The notion that prayer is for the weak
or incomplete person is a
very true one, but not in the derogatory
sense. We all are wimps, and
God knows our frame is dust (Psalm
103:14). We are weak without Him,
but He is our 'backbone' in a sense, spiritually.
We can do all things
through Christ, which strengthens us (Philippians
4:13). Prayer is a
statement that we can only go so far,
and God can do the rest as He
Wills and as we allow. It's a representation
of surrender to God,
saying that we are inadequate without
Him, which is as true as true
gets!
As Saint Augustine
used to say, 'everyone has a God-shaped hole in
their heart' before Salvation, and even
after Salvation, we still have
room for growth in Him. In Him we live
and move and have our being
(Acts 17:28), so why should we
fight the Holy Spirit's work in our
lives, when He will eventually produce
the Fruit of the Spirit with our
obedience (Galatians 5:22-23)?!
(Paul recalling
Jesus telling him...)
2 Corinthians
12:9-10
And he said unto
me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my
strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I
rather glory in my infirmities, that the
power of Christ may rest upon
me.
Therefore I take
pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in
necessities, in persecutions, in distresses
for Christ’s sake: for when
I am weak, then am I strong.
Prayer can do
many things that we cannot...
1 - To Heal the sick
Matthew 8:1-3
When he was come
down from the mountain, great multitudes followed
him. And, behold, there came a leper and
worshipped him, saying, Lord,
if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
And Jesus put forth his hand,
and touched him, saying, I will; be thou
clean. And immediately his
leprosy was cleansed.
Remember that
in the Old Testament, God is described as the LORD
our Healer, Jehovah Shalom.
<signs that
follow those who believe, Mark 16:18b> "...they shall
lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover."
James 5:15a
- "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the
Lord shall raise him up..."
Acts 3:6-7
Then Peter said,
Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have
give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth rise up and walk.
And he took him
by the right hand, and lifted him up: and
immediately his feet and ankle bones received
strength.
2 - To be baptized
w/ the Holy Ghost
Acts 8:14-17
Now when the
apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria
had received the word of God, they sent
unto them Peter and John:
Who, when they
were come down, prayed for them, that they might
receive the Holy Ghost:
(For as yet he
was fallen upon none of them: only they were
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Then laid they
their hands on them, and they received the Holy
Ghost.
Luke 11:11-13
If a son shall
ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he
give him a stone? or if he ask a fish,
will he for a fish give him a
serpent?
Or if he shall
ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children: how much more shall your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask him?
3 - To have
sins forgiven
1 John 1:9
- If we confess our sins, he {Jesus} is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 2:1-2
My little children,
these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.
And if any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous:
And he is the
propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but
also for the sins of the whole world.
Thank the Lord
that Jesus was given to live a perfect life, that
our sin can be cleansed through Him!
Hebrews 9:28
- So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many;
and unto them that look for him shall
he appear the second time without
sin unto salvation.
The Lord is Good,
and His mercy is everlasting, and truth endures
to all generations (Psalm 100:5).
May we come boldly before the throne
of Grace, knowing that Jesus is our Great
High Priest, who makes
intercession to the Father for us. He
doesn't have to sacrifice bulls
and lambs and goats over and over and
over again, but He was our
Sacrificial Lamb, and even "our Passover,"
that believing on Him, we
will have life everlasting (Hebrews
4:14-16, 1 Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews
9:13-14, 1 Peter 1:18-19, John 3:16,
Romans 10:9)
1 Corinthians
5:7b - "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed
for us:"
Hebrews 7:25
- "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make
intercession for them."
As humans, we
are flimsy as wet noodles. Without Jesus helping us,
where is our hope? He is the Captain of
our Salvation, and we'll
continue more later this week, Lord Willing...
May the Lord Jesus'
healing hand be with you and your loved ones
and His blessings be with you.