Bruce Collins, Evangelist

The personal website of Bruce Collins

It Boggles my Mind!

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

The Importance of Prayer

Prayer is an important subject. Whom we pray to indicates whom we trust and whom we worship. Prayer is a conversation with God. It can be supplication, intercession for others and praise. It can’t be properly done unless the supplicant believes that the God to whom he or she is praying is real.

How then can we pray without ceasing? Does that mean that we pray every hour of every day? If that is the case, most of us fail. Or does it simply mean that we are to continue to pray for things that are on our hearts even when it seem like our prayers are not being answered? Would this mean that we continue to praise and worship God in prayer even when things in our lives seem to be going wrong? I would believe that praying without ceasing just means that we continue to pray and praise regardless of the lack of apparent answers or when God seems distant. And we continue to pray until the Lord gives us our answer and until He no longer seems distant.

Is Prayer Effective in Changing Things?

If God knows the end from the beginning, does prayer really change things? Can we change God’s mind or the course of events in our lives or in the lives of others? Since everyone is personally responsible before God for accepting or rejecting the Lord Jesus, can our prayers for the salvation of the unsaved be effective? Apparently we can change things and apparently we can be effective in praying for the unsaved or we wouldn’t be told to pray without ceasing. I believe that when we pray for the unsaved, at a minimum, we keep the Holy Spirit striving with them; and we keep the door of opportunity open for that person.

One thing prayer will change is us. We wouldn’t pray at all if we didn’t have faith in the One to whom we were praying. But by praying, the Lord may show us that what we are desiring is not the best path and our faith in the Lord will be increased.

Sometimes, the Lord may wait for a while and then answer our prayers like the unjust judge did for the woman in Luke 18:1-6. She kept after the judge until she wearied him. He answered her prayer just because the woman was so persistent that he had to answer her in order to get some peace. But the answer to prayer will be an answer that shows us in a practical way that supplicating God works and it will increase our faith.

Conclusion

I personally have some things that I have been praying about for a long time. By faith, I am going to pray without ceasing, that is when I pray I am going to continue to pray about those things that have been on my heart. I don’t know if I will get the answers I want, but I do know that praying to the Living God of Heaven who tells me to pray without ceasing makes me feel empowered. It gives me hope. It relieves my burdens.

I am glad that I have confidence that the Lord does hear me when I pray. Think of it! There are multitudes on this earth praying about their needs. Why would the Lord listen to little old me. I don’t know, but I know He does. It boggles my mind!

Bruce Collins

Meditation for the week of July 14, 2014

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