Do we have a great passion for the glory of God? Are we hungry to increase the fame of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? We ought be most excited about God’s greatest ambition and man’s chief end.
Do we have a great passion for the salvation of God’s elect? We who are greatly commissioned, ought not we be relentlessly passionate to see God’s Gospel change lives and families? Even today, wouldn’t it be fantastic to experience God using us to bring one of his targeted souls into the family of grace? Somebody is going to get this privilege.
Do we love Christ’s church and long to see his kingdom expanded? Do we desire to see the family of God grow qualitatively and quantitatively? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see our local church and others growing in health and numbers? Oh to see revival!
Do we understand the opposition party? Are we properly aware of the persistent ploys of our devilish flesh, our devilish world, and the devil? Do we see how this unholy coalition works together to fight against everything God deserves and his church desires?
Do we fully understand our insufficiencies? Weren’t we reminded yesterday of our personal apathy, our lack of focus, our self-worship, and our proneness to wander and leave the God we love? In this spiritual conflict, we are in way over our heads!
Do we understand the almighty power of God which he unleashes through the prayer? Have we a right understanding of the foreordination of God, the providence of God, the immutability of God, his command that men pray, his promise to answer prayer, and our duty to humble ourselves, obey, and pray?
Friends, if the answer to all these questions is “yes,” then why do we not honor the Lord, take advantage of our divine power source, and hound heaven after the manner of Isaiah. Listen to his prayer-filled zeal:
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth … Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.” And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken. (Isaiah 62:1-12)
We should pray without ceasing. We have not because we ask not. We should boldly come before the throne of God, and we should do so with great expectations. He has the power to answer prayer. He loves to answer prayer. He promises that prayer is powerful and effective. We should hound heaven. We should try to tie up all the heavenly phone lines. We should seek to exhaust the heavenly server’s capabilities. Isn’t that a fantastic phrase, “You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest ….” In our practice of prayer, we should be like nursing infants who will not relent until our mother attends to our cry.
Therefore friends, there is no need to wait. There is no need to over-plan and over-stratagize. Right now, let us finish this blog, put down our electronic devices, and give God no rest. Let’s pray right now!
Then, let’s grab a notebook or download a mobile application and start recording our requests and God’s answers. We ought to learn to pray with both spontaneity and order.
At our next meal, why not give God more than a repetitious and superficial nod for his digestible blessings? We can use our regularly scheduled meals as tools of self-discipline; at least two or three times each day we can be reminded to commune with our Heavenly Father.
Each of us should figure out opportunities to pull our family together to honor and glorify God. This is Christian discipleship at its finest.
In addition, Sunday comes. Why not prioritize the corporate worship of God and do everything within your power to be at your local assembly and pray with your church family? Then, following the service, why not leave the physical sanctuary with plans to spend more of the Lord’s Day with the Lord? Friends, a day of rest has been given to us; let us take full advantage of this weekly opportunity.
Then, throughout our week, let us take advantage of our various Bible studies, fellowships, and small groups. These can be incredibly beneficial as we love God, love one another, and go to war with the world, the flesh, and the devil. Let us search out numerous opportunities to meet with brothers and sisters in the faith. They need us. We need them. All of us need God.
And who knows, it might even be wise for our churches to consider hosting a midweek prayer meeting? What a novel thought! However, if we choose to do such, let us not do so in a ritualistic manner; there is no benefit gained in merely going through the motions. Let us not host a prayer meeting in a legalistic manner; it is not sinful for one to choose not to come. In addition, let us not do prayer meeting in a self-righteous manner; those who attend are not more pleasing to God than fellow members who miss. But that being said, let us consider reviving the midweek time of prayer because:
- We love God and his renown.
- We love God and his elect.
- We love God and his church.
- We love God and hate our devilish flesh, our devilish world-order, and the devil.
- We love God and are incredibly weak, unstable, and double-minded.
- We love God, want to obey God, and can’t wait to see God work through our prayers.
Unfathomable Grace 