Coconut
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- Joined
- Feb 17, 2005
- Messages
- 4,663
Joshua 7:10 The LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies..."
Prayer: An Alternative to Obedience?
-By David Ryser
Recently I received an e-mail in response to one of my articles on how we need to love Jesus more. In the e-mail was a suggestion that I compose a prayer of deliverance for the Body of Christ. The goal of the prayer would be that the people of God would love Him. This is an intriguing request. But I don’t know how to respond to it.
Many years ago, I was talking with a young man in our church. He and his wife were having problems in their marriage. He said that he didn’t love his wife anymore. He asked me to pray with him. He wanted me to pray that he would love his wife.
What?
I didn’t know how to react to his request at first. Certainly prayer is a good thing. The Bible is in favor of prayer. So am I. We all would do well to pray more. But I found myself disinclined to honor his request.
My response surprised him. “I’m not going to pray for that. I don’t think this is a matter for prayer.”
He began to blink like a toad in a hailstorm. Obviously, he was confused.
I continued, “The Bible commands us to love our wives. I don’t think this is something we can, or should, pray about. We just need to obey God.”
“Do you want me to pray for you to obey God?”
Prayer is a wonderful thing. What a delight to come into the presence of our loving heavenly Father and spend time just hanging out with Him. These times can become quite intimate and are a source of fellowship, comfort, and revelation. When we are in trouble or in need, we can come to God and ask for His provision and deliverance. Answered prayer in a time of crisis is a blessing from God that we’ve all experienced.
But prayer is not a substitute for obedience.
Joshua is a biblical example of someone who was rebuked for praying when obedience was the issue. In Joshua 7:6-9, he is on his face in prayer because Israel had been defeated at Ai. God appears on the scene, rebukes Joshua, and commands him to get up. The cause of Israels defeat was disobedience. No amount of prayer will compensate for disobedience.
Many times we are too quick to minister prayer to people who ask for it. The Bible forbids this (1 Timothy 5:22). "Do not put hands on any man without thought, and have no part in other men's sins: keep yourself clean."
This may be one cause for ineffective prayer. Ineffective prayer can be worse than no prayer at all. Ineffective prayer places an additional obstacle in the way of someone who needs something from God. Now they not only have to approach God in faith, they also must overcome having a prayer fail.
We need to be discerning when ministering prayer to people. It is not unspiritual to ask questions. Prayer is not called for when we know the will of God. If the scriptures command us to do something, we should do it. If the scriptures command us not to do something, we should not do it (or stop doing it!).
When God speaks to us, we simply need to obey. It may be hard for us to obey, but it is simple to obey. Simple should never be confused with easy.
So here I am in a quandary because I’ve been asked to compose a prayer that the people of God would love Him. I find myself unwilling to do so. We are commanded to love Him. We are called to be the Bride of Christ. We don’t need prayer…we need to obey.
Besides, I no longer know how to pray.
I didn’t have this problem a few years ago. I had been trained to pray for all kinds of things. I had a prayer formula to meet every circumstance and occasion. I could pray, intercede, and rebuke. (“Rebuke until you puke!” That was my motto.) Whatever was needed.
Then I met Jesus…really met Him.
Ever since I discovered Who, I no longer know how. I don’t know how to pray. I don’t know how to do anything. I assume nothing when I meet someone who needs ministry. I have taken to heart the words that God spoke to my friend Kevin. He told Kevin, “You are like a doctor who prescribes the same medication for every disease.”
We would do well to heed these words.
So I’m going to respectfully decline the suggestion to compose a prayer for the people of God to love Him. The person who asked me to do this did so from a sincere heart. But loving God is not a matter of prayer. It is a matter of obedience.
But if I did….
If I did compose such a prayer, it would go something like this:
“Daddy, I’m so sorry I don’t love you like I should. You are so awesome. You pour out your love on me every day. In return, I’ve given you ingratitude, indifference, and disrespect. Please forgive me. How about I climb up on your lap and let you hold me until it’s all ok again? Thanks.”
