Praying for Those We Love

I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth. 1 John 3:4 (NLT)

What do you pray most often for those you love?

Prayer is one of the most powerful, thoughtful, loving ways we can show our love for our family and friends, yet I still often struggle to persevere in prayer for others. What some of us (ME) need to hear most is simply a reminder to stop and pray for the ones we love.

And what we pray for them really matters. Unfortunately, we often ask God for less than we should for our family and loved ones. At least I know that I myself have sometimes asked for less than I should. When I pray for those I love, my mind often defaults to practical, earthly concerns and generalized prayers — that God would guard or improve their health and safety, or that he would prosper what they do at work or school, or for whatever other daily or weekly needs that immediately come to mind.

Prayers like these, while good and even important, fall short of the mountain-moving prayers we might pray — prayers like the apostle Paul prayed. Paul most often prayed for the spiritual life and health of those he loved and served with. A brief look at some of Paul's written prayers can help us pray for the spiritual life and health of our loved ones as well. What did Paul pray for those he loved?

1. He prayed that they would be saved

Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. Romans 10:1 (NLT)

Though Paul was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles, he dearly loved his Jewish brothers and sisters, and his most important prayer for them was that they would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The most important prayer we can ever pray for those we love is for their salvation. While it is natural for us to want our loved ones to be healthy, happy and successful in this world, the burden of our heart should be for their spiritual lives and their relationship with Christ

We recently started a prayer emphasis at our church called "Who's Your ONE?" that encourages every member to be praying for at least one loved one who is far from God; praying for their salvation, redemption and restoration. I have seven "ONES" that I pray for regularly - some have never been saved, others I believe have been saved, but are living a prodigal life (see Luke Luke 15:11-32) I am praying the Lord reveals Himself to them, and brings them into a right relationship with Him.

2. He prayed they would grow spiritually

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. Ephesians 1:15-18 (NLT)

In Ephesians, Paul is writing tho those who are saved. He wasn't satisfied with just the salvation of his friends, he also wanted them to grow in their relationship with God. Paul understood that salvation isn't the end of the process, but the beginning of a great journey of faith. Paul prayed for his friends to know Christ intimately, to grow in their knowledge and love for Him and that they would live in confident hope, knowing they belonged to Christ.

What a glorious prayer to pray for those we love. No success on earth can compare to knowing Christ and growing in our relationship with Him.

3. He prayed that they would grow in love and in Christ-like character

God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.  May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ —for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Philippians 1:8-11 (NLT)

Paul's love for his friends compelled him to pray that they could not only grow in their love and relationship with Christ, but also their love for one another. He prayed that their love would "overflow". That is a beautiful picture of someone who is filled with the Spirit of Christ, and He "spills out" in love for those close by. He also wanted them to understand "what really matters" - it was not their success in business or community activities, but that they would develop and live out Christ-like character before a lost world. This, Paul says, it what will bring much glory and praise to God.

4. He prayed that they would live in God's power by faith in Him

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (NLT)

Paul was persistent in praying for his friends and loved ones. He didn't simply pray once and let it go, he kept on praying for them, asking God to do a great work in their lives. Paul prayed they would live a life worthy of God's calling on them, and that they would live in faith, being empowered by God to do everything He was calling them to do. Paul's great desire is that they would live out God's perfect will for their lives, so the end result would be that Jesus Christ would be honored and glorified through them.

Our greatest calling as followers of Christ, is to live lives worthy of His calling, and to live in such a way that He is honored and glorified through us. As Jesus tells us, we are to let our light shine before others so they may see our good works, and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Should that not also be our prayer for those we love? Their greatest accomplishments in this world will be what brings glory to God and impacts the world for Jesus. Let us pray accordingly.

Saved to Serve

“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.” 1 Timothy 3:1

We are beginning the process of developing Ministry Teams and selecting Elders and Deacons for our church, so I've been reading on servant-leaders in the church. I’ve been working through Paul’s first letter to his apprentice Timothy. Chapter three really stirred me up. Paul begins saying, “This is a faithful saying.” It’s the equivalent to Jesus saying in the Gospels “Truly, truly or Verily, verily.” When Jesus said those words He was saying, “Hey! Pay attention! This is important!” That is what Paul is doing here as well. Then he says, “If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.”

