Pray - Ron & Nathele Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com
"Pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:17. This is an imperative statement. From the many letters Paul wrote, we know that he did in fact pray continually. We too need to talk with our Heavenly Father every day and tell Him our fears and ask Him for guidance. We live in a time when the powers of darkness surround us and evil seems to be winning. The battle may seem difficult and sometimes it's hard to find words to express our heart to the Lord. In those times the Holy Spirit will intercede. "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Romans 8:26-27. God warned of the times we live in and that fact brings mixed feelings. Jesus will call us Home soon and that's exciting but until then the world becomes treacherous for Christians, and that can bring fear. God's word never changes and we can trust Him to hear our prayers and guide us through difficult times. Standing strong on Biblical truth takes study and prayer. Brothers and sisters, don't waiver.
The Apostle Paul wrote many letters while he was in prison and we can take strength knowing that God used Paul's imprisonment to continue spreading the Gospel. Like today the times in which Paul lived were filled with powers of darkness, and most people reveled in that darkness. When he wrote to the Christians in heathen city of Ephesus he urged them to put on the full spiritual armor of God, then ended that passage telling them to pray. "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." Ephesians 6:18-20. We all need to take Paul's words seriously. Pray for each other and also pray for boldness in sharing God's truth. Set aside television, video games, and secular books and prayerfully study God's word. Then pray for your pastor as he may face prison for standing on God's word. Pray for your children, no matter how old they are, that they will draw nearer to God. Pray for your neighbors that they may come to know the saving grace of Jesus. Pray for that Christian police officer who will be asked to arrest a pastor for upholding God's law instead of man's. Pray for your nation.
As I was searching through notes and computer files, a commentary that my husband, Ron Graham, wrote in September 2010 popped up and it seems as if this prayer is relevant for today. Ron was a strong Christian man and he took everything to our Lord in prayer. I don't know the particular crisis that prompted him to write this, but as always he took his concerns to God in prayer. Ron was grieved over American leadership and the world situation; as I do, he yearned for the Lord to call His Bride Home. Since the day he prayed this prayer Ron has gone Home to be with Jesus. Also since that time the world situation has deteriorated and evil is stronger. Why are Christians silent? The time has come for us to pray.
Time Has Come - Let's Pray
"But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them..." Luke 5:35.
Lord God Almighty, Your Bride has been patiently, sometimes impatiently, awaiting Your soon return. I and many of my brethren are so very tired of man's attempts at governing this world; please Father send the Bridegroom to take over where man has so dismally failed. Surely the time has come for man to receive his final instructions as to who You are. This world has embraced every form of evil, no doubt in similar fashion to those who occupied space on earth during the antediluvian era. Your promise is that You will never again destroy the world with a flood, thank You for that promise Lord. But God, those of us who still read and study Your word know that You have every intention of destroying this world one last time, only this time by fire. God, this tells us You are fully prepared to unleash Your judgment once again; only this time on a Christ rejecting, evil, depraved and wicked world.
We are all guilty of sinning and deserve to be punished for our inequity. How can we ever thank You enough Lord Jesus for receiving that punishment in our stead. Over the past 2,000 years many people have placed their faith and trust in You Lord, but we also realize that many, many more have gone on to inhabit eternity fully removed from Your fellowship. We are very sorry God that that same situation is so prevalent and remains a growing phenomenon today. And as we look out on earth's inhabitants we realize that most today are earth dwellers. In other words their home is this earth and they have no intention of leaving it for something they can neither see nor touch.
Lord, Satan's pride has now been grasped by humanity at large and has become a major stumbling block for receiving the truth of the Gospel. As Your children, we find performing the great commission given to all saints exceedingly more rejected than ever before. So Father, we are wondering if by chance the time has come that You are at the very cusp of removing Your children from off the face of this deteriorating planet?
