Quiet-time ( By Pastor Fu ) “Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.” (Philippians 4:6) This is a verse in the Scriptures which I like using to encourage our church members. It is not easy if the members do not have a good foundation of faith in prayer or lack experience with God in prayer. This is a weak point of each church. The church leaders must put more effort in training new priests or ‘new believers’ in prayer and Bible teaching as they begin their walks with Christ. Moreover, the more mature Christians who also mentor in these first months should also be strong in the aspects of prayer and Bible teaching. The leaders must pay special attention to the training process like Jesus trained His disciples with a theoretical and practical base, being good examples in living a Christian life including personal devotions, worship, prayer, bible study, and sharing the gospel of Christ. My dear friends, if we or our church have poor efficiency in building each other spiritually, the priests in the temple will work in disorder leading to confusion as they lack knowledge and discipline. For this reason, although we use Scriptures in teaching and encouraging them, they will lack a driven power because their spiritual body as a whole is not strong. Whenever facing troubles or sufferings, a great number of Christians still try to use their own knowledge and ability as solutions. Some ask for humans help before going to God. And then, when facing a dead end, they will retreat and back to God in prayer. This is the wrong priority. Prayer must be the first step not the last. My dear friends, misplaced priority comes from the lack of understanding and experience in the duty of the priest. We tell other people about our troubles before telling God, we look for human help instead of waiting upon the Lord as our rescue. Many Christians almost never pray or plead to God. The Scriptures emphasize about ‘begging and pleading God for help’. As mentioned before, the leaders must be good examples teaching members and new believers to understand that this type of prayer is ‘the will of God’. When things are not as we want them, the word ‘thank God’ seldom comes out of our mouths and our hearts. Some may be resentful and skeptical tending to judge God’s answer by using his own human thoughts. My dear friends, we are able to see past the troubles when we offer our hearts to God as a sacrifice in prayer and thanks. The thankful heart shows that we trust in God enough to let things be according to His will. Remember that God is all-wise. Remember that hidden blessings are found in times of trouble. May today you find blessings through prayer with pleading and thankful hearts. Amen. 150213/040913
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 23:04:17 +0000
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