Thoughts from The Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Wednesday, 12 April 2023 11:20

On things we need to pray for
We all recognize the need to pray to God, and to pray often. I hear some marvelous expressions of love for God and concern for our fellow man at our times of prayer in the worship hour and in special meetings. We pray fervently for our sick friends, for world peace, for safety, for our children and so many wonderful things that we should pray about to our “giving” god. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5).

Please continue to pray for all these things, and consider adding these additional thoughts to your prayers.

Ask God to help us:

1. Put the fire back in our souls: “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay” (Jeremiah 20:9). As a Christian one must create a desire and willingness to speak up with the message of the Lord before a lost and dying world. Furthermore we must have a zeal that burns like a fire in our souls to serve. God wants a serving and an evangelistic church.

2. Put faith back in our savior: “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). We must not place our faith in our programs or even in one another, but in Christ. Programs fail; people let us down, but Christ will never fail us.

3. Put the fault and blame back in ourselves and not in excuses: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:13-15). Just like Adam of old, it’s easier to blame someone else instead of admitting our own weaknesses. Comedian Flip Wilson used to say, “The Devil made me do it.” Remember though, I didn’t have to let him.

4. Put the fun back into serving the Lord: “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). Sharing the Lord and His message with others can bring great joy into our hearts. So can Christian fellowship. Unless you’ve tried it, you can’t imagine the joy you’ll find in serving others and seeing the good it does in their lives. Being a child of God does not mean I sit around with a scowl on my face.

These are merely illustrations of other things we might pray about which will broaden the scope of our praying and of our spirituality. We must remember, however, that God doesn’t force these changes in our attitude upon us. We must be willing to allow such changes to take place. We must “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18).
The author can be reached for comments at 256.574.2489.

-Terry Broome