Tag Archives: spirituality

August 22, 2012 · 1:21 PM

Teachings on Prayer

One sign of the Lord’s favor is answered prayer.  Jesus promised that if we remain in him and his words remain in us, that we can ask him for what we want and it will be done (John 15:7).  He also said that whatever we ask in his name, he will do (John 14:14).  These are startling promises from the Lord Jesus Christ.

I’m afraid that many people have a short relationship with prayer.  Somewhere along the way they hear that you can ask God for things and he will answer.  They try asking in prayer for a few things that they truly want.  They do not get what they want.  As a result, they determine that prayer doesn’t work and that is the end of their serious efforts at prayer.

A person that has had an experience like this with prayer may say that prayer doesn’t work, but they are wrong.  The truth is that their prayer doesn’t work. Jesus’ prayer works.  His disciples were so amazed by Jesus’ prayer that they asked him to teach them to pray.  We can learn a lot about effective prayer from Jesus.

Jesus did not offer a principle or a formula to make prayer work.  Prayer is asking God for something and God is a person with certain characteristics and traits.  Children learn over time what kinds of answers to expect from their dad when they ask him for something.  They know because they have lived with him and they have learned to understand his character.  After asking him for things many times, they learn to predict pretty well what his answer will be to most of their requests.

In the same way that children should not expect their dad to give them things that go against his nature, followers of Jesus should not expect God to give things that go against his nature.  The Bible teaches us that sometimes we ask with incorrect motives and so God simply says “No” to our request.

Some people are disappointed to find out that God will only say “Yes” to things that he agrees with. Their idea about prayer was selfish all along and the notion of submitting to God’s will is out of the question for them.  Others are sincerely confused because they felt certain that God would agree with their request.  Perhaps they asked for a loved one to be healed or they needed a job in order to pay bills.  How could God say “No” to such good things?

Jesus said that we must pray in his name and that his words must remain in us.  Only then can our desires be expressed in prayer and answered by the Lord with his “Yes.”  This goes beyond simply knowing what God will do and limiting our requests to his character. Jesus is talking about having a heart that actually desires the things that God will do.  Only a change of heart will enable us to have the powerful prayer life that Jesus describes.

Jesus also said that answered prayer will bring glory to God.  In simple terms, to glorify God means to make him look good.  When our prayers are answered it makes God look good. He is glorified.  So prayer is not only something that benefits us, it also does something good for God.  If we really love the Lord and want to bring him glory, then this is another reason to learn how to pray.

The Bible tells us to pray continually! (1 Thessalonians 5:17)  Prayer can be woven into all parts of our lives, touching all that we do.  A single prayer can be very simple, but a life of prayer should be rich and complex.  One of the best ways to get better at prayer is to pray more.  Please pray.

May God’s Spirit give us a heart that desires his glory,

Brother Richard Foster, Pastor
Grace Baptist Church, Camden, AR

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August 22, 2012 · 1:17 PM

Serious Prayer

Chapter 17 of John’s Gospel is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus. Jesus spoke his prayer to God the Father just before he was betrayed by Judas and arrested by the Jewish religious leaders.  In a matter of hours he would be crucified, but first he prayed.

Earlier that evening Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples.  He spent time preparing his small group of followers for what was about to happen.  They would soon take over the mission of God’s Kingdom in this world because Jesus was about to return to the Father.  He taught them many things.  He mentioned prayer several times.  It was now time for them to begin praying in his name.

To pray in Jesus’ name is more than just saying “in Jesus’ name” at the end of our prayers.  In part, it means to pray like Jesus prays.  While those eleven disciples listened, Jesus gave them an example of how he prays.  He prayed for himself, then for his close group of believers, and finally for all who would become his followers.

If the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of God’s people, needed to pray for himself, then we certainly need to pray for ourselves as well. Jesus prayed about his mission, his calling.  Like our Lord, we should pray about our calling.  The Lord has a purpose for each of us.  Knowing and following God’s purpose gives us a great sense of confidence.

After praying for himself, Jesus prayed for his close circle of followers, the eleven men who were his disciples.  They started out as the Twelve but Judas had left, making final preparations to betray Jesus.  So Jesus prayed that his close group of eleven followers would be safe from evil and that they would be focused on fulfilling God’s mission in their lives.  He prayed that they would penetrate the darkness of this world without being absorbed by it.

We live in a world full of spiritual darkness.  Compromising with the ways of this world is deadly.  But avoiding all contact with the world is disobedient because Jesus sends his followers into the world to carry on his mission.  Like Jesus, we need to pray for one another that we can be in the world but not of the world, representing our Lord faithfully to the world. Together, with God’s empowering Presence, we will be light in a dark place.

Finally, Jesus prayed for all those who would hear the Word of Truth and believe.  His prayer for all believers focused on unity.  As he looked into the future of his Church, our Lord knew what a struggle his followers would face in order to stay united in worship and service.  Many divisions have fractured Christianity since Jesus’ prayer late that night.  Division weakens God’s people, but unity at the expense of truth is deceptive.

Jesus’ prayer is as relevant today as it was that night almost 2,000 years ago.  Since unity is so vital to Christ’s Church, then we should only allow matters of the utmost importance to separate us from other believers.  When the Truth is at stake, we are not dividing; we are defining the true Church.  We must pray that our church will have the courage to stand strong for the Truth, and the wisdom to recognize when the Truth is really at stake.

