Pray For Those Who Hate You

By Pastor Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts From Parson Farms:

So That You May Love Those Whom You Are Called to Love

Good Morning,

Prayer is the lifeblood of the church. Without prayer at best we are nothing more than the Rotary or the Lion’s Club. Lots of organizations meet together, hear a speaker, sing songs, have fun, and then eat. All that stuff is good. Talking directly to God is what separates the Christian faith from other groups. That and the fact God hears our prayers and desires to know the trials, the good things, and the difficulties of this life from His covenant people whom His Son has died for. There is so much blessing that happens for us and to us because of the promise of prayer. But to benefit from it we need to do it. Prayer can’t be one of those things we talk a lot about, but don’t do.

Charles Spurgeon was once asked what the key to his ministry’s success was, and he took them into a room and pointed at it and said, “Here, in this room, is the powerhouse of the church.” What was that place? It was the area set aside for corporate intercessory prayer. He understood the same thing that Paul did when he helped organize churches during his missionary journeys. The people of God must start with prayer, live in prayer, and grow in prayer. “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” (Acts 14:23). Is that the kind of church we have or you have?

It's a question worth asking, and it’s also a question worth asking yourself. Do you complain about the nature of prayer and how it is offered and then not do any praying yourself? Worth taking in and considering.

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