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| Earl Gillespie |
The Conflicting Nature of Christianity
Part #5
Capitalizing On the Power of Prayer
I am not questioning prayer, nor am I questioning the power of prayer, it is the use of prayer as a salable commodity in today's society that leaves me, as well as many other awash in a sea of confusion. It is worthy and commendable to use the Holy Scripture as the bases of motivational messages, but to hijack the scriptures in the name of power and greed is evil in its most vile form. There is a constant barrage of 'prayer calls', but the hidden truth is too many of these 'prayer calls' are self-serving and they are really not effective. For me to make such a statement is said to border on heathendom, but Christianity as a religion or a way of life should be forced to consider the reality of the hijacked , conflicting and confused front that it has begun to present.
How often have we heard the prayer for world peace? Did the Bible say prayer would bring about world peace? 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, (In the Old Testament who was referred to as 'My People', it definitely was not the non existent church.) which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (What land?, definitely not the world.) This was God promise to the Jews to restore their homeland if they would humble themselves and pray. That promise was not fulfilled then and it is not being fulfilled now. It will only be fulfilled after God has poured out his wrath upon this world. For what purpose do we shape, and twist the Word of God? To create confusion and conflicts? Effective prayer must not end with 'plant a seed and God will bless you'. Is there no shame when it comes to 'hustling in the name of God.' There are lots of unfilled promised being made in the name of prayer, and many of the unfulfilled promises are because of a lack of understanding of God's word. What did Jesus say about world peace?Luke 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
Several months ago we published a six part study in prayer to minimize redundancy within my blog, I am providing prefaces and links to the six part study.
How often have we heard the prayer for world peace? Did the Bible say prayer would bring about world peace? 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, (In the Old Testament who was referred to as 'My People', it definitely was not the non existent church.) which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (What land?, definitely not the world.) This was God promise to the Jews to restore their homeland if they would humble themselves and pray. That promise was not fulfilled then and it is not being fulfilled now. It will only be fulfilled after God has poured out his wrath upon this world. For what purpose do we shape, and twist the Word of God? To create confusion and conflicts? Effective prayer must not end with 'plant a seed and God will bless you'. Is there no shame when it comes to 'hustling in the name of God.' There are lots of unfilled promised being made in the name of prayer, and many of the unfulfilled promises are because of a lack of understanding of God's word. What did Jesus say about world peace?Luke 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
Several months ago we published a six part study in prayer to minimize redundancy within my blog, I am providing prefaces and links to the six part study.
Lets establish a definition of prayer using, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, online. Prayer is an invocation or an act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through deliberate communication. Prayer can be a form of religious practice, may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of a hymn,incantation, formal creed, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person. There are different forms of prayer such as petitionary prayer, prayers of supplication, thanksgiving, and worship/praise. Prayer may be directed towards a deity, spirit, deceased person, or a lofty idea, for the purpose of worshipping, requesting guidance, requesting assistance, confessing sins or to express one's thoughts and emotions. Thus, people pray for many reasons such as personal benefits or for the sake of others. Most major religions involve prayer in one way or another. Some ritualizes the act of prayer, requiring a strict sequence of actions or placing a restriction on who is permitted to pray, while others teach that prayer may be practiced spontaneously by anyone at any time. http://mysearchfortherealgod.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-study-in-prayer-part-1-of-6.html
Growing up in the church I am familiar with the preacher toning up and shouting, this was said to be the spirit of God. Prayers were issued in the same vernacular and if the person could pray, usually an emotional outburst followed. This was an expression of the spirit also. When asked what does the spirit feel like, the answer was, “when the spirit hit you, you will know it”. Cute cliché and an in your face approach, demanding that God do things because you know he can. When prayer requests would seem to go unfilled, there was always someone to remind you that, “He might not come when you want him, but he is always on time.” Now I know that there will be those who chastise me for saying this, but many suffering souls have been stranded on the roadway of despair, waiting for God to come and deliver them and God show up but he did not deliver them. When you are in need and you are taught all you have to do is ask, Jesus message to the churches in the Book of Revelation about enduring hardship is the furthers thing from your mind. http://mysearchfortherealgod.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-study-in-prayer-part-2-of-6.html
Let’s take a closer or deeper look at how the ancients prayed. Nehemiah was compelled to rebuild the walls of the Holy city, before going before the King to ask his permission, he prayed. Nehemiah 1:11, “O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man, For I was the king's cupbearer.” Nehemiah is praying for mercy and not material things. Another interesting aspect of prayer is how it can change God’s mind. In this example, the prayer was not for God to change his mind, but a prayer for God to remember him. Isaiah 38:1-5, “ In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death, and Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shall die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and prayed unto the LORD, And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight, and Hezekiah wept sore.” Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.” His tears moved God. Luke 1:50, “And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.” Fear of God is a prerequisite for effective prayer. Fear of God would also prevent us from lying on God, or lying to God. The fear of God will also prevent us from trying to share in God's glory. http://mysearchfortherealgod.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-study-in-prayer-part-3-of-6.html
Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Now reflect on the above illustrations and ask yourself what are we praying for? Do our prayers reflect the desires of the flesh more than the desires of the spirit? Have we misused the power of prayer in such a manner that it trivialize and render the God of our salvation impotent in the eyes of the world? With all of the righteous prayers going forth the world should be on the brinks of Heaven here on earth. Christianity should be flourishing and the devil ought to be reeling from a knockout blow from the blood of Jesus applied. This is not true Christianity is being suppressed in our schools and in our nation. The religious order is being redefined to allow equal time for the opposing force. The government is beginning to exert more force on the church, and that old Satan has found a new use for the words "Policial Correctness." It is definitely a time for prayer, but the question is what are we praying for? http://mysearchfortherealgod.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-study-in-prayer-part-4-of-6.html
Prayer is often used for the enhancement of one’s standing in the church and community. Prayer Warriors represent a class of people that have a close relationship with God. The use of flowery words and much speaking that bring on a state of euphoria that is often mistaken for the Spirit of God. Matthew 6:5-8 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. Based upon these words of Jesus there is no need to go to God with a shopping list begging for fulfillment. http://mysearchfortherealgod.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-study-in-prayer-part-5-of-6.html
One of the most profound life's moments was sitting in my Doctor office as he vocalize these harsh words, “You got cancer.” Upon hearing this statement my whole life outlook changed and went spinning out of control. It was a death sentence of a type and you are acutely aware that the majority of those who hear these words will eventually die from the disease. Survival becomes that as of a man drowning and the people on the bank are shouting swim. Only when a young man stepped into the water and began walking towards the drowning man did he realize the depth of his situation. I make this assessment based upon my personal experience, and there are few pastors, ministers or churches folks prepared to minister to this condition. A steady diet of prayer will take your mind off the situation for a while, but late at night when you are alone, sometime talking to God can leave a person feeling as if God does not hear their prayers, especially if someone they know who are suffering from the same illness has just passed on. This is a situation or a condition that many will not admit to because there is more earthly glory in speaking of what God has done rather than testifying of what God has not done. The indoctrination of Christianity does not allow for one to speak in the negative about what God is or is not doing. http://mysearchfortherealgod.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-study-in-prayer-part-6-of-6.html
Next
Part #6
The True Message of Christ
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