IN JESUS’ NAME

Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 13 November 2012

Hi all,

Today’s meditation touches on prayer. I trust you are one of the three per cent minority who not only believes in prayer but also actually prays. If so, you have my admiration. From personal experience, the statistic that only three per cent of the Christians ever turn up for prayer meetings seems to be about correct. The statistics will only change when we do!

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Tuesday, 13 November 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	IN JESUS’ NAME
I’ve heard it said that for some considerable time, theologians argued about how many angels could stand on the head of a pin. All these years later I can give the answer. “All of them, one at a time”. It’s this type of frivolous discussion that have caused us to overlook the obvious. As one man said, “we have majored on minors and minored on majors for so long, we no longer know what is major and what is minor”. Of course theology lends itself to such discussions. We tend to love circular arguments. A bit like a merry-go-round, there is no starting or stopping point. Everything is random. Get on and get off where you can. Sadly, prayer appears to have taken on a frivolity that is difficult to understand. Perhaps it is because prayer has become the “lost art” of Christianity, it is regarded by many as being frivolous. Many years ago I was informed that only 3% of Christians ever pray; other than at the specified points in the prayer book. I can’t confirm this to be the case. What I can say is that if attendance at church prayer meetings is anything to go by, the statistic is not far from being accurate. Why is this? God’s Word encourages all of us to pray. Why don’t we do so? I rather suspect that it is brought about by our own experience of lack of answers to prayer. Now if you are one of those blessed Christians who spends hours in prayer and is familiar with regular and appropriate answers, these comments are not intended or directed at you in any way. But if you are among those lesser mortals who finds prayer is like trying to swim in treacle, these words are primarily for you. I won’t tell you my exact position other than hinting that I’m a bit weary of the taste of treacle! Yuk! One thing I must state immediately is that a lack of answers to prayer cannot be laid at the door of the Lord. It’s never Him. It’s invariably me – or you if the cap fits. In this regard, Jesus has given us promises that are overwhelmingly encouraging. In John 14 is recorded 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  John 14:13 ESV Looking at this quote, it occurs to me we do lots of asking in His Name, but not so that God will be glorified. For most it’s to impress others with our “spirituality”. If I’ve touched a nerve, sorry. Remember that every word I write is directed at me as much as anyone. President Harry S Truman had a sign on his desk saying, “The buck stops here”. As far as America was concerned, during his presidency, it was true. Where should we place that sign? Not at Jesus door. With unanswered prayer, the truth is “the buck stops with me”. If it doesn’t happen, blame your friend you see every time you look in the mirror. One day we’ll pray in Jesus Name for the right reasons, What then? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. Ephesians 2:18 ESV 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. John 17:23 ESV 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:13-17 ESV 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all. Ephesians 4:4-6 NLT 2 And He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father, who is in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, as in Heaven, so also on the earth. Luke 11:2 MKJV 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:19-22 ESV	Whatever I ask in Your Name, You’ve said that You will do. But from my observation, it seems to be untrue. It’s not an accusation. I know there’s something wrong. It’s not the sort of thing You’d say, to any who belong, To those whom You have rescued. So what is it I’ve missed? I can’t demand an answer. And I cannot insist, The One who made creation, would give the reason why, Our prayers remain unanswered no matter how we try? But if there’s no objection, You won’t mind if I guess, And try and find the reasons why You do not answer “Yes”? I think part of the problem is I concentrate on me. Prayer for other people is a vast minority. We are not important to anyone but You, And since our prayers for others are very, very few, I think they’ve been discarded or put in file thirteen, Which then is only opened for the annual spring clean. Perhaps there is a special bin for all of the junk mail. The prayers which are so selfish, they surely have to fail. Others so religious, that they do not arrive. Instead, they are diverted to some heavenly archive. Perhaps those You will answer are placed into a queue Marked, “When I get around to it; for anytime will do”. And Lord could there be something about us trapped in time? Because You are eternal and totally Divine, What we prayed for yesterday, will take a thousand years, Before it ever gets to You or falls upon Your ears. Then there is the motive hidden deep inside our hearts. Is there an agenda which wants us to look smart; Impressing all the people with a clever turn of phrase, Belying how You see us and our disgusting ways? O Lord, all this is frivolous. I know the problem’s me. It isn’t up in heaven. The truth is that You see Everything I’m doing and hear my every word. To think You are delaying it is totally absurd. So let us concentrate upon the idols in our heart. Only when we deal with them, will all Your blessings start, To come upon the people, who pray in Jesus Name. Because, without sincerity, all prayer is just a game. Jim Strickland  Written 13th November 2012