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Prayer..

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to

those who ask him!

- Mattew 7:7-11 -

Prayer is like a breath of my soul...♥

Moses led the people through his conversation with God

The prophet Moses also had continual conversations with God when he led the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey. For it was impossible for him to lead such a great number of people to Canaan without God's help.
The Red Sea lay before them, and the Egyptian army was right behind them. At this desperate moment, Moses earnestly cried out to God, "Lord, what shall I do? I've been trying to lead Your people according to Your will. But now the Red Sea blocks our path in front of us. Please open the way before us." Then God immediately answered his prayer.
Ex 14:15-18 『Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. … "』
Moses did as God had told him. As he followed God's direction, the Red Sea was divided so that about 600,000 men and all the women and children could go through the sea on dry ground. God Himself did everything that He had planned. Moses needed only to hear God speaking to him through prayer and follow His instruction. After the Exodus, Moses continued his conversation with God so that he could cope with all the crisis situations in the desert.
Nu 11:1-2 『Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down.』
Nu 21:4-9 『 … they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. … So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.』
Whenever calamities befell the people as the result of their sins, Moses mediated between God and the people. He prostrated himself in prayer and asked God to forgive their foolishness and rebellion and to guide him to the right path. God answered all his prayers and led him.
Moses intently focused on his conversation with God in order to lead one nation, Israel, to Canaan. Now, we are to lead all nations into the kingdom of heaven in obedience to the will of God. We should talk to God more frequently. What happens when we try to fulfill the great work of the gospel ministry without God's help? We will soon become frustrated and give up, being limited in our ability. However, if we have continual conversations with God, all doors will be opened for us.

Elijah gained courage through his conversation with God

When King Ahab reigned over the northern kingdom of Israel during the period of the Divided Kingdom, the prophet Elijah was delivering a message from God. There were 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah, who were supported by Jezebel, the Queen of Israel. Elijah fought all alone against the 850 false prophets at Mount Carmel and defeated them all with the strength provided by God. It was the power of prayer that enabled the great victory (1 Kings 18).
This made Jezebel furious. She tried to kill Elijah, and he fled from her into the wilderness. Then he said to God, "Lord, take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
At the most desperate moment, God said to him, "I reserve seven thousand in Israel-all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."
God consoled Elijah and refreshed his weary soul and body. He thought he was alone, but God told him that there remained 7,000 faithful prophets. God's words gave him great joy and encouragement. Through his conversation with God, he took courage again, so he could carry out his mission as a prophet (1 Kings 19).
Thus, our forefathers of faith had continual conversations with God throughout their lives. Though the followers of God were inferior in number to the wicked and seemed far weaker than the evil ones, God encouraged the little flock, saying, "Do not fear," "Take heart," "I am with you," ….
With His powerful words, God floods our hearts with exceeding, overflowing joy. A continual conversation with God unceasingly inspires the courage and fervor of faith within ourselves.

Elijah gained courage through his conversation with God

When King Ahab reigned over the northern kingdom of Israel during the period of the Divided Kingdom, the prophet Elijah was delivering a message from God. There were 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah, who were supported by Jezebel, the Queen of Israel. Elijah fought all alone against the 850 false prophets at Mount Carmel and defeated them all with the strength provided by God. It was the power of prayer that enabled the great victory (1 Kings 18).
This made Jezebel furious. She tried to kill Elijah, and he fled from her into the wilderness. Then he said to God, "Lord, take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
At the most desperate moment, God said to him, "I reserve seven thousand in Israel-all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."
God consoled Elijah and refreshed his weary soul and body. He thought he was alone, but God told him that there remained 7,000 faithful prophets. God's words gave him great joy and encouragement. Through his conversation with God, he took courage again, so he could carry out his mission as a prophet (1 Kings 19).
Thus, our forefathers of faith had continual conversations with God throughout their lives. Though the followers of God were inferior in number to the wicked and seemed far weaker than the evil ones, God encouraged the little flock, saying, "Do not fear," "Take heart," "I am with you," ….
With His powerful words, God floods our hearts with exceeding, overflowing joy. A continual conversation with God unceasingly inspires the courage and fervor of faith within ourselves.

Give yourselves to prayer at all times

As I heard of the brother's gracious enlightenment, I came to realize that our conversation with God is an important key to the growth of our faith. If one feels empty inside and the fervor of his faith diminishes, even though he is diligent in attending services and is active in gospel preaching, it shows that he does not have enough time to talk to God every day.
Now, let's take a look at ourselves. If we feel our soul becoming weary and losing its vigor, we need to ask ourselves how much time we spend in conversation with God. And we also need to examine ourselves whether we pray just mechanically.
We can not fulfill the gospel ministry with our own strength. We absolutely need help and advice from Almighty God. In spite of knowing all this, we do not often talk to God. So the Bible emphasizes that we should devote ourselves to prayer-a conversation with God.
Col 4:1-3 『… Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, …』
Ro 12:9-12 『Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.』
God has chosen us, knowing our weakness. What if we, who are so feeble and lacking in ability, try to do the gospel work with our own wisdom and strength, without asking God for help? Can we fulfill the work of God? Never.
God richly provides everything we need if we confess our weakness and ask Him for help. Our forefathers of faith described in the Bible gained wisdom, courage and strength through their conversations with God whenever they faced difficult and desperate situations.

Prayer is the breath of the soul

Let me talk about a brother. He was eager to put his faith into action, but at some moment his faith began to cool, without knowing the reason for that. It was not because he lacked confidence in the truth or because he was troubled or persecuted. Of course, he did not neglect studying and preaching the word of God.
He didn't realize why his faith was cooling down, and it troubled him. One day, he heard the news about a fire on TV. After that, his heart began to burn again. I asked him what made him restore his faith. He said that through the fire accident he realized something of great importance. When he was watching the news, he focused on the fact that most of the victims died of suffocation from the smoke rather than from the heat. Then suddenly he was reminded of God's words, "Prayer is the breath of the soul."
‘What will happen if I do not breathe spiritually?' When he thought this way, he came to know the reason why he failed to stand firm in faith even though he diligently attended worship services and preached the gospel. Reflecting upon himself, he realized it was prayer, the breath of the soul, that he really needed. Though he believed in God, he wan't having earnest conversations with God; rather, he lived the gospel life by his own efforts and zeal. That was why his faith stagnated rather than grew.
He earnestly prayed for repentance, asking God to allow him to have a continuous conversations with Him. After that, he prayed to God for everything, no matter how small. As he talked to God in prayer every day, his heart overflowed with thankfulness even in distressing and difficult situations. His faith became much more active and stronger than ever before.