Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Effective Prayer”
Our Bible verse for today: “Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.” 1 Corinthians 14:20 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “God wants us to grow-up”
Up to this point in our consideration of effective prayer I’ve been writing mostly about how we need to think about prayer. This is important because how we think about prayer will determine how we actually pray. Therefore I have pointed out that first of all, the Bible repeatedly calls us to pray. It is something God wants us to do a lot of. I’ve also noted that the best prayer is hard work. It takes time, effort, and concentration. And yesterday we thought about how it is that God uses our prayers to adjust our perspective and attitude about things.
Later this week we will begin to think about specific strategies for effective praying but before we get there, there are two additional points that need to be made regarding our thinking about prayer. We’ll look at one of them today and the other tomorrow.
One of things God wants to accomplish in us, and which prayer helps to facilitate, is our spiritual growth. Make no mistake, God wants us to grow-up spiritually. He does not want us to remain immature spiritual babies. In 1 Corinthians 14:20 the Apostle Paul makes that very point. So does the writer of the letter to the Hebrews in Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity …”
As I explained in one of the earlier messages on this topic, one of the things God accomplishes in us through our prayer time is that He teaches us and helps us to understand things from His perspective rather than from our own. It’s exactly like when a human father talks through a situation with a young son or daughter and helps them to come to a more mature understanding of it.
In his excellent book “Moving Mountains” John Eldredge writes, “And how does God provide for growing us up? What are his means? Situations that stretch us, strain us, push us beyond what we thought we could endure – those very same circumstances that cause us to pray.”
Yes, those difficult situations that we don’t understand, don’t want, and wish weren’t there, are the very things that drive us to our knees in prayer and place us in a position before God whereby He can talk to us, teach us, stretch us, and grow us. The thing that you and I are thinking is so terrible and so unwanted is the very thing God is using to bring about greater spiritual maturity in us.
And seriously, would you be praying so hard if that situation did not exist in your life? Probably not.
So when you bring your tough times to God in prayer do so with the understanding that this is a teachable moment. Ask Him what He wants you to learn as a result of this situation. Our times of prayer can be the schoolhouse in which we learn some of our best and most valuable lessons.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 