Change
Your Luck By Praying For Others!
Narcissism is rampant in the
world. Worldnetdaily.com is reporting
that our president is a Narcissist. I
think they are correct. I think most
government officials are narcissists as well as being foolish little puppets
urged forward by their own pitiful image of themselves as superior beings. They
consider themselves qualified to set rules by which all mankind should live –
except them personally. Note the failure
of many of many of Obama’s nominees to even pay their own taxes. They are placing burdens on other men’s backs
which they themselves have no intention of bearing. They are basically condescending, hateful,
arrogant jerks. They oppose everything
right. They call evil good and good
evil.
What is the duty of Christians to
such people? How should we respond to
their evil ways?
First, we have to call evil evil, and
good good. We are just supposed to tell
the truth. We should not kid ourselves
that the evil world rulers have any fear or awe of the Most High God of the
Bible. They are enemies of the
cross. Those who accept and push forward
their evil agendas are also enemies of the cross.
Second, we are to consider what our
response to these people should be. What
is the duty of the Christian in response to their evil actions?
According
to 1 Samuel chapter 12 it is our duty to pray for them.
If
we do not pray for them, we are sinning against God. Man! That is hard to swallow. I really don’t want to pray for them. I WANT to curse them! I have a choice. I can follow my own heart, and curse them,
and even pray for their immediate destruction.
OR, I can obey my God and pray for them.
Mind you, I am NOT praying for their success in the evil they are
attempting to bring on this country and my family. I am praying they will turn from evil and do
good.
I am praying Acts 26:18 which says,
‘to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and
inheritance among them which are sanctified by the faith that is in me.’ This was Paul telling King Agrippa what
Christ had instructed him to do.
I Samuel tells us that the people of
Israel had sinned against God by demanding an earthly king. What they asked was basically that a ‘middle
man’ be put in place between them and God.
They didn’t like the answers and instructions they were getting from God
Himself, so they choose an earthly leader who might say what their itching ears wanted to
here. In truth, they had stepped off the
way of righteousness, and had chosen instead to do what seemed right to them or
for them at the moment. (How many times
have you heard someone say they were doing what was right for them when they were
jumping into sin with both feet? It
seems to me that the ‘doing what is right for me’ people are usually excusing
their adultery.) Anyway, back to the
subject of prayer. Israel as a nation
had just done a one-eighty from the path of righteousness in demanding an
earthly king. Samuel must have been
devastated. They had rejected the God
who made them a nation, and they had rejected Samuel as being chosen by God as
their leader.
Then, as most selfish and ungodly
people, they requested that the very one whom they had rejected pray for
them! Samuel’s response was to say, ‘Moreover
as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for
you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:’. (Verse 23)
What
this amounts to is that Samuel did not let their actions cause him to turn from
doing what the Lord required of him personally. What courage and unselfishness that took on
Samuel’s part. That is what we should do
as well.
Honestly, those who persecute God’s people,
belittle and ridicule them, and hate them are not worthy of our prayer. However,
we also are not worthy of God’s salvation and mercy. What matters is that the individual Christian
stay faithful and continue to do what God requires of them. The Prophet Samuel says he personally will
not sin against God by ceasing to pray for these people. That should be the goal of every
Christian. Forget the world, look to
God, and do what God says to do. We are
to pray for our enemies.
Matthew 5:44 says, ‘But I say unto you,
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that despitefully
use you, and persecute you;’.
Luke 6:28 says, ‘Bless them that
curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.’
Can it be made any clearer than this? We are to continue to pray for those who do
not deserve it.
AND, there is blessing and goodness
for those who obey the instruction to pray for our enemies. Consider Job.
The Lord allowed that Job be persecuted by Satan himself. He lost all his wealth and family. Then, instead of friends praying for him and
coming to him with prayers and help, they sat down to pick apart his life in
search of some sin that would have brought such heartache to him. We cannot stop ‘friends’ from behaving so
badly, but we can stop ourselves from being such a dreadful friend.
In the end, the prayers of Job’s
friends were refused by God. Instead God
instructed them to go and ask Job to pray for them. At their request, Job did pray for them in
spite of how they had just treated them.
According to Job 42:10, the result of Job’s prayer was, ‘And the LORD
turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also, the LORD
gave Job twice as much as he had before.’
Today, Christians have the same
choice as Job and Samuel. Will we obey
God’s instructions to pray for others – even those who definitely do not
deserve it? If we do not, we are in
direct violation of what God has told us to do.
It is for our own good that we pray for our enemies. It helps to remember that we have no
righteous or merit on our own. Except
for the grace of God, each Christian would also be separated from God. God extended the offer of salvation to mankind
when not one person was worthy of such mercy and grace. By His example, we are to pray for those who
have not received the gift of eternal life from God, as well as for those who
of the household of faith.
In
refusing or neglecting to pray for our leaders, we are making the matter worse. Unless they turn from their wicked ways, they
will heap more misery on the people over which they rule. By praying for them, we are doing the will of
God.
Finally, I know that it seems useless
to pray for our leaders in terms of immediate results, or even long term
results. The Bible gives us
encouragement to do what is right regardless of what we see as happening. Galatians 6:9 says, ‘And let us not be weary
in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.’
So, be obedient to God in praying for
others. Look forward to the ‘due season’
when we shall reap if we faint not.
The song for this article is ‘There
is Always a Blessing in Prayer’. It is
an old hymn that can lift the spirits of any Christian in any age. It can also strengthen the weary soul to do
what is right, which to pray one for another.
There is rest, sweet rest, at the
Master’s feet.
There is favor now at the mercy seat,
For a toning blood has been sprinkled
there;
There is always a blessing, a
blessing in prayer.
Refrain
There’s a blessing in prayer, in
believing prayer,
When our Savior’s Name to throne we
bear;
Then a Father’s love will receive us
there,
There is always a blessing, a
blessing prayer.
There is grace to help in our time of
need,
For our Friend above is a Friend,
indeed’
We may cas on Him every grief and
care;
There is always a blessing, a
blessing prayer.
Refrain
When our songs are glad with the joy
of life,
When our hearts are sad with its ills
and strife,
When the powers of sin would the soul
ensnare,
There is always a blessing a blessing
in prayer.
Refrain
There is perfect peace tho’ the wild
waves roll,
There are gifts of love for the
seeking soul,
Till we praise the Lord in His home
so fair,
There is always a blessing, a
blessing in prayer.
Refrain
Thanks for reading my article.
Barbara Henderson
Visit Barbara's new blog for preppers!
http://prepperscentral.blogspot.com
