21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Romans 1:21 – 23 ESV
When you think about prayer, what it is the first thing that comes to mind? For a lot of people, their view of prayer is somewhat different than what is portrayed in Scripture. What you and I think about prayer makes all the difference. In this post I would like to discuss what prayer is not.
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Everyone wants their life to be relevant; to have meaning and significance. The late E. Stanley Jones gives us the key.
Custody: immediate charge and control (as over a ward or a suspect) exercised by a person or an authority. Merriam-Webster
If the Lord has anything less than full custody of our lives, can it truly be said that we are living in the Reign?
M
1968 was a significant year in American history. The United States was locked in a deadly conflict in Vietnam. In April of that year, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., powerful preacher and civil rights activist, was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Racial tensions, the decline of morals among the youth, and a host of other problems led the nation to a low period in its history.
In December of 1968, Elvis Presley appeared in his first television performance since 1960. At the conclusion of the show, Elvis sang the powerful song “If I Can Dream.” It is a song about the longing for men to live in brotherhood and hope. In its lyrics I hear a cry for the Kingdom of God. See if you hear the same thing as you listen to it.
Doesn’t this song reflect the cry of every human heart? Haven’t we all wished for some sort of society where everyone could just get along? Unfortunately we will not see this happen until the Lord reigns as King. Then it will be as we read in Isaiah 2:2 – 4.
In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be the highest of all—
the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.
People from many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of Jacob’s God.
There he will teach us his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.”
For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion;
his word will go out from Jerusalem.
The Lord will mediate between nations
and will settle international disputes.
They will hammer their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will no longer fight against nation,
nor train for war anymore. NLT
The dream Elvis sings about, the fulfillment of which everyone longs for, will only come true once we are all living in the Reign.
M
Among all the enemies known to man, there are few, if any, hated or feared more than death. Death is that great unknown element that every man must face, and most would rather not think about. Death, however, seemed to pose no problem for the King.
