August
31, 2014
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
Sermon
Series on “All My Day: A Summer of Prayer”
Inspired
by Marcia McFee
Sermon
9 of series-
“Intercessory”
Luke
18:1-8 NIV Bible
Ephesians
6:10-18 Disciples’ Literal New Testament
“Standing
In The Need Of Prayer”
Let
us pray… (Pray for God’s illumination…)
The
road is long
With
many a winding turn
That
leads us to who knows where
Who
knows when
But
I'm strong
Strong
enough to carry him
He
ain't heavy, he's my brother
All
we have to do is just turn on the News or pick up a News Paper and
get our news about what is going on in the world in which we live.
I’m telling you, it is scary out there. We hear about bombings,
war, famine, hunger, disasters, killings…the list just goes on. It
is a little overwhelming to me. How can I help? Where is God in all
this? What does God want me to do? The list of questions is never
ending when I see the state of the world. But God does have a plan
and it begins with His people…it begins with Christians…it begins
with you and me…
This
summer, we are invited to pray “All My Days” and to make a habit
of prayer wherever you are. Each Sunday in worship we have focused on
one of the steps of the prayer beads. My continued hope is that our
Summer Sermon Series “All
My Days: A Summer of Prayer”
will help us learn a way of prayer that will bring us closer to the
maker of all we see.
I
hope we have learned a few things as we have been going through the
beads on the string. Let’s see…the Gold Bead…which reminds us
to begin with adoration ….the bumpy beady….that is to remind us
to let go and let God….the embrace of silence with the “holey
Bead” …the
steeping stone bead…our journey of faith…the black...the black
and white...the grey bead...we are to bring our spiritual struggles
to God….and the green bead, represents concern…not worries but
concerns. Remember the red bead from last week? We are to pray for
the lovable and not so lovable people in our lives…even
those who do us harm.
This
week…it’s the three purple beads on the string. Now these beads
are to remind us to pray even more about those who are standing in
the need of prayer. You know…there are three purple beads but I
don’t think it should stop at only three. I believe it represents
all those people and situations that come up in our lives and we all
know it usually is more than just three…
So
on we go
His
welfare is of my concern
No
burden is he to bear
We'll
get there
For
I know
He
would not encumber me
He
ain't heavy, he's my brother
The
scripture I read this morning is all about praying unceasingly. We
are called to continue in our prayer even when we don’t see
anything happening. You see…God is always working out His plan. God
is always answering our prayers. We have seen a lot of prayers being
answered within our church but there are also those prayers that we
may never
see answered in our life time.
But…but…God always answer prayer. He has said it and I believe
it. Believing
is seeing and through our believing we shall see the glory of God…
In
the Epistle of Ephesians, we hear more about this praying without
ceasing type of prayer. But it goes even further than that. It tells
us the tools we are to have in our lives…it tells us of the
“Weapons
of Warfare”
that God gives you and give me in this battle of Good over Evil. It
is found in Ephesians 6:10-18. Let me read to you about our battle
armor given to us by God for His glory…I
am reading from the Disciples Literal New Testament Bile this
morning. I think it really tells us of the strength that we have as
we do battle in the world…
Ephesians
6:10-18 Disciples’ Literal New Testament (DLNT)
Finally,
Put On The Full Armor of God So You Can Stand Against The Spiritual
Forces of Evil
10
Finally, become-strong in the Lord and in the might of His strength.
11 Put-on the full-armor of God so-that you may be able to stand
against the schemes of the devil, 12 because the struggle for us is
not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the world-powers of this darkness, against the
spiritual forces of evilness in the heavenly-places. 13 For this
reason, take-up the full-armor of God in order that you may be able
to resist on the evil day, and having worked everything, to stand.
Stand
Armored With Truth, Righteousness, And Faith, Wielding God’s Word
And Prayer
14
Stand [firm] therefore, having girded your waist with truth, and
having put-on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having
sandaled your feet with the readiness of the good-news of peace, 16
with all these having taken-up the shield of faith with which you
will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And
take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the Word of God, 18 praying with every-kind-of prayer and petition at
every opportunity in the Spirit, and keeping-alert for it with all
perseverance and petition concerning all the saints—
I
think in reading this scripture we have a question to ask ourselves.
Now…we are told to pray with perseverance for all the saints right?
Well…it is my thought that we should also pray for those who are
not saints…yet.
Who are these would be saints? Who is our brother, our sister, our
mother, our father? It is the child in Bangladesh who lives in
poverty and hunger. It is those in our family’s that have not yet
come to Christ. It is the drug addict that just can’t seem to get
to the other side. It is the mother who is raising her children
alone. It is those who do us harm. It is those who we love and are
sometimes not so lovable. It is anyone or anything that goes against
God’s “perfect order” of things. The list is endless.
If
I'm laden at all
I'm
laden with sadness
That
everyone's heart
Isn't
filled with the gladness
Of
love for one another
People
and situations in the world around us are standing in the need of
prayer. Are we going to sit idly by and watch? I was once told by
someone who I thought was someone who would pray for others no matter
what. I was told that they only pray for someone only if they knew
Christ as their personal Savior. I asked them what happens when they
don’t. They told me they give them a chance to accept Christ and if
they don’t they won’t pray for them. What! If they don’t know
Christ how can they come to Him if we don’t pray for them? Maybe
God will use our prayer to show His glory to them and then they
accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Who
are the saints? Who are the saints of the future…?
Maybe…just
maybe…as we pray for people and situations out of our “realm of
friends” there will be a change in the way things are going in the
world. Perhaps if we widen our scope of prayer God will use us to
bless others. Church of Jesus Christ…we have a mission from God
and that is to pray for others without ceasing…even pray those in
who are not part of the body of Christ. We are given the tools we
need within His Armor and strength to conquer all things if we just
are persistent like that widow who was looking for justice…just as
our sisters and brothers are looking for justice in their lives and
have no way out. Perhaps we can pray them out of their situation and
the glory of God will be seen here on earth as His glory fills
heaven. Maybe…just maybe… Who
is standing in the need of prayer waiting for you?
Let
us pray…pray
about those needing our intercession…
It's
a long, long road
From
which there is no return
While
we're on the way to there
Why
not share
And
the load
Doesn't
weigh me down at all
He
ain't heavy, he's my brother
Amen
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