Prayer (Part 1)

I heard Dr. David Jeremiah preach one of the most beautiful messages on prayer I have ever heard and through that message, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and answered some questions I’ve had in my prayer life.

Have you ever felt that there were just so many things to pray about that you could not possibly pray for them all?  I have and I have felt that daily for quite some time. 

At times I would feel guilty for not praying for someone or something, maybe it was a situation or the state of our nation. No matter what, I seemed to feel that I just didn’t pray for all the things I needed to pray about.

How do we fix that? Some folks make lists and lists are ok and a good thing to have because they are a record to remind us of those things that need prayer. 

I am human and I forget things and I don’t spend hours and hours in constant prayer everyday. There are always people and happenings that need prayer, prayers for comfort, grace, protection, awakening, sickness, healing, salvation, thanksgiving, praise, supplication, and just plain conversation with God.  

So how do we cover them all? I surely don’t have all the answers but I do know this, if I don’t hesitate to pray when I hear about a situation then I cover much more in prayer than I ever would if I waited. 

I believe to increase the effectiveness of my prayer life I had to gain some knowledge of the scripture, because without that knowledge I often felt like I was floundering in my prayer life.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that you knew needed prayer but you just didn’t have the words? Maybe the situation is very complex and is upcoming.

I was presented with just such a situation this morning. Someone I love very much is going to be in a place where Satan will have an open gate for temptation and corruption. 

A place I would never care to be but have been on a smaller scale in my life before. I understand how difficult these times can be, so I pray for protection and the strengthening of this person’s faith and dedication to God. 

I don’t know what will be faced, but I do know Satan will never allow an opportunity for temptation to go unchecked, so I pray and will continue to pray for this situation. I would urge all of you that read this to pray for this young man of God and his family.

What about those things we have no details on or no experience in? We don’t need that knowledge or experience, we just need to petition God to please consider the situation and be present in it. 

There are times I just have no words at all, this used to frustrate me and I would feel that somehow I was failing or not the man of God I should be. That is what ignorance of the Word will do to you. 

Once I read enough and came to understand how prayer really works, then and only then was I comfortable with just asking in prayer that my heart be searched and that the desires of my heart would be revealed to God.

Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

This single scripture has given me such great confidence in my prayer life that I can’t begin to explain the blessing. So make your lists, read through them and ask God to consider all those situations you have written down, but the specific things you feel drawn to pray for, pray for them specifically!

Now I am going to address something we should all be praying for regularly and fervently, but I’m going to dispel some false understandings that seem to have permeated the Church.

Praying for your Preacher! We should pray for our preacher and all the men called by God to preach the Word of God.

I’m not talking about those folks that chose preaching as a career path and went to seminary school to learn how to give a sermon, I’m talking about those men that are truly called by God to Preach or teach the Word of God and or teach the tenets of God’s Word!

Romans 12:3-8

3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophecy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Your Preacher is called to preach! Now some preachers are called according to their individual spirit to do other things such as visitation or other service, but in their calling, they were and are called to preach the Word of God.

This requires much study and contemplation which in turn consumes much of their time. Your Preacher is not called to fulfill the duties of your deacons, nor your teachers, nor your foreign missionaries, nor your evangelists.

He was called to Preach the Word of God, and if the body of Christ Jesus is working in harmony as it should, then the teachers that were called to teach and the others I have mentioned  will complement your preacher’s calling, and your congregation will be fruitful!

The deacons are the servants of the church congregation and your preacher is the servant of God through Preaching of the Word. If the congregation finds themselves expecting the pastor of the congregation to do the duties of the deacons, then that congregation may need to look at electing new deacons. (Please refer to Romans 12:3-8 if you have any questions and there are many more references to the duties of a deacon listed in the New Testament that you can look up.)

I pray that by listing these scriptures I have made my point on having knowledge of the Word, and how that is very important in the effectiveness of our prayers and what to pray for.

I pray daily (most days at least twice) for three preachers by name and for all those called to preach and teach the Word of God across this nation and all of creation. They need our prayers! Through the years of my salvation I have seen so many churchgoers trouble their pastors with issues that should be dealt with by the deacons of the church that it hurts my heart.

In closing; if your church congregation does not have a man truly called by God to preach, then replace that person with a man truly called to preach, and if your congregation does not have deacons with the heart and calling to serve, then get them out and elect new deacons that do have the heart and calling to serve! I believe this with all of my heart through my understanding of the Word!

I pray that we all will get our houses in order and serve the Lord with joy and thanksgiving.

Amen

Kenneth Kellar
A Man Called by God to Teach and Disciple