Growing Through Prayer (A 'Loving God Greatly' Bible Study)
January 15,
2016
Day 5
Read: Romans 15:30 &
Colossians 1:9
SOAP: Colossians 1:9
S:
“For this cause, we also, since
the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you
may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding.”
O&A
Truthfully, this passage makes me
ask two questions: “For what cause?”
and “heard what?” Reading up a few verses answers those
questions. “Since the day you heard and knew the grace of
Elohim in truth” and “having heard of your faith in Messiah Yeshua, and of the
love which you have toward all the holy ones”.
There is also the mention of this: “whereof
you heard before in the word of the truth of the Good News, which has come to
you; even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and
growing”. I don’t want to go off on a
tangent but it proves that good words must be followed with
good works (fruit).
Focusing on the specific scripture of
verse 9, “don’t cease praying and making requests for you” really stands out to
me. He is saying this not just for
himself, but those in the Spirit, “WE” have not paused in praying for you, have
not quit praying for you, have not restrained their prayers, and have not been
released from praying for them, nor have they been released from making
requests for them.
How many times have I prayed for something, and because there is not an
immediate response, I’ve said, “Well, Abba, I guess that wasn’t for me (or
them, or whomever)”…?!? Using as an
example here, if I pray for a grieving mother (this is so near and dear to my
heart), and I ask the Father to comfort her, and her family, yet they still
grieve, do I stop asking Him to comfort them?
No! Do I assume that comfort is
not for them? Definitely not. If I ask Him to give them shalom/peace in
their hearts, knowing that they will see
their beloved in the kingdom, and they still cry for the loss, am I to take it
to mean that my prayers are futile?
Yah/God forbid. I press in, and
do not cease praying for them!
I love that Sha’ul/Paul lines out
what he is making request of from YHVH, rather than what I do more often than
not which is to tell people, “I’ll pray for you” or on Facebook,
“Praying!” He is specific in his prayers
and requests, and not ashamed to voice them.
Sometimes (a lot of the time, actually) I struggle with praying
publicly. I worry that my words aren’t
enough, or that if I ask Him for something and it’s not given, that it’s a
reflection somehow on me. (Which of
course, it’s not – He is Sovereign!) I
also don’t prefer to pray so that everyone can hear me, rather, I like to pray
privately in my prayer closet, according to Matthew 6:5-8.
“When you pray, you shall not be as
the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the
corners of the streets, that they may
be seen by men. Most assuredly, I tell you, they have received their
reward. But you, when you pray, enter into your inner chamber, and having shut
your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in
secret will reward you openly.”
I sometimes worry that if I pray
openly or publicly, that it could be perceived such as this. I am still learning to discern between the
times to pray privately or when to share the prayers. So to post prayers here is something He is
teaching me to overcome. The key to it,
as I understand, is asking “am I doing it to be heard, or according to His
leading?” If I am only doing it to make
my voice heard, woe to me. At which
point, I check in with YHVH (as I’m doing now) and allow Him to correct me
according to his word (totally edited a lot by doing this!).
P:
Abba YHVH, I pray that You would examine my heart and purge it of any
vanity. I pray that You would cleanse me
of myself, and wash me in the purity and selflessness of Yeshua, our Messiah,
our Savior. I am struggling today as my
flesh fights against Your Ruach/Spirit within me. The closer I draw to You, and into Your word, the more
difficult the struggle. I want to be empty of myself, and my desires, and yet I
can feel the carnal/fleshly being trying to press in!
I pray that we would remember to
press in in prayer, for others, for ourselves, for Your will to be done, unless
otherwise instructed by You. Rather than
pray my own prayer, Abba, please allow me to use the example from today’s
Scripture.
I pray that we would be, as Sha’ul
prayed, filled with the knowledge of Your will, YHVH, in ALL spiritual wisdom
and understanding; that we would walk worthily of You, pleasing to You in all
respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of You;
and that we would be strengthened with all the power according to the might of
Your glory, and for all endurance and perseverance with JOY! Thank You, Abba, for giving us these examples
in Your word, and allowing me to pray for us that which Sha’ul has prayed for
others.
Abba, bless us as You spoke to
Moshe/Moses, “Speak to Aharon and his sons, and tell
them that this is how you are to bless the people of Isra’el: you are to say to
them,
‘Y’varekh’kha Adonai/YHVH v’yishmerekha.
[May Adonai/YHVH bless you and
keep you.]
Ya’er Adonai/YHVH panav eleikha
vichunekka.
[May Adonai/YHVH make his face
shine on you and show you his favor.]
Yissa Adonai/YHVH panav eleikha v’yasem
l’kha shalom.
[May Adonai/YHVH lift up his face
toward you and give you peace.]’
“In this way they are to put my name on
the people of Isra’el, so that I will bless them.” (
In Yeshua’s name,
Amein.
Today is prep day for Shabbat, beginning at sundown tonight (Friday evening).
Shabbat Shalom from our family to yours!
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