Prayer Monday | 31 March 2014

A prayer for Monday:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Help us to become better disciples and instill in us the knowledge and compassion we need to carry out your work.

We also ask you to help us broaden our commitment to your son, Jesus.

There’s much all of us can do to help relay your message to all people we come in contact with, daily.

We must actively commit ourselves to this mission. In your son’s name, we pray.

AMEN.

{via Monday Prayer | Connect Missions.}

Our topic for tomorrow’s Bible study is the continual prayer mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Since it’s prayer Monday anyway, I thought I’d post some of the more interesting things I find.

• ‘Pray without ceasing: why anyone can do it and almost nobody does‘. This is a great post. Listen: “Prayer isn’t something I generate, it’s something I join in progress”, and “Prayer is where we begin telling the truth about our own lives.”
• “The position of our text [1 Thess 5:17] is very suggestive. Observe what it follows. It comes immediately after the precept, ‘Rejoice evermore;’ as if that command had somewhat staggered the reader, and made him ask ‘How can I always rejoice?’ and, therefore, the apostle appended as answer, ‘Always pray.’ The more praying the more rejoicing. Prayer gives a channel to the pent-up sorrows of the soul, they flow away, and in their stead streams of sacred delight pour into the heart. At the same time the more rejoicing the more praying; when the heart is in a quiet condition, and full of joy in the Lord, then also will it be sure to draw nigh unto the Lord in worship. Holy joy and prayer act and react upon each other. Observe, however, what immediately follows the text: ‘In everything give thanks.’ When joy and prayer are married their first born child is gratitude.” Maestro Spurgeon; read the whole sermon here.
• “Whether we think of; or speak to, God, whether we act or suffer for him, all is prayer, when we have no other object than his love, and the desire of pleasing him.” —John Wesley

Bad things: the bumper edition

The topic for our Bible study this week is demons: whether they exist, the extent of their influence, the position of our church (the Methodist denomination) on demons and the like, the role of psychology, exorcisms, cursed objects, angels, et cetera. Since I’m researching it anyway, I thought I’d highlight some of the more interesting things I found, whether I personally agree with them or not. In no particular order:

• “Satan will hand you self-pity like candy.” An interesting article from RELEVANT magazine that summarises spiritual warfare.
• “In case you haven’t noticed, the devil loves a vacuum. He loves it when we leave him just enough space to bring in spirits of doubt, heaviness and fear.” An insightful article from Charisma magazine.
• This article on territorial demons and generational demons. Makes the point that we can’t just push blame for our sinning on to demonic influence.
• There has been a bit of a boom in the exorcism business; the Catholic church cites people dabbling with occult practices as one of the reasons behind the rise in demonic possessions.
• Protecting yourself against fallen angels (especially of relevance to the angel-loving crowd).
• A post about cursed objects.
• “A Methodist exorcism”, recounted from one of John Wesley’s journals.
• Guidelines for exorcism in the Methodist Church, according to “Statements and reports of the Methodist Church on faith and order, Vol I 1933-1983” (pdf; see last few pages).
• “A warning against the warfare worldview”. It seems to boil down to: do we believe that the war against Satan can be lost? Or has it already been won?
• A berth of articles warning about the dangers of deliverance ministry (the danger seems to be too much reliance on our authority in Christ rather than on Christ Himself). And this article on whether you need deliverance or not.
• And of course, the flipside: “Are Guardian Angels biblical?” and “Do we have Guardian Angels?”

How about a poll?

Holiness

Can I be holy if my brother or sister is hungry, or homeless, or in prison, or sick or a slave? Can I be holy if I do not do everything in my power to change the situation in which my brother or sister finds himself or herself? Sometimes what I do is the simple act of charity and personal caring; sometimes what I must do must involve challenging the systems that put my brother or sister in that situation. (Gooch, 2006:44.)

Service

“Though art never weary, O Lord, of doing us good. Let us never be weary of doing thee service.”

— John Wesley