I know…it’s not much of a prayer.
Prayer: An Alternative to Obedience?
-By David Ryser
Recently I received an e-mail in response to one of my articles on how we need to love Jesus more. In the e-mail was a suggestion that I compose a prayer of deliverance for the Body of Christ. The goal of the prayer would be that the people of God would love Him. This is an intriguing request. But I don’t know how to respond to it.
Many years ago, I was talking with a young man in our church. He and his wife were having problems in their marriage. He said that he didn’t love his wife anymore. He asked me to pray with him. He wanted me to pray that he would love his wife.
What?
I didn’t know how to react to his request at first. Certainly prayer is a good thing. The Bible is in favor of prayer. So am I. We all would do well to pray more. But I found myself disinclined to honor his request.
My response surprised him. “I’m not going to pray for that. I don’t think this is a matter for prayer.”
He began to blink like a toad in a hailstorm. Obviously, he was confused.
I continued, “The Bible commands us to love our wives. I don’t think this is something we can, or should, pray about. We just need to obey God.”
“Do you want me to pray for you to obey God?”
Prayer is a wonderful thing. What a delight to come into the presence of our loving heavenly Father and spend time just hanging out with Him. These times can become quite intimate and are a source of fellowship, comfort, and revelation. When we are in trouble or in need, we can come to God and ask for His provision and deliverance. Answered prayer in a time of crisis is a blessing from God that we’ve all experienced.
But prayer is not a substitute for obedience.
Joshua is a biblical example of someone who was rebuked for praying when obedience was the issue. In Joshua 7:6-9, he is on his face in prayer because Israel had been defeated at Ai. God appears on the scene, rebukes Joshua, and commands him to get up. The cause of Israels defeat was disobedience. No amount of prayer will compensate for disobedience.
Many times we are too quick to minister prayer to people who ask for it. The Bible forbids this (1 Timothy 5:22). "Do not put hands on any man without thought, and have no part in other men's sins: keep yourself clean."
This may be one cause for ineffective prayer. Ineffective prayer can be worse than no prayer at all. Ineffective prayer places an additional obstacle in the way of someone who needs something from God. Now they not only have to approach God in faith, they also must overcome having a prayer fail.
We need to be discerning when ministering prayer to people. It is not unspiritual to ask questions. Prayer is not called for when we know the will of God. If the scriptures command us to do something, we should do it. If the scriptures command us not to do something, we should not do it (or stop doing it!).
When God speaks to us, we simply need to obey. It may be hard for us to obey, but it is simple to obey. Simple should never be confused with easy.
So here I am in a quandary because I’ve been asked to compose a prayer that the people of God would love Him. I find myself unwilling to do so. We are commanded to love Him. We are called to be the Bride of Christ. We don’t need prayer…we need to obey.
Besides, I no longer know how to pray.
I didn’t have this problem a few years ago. I had been trained to pray for all kinds of things. I had a prayer formula to meet every circumstance and occasion. I could pray, intercede, and rebuke. (“Rebuke until you puke!” That was my motto.) Whatever was needed.
Then I met Jesus…really met Him.
Ever since I discovered Who, I no longer know how. I don’t know how to pray. I don’t know how to do anything. I assume nothing when I meet someone who needs ministry. I have taken to heart the words that God spoke to my friend Kevin. He told Kevin, “You are like a doctor who prescribes the same medication for every disease.”
We would do well to heed these words.
So I’m going to respectfully decline the suggestion to compose a prayer for the people of God to love Him. The person who asked me to do this did so from a sincere heart. But loving God is not a matter of prayer. It is a matter of obedience.
But if I did….
If I did compose such a prayer, it would go something like this:
“Daddy, I’m so sorry I don’t love you like I should. You are so awesome. You pour out your love on me every day. In return, I’ve given you ingratitude, indifference, and disrespect. Please forgive me. How about I climb up on your lap and let you hold me until it’s all ok again? Thanks.”
I know…it’s not much of a prayer.
