Sunday, November 30, 1997 In Your Absence:
In this week’s lesson, which came from I Kings 8:22-24, Acts 4:23-30, and I Timothy 2:1-2, the focus was on leading others in prayer. As Christians, many of us are called upon from time to time to lead a group of assembled Christians to the Lord in prayer. Sometimes, we can feel intimidated by the pressure of having to speak out in a large gatheing. What if we open our mouth, and nothing comes out! What if we open our mouth, and the wrong thing comes out! Imagine the embarrassment of speaking out and saying something which is completely wrong biblically. When I was a young Christian, I can remember being somewhat horrified by some of these thoughts. But as we grow and mature in the Lord, such fears about public prayer should be replaced by the confidence which comes from knowing and having a personal walk with the Lord.
In the passage from I Kings, King Solomon was put in the position of having to pray on behalf of a large crowd. It is important to realize that he was not a Levite, therefore he was not the person who would have normally led in such a service. On that particular occasion, though, the circumstances warranted his taking the lead. While his father, King David, had lived, the Lord had promised David that his son, Solomon, would build the Temple. A number of years later, long after the death of David, the building of the Temple was completed. So, Solomon was leading the crowd in a prayer service to dedicate the building and the hearts of the people to God. He began his prayer in a way which should be easy for all of us. From a genuinely sincere heart, he thanked and praised God. He thanked the Lord for having kept the promises made to his father. He then confessed before all the greatness and faithfulness of his and our heavenly Father. If we know the Lord as Savior, then such words of praise should continually flow from our heart. We serve a mighty God and a wonderful God, and He is worthy of our praise. In the passage from Acts, the Physician Luke recorded an incident when Peter and John were released from prison. They had been arrested for preaching the Gospel, but the Lord had used a man named Gamaliel to secure their freedom. In their prayer, the crowd prayed to the Lord and made reference to Psalms 2:1-2 and Genesis 1, stating how God always prevails. In our prayers, as we feel led by the Holy Spirit, we should use our knowledge of Scriptures to speak to the Lord. The Bible is full of words of praise, lamentations, and supplication. After the people had praised God for His power and strength, they asked Him to help them through their own persecutions and sufferings. They sought His glory as they ministered, therefore they prayed according to their needs and asked that He would be glorified by their efforts.
Christians are exhorted to be zealous about prayer. In I Thesssalonians 5:17, we are told to pray without ceasing. While speaking out in a public setting may always be difficult for some, expressing our praise and thanksgiving to the Lord and asking Him to bless our efforts to minister for Him should never be difficult. Therefore, pray often and let the Lord use you to minister to others.
Tom of Spotswood"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
Send email to: tlee6040@aol.com