Being Brought Before God
(I wrote this in the Spring of 2023 while Fellowship Baptist Church in Racine, WI, of which I was a member, was being merged in Harbor Rock Tabernacle. J.K.)
Glorifying God When We Pray
I read that prayer is an act of worship that glorifies God and reinforces our need for Him. Wow. There is a lot packed into that. When we go to God in prayer, we are acknowledging who He is. We are acknowledging that He has the power to do what we ask, and that we know that because of Jesus and because of His love for us, He will answer our prayers. This glorifies God. We look at who our God is. We trust Him enough to humble ourselves before Him, and knowing His power and His love, ask for what we need. And when God fulfills our need, that reinforces that we went to the right place – God is who we need.
Jesus Tells Us to Ask the Father
In John 16:23, Jesus tells us to ask the Father anything in His, Jesus’s, name, and we will receive it. This, too, is for God’s glory.
John 16:23 “In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”
Praying for One Another
We are told to pray for one another.
James 5:13-16 “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
Additionally, we are told Jesus is with us when two or more are gathered in His name to pray.
Matthew 18:19-20. “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Personally Needing Prayer
It’s been a difficult year. I lost my sister, an aunt, and three cousins. I’m expecting another aunt to die any day. I struggle with depression making grieving challenging. I’m afraid of sinking low and getting stuck in that low spot. I also struggle with chronic pain and limited mobility which lately has been made worse by stress.
I have been anxious and felt guilty that I couldn’t be in a better place with God. I felt like I was doing something wrong, but I didn’t know what it was. I was totally worn out by this.
Lowered Through the Roof
I went to a Thursday prayer night at church. I knew I wanted someone to pray for me, but I didn’t even know what to ask for. I wanted to be prayed for, but I didn’t know who to ask, how to ask, or even what to ask for. I wanted to be like the man lowered through the roof to Jesus by his friends. He was healed because of his friends’ faith.
Luke 5:17-26. “On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven you.’ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, ‘Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? ‘ When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, ‘Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’”’—he said to the man who was paralyzed— ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.’ And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have seen extraordinary things today.’ “
Admitting My Need
At church that Thursday, an elder said that God’s Spirit was telling him that someone was at the end of their rope. That must be me; I was at the end of my rope. So, when another elder asked the group if anyone felt that way, I raised my hand.
The Power of Prayer; The Power of Love
My brothers and sisters in Christ gathered around me. They laid their hands on me, and they prayed. I was also anointed with oil. The body of Christ prayed for me, and I felt their love. Through them, I felt the love of Jesus. This was all so powerful.
I can’t say with certainty what happened to me besides feeling loved, but being loved by my church and my God is something wonderful. I can say I became less anxious and surer of my relationship with God. I didn’t need to hide, I could bring my hurts and pain once more to him, but with eyes off myself and now on my God, my pain grew smaller. Guilt was removed from me that was false guilt. I was no longer afraid to come before my God myself. Also, a heaviness was removed from me. I felt set free.
The Father Makes His Power Available to Us
Our Father makes available to us the same power that He used to raise Jesus from the dead. Paul wanted us to know the greatness of this power.
Ephesians 1:19-20 “and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,”
And, we are told, also in Ephesians, that God can do so much more than all we can ask or imagine.
Ephesians 3:20-21. “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Thanking God and Giving Him Glory
I want to thank God for the men and women who came to the Thursday night prayer group at my church, placed their hands upon me, and in faith and love, brought me before God and prayed for my needs. And I want to thank God for the love I felt from them and from Jesus. And I want to thank Him for healing me and bringing me closer to Him. May our God receive glory for what He has done and may those who prayed be encouraged in their faith.
A Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this privilege of prayer and thank you that you are here with us in a special way when we pray.
Father You are so very good to us. Thank you that because of Jesus and because of your great love for us, you use your great power, the same power that you used to raise Jesus from the dead, in our lives. Thank you for both listening to and answering our prayers. And Father, I thank you for your saints, the church, who gather around us to pray, and bring us both their love and the love of Jesus. Thank you that when they gather in Jesus’s name, that Jesus is here among us.
We love you so very much and long to know you and love you more and more each day,
And it’s in the very precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ, that we pray.
Your grateful child,
Joy
