December 2016 A Monthly Newsletter of First Baptist Church
men and women of old who did wonderful things for the Lord. Some of them made It is a blessing to see a growing burden great sacrifices, some suffered great loss, but they all believed the Word of the Lord. for prayer among our people. Prayer is This is faith at its simplest. We believe the one of the most talked about yet most neglected of the Christian disciplines. If Word of the Lord. God has made many precious and glorious promises. Faith is we were to take a poll of our church seen when we believe those promises members, hardly any would state they and act upon them or allow them to shape pray enough. Even those amongst us our lives. We are saved when we believe that we consider to be prayer warriors would admit they still have room to grow on the promise of salvation through the atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. in this area. Corporate prayer is one of Genuine saving faith is observed through the easiest practices to neglect in our the repenting of sin and calling upon worship gatherings. It would be Jesus as Lord. We see faith working in effortless to go through a service with salvation, but do we observe it in the way only a few prayers voiced by selected individuals at preselected moments, and we pray? most of us would go home without Jesus stated in Matthew 21:21-22 that if noticing what we had missed. Why is His disciples had faith and did not doubt, this? We come to worship longing for a they would receive whatever they asked “word” from the Lord. We want a in prayer. This is not a “name it claim it” “feeling” that comes from being in His type of praying Jesus is talking about. presence, but do we long for personal We do not manipulate the Lord, yet the transformation and to see the Kingdom obedient disciple’s prayer of faith is of God and His Christ advance? If we powerful and effective. This begs two do, then faith-filled, Spirit led, Bible questions: are we obedient disciples and informed prayer is what we need! are we praying in faith? The remedy for the first part of that question is simple, We have a faith problem. I see this in my life, and in the larger life of the Body repent and move forward in obedience, but the remedy for faithless prayer may of Christ. Hebrews 11:6 is a passage I seem more elusive. According to the memorized many years ago, “Now words of the Apostle Paul in Romans without faith it is impossible to please 10:17 it is not. There He said, “So faith God, since the one who draws near to comes from what is heard, and what is Him must believe that He exists and heard comes through the message about that He rewards those who seek Christ.” While Paul is speaking in the Him,” (CSB). Hebrews 11 defines faith context of saving faith, Jesus seemed to and records what we call the Hall of Faith. We read account after account of mirror this idea in John 15:7, “If you remain in Me and My words remain in
Got Faith?
you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.” The prayer of faith is a prayer based on the promise of God, and the person of prayer prays powerfully when they have been renewed in the Word of God! You may say, “Brother Paul, my prayers go unanswered and they seem to get nowhere.” According to the Word of God, I would ask, “are you filled with faith and abiding in Christ?” If we are abiding in Christ, we are seeking to see Him exalted in all we do, and we are consciously pursuing His glory and obeying His instructions. We are filled with faith as we meditate on His revealed promises. The members of the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 look like spiritual giants to us, but they were sinful men and women. We were all sinful men and women before the Lord saved us. They were men and women who received promises from God and were willing to believe and put faith in the God who made those promises. I took the time to skim through Matthew pulling out the promises of Christ. I found 27 in chapters 6-28. As I read and meditated on those my faith was renewed. I was strengthened in prayer. I challenge you to take any New Testament book and do the same. What if we all prayed the promises of God for the glory of God? I believe the Lord would hear and send a great revival! I am looking forward to the Sunday evening prayer times we have left. I am praying this is just a taste of the awakening the Lord is planning to send in the prayer life of First Baptist Church!