Please Father, we are not complaining as we pray and ask these questions, we are only affirming our readiness to be received up into glory. Man cannot see into the future, but by Your word we realize we are in for some pretty tough times ahead. Men's hearts and all the evil at hand will only get worse as the days proceed. Therefore, the only eye opening events being played out before Your Church are more and more evil continually.
Abba Father, it is our sincere prayer that apart from all the wonderful blessings You continually provide to Your children here on earth, and for which we are all extremely grateful, that we may now enlist Your full intervention in our governmental situations. If that is not Your plan then we ask You Father to provide us with a most speedy exit form planet earth. Of course Father we do understand that we are to hold fast and occupy until You come. It's now become our most sincere hope that that hour is upon us and that our extraction will soon be complete.
As this world government falls further and further into the abyss Father, know this, Your saints remain steadfast in their resolve to proclaim Your Gospel to all nations, and we know that before the very end comes when our Lord returns with us, His saints, to rule and reign for 1,000 years that that Gospel will have been preached to all the nations worldwide. So all the nations of the world will have had the same opportunity to hear the Gospel and respond.
But Lord, we are in the here and now, and as such we have witnessed the exceedingly pervasive deterioration of Your once perfect creation. We've not seen any signs of a reversal of the second law of thermodynamics (entropy). On the contrary, everything is still falling apart exponentially, especially Father, these bodies You gave us. Even though we can remember a much more fluid gate in our step, many of us now have much difficulty in maneuvering these bodies. Again Father we're not complaining only pointing out what You already know.
Certainly Father, this prayer could be misconstrued as the mere grumblings of spoiled children, but I would hope not in Your eyes. What we are praying for, Father, apart from Your immediate intervention in the affairs of man, is such a clamor of voices all praying this prayer that even our government leaders would hear and "change" their evil ways. That they would begin to follow Your precepts set forth in Your word. We know, Father, that there is a time and a season for all things under Heaven, and we are in hopes that this prayer is in perfect timing with Your will.
As You well know Father, Your children are not in perfect sync today, especially in regards to Your inerrant word. Many hold to the doctrines of men and place much more importance on those doctrines than in Your own words. This concept is especially hard to grasp for many of us as we are all supposedly born of the same Spirit. It's becoming more and more difficult Father to find a pastor and a congregation that proclaim the inerrant truth of Your word. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is being replaced, in many churches, by something that feels good but which has no redeeming qualities. At a time when we, the body of Christ, should be standing firm and united as one body, we instead seem to be fracturing and splintering at an alarming rate. God, we need Your Holy Spirit more now than ever before.
The enemy is hard at work, Father, establishing his warfare strategy, recruiting leaders and infantrymen and women to fight against Your Church. The roadblocks and obstacles he throws at us are, at times, quite debilitating. Yet Father, we know You are with Your children through every day. Still Father, it is our continuing prayer that Jesus Christ will return and evacuate His bride soon.
God, Your children fear nothing of this earth, it's only our deep desire to be with You forever more. The corrupt lifestyles that are paraded before us, the ugly filthy contempt that many of our fellow citizens have for You and for us makes life, at times, almost unbearable. Evil continually bombards our minds, and is set daily before our eyes and has become a burden that none of us wish to endure further, but we will Father. We will hold fast 'til Jesus tarries no longer. No matter what evil this way comes, our hearts and our souls are steadfastly Yours.
Lastly Father, we pray that You never lift Your covering of protection from upon the children you call sons and daughters. We resolve to spread Your Gospel of truth even until the very final moment before our Bridegroom returns, and may we do so as the body of Christ. This, Father, is our prayer today and every day until we are caught up to forever be with our Lord, Jesus the Christ. We praise You and worship You and glorify Your holy name.
Blessings to all my Christian brethren as we pray together.
Yes, we need to pray continually for every part of our life. When asking for help, don't forget to praise Him for blessings. When praising Him for blessings, don't forget to ask for His guidance. "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Philippians 4:6.
God bless you all,
Ron & Nathele Graham
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