by David Brenneman
Oh the false hope that is often given at words such as these!
"You're in my thoughts."
"Well wishes are being sent to you."
"My hopes go with you."
Jesus didn't offer false hopes or wishes towards anyone. He was asked, and rightly so, of how to pray.
This goes with yesterday's post, evidently, on aiding the enemy of God.
We who are in Christ have the divinely granted ability to, in an instant, enter into the Throne Room of Jesus to talk directly to Him, without appointment!
Why would we not go there on behalf of those who come to us?
Why would we say such things in regards to the needs of others?
We deny them the single most beneficial thing that can actually DO something in their lives. Either to constructively direct them to the living hope in Christ Jesus or to effect change through Christ Jesus that might directly lead them to salvation.
We can be as lazy as the world when it comes to Spiritual things. We can be as lazy because we have the same sin nature.
Our sin nature has no desire to be before the Holy God of the Bible.
We actually help the cause of Satan by not. praying. We help him in our intentional silence. The Spirit is ready in an instant to intervene at our pleas, even with groans too deep for words if necessary. He's the Paraclete, another of like kind to Jesus Christ. He's the Helper that was promised. He's the 3rd in the Trinity of God. Why would we mislead people by offering empty words?
Empty words is what those kinds of statements given earlier are. We tell people things that mean essentially nothing. We may make them feel better for the moment but a work by the Spirit can effect change for all eternity.
We must also follow through.
Merely saying we will pray for someone and not doing it is actually a sin.
James 4:17 NASB "Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin."
We are to offer hope. 1 Peter 3:15 NASB "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect;"
We do them a grave disservice by being like the world in regards to this. We are here to be about the Father’s business. Just as Jesus was and is through His Church.
Oh how it honestly pains me when I actually see Christians fighting the urge to say they will pray for someone out loud. Realistically THIS is hiding your faith under a basket. THIS is what we are not to be doing in a dark lost world.
Jesus Christ provided true hope through His finished work on the cross. Why keep that from those who need to hear it most?
"Oh they might be offended!" Sorry, poor excuse. Jesus already said that the cross of Christ would be offensive to those who refuse to believe.
We who are in Christ Jesus are working in HIS fields. We either weed, plant seeds, nurture, or are part of the harvest. Doing nothing isn't an option.
Prayer is to life as air is to breathing. It is as essential as water to a fish, air to a bird. It's central to the life of a Believer. Prayer should not be treated like a magician's trick. Done only in secret. It shouldn't be kept only for what we personally deem as a grave emergency.
Prayer becomes central to the life of a Believer when they come to Christ for salvation. It can be said that we deny them access to Heaven by denying them a prayer.
Jesus only has not come yet because the last to be saved before the Tribulation hasn't been saved yet. We hasten the day of the Lord by seeking to bring people to Jesus Christ for salvation. We delay it by our silence.
Consider this...we are given an opportunity...by the Spirit...to bring a need to Jesus an we are so silent that there aren't even crickets. Afraid of getting involved? That's certainly a possibility but remember you owe your life to Jesus. Someone prayed concerning you. Someone wasn't silent towards God in regards to you being saved. Someone dared to get involved in order to bring you towards salvation in Christ Jesus.
Consider being real in your Christian life if indeed you claim to be saved. By refusing the opportunities provided by God, you are in danger of creating a hardened heart in you. You become less and less sensitive to what matters to God.
James 5:16-18 NASB "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit."
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