The word “desire” really jumped out at me in this passage. It appears twice in my translation, but it is actually two different words in the Greek. The first word translated “desire” literally means “to stretch oneself” or “to reach out for.” The image is that of a child reaching out for his mom or dad. The second word translated desire means “to set your heart upon.” It has to do with the inward emotions and this word is also translated “covet” or “lust after.” So the Bible says, it is a good thing to "stretch yourself" and "set your heart" on a place of service for the Lord.

In the tradition I have grown up in, those who served the Lord were those who received a specific calling to serve. It’s still part of our tradition – you ask people about doing things in the church and you may get the response – “I haven’t been called to do that.” That is a legit response and we shouldn’t force people into positions they are not qualified for nor passionate about. But it is also a response that is often abused. The next question to ask is, “What have you been called to do?” and the answer may be, “I don’t know?” It seems it’s easier to identify what we’re not called to do than it is to identify what we’re called to do.

What do you want to do in/through the church? Many Christians don’t want to do anything; they don’t have the desire to serve the Lord. I want to say, “Do you believe Jesus died for you and saved you so you could do nothing for Him? Do you believe God brought you to a church so you could ‘do nothing’?" It’s good to have a desire to serve the Lord; it’s good to stretch yourself and reach for a place of service in the Body of Christ. Our general calling is to serve the Lord in some capacity; we are saved to serve. 

Wednesday Word: Saint

To the saints and faithful brethren who are in Colosse, in Christ.” 
Colossians 1:2

Someone has said that most of our problems as followers of Christ stem from the fact that we sometimes forget who we are in Christ Jesus. We're studying the book of Colossians in our Wednesday night Bible study and in v. 2 Paul addresses his letter “To the saints and faithful brethren who are in Colosse, in Christ” (v.2)

That word "saint" is such a profound word and we so often overlook the meaning and power of it. We don’t typically refer to people using that title to identify them. "Saint" isn’t something we typically put on our business cards - “George Miller, Saint of God”. We don’t even use it when referring to people in the church, fellow believers. We use the term “Christian” which is not a common term in the Bible, in fact it is only used 3 times in the New Testament. Saint, on the other hand, is used over 60 times in the NT to refer to the people of God. The root word is used more than 200 times and it means “to be holy, to be set apart, to be sanctified.” 

This word has has to do with identity in Christ. Saints are those people who have been saved by God, have been set apart by God, who have been made holy by God. This is not usually how we identify people, even people in the church, is it? There is another word the Bible uses and it is the one we most often gravitate toward when describing people including ourselves... "sinners." We most often describe ourselves as sinners, because that’s how we see ourselves, even those of us who are saved. We often say it this way, “I’m just a sinner saved by grace…” And while technically that’s true, the Bible doesn’t generally identify followers of Christ that way - the Bible identifies us as saints of God. 

This is so important because your identity or how you see yourself determines how you will act. If you see yourself as a sinner, even a sinner saved by grace, you will have a propensity to continue to sin and excuse yourself and say, “that’s just who I am. I don’t have a choice but to be this way because... I'm just a sinner.” But when you are saved by Christ, you are set free from the power of sin - you are set apart, sanctified, made holy by Christ; you are a new creature in Christ, old things have passed away behold all things become new. You are a saved sinner, and that makes you a saint in Christ Jesus. And when you see yourself as a saint in Christ, you will begin to live out who you really are. 

The key is, “in Christ” - you are a saint in Christ. That is who you are, not because of what you have done or are doing, but because of what Christ has done and is doing in you. You have to know who you are in order to be rightly aligned to the truth of Christ. Sinner describes who you were, but saint describes who you are, and who you are becoming. In Christ, you are becoming less of who you were (sinner) and more of who you are (saint in Christ.)

There is a saying circulating on the internet: "The devil knows your name, but calls you by your sin. God knows your sin, but calls you by your name." Satan, the "accuser" condemns you because of what you have done, but Jesus forgives you because of what HE has done, and He calls you not just by your name, but by His name... and that makes you a "saint in Christ." Never let the enemy tell you that you are just a sinner, when the word of God calls you a saint.

Join us each Wednesday night at 7:00pm at Grace Point Baptist Church as we study through the book of Colossians.

Knowing vs. Knowing About

TobyMac is a very successful Christian music artist, producer and author. He has sold more than 10 million albums, won 7 Grammy Awards, and has had 6 number one singles. His music and ministry has inspired millions in their walk with Christ. (You can check out his Youtube channel here.)

