Pray For The Church
To say that the Holy Spirit has been reminding me of last month’s lesson about praying for, not about, is an understatement. He continues to reveal this area of needed change in my thoughts, words, and prayers. Remember that when we pray for, rather than about, it is to help, to strengthen, and to build up, so that whoever we pray for will become what God created them to be. Now it’s time to broaden the scope of this from prayer concerning individuals to prayer concerning the church – whether our local church, another individual church, or the church universal.
What do you really think about when you consider the church, the body of Christ, today? I know where my thoughts go right away, and they tend to be negative. I have mostly thought of the lack of power, the division between churches and between brothers and sisters within churches, the gossip, the lack of true agape love toward one another, the lack of the experience of the love of the Father for His creation, the slander, adultery, complaining and murmuring, etc. I’m not proud of this, but I’m being honest. If those are the thoughts I’m dwelling on, what kind of prayers am I praying when I “lift up” the church to the Father? They are certainly not prayers of faith and power that will change individuals, churches, and nations. They are likely to be nothing more than telling God what He already knew when He sent Jesus to earth and gave Him the assignment to become sin, die, and be raised to life again for us. God doesn’t need to be reminded of what is wrong in His body. He wants us to remind Him of what He has already declared in His Word so that we will begin to look like the church He created us to be!
How do I get to that place from where I have been in my thoughts? I begin to meditate on and confess what God has already said about His church in the Bible. Then my spiritual vision clears and I begin to see His body the way He sees it, through the blood of Jesus Christ and in His righteousness, regardless of what I see with my physical eyes. As I begin to allow the Holy Spirit to change my heart and my prayers, I also will have the joyous privilege of seeing the changes occur. I will begin to see the church coming together as one body, by His Spirit; see the church experiencing and sharing the unconditional love of Christ with one another and with those who are yet outside the fold; see true repentance for sin, with the resulting fruit of righteousness. Ultimately, I begin to see the great harvest I read about in the Bible but haven’t been able to fathom because I had chosen to dwell on my natural vision, rather than what God has said. As a place to begin, I offer the following prayer for the body of Christ from Colossians 1:9-12:
Dear Father, I ask that we, Your body, may be filled with the full, deep, and clear knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom – in comprehensive insight into Your ways and purposes – and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things, so that we may live and conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of You, Lord. Help us be fully pleasing to You, desiring to please You in all things, so that we will bear fruit in every good work and steadily grow and increase in and by the knowledge of You. I pray that we may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of Your glory, to exercise every kind of endurance and patience with joy, giving You thanks, Father, for You are the One Who has qualified us and made us fit to share the portion which is our inheritance as saints, Your holy people, in the kingdom of Light. According to Your Word I pray this in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
© Copyright 2007 Kay V. Stocking
