The Forgetful Church

Today has no 24 hour prayer sponsor.

Many years ago I was the member of a church that taught us how to pray, prayed with us, and got amazing results. It was a wonderful thing to discover that God heard us, cared for our needs, and exercised His power on our behalf. Of course, we also learned that there was an adversary, the devil, who did all he could do to hinder our prayers, our faith, and our relationship with God.

We discovered that our faith in eternal things could change temporal things. But it was a battle:

Ephesians 6:¹⁰ "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 ¹⁸ " And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

So, why did I stop praying with these things in mind over the years? I believe it is because my senses are bombarded with the temporal things and that after awhile, that which is seen is the only reality. Oh, I never stopped believing in God, and I did pray sometimes, but it was  not with the same fervency and effectiveness. I did not see the eternal as clearly anymore. I believe that is because we must seek the eternal things. The unseen requires an effort to perceive it, whereas any unbeliever can see the temporal.

Today, I pray that all God's people begin to see the eternal, the unseen, so that they will pray and bring it into the temporal, where we need it, in Jesus' Name.

2 Kings 6:¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
 ¹⁶ “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
 ¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.