Teamwork is a wonderful thing!

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20)

While Jesus said this to His disciples, it has been assumed that this ‘Great Commission’ applies to all Christians. Those who cannot go to all nations are told that their mission field is the people around them. If a believer is not gifted in evangelism, we hear that we must obey this command anyway.

Whatever others might say, it seems to me that this command is not singular in that sense, but it is speaking to the body of Christ. We are to obey it as a unit. That is, some are specifically told to pack up and go while others do their work of obedience at home or in the support of those who are able and active in the work of making disciples. 

As part of the body of Christ, I can financially support those in the mission field, and encourage them in various ways. One couple in a far-away country told me that I was the only one that actually wrote letters to them, a bit of a shock but helped me realize the value of having verbal support as well as monthly dollars.

Also, those who cannot go out but are confined to home by illness, or small children, or a number of other reasons can help make disciples by praying for them. As Paul said:

. . . . take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:17–20)

Paul wrote that from jail, so he was obedient to this ‘great commission’ wherever he was at, yet obviously aware that not everyone was called to take his role and also aware that he needed their prayer support. 

Besides financial support, prayer, and encouragement, part of this task is teaching to others all that God has taught me. Several years ago after a long involvement with a Christian writers organization, I left my very busy role of leadership, partly because it gave me no time to develop writing skills or use them. I asked God, “What next?” And He clearly said, “Publish what I am teaching you in an online blog.” 

I was stunned. At that time, the only blogs I’d read were self-serving rants, so I was a bit horrified too, but now realize this was His way of plugging me into being part of His commission. I didn’t have to go anywhere except into His Word and do what He said to me, then tell others.

Jesus, You know that when we have communion on a regular basis in our church, the sense of being part of a family and a united work force sweeps over me with great joy. I know that You are using all of us to reach out, whether we teach, talk, share our lives, pray, send money or whatever He asks of us. Sometimes my co-workers undergo trials and need extra support and prayer. Most of all, we need to encourage one another to love You and love those around us. Teamwork is a beautiful thing!

 
 

Faith not sight

 

The bottom line — that is always what I want to see. I read mysteries because I love the endings, especially those that surprise me. When I pray, I’m eager to see the answers which are always something unexpected, a surprise.

The problem with this tendency comes when I am seeing only partial progress. Praying and not seeing answers is like reading a mystery story and stopping in the middle of the book. What happened? Who did it? What was the result? Earlier in this Christian life, God brought the realization that faith needs to endure, even without answers. He is always teaching me to be joyful over partial progress and thankful for baby steps. I still struggle with that.

This morning my prayers were for greater strides. Some on my prayer list seem to be the same for years — not at all interested in spiritual matters or in Jesus. I felt like I might die without seeing any answers. One of my friends said both her parents prayed for their children for years, then died, but she was the only one who had been saved. The rest were saved, but after their mom and dad were gone. I don’t want that either.

Today’s reading strongly scolds readers for taking burdens on themselves, burdens that belong to God. We trust Him to run the universe but not to run our own lives. It misses the mark for me because I am trusting Him to run my life. The problem isn’t lack of trust, but impatience. I’d like to learn all He wants me to learn from unanswered prayer and then quickly see what He does after that. In other words, turn the pages, God. I want to see the ending of this mysterious plot that You are writing!

Another reading from “Born to Battle” by R. Arthur Matthews tells me that the bigger issue is not about seeing the results but continuing to pray for the salvation of souls. I’m not to allow my desire for results to interfere with the work of prayer for those results.

Paul was in jail, yet thought about others: “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:3–6) His mind did not see results yet he was certain that God would complete His work.

Later, this man asked for prayer after describing the necessary ‘wardrobe’ and attitude for prayer. He said:

“…and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:17–20)

This is a rebuke too, milder yet a reminder to stop feeling anxious for results and keep praying for them. One more passage comes to mind:

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. (1 John 5:14–15)

PRAY: Jesus, I may not see the last chapter, but You remind that You are listening, and I know that You do not want anyone to perish, so I can pray for people to be saved according to Your will and know that You have already written their ending. Forgive my desire to ‘see’ and fill me with that faith that believes in You without any evidence in these matters except Your gracious promises. As a song says, make my heart believe. Amen.

Be wise with prayer requests

My hubby and I get together twice a month with another couple to pray for our adult children and our grandchildren. We have done this for many years and agree that the changes in our family are slow. The great change is in us and how we pray. Our requests once concerned temporal needs. Now it is for spiritual needs and eternal well-being.

The Apostle Paul seems to have learned this much quicker than we did. He prayed continually about the spiritual needs of the churches and people under his care, and gave instruction for prayer, even personal prayer requests.

. . .  take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:17–20)

Paul was in jail. The natural inclination would be prayers for his release, but in his letter to the church at Philippi, after lengthy prayers for their well-being, he said:

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Philippians 1:12–14)

Paul saw God’s hand in his situation. Even though he was in a horrible place that was nothing like the prisons of today, he realized that God was using this for good. Had his Christian coworkers prayed for his release, they would have been asking out of God’s will.

Chambers makes an easy connection to my prayers; praying in the will of God could means hardship for others. If I intercede in sympathy with their trials, I could be messing with God’s plan to lift them to a higher level. For instance, if my prayers have been for someone’s salvation, God could be answering that prayer with trials, sickness, or other hardships. I need to seek His will before quickly praying the usual request for comfort.

This makes prayer a deeper challenge. I need to be sure of God. I can sidetrack my relationship with Him by sin, but also with personal sympathy and prejudice. Sympathy has this ‘I will not allow that thing to happen’ way of thinking. It is like Peter’s statement to Jesus when He said He would be crucified:

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:21–23)

This strong rebuke shows the importance of God’s will in our prayers. Jesus called Pater ‘Satan’ and exposed a fleshy focus that was sinful. I don’t want to pray that way for myself or others.

Chambers also says that if I am an intercessor, then I will not have time or inclination to pray for my own ‘sad sweet self’ because I will not be thinking about myself at all. If that were not challenge enough, Chambers also says that the discernment that God gives is always a call to intercession, never to fault finding. In other words, having a critical spirit also messes with the will of God because it usually prevents me from praying at all. Without prayer, I have stepped away from my most vital connection to Him.