“Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask,
and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.”
(John 16:24)
When I was growing up in a Baptist church in Richmond, California, we always had a Bible study and prayer meeting on Wednesday night. When pastoring, I always had a Bible study and prayer time in the same manner. After feasting on the Word, I would name specific things we should pray for and also ask for prayer requests to be shared. We would split up into groups of two or three individuals throughout the sanctuary. That way visitors could be welcomed and everyone could share more personal requests and everyone could pray.
Today, in the vast majority of Protestant churches, prayer meetings have been abandoned. It appears that we are too busy, personally or corporately to take time to pray. What’s it like at your church? Are there good reasons why we should gather for prayer? Here are a few reasons why I think we should.
Jesus Christ has provided our access to God’s Throne of Grace. The writer of Hebrews put it this way:
“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefor draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.”
(Hebrews 4:15-16)
I define grace as divine sufficiency. It is the capacity God gives us to do His will – whatever that might be. I believe that God’s grace enables us to approach God’s throne, where Christ sits as the Father’s right hand. In his ascended and enthroned position, He intercedes for us. The word intercede means to supplicate or “to speak on behalf of.” It’s not something Christ does once in a while. The Greek word (entugcanw) is in the present, active tense. It means He is constantly interceding on our behalf. As the writer of Hebrews puts it, “He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)
The same word is used to describe the intercession by the Holy Spirit on our behalf:
“And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
(Romans 8:26)
With the Father’s ear open to us, with the Son’s pleading our case, with the Spirit’s praying on our behalf in accordance with the Father’s will, why don’t we pray more? Why have most so-called evangelical churches abandoned prayer meetings? Does anyone with an ounce of spiritual sense fail to see why our nation is crumbling in moral, political, and spiritual devolution? Does the word “importunity” mean anything in our post-Christian congregations? Evidently not!
Martin Luther said, “If I spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.”
Would to God that Paul’s words to the Roman Christians would shake us from our prayerlessness:
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”
(Romans 8:32)
When it comes to personal and corporate prayer, I think it would do us well to memorize this short but succinct line:
“My soul, ask what thou wilt, thou canst not be too bold;
Since His own blood for thee He spilt, what else can He withhold?”
It is only when we exercise ourselves in believing prayer that we come to experience the fullness of joy that our Great High Priest longs for us to know.
Samuel Chadwick said, “Prayer is the acid test of devotion.” It makes me wonder just how devoted we actually are. God waits with open arms. We linger in spiritual apathy. We need to learn to retreat to our prayer closet. We need to get back to being bold in approaching God’s Throne of Grace in prayer.
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