Dear...
'...The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.'
Romans 8:26-27
Why are only some prayers answered. And even for those that are answered, they are not always answered the way we desire? The promise in the Bible is that all prayers asked in God's will be answered. Does it mean that prayers not answered were not asked in His will then?
The World Cup is coming soon in South Africa and today's sport columnist highlighted five key players whose physical readiness is essential for the possible success of their respective countries, and hence the need for prayers to keep them well. Even if all the players are well, there can only be one winner in this prestigious tournament. And amongst the players and their fans, there are indeed many a Christian, be it
Catholic, or Protestant but the same Sovereign God. Does it mean than that either the winning country not just played better, but prayedbetter or that God is bias or less potent than the "gods' of the
winning team, if the latter happen to be from a non Christian country?
Prayers is a ministry that God has placed me in these past decade. Prayers is also an issue that is 'bugging' me these past few days, as if my inner being is struggling with the Spirit of God, as to what it truly means. Yet God never leave us wandering too long, and prayers and what it truly meant is a topic that I have had the privilege of reading/listening to these past few days, from no less God anointed writers like our Methodist Bishop Dr Robert Solomon( from the latest Bible Society of Singapore newsletter "Word@work dated Mar 2010)) as well as Rev Francis Khoo. You can listen to the latter's hour long sermon on "the multi-dimension of prayers at the following link
http://www.covenantvision.org/mediacentre/watch/118
'To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.'
Ecclesiastes 3:1
A couple of months back, a friend who was not well felt the need for prayers. Most of us will pray to God our Healer for the removal of the disease. But God reminded me that my prayers for my friend should be for the spiritual rather than the physical healing. Often physical illnesses is the manifestation of what could be wrong with our own walk with the Lord our God. The physical can be healed, but if the spiritual is not made right, not aligned with the will of God, we can gain the body albeit temporarily, but lose the soul for eternity. That was the command of God, to work on transforming ourselves from the carnal to the spiritual man. And what then should be our prayers,? That my friend will be determined to exercise the free will to move away from the sinful world, and into a determined desire to come unto the presence of God always, for God will heal her spiritually, if she will just respond. What about the original request for physical healing?
Should we not pray for it then? Only as God leads.
'Because he loves me, says the Lord, i will rescue him. i will protect him, for he acknowledges My name. He will call upon Me, and i will answer him. i will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him and show him My salvation.'
Psalm 91:14-16
Just a couple of weeks back, a dear friend asked me to pray for her father, who was not well physically. Just yesterday, she messaged to let me know that her father has since passed on. Was my prayers and supplication ineffective? Did God not promise to deliver and honor and show salvation to those who love Him? My friend's late father was a recent believer. A joy to her for she had never imagined both her parents in their old age will be able to become not just believers, but desirous followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. Her father might be a recent Christian, but he was from all accounts a very determined follower of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I was in Sydney when my friend messaged me on her father's illness. At that point, God reminded me that much as we humans look at the temporal, it is eternity that is more important, and much as we want to pray for good health, or other needs we value, they are but temporal. What we must pray for is that our loved ones are ready, when God calls, be it to Heaven or to do His work on Earth.
Bishop Solomon in his article stated that "The most important change for us is the change within us - our transformation into the likeness of Jesus"
'Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.'
And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.'
1 John 3:2-3
I believe that my friend's late father is more than ready and God will be most pleased with him. That is the reassurance and comfort that God has provided, for indeed God answers the prayers of the faithful. And her prayers has been for her parents to accept Christ. Not easy, by human terms, given their age and also the fact that she is based overseas these past few years. But God delivered.
Prayers in not about telling God our shopping list. He already knows our needs on Earth. He will more than provide. Prayers is about asking for God to give us the necessary to do His will, that is already made known to us. Prayers is about us asking God to align our hearts to His will, for us to do in total obedience and confidence, what He commands.
The prophet Elijah in the misconstrued eyes of many is one of those who seems to be able to command God to do what he asked for. God send rain, where there was no rain, for rain came after Elijah asked or prayed for(1 Kings 18:37-41)
But do tarry a little, before we all get excited like what some has often preached, or possibly has been misconstrued, that God loves us and is like Santa Claus, and He will give us all we asked for in our will and irregardless of our obedience!!
God indeed loves us all, and salvation is given to all. But with our acceptance of His salvation, is a need on our part to respond to His leading, to be transformed unto His likeness. In his video above, Rev Khoo talked about us giving back our salvation, by our continued carnal ways. There are differing views on this, but to each his own, but what the Bible is very clear on is that all will be held accountable by our Lord on the day of His return. We do not work for our salvation, but we must work on our salvation.
I know that the Spirit of God is in me. I experienced it in Bangkok that wonderful night in early 2000. But I know that I am still an imperfect man, being perfected by our Lord Jesus Christ. The devil is always waiting to pounce upon me, to lead my carnal self away from the spiritual man that God wants me to be.
What then should I be praying for??
In 1 Kings 18:1, God spoke to Elijah and told him
'And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.'
Indeed, God has already told Elijah as to what will transpire when he dueled with the false prophets. All Elijah needed to do was to obey as God leads. Was it easy. Seems to be for us the reader on hindsight, but given that many prophets were killed during that period and that there was truly no rain. Elijah must have had a lot of faith in the promise of God to want to challenge the evil King Ahab and his band of falsies.
What about us? Like Elijah, we must spend the times of God's silence in prayers as in a conversation with a Sovereign God rather than in ordering Him around, in praise for all things, be it good or "bad" and in doing God's work totally dependent on His grace and provisions. We must let God transform us, so that when He commands, we will not just hear Him, but understand His will and be willing to obey. And where does the prayer come in? Man look for conclusion, God looks for obedience, and pray we must, but that our very actions and thoughts will stay focus on the commands that God will have given us or will be giving us.
Prayers is not about what we want. But rather, that we play out the role that God expects from us, the way He has ordained.
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(14th Mar 2010)
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