Do You Pray?

I have been disturbed lately by the things I hear Christians talking about. It seems as though one cannot have a conversation today without someone bringing up this or that famous person’s scandal. Why are we so interested or surprised by what sinner’s do? Sinner’s sin; it is their nature to sin. Christians ought to know that, right?

When the earthquake happened in Haiti, I heard “Christians” who were quick to offer their theories of why Almighty God would send judgment there.

I asked myself the question: Why are we so quick to point to certain sins of others rather than to see the overall picture of God’s judgment and that we are all just as guilty? We have all immeasurably offended a holy God! Where’s the grace we have been shown being poured out on others who need to know our God? What is the root of the problem with Christians who need to be focused on what God is doing in their own lives, rather than what's going on in the lives of people who clearly don’t believe the truth of the Gospel? We sit around and talk about the world as if those in the world belong to us. Our first reaction seems to be to accuse and condemn when there is so much that needs to be cleaned up in our own lives if we would really take a good look at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word.

What’s not to understand about sinners sinning? Every sinner is going to sin; maybe he just doesn’t get caught or exposed. I will use Tiger Woods as an example of what I am talking about. The Bible is very clear about the sins Tiger is being accused of committing. But, what has he done that none of us is capable of? Jesus said that if one even looks upon a woman with lust he has already committed adultery in his heart. I don’t even know the “story” as reported by the press, (and I don’t care) but whatever Tiger is guilty of, he certainly needs to repent of his sin before a holy God, AS WE ALL DO. Why should Tiger get singled out and focused upon? Why do we act as though we are appalled and shocked? Is it because he has more money than most? DO WE REALLY WANT TO BELIEVE THAT MONEY IS WHAT MAKES PEOPLE DIFFERENT OR THAT IT IS MONEY THAT SHOULD CAUSE PEOPLE TO BE HELD TO A HIGHER STANDARD?

There are billions of other sinners out there doing as much if not worse than he is. Adultery is just as bad as the sin of lust or covetousness or greed according to Jesus – it’s lusting after something that doesn’t belong to you. Slander and gossip is just as great a sin. He who has not looked upon another has the right to judge this sin. Understand that while we can judge the sin and we can condemn the sinner according to the authority of God’s Word, I doubt any of us have called Tiger up recently and confronted him with his sin.

On the contrary, we who have been forgiven so much, seeing people locked in the power of sin and domination by Satan, ought to have the most compassion. Instead of using our words to gossip, why aren't we praying for God to save him?

If we want to start pointing our little judgmental fingers, let’s take a good look at ourselves. For example, why don’t we look like the early church who turned the world upside down with the gospel? For the most part, we don’t even faintly resemble her. We have the same Holy Spirit, the same power, the same privileges in Christ, and the same Lord as the Head of the Church.

When he got saved, the average Christian soon understood there were certain disciplines like Bible study, being part of a solid, healthy church and prayer that came with his new life in Christ. One of the greatest sins of believers is a lack of prayer. Why is the church so pathetic today? Why is the average Christian basically ineffective in the world today with little to no influence? I would submit to you that it is a lack of prayer.

Seriously ask yourself this question: Do you (have you up to today) viewed a lack of prayer as a weakness or a sin? I hope to show you that it is the sin of prayerlessness that is at the root of any spiritual problems we may have. Prayer is the working power of the Church of Christ.

So, I ask you: DO YOU PRAY? Maybe you think you pray, but you may find out that you really have not been praying in the truest sense of what it means to pray.

Take a minute and think about your answers to the following questions:

WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOUR LIFE IS CHARACTERIZED MORE BY LIVING IN THE FLESH OR THE SPIRIT?

DO YOU FEEL AS THOUGH YOU PRAY ENOUGH? IF NOT, WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD BE ENOUGH?

DO YOU HONESTLY PRAY FOR ½ HOUR A DAY? (I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE LITTLE PRAYERS WE SEND UP INTERMITTANTLY THROUGHOUT THE DAY.) DO YOU PRAY 15 MINUTES OR LESS A DAY? FIVE MINUTES A DAY?

Andrew Murray, who wrote much about our prayer life said that it is “Only the prayerless who are too proud to own up to prayerlessness.”

So, in essence, we all should feel as though we don’t pray enough.

WHAT ARE SOME EXCUSES WE USE? “I don’t know how. I don’t have a quiet place to pray. I have no time.” “I keep getting distracted.”

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE USE EXCUSES? Your son just broke your great, great grandmother’s antique vase that every other grandchild wanted, but she gave it to you. He was playing ball in the house, something that he knew he was not allowed to do. Then, to make matters worse, he says the dog jumped up and caused him not to catch the ball or it was because you just waxed the floor and he slipped.

Adam and Eve both sinned, yet they played the blame game the whole way around, ultimately accusing God, Himself.

WHY DO WE USE EXCUSES? So the deep guilt of the situation is not fully realized.

There is no single sin which each one of us ought to acknowledge with deeper shame than the sin of prayerlessness.

We need to establish it in our hearts once and for all that whenever we are lax in our prayer life, we must know that we are sinning greatly.

More next time.