Jonah 1:6 (AMP) So the captain came and said to him, What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call upon your God! Perhaps your God will give a thought to us so that we shall not perish.
Why was Jonah sleeping? He was in the inner part of the ship laying down fast asleep. In a sense, he was in the back of the row of the church hiding staying low so that no one would notice him. And in some case, as many Christians do in church, they are literally sleeping. Or they may be preoccupied with the scores of the sports teams. They may be texting. They may be playing games on their phones. They are not staying focused on the Lord. But more sadly, many Christians are no longer corporately worshiping God anymore. Many have been scattered.
What had Jonah done when God called him to Nineveh? Jonah had made a willful choice to leave the presence of God. In fact, chapter one states it twice of Jonah leaving His presence. Therefore, when we sleep, we may have unknowingly or knowingly left His presence.
Jonah 1:3 (AMP) But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His prophet] and went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish [the most remote of the Phoenician trading places then known]. So he paid the appointed fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His servant and minister].
Jesus had mentioned to His disciples of sleeping as He had gone to the mountain to pray. In Luke chapter 22, as He went up to the Mount of Olives to pray as usual and His disciples followed Him. The Lord, Jesus, had even prayed all night before choosing His disciples. How much time are we praying before making a very important decision? How much time are we praying seeking His Will for our decision?
Luke 22:39-40 (AMP)And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed Him.40 And when He came to the place, He said to them, Pray that you may not [at all] enter into temptation.
Jesus told them to pray so that they may not enter into temptation. The Lord is implying we must pray to overcome temptation and sin. And more importantly, He mentioned it twice during that night for them to pray so they do not enter into temptation.
Luke 22:45-46 (AMP)And when He got up from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from grief,46 And He said to them, Why do you sleep? Get up and pray that you may not enter [at all] into temptation.
Why were they sleeping? The disciples were sleeping because the were in grief as stated in verse 45. When many Christians experience difficult situations, instead of praying many will stop praying or even move further away from the Lord. It becomes hard to pray as we fall into temptation as our guilt harasses us. But no matter what we may have done, we must step back out into the Light and be exposed of our weaknesses to HIM. We must just repent and move forward. The devil has done a very good job of stagnating God's people with guilt. When Adam and Eve fell, they hid from God. But God came looking for them. He said, "Where are you, Adam?" Adam said he had hid because he was naked. In our sin, we feel naked and pitiful and we will tend to hide from God. We tend to seek and worship HIM from afar. But God comes to look for you regardless. He is calling your name. His desire is that we stop sinning and return to our First Love. And how is this relationship restored? It is restored through prayer as we repent and pray.
John 15:1-7 I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.2 Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.3 You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].4 Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.5 I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.6 If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.7 If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.
On the Mount Olives, the Lord, Jesus, went to pray and his disciples were sleeping rather than praying. When we are not praying, it is then we are sleeping. And if we are not praying, we may enter into temptation. If we continue to choose not to pray, then as Jonah, we may be choosing to leave His presence to sleep in the inner parts of our own ships or lives. When we do not pray, temptation will be more eagerly waiting at our door thus making much of our lives difficult.
The bible tells us to pray without ceasing. The bible tells us to pray in the Spirit. In fact, Ephesians is telling us to pray in the Spirit at all times. It is telling us to the end keep alert. To pray is to keep alert. To pray is to be awake! To pray is to be abiding in HIM rather than leaving His Presence. Pray unceasingly!
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (AMP) Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];
Ephesians 6:18 (AMP) Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).
Scripture tells us that if we continue to abide in HIM and He is us than whatever we ask, it shall be done for us. A promise is there but it is conditional to us continually abiding in HIM. A condition in which we must be alert and awake. A condition in which we must be praying unceasing in the Spirit.
What is to be praying in the Spirit. We are only able to pray for long duration when we have the gift of tongue. This is why God grants us the gift of tongue. It is for the purpose to draw closer to HIM. All spiritual gifts are given to us by grace so that we may draw closer to HIM and bear His Fruit of Love. We must develop a disciplined prayer life. How long you say? Jesus has set the bar. He would pray all night. He prayed all night before doing His work. I know this is difficult for many. It is difficult for many even to pray for one hour. But we must at least strive to go into a higher realm with HIM. We are to strive to go into our reality. Our reality is the spiritual realm. Let us at least take the small steps to grow in our prayer life. Many people can make commitments to work out and get in shape. Let us make a commitment to work out a prayer life. The stakes are much higher than many realize.
Fire of God Ministries
Pst Steve Yong Kim
October 30, 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment