Shepherding The Flock - What Happened To Humble Prayer?

[Pastor Scott Markle]

Thought for Meditation

What happened to humble prayer?
When did prayer stop being, "Not my will, Lord, but Thine be done,"
and rather become, "My will will be Thy will, Lord, and thus my will will be done"?
When did prayer stope being, "I trust Thee, O Lord, to do what Thou hast determined is best,"
and rather become, "I trust Thee, O Lord, to do what I have determined is best"?

Matthew 26:36-44 
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane,
and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death:
tarry ye here, and watch with me.
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying,
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:
nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter,
What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation:
the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying,
O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

Posted in Thought for Meditations, Prayer

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[Bro K]

When is the last time you've heard a lesson on 'Prayer'? Even the disciples who walked with Christ on a daily basis; asked Him to teach them how to pray. It become annoying when you hear folks pray the same prayer over and over, year after year! Tear stained alters is one thing you will never find in the vast majority of our IFB churches. We want to hear things that should make us jump for joy (which is OK in its place);  than things that will drive us to our knees before an Almighty God!

[John81]

When is the last time you've heard a lesson on 'Prayer'? Even the disciples who walked with Christ on a daily basis; asked Him to teach them how to pray. It become annoying when you hear folks pray the same prayer over and over, year after year! Tear stained alters is one thing you will never find in the vast majority of our IFB churches. We want to hear things that should make us jump for joy (which is OK in its place);  than things that will drive us to our knees before an Almighty God!

Good points! Thankfully our pastor preaches through a book of the Bible at a time so whenever we get to the parts in the book he's preaching from dealing with prayer, we get some good prayer sermons. Our pastor also speaks against "canned prayers" and the importance of sincerity of heart over the actual words spoken.

 

There is a reason any time a survey is done regarding prayer that majorities of Christians say they feel unsure about prayer, don't pray enough, don't think they know how to pray, use "canned" prayers, never pray in public, etc.

 

One young man in our church is a great example. He's not overly articulate but he's so open in his faith and he sings boldly and doesn't hold back from public prayer. His public prayers are typically short, to the point and often seem to end rather abruptly, but they are from his heart with no sign of pretention or concern for what others may be thinking, it's all for the Lord.

[Bro K]

Good points! Thankfully our pastor preaches through a book of the Bible at a time so whenever we get to the parts in the book he's preaching from dealing with prayer, we get some good prayer sermons. Our pastor also speaks against "canned prayers" and the importance of sincerity of heart over the actual words spoken.

 

There is a reason any time a survey is done regarding prayer that majorities of Christians say they feel unsure about prayer, don't pray enough, don't think they know how to pray, use "canned" prayers, never pray in public, etc.

 

One young man in our church is a great example. He's not overly articulate but he's so open in his faith and he sings boldly and doesn't hold back from public prayer. His public prayers are typically short, to the point and often seem to end rather abruptly, but they are from his heart with no sign of pretention or concern for what others may be thinking, it's all for the Lord.

Every aspect of our Christian life should be "from our heart". I believe our preaching, teaching, singing, witnessing, etc should be for the glory of God and not for the ears of man.

Even our posting here should be one of service to one another and not the attitude of being better than someone else.  There's one thing for sure: one may fool another man, but he cannot fool God because God knows the "intent" of the heart.

[John81]

Every aspect of our Christian life should be "from our heart". I believe our preaching, teaching, singing, witnessing, etc should be for the glory of God and not for the ears of man.

Even our posting here should be one of service to one another and not the attitude of being better than someone else.  There's one thing for sure: one may fool another man, but he cannot fool God because God knows the "intent" of the heart.

 Wise words brother!

[John81]

"Bibles read without prayer; sermons heard without prayer; marriages contracted without prayer; journeys undertaken without prayer; residences chosen without prayer; friendships formed without prayer; the daily act of prayer itself hurried over, or gone through without heart: these are the kind of downward steps by which many a Christian descends to a condition of spiritual palsy, or reaches the point where God allows them to have a tremendous fall." ~ J.C. Ryle