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Pastor's Page |
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 Powerful
Prayers
As we prepare to
leave this time of Epiphany and enter the
Lenten season, we recognize how quickly time
moves. In Advent, we began our church year,
yet we are already looking towards Lent and,
soon enough, the Easter celebration of our
Lord’s glorious resurrection. As time passes
by and moments come and go, we therefore
seek rest in the rush of life, peace in the
passing moments and stability in the stress
of our “day to day.”
In the season of
Lent, we are also reminded of the gift of
prayer. As Lent is a time for prayer,
fasting and almsgiving, the first of these
is one that can often be overlooked,
especially as life passes by rather quickly.
Fasting and almsgiving might not be a part
of our daily practice, so actively pursuing
and focusing on these would be noticeable- a
beautiful means of service to our Lord. But,
the beautiful gift of prayer? Well, that can
often be “lost in the shuffle.”
Whether we are not able to focus on prayer
or we simply find ourselves tossing it aside
in order to have time for the “important”
parts of our lives, we can easily forget how
we are wonderfully gifted. At times, we
“pass off” the gift, especially if things
are going well in our lives. Yet, even when
we face difficult times, we find ourselves
willing to “handle things” rather than
considering the place of our Lord in our
lives and the need to bring all things to
Him.
Instead of entrusting ourselves
to His care, we trust our sinful selves. We
try to bring our own comfort, find our own
answers, protect our own feelings and create
our own joy. Too many times, we are faced
with more struggle and more pain as we are
guided only by our own sinfulness and our
hearts are left in brokenness and sorrow.
When we turn to our Lord Jesus in
prayer, however, we are not left in this
broken state. We are not left to wonder how
we might “fix” things and not left alone to
trust in ourselves. In Jesus, we are instead
saved by His marvelous work – His death and
resurrection – and given new life through
the beautiful gift of Baptism. In Jesus, we
are saved from our own sinful hearts, from
our own sinful ways and from our own sinful
“handling” of life. In Jesus, we are saved
by His work and then moved by the Spirit to
bring all things to our God… to the foot of
the cross where we lay down our sins… to the
throne of glory where Jesus is risen and
seated until the resurrection of all flesh.
In Jesus, we are saved, we are forgiven… and
we are therefore invited to pray, bringing
all things to Him.
For St. James
reminds us that, as people living in the
salvation and love of Jesus, we are not
forgotten by our Lord, but are called to
pray for everything, whether joyful or
sorrowful. We are called to completely
entrust our lives to His care. St. James
writes:
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“Is anyone among you
suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone
cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is
anyone among you sick? Let him call
for the elders of the church, and
let them pray over him, anointing
him with oil in the name of the
Lord. And the prayer of faith will
save the one who is sick, and the
Lord will raise him up. And if he
has committed sins, he will be
forgiven. Therefore, confess your
sins to one another and pray for one
another, that you may be healed. The
prayer of a righteous person has
great power as it is working.”
(James 5:13-16 ESV) |
When we entrust ourselves to the Lord, our
prayers are given great power. We are led by
the Spirit to call upon God and we are able
to pray in tough times and in times of joy
and happiness. And, according to the
promises of salvation, we trust that our
Lord will respond. Now, He might not always
respond as we expect or we might feel as if
we are awaiting His response… but our God is
always working things according to His good
and gracious will. He is the author of our
lives and He promises to care for us as we
cling to Him and seek His goodness. And in
the midst of that goodness and of His
salvation, He allows us to pray for each
other, to uplift one another and to confess
our sins to one another and unto God, our
Father.
For our faithful prayers are
brought to God even as we are bringing them
to each other… and in the midst of our
prayers, forgiveness is granted through
Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is the
same resurrection that we give thanks for in
prayer and the same resurrection that gives
us His gift of new life- the life that we
receive as we gather at the altar.
Yes, we receive His life in bread and wine…
in body and blood and we are made able to
give thanks together as a means of praise,
knowing that we have received all that is
promised in Jesus. There, at the holy altar
of our Lord, we are made able to pray as the
Spirit works in our hearts and our lives. At
the altar of our Lord, we are made able to
entrust ourselves completely to God, our
Father. At the altar of our Lord, we are
made able to believe with great faith,
knowing that our prayers are answered in
Jesus.
Dear friends, our prayers are
answered… for we have received salvation
from sin and our lives have been made
righteous. We are clothed in Jesus’ perfect
love and sent forth to share His
righteousness in many ways – in fasting and
almsgiving, in caring and teaching. We are
reminded of the gifts that we receive during
the Lenten season and, during this time, we
find ourselves especially focused on the
gift of prayer. Therefore, we continue to
pray for the world, for our troops, for our
leaders and for one another, repenting of
our sins, seeking forgiveness from God and
trusting in the guidance of our Lord. For He
never leaves us alone, trying to “handle
things” on our own. Instead, He hears our
cries, He offers Himself, He forgives us all
our sins… and, in the midst of prayer, He
brings His Word to remind us of how truly
important we are to Him: “The prayer of
a righteous person has great power as it is
working.”
May your prayers
continue to be raised up unto the Lord… and
may His awesome power be revealed for you
always.
Blessings, peace and love in
all ways & always,
Pastor Gonzalez |
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