why it is vital that we set a time and place to pray, not just on Sundays at church, but every day of our lives. How can we know and love God unless we spend time in prayer each day? How can we grow in our faith without being connected to our Source of life through prayer? Good, healthy, mature relationships require open, honest communication between human beings. The same is true in our relationship with God.
God divine will is to involve men and women in running the affairs of the world. It was so important that it cost God His beloved Son to regain what Adam lost. Jesus had to become part of the human race in order to redeem fallen mankind. Our redemption has made it possible for us to fulfil God’s divine purpose to control the destinies of men and women and the nations in union with Him. We can only do this filled with the compassion of Christ which makes us responsible for each other. Some years ago at the Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard race. At the gun, they all started out to run the race to the finish and win. One boy, however, stumbled on the asphalt, fell and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry, slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back - every one of them. Then all nine of them linked arms and walked together to the finish line. This is what it means to be compassionate and care for one another. These disabled children demonstrated that what matters in this life is more than winning for themselves. What truly matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course. Prayer, when practiced on a regular basis, is one of the most powerful influences in our lives. It has the power to change things and change us. God wants a people who will pray so that His divine purpose here on earth will be fulfilled. Let us make a spiritual impact on our world through our union with Christ in prayer and suffering. Amen!
