团契与门徒训练

Layers of Blessings (Jer 10:21)

2011.01.02Rev. Eddie Byun

Prayer is not a wish that might be answered later but a process through which God releases blessings into our lives, our loved ones, and our church. Neglecting prayer means forfeiting those blessings, and that is why Jeremiah 10:21 calls prayerlessness foolish.

Prayer releases change in the spiritual realm

Prayer is not simply speaking to God and hoping something will happen later. As we pray, something is released in the spiritual realm, and change begins within the process itself. The story of King Midas shows how a gift can become a curse when it is used carelessly. Yet if prayer could bless everything we touched, what would we leave uncovered? Someone who stored such a gift away unused would be seen as foolish and wasteful, and so is a person who neglects prayer.

Prayerlessness is foolishness before God (21절)

Jeremiah 10:21 says that the shepherds are stupid because they do not inquire of the Lord, and so they have not prospered and their flock is scattered. The Hebrew word for stupid means dull or unreceptive, like someone who fails to give the response that is expected. The word for prosperity has nothing to do with money; it means wise understanding and insight. Prayer is the normal and logical response to life, and those who neglect it lose the wisdom and blessing God would give.

Prayer draws us into the presence of God

Prayer takes us into God's presence in a special way, and his anointed presence rests on those who pray. Moses' face shone after he had been talking with God, and Deuteronomy 4:7 describes a God who draws near whenever his people call on him. A prayer house in Korea felt like home the moment one stepped inside, and conferences prayed over for a year showed a clear difference. Our greatest blessing is God himself, so the first thing we must seek each day is his presence through prayer.

Prayer releases the power of God

James 5 teaches that the prayer of a righteous person has great power, and that power comes from God through faith in Christ, not from ourselves. Elijah prayed and the rain stopped for three and a half years, then prayed again and the rain returned. E.M. Bounds wrote that God gives his power to men and women of prayer rather than to methods or machinery. Charles Simeon gave four hours each morning to prayer, and with an increase of prayer, places can be shaken.

Prayer aligns our will with the will of God

Through prayer we learn to surrender our own plans and say, not as I will, but as you will, as Jesus prayed in Matthew 26:39. In the place of prayer, cold and stubborn hearts are softened, and wisdom is given so that we may know and do God's will. A pastor who asked counseling seekers to pray for two hours first found that God spoke to them and gave them direction. Prayer matures from asking God for what we want into entering what God is doing.

Apply to Life

  • Let us set aside unhurried time each day to dwell in God's presence rather than rushing through our devotions.
  • Let us keep a written prayer list and record the date we began praying for each request and the date God answers it.
  • Let us pray for our families, our church, our nation, and our pastors, covering them with God's presence and power.
  • Let us ask God for more of himself rather than only for gifts or answers to our requests.
  • Let us pray before making important decisions so that our plans may be aligned with God's will.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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