Please pray like Jesus.  Pray for yourself that you will be clear about your mission in life.  Pray for fellow Christians whom you know well, that they will be protected from evil and passionate about following Jesus.  Pray for the church that we will be wise and courageous about standing strong for God’s Truth.  And pray that our Lord will continue to teach us to pray.

May the Lord’s light shine clearly through us despite the darkness,

Brother Richard Foster, Pastor
Grace Baptist Church, Camden, AR

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August 22, 2012 · 1:09 PM

Feed My Sheep

More than two years ago I started preaching through the Gospel of John during Sunday morning worship. Now I have finished, and in the concluding chapter of John’s Gospel there is a remarkable conversation between Jesus and Peter.

Jesus had warned his disciples that he would soon be betrayed and that they would all fall away. Peter had bragged that he would never fall away, even if all the others did.  Jesus assured Peter that before morning came he would deny even knowing Jesus, and so he did.

Now that Jesus was risen and appearing to his followers, proving that he was truly alive, Peter was a man torn in two.  On the one hand he was thrilled to see the Lord whom he loved so much.  On the other hand he surely wondered how Jesus could ever forgive him for what he had done.

Jesus made it a point to confront Peter in a loving and decisive manner.  As they ate breakfast together on the shore of Lake Tiberius, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?”  Three times Peter told Jesus that he did.  Jesus allowed Peter to erase his three denials with three affirmations of love.

But Jesus did more than forgive Peter for his denials.  Each time Peter said that he loved Jesus, the Lord added a command. Feed my lambs.  Tend my sheep.  Feed my sheep.  Jesus’ sheep are his followers, the people of God; and he is the Good Shepherd.

To feed Jesus’ sheep is to care for Jesus’ followers, the church.  Peter was not just forgiven; he was reinstated to a place of service among Jesus’ followers.  Jesus would soon return to the Father, but Peter’s love for the Lord Jesus would still be evident through his service to the Lord’s church, his people.

Your love for the Lord Jesus is evident in the way that you serve God’s people.  What an honor it is for me to serve alongside you, my church family, as you demonstrate your affection for the Savior through your service in his church.  Like Peter, you have a commission from the Lord to labor in his Name.

As you examine yourselves, please prayerfully consider your place of service at your church.

Like Peter, each of us is called to a place of service among Jesus’ followers.  And like Peter, even our past failures cannot keep us from expressing our love for the Lord by serving him now.

May the Lord inspire and enable us to love one another,

Brother Richard Foster
Grace Baptist Church, Camden AR

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August 22, 2012 · 1:04 PM

Growing Up

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth he addressed them as brothers because they were fellow believers, followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He expressed real affection for them.  Nevertheless, he also conveyed some frustration and disappointment over their lack of spiritual growth.

Paul wrote, “I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet able.  But now you are still not able”(1 Corinthians 3:2).  Paul was comparing spiritual life with physical life.  He said that the believers in Corinth were infants in Christ.  In other words, they were not growing up spiritually as they should.

Peter encouraged followers of Jesus to crave pure spiritual milk, like newborn babies, so that they could grow up in their salvation (1 Peter 2:2).  Milk is good for babies.  Healthy adults require more than milk.  New believers are satisfied with the basics of faith.  But healthy Christians grow and require an expanded spiritual diet.

The writer of Hebrews also compared spiritual growth with physical growth, noting the necessary change in diet.  He was frustrated with the believers to whom he wrote because they should have been teaching others about God’s truth but they still needed someone to teach them the basics (Hebrews 5:12-14).  Baby Christians, he said, were those who still struggle to distinguish good from evil.

Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus and encouraged them to grow spiritually so that they would no longer be infants, tossed around by false teaching and deception (Ephesians 4:14). He explained that Christ is the measure of spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:13, 15).  The Christian life is a life of being transformed into the likeness of our Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The leaders of the Early Church expected followers of Jesus to grow in faith, building on the basics of salvation and moving ever closer to spiritual maturity, living like Jesus. Spiritual growth requires greater understanding of God’s Word and greater passion for God’s glory.  Growing spiritually requires health and vitality that comes from God’s indwelling Spirit.

Of course, to grow toward maturity in Christ one must first be in Christ.  In other words, to grow spiritually a person must first be saved. New birth is the first step in spiritual growth just as birth is primary in physical growth.  If a newborn fails to grow then everyone agrees that something is wrong.  The same is true of Christians.  When a follower of Christ fails to grow spiritually then something is wrong.

Our task as a church family is to help lost people get saved and to help saved people get strong.  We are in the business of growing spiritually mature Christians.  Paul told the believers in Corinth that there is a message of wisdom for the mature. We want to help as many people as we can to enjoy the message of wisdom that is for the mature.

What a joy it is for me to see brothers and sisters who are spiritually healthy, growing in Christ and being transformed from glory to glory into his image.  But like Paul, I also see those who are struggling to move beyond the basics.  Let us continue to labor together in the Lord’s power and wisdom until we all become mature, “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13, NIV).

May the Lord bind us together and strengthen us in His great power and wisdom,

Brother Richard Foster

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