Praying For The Church
“Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:1-11)
Today’s Morsel: How much of your daily prayer time is for the church? Yes, I know that you may pray for those in the church in which you attend, but how much time do you spend praying for the church? Yes, I know that we are the church, but how much time do you spend praying for the church? If we call our religious institutions the church, how much time do you spend praying for the church? If we invite folks to our church, how much time do you spend praying for the church? If folks are having house church, how much time do you spend praying for the church. Paul was one who wreaked havoc upon and against the church. But now, he has become an intercessor for the church. He told the church at Philippi: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” In every prayer of his, Paul told them, that he was praying for them. He told the church at Thessalonica, to pray with ceasing and in everything give thanks for that was the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning them (1 Thessalonian 5:17-18). He told the church at Colossi: “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,” (Colossians 1:3) And he told the church at Ephesus that they should: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for him also, that utterance may be given unto him, that he may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which he was an ambassador in bonds: that therein he may speak boldly, as he ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:18-20, Emphasis mine) Prayer still works if we do it.
Sing: Someone is praying for you. Someone is praying for you. So when you feel you’re alone, and your heart would break in two, remember someone is praying for you.
Thought For Today: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)
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