My wife jokingly tells peoples sometimes that we grew up with TobyMac. At first people think she means that we personally know Toby because we grew up in the same neighborhood or something, but what she means is that we grew up listening to and being inspired and encouraged by his music. We know a lot about him from his songs, his books, and articles written about him, but we don't have personal relationship with him. We've seen him in concert several times, but he wouldn't know us if we ran into him on the street. We know about him, but we don't know Him.

Unfortunately, I fear that many who call themselves "Christian" have a similar relationship with Jesus - they know about Him from His book (the Bible), been inspired by the stories about Him, and may even be big fans, but if they ran into Jesus on the street, they might know who He is, but He wouldn't "know" them in the sense of a personal relationship (see Matthew 7:21-23). I also fear that many "Christians" will find out this truth too late.

There is a big difference between knowing about someone and knowing someone in a personal relationship. Many people in Jesus' day knew about Him; they were touched by His ministry, encouraged by His teachings, maybe even blessed by His miracles, but never transformed through a saving relationship with the Savior of the world. That is still true today.

What does it mean to truly know Jesus as Lord? The Bible is the clear that we can know Jesus and enter a relationship with Him through repenting of our sins and placing our faith in Jesus alone for our salvation (Mark 1:14-15). "Repent" is not a word we often use in common conversation, but it is an important biblical word. Pastor John MacArthur says:

The Greek word for “repentance” is metanoia . . . Literally it means “afterthought” or “change of mind,” but biblically its meaning does not stop there. As metanoia is used in the New Testament, it always speaks of a change of purpose, and specifically a turning from sin. In the sense Jesus used it, repentance calls for a repudiation of the old life and a turning to God for salvation.
Such a change of purpose is what Paul had in mind when he described the repentance of the Thessalonians: “You turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).

To repent means to make a "U-Turn", turning away from the gods of self and sin, and turning to the living God to follow Christ.

To believe is to recognize our own hopeless condition as a sinner, and putting our full trust in the person and finished work of Christ on the cross to save us from our sin. A relationship with Christ doesn't come when we try harder to do better, when we call ourselves "christian", or when we begin to practice religious rituals. A relationship with Christ happens when we come to the end of ourselves and trust that Jesus is enough for our salvation. We are saved by faith in Jesus, not by any "good works" that we do (see Ephesians 2:8-10).

The message of repentance and faith in Christ for salvation is what the Bible calls the gospel, or "good news." And here is the REALLY "good news" - unlike TobyMac who isn't seeking out a relationship with me (other than to get me to buy his music), Jesus is seeking out a relationship with you. He wants you to know Him, to really know Him, not just know about Him. And He, through the Holy Spirit, calls you into a relationship with Himself; He calls you to repent and believe, to turn from yourself in repentance, and turn to God in faith, AND He gives you the ability to do it.

I know this post isn't for everyone, but my prayer is that perhaps someone who stumbles across this may realize that there is a difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Him as Savior... and God would use this to draw them to Himself. If you'd like to continue the conversation, feel free to email me at glmiller1965@gmail.com, I'd love to connect with you.

Share the Word

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17

     Writer Robert Morgan tells the story of Dr. Doren Edwards, a surgeon in Franklin, Tennessee. Dr. Edwards is a devout Christian and is involved in the Gideons International. Several years ago he had a patient whose alcoholic husband had died. Her two children were giving her problems, finances were tight, and life was very hard. She wasn’t a Christian.

One day she came to see Dr. Edwards after she had been diagnosed cancer, with multiple organs involved. No treatment was available, and she was very bitter about it; life had been very hard and now she was dying. Dr. Edwards wanted to talk with her about the Lord, but she wouldn’t allow him to share his witness. She did, however, accept a small New Testament that he kept in his office.

 A few weeks later, Doctor Edwards learned from the newspaper obituary that she had died. He sent a card to the family, telling them he had donated Bibles in her memory to the Gideons. 

A few days later the woman’s daughter called Dr. Edwards. “Could you please send us a Bible like the ones you donated in memory of our mother,” she asked. “We don’t have a Bible in our home. The last six days she was alive, Mama's whole life changed. She was no longer bitter, she was at peace and she wasn’t afraid to die. She said something about knowing Jesus, but she asked that her Bible be buried in her hand, and we couldn’t keep it. Would you please send us a Bible so that we can find what Mama found in that book?” 

Dr. Edwards sent them all Bibles, and soon afterwards the daughter, the son, and one of the woman's sisters were saved as a result. 

There are many ways to share the Gospel: Bibles, cards, letters, text messages, personal testimony, etc. Think about a person you could give the gift of the Gospel to, and then do it.