How's your prayer life?
I'll be honest, the Lord has been calling me to get serious when it comes to praying for myself and others for years! I have all the greatest books ever written on prayer; some read multiple times and some barely opened. I've started different types of prayer journals, and tried many different programs, but it wasn't until just recently when God's Spirit took hold of me one Sunday, that it finally all came together, and I've been just itching to share it with you!!
Peter begins his letter by reminding us of some of what we've received because of Christ Jesus and then exhorts us to:
So brace up your minds; be sober; set your hope wholly and unchangeably on the grace that is coming to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. [Live] as children of obedience [to God]; do not conform yourselves to the evil desires [that governed you] in your former ignorance [when you did not know the requirements of the Gospel]. But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living. (1Peter 1:13-15 AMPC)
Peter is calling us to action. He has packed a lot into this first chapter, but it's verse 22 I want us to focus on today: "Since by your obedience to the Truth through the [Holy] Spirit you have purified your hearts for the sincere affection of the brethren, [see that you] love one another fervently from a pure heart. (1 Peter 1:22 AMPC)
It's the love Peter mentions here that I want us to focus on. It's Christ's love in us poured out for others. We need to travel back to John 11:32-35 for a moment to truly understand,
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled... Jesus wept.
Didn't Jesus know what He was about to do? That He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead and give Mary her brother back? Of course!
God has been calling me to a ministry of prayer for years and as mentioned earlier I've tried just about everything already to improve me prayer time with Him. But when I saw just those two words, "Jesus wept" (John 11:35) I finally understood the secret to an effectual prayer life.
The KEY is identifying with the other's pain, or even The Lord's pain over the sin!
Prayer connects a person's pain to God's sovereign power!
It's standing in the gap and bringing the two together!
I'm a visual learning and so The Lord took this thought further and showed me the Japanese art of Kintsugi.
Kinsugi is translated, “golden joinery,” which means “golden repair” and is the centuries-old Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with a special lacquer dusted with powdered gold or silver.
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| Kintsugi |
I chose the piece of pottery above because I thought it best displayed our role! All different; some fat blobs, some thin, some straight and some crooked, but each adding to the character of the piece.
The trouble lies in that we need to build relationships! We can't live on a superficial level with others and tell them we'll pray for them and expect the desired results. Jesus wept, because He was crushed by Mary's and the other's pain, even though He knew He had the power to bring Lazarus back.
I've learned that if I truly desire to stand in the gap for others, I've got to get to know their heart in order to identify with their pain and then be willing to connect their pain to God's power! Only then, we'll be such beautiful creations; all reflecting His glory!
Blessings,
sue