We must we pray?

1. Because it’s a form of worship
2. Because it’s thanksgiving
3. Because it’s how we confess our sins before God
4. Because it’s God’s will for His children.

These are the 4 points shared in previous sermons.

Why must we pray?

1. Because prayer is a form of praise to God
   Psa 145:1-3
   David said he would extol God EVERYDAY. Not only 1 out or 7 days; not only on the Sabbath Day. God lets us live everyday. For those who are alive, shouldn’t we praise Him everyday? David said he’d praise God forever and ever. Not just for a specific period of time but for our entire lives. The choir uses hymns to praise God. They spend much time to rehearse to sing beautiful hymns to praise God. This is good. But how many of us are able to persist in this, continually praising God all our lives? Some choir members don’t even come to church anymore. Truly, it’s easy to praise God for a short period of time but not throughout our lives. But only those who praise God throughout their lives will be blessed. Why did David have such determination to praise God all his life? Is it because God loves people praising and pleasing Him everyday? Of course not. The praise of Man cannot add even a single bit to the glory of God. If God wants praises, the heavenly hosts and angels would praise Him even more majestically. But David still insisted on praising God because he knew how great his God was.

v3 read

When we see the vast lands and seas, when we see the boundless universe and space - the heavenly bodies and stars in the skies are uncountable - how great our God who created the heavens and earth is! If the vast lands and seas can move us, how much more the God who created them? Abraham believed in the promise of God and left Ur. After waiting year after year to a ripe old age, he was still childless. Then God appeared to Abraham and said He would greatly bless him. “What’s the use of blessing me more? There’s no one to pass it on to?” God knew the doubts and weaknesses Abraham had, because Abraham saw how old his body was and yet was childless. “What’s the point in having more blessings from God? With no heirs, all these blessings will just go to my servants!” Do you remember how God rekindled Abraham’s faith? A simple method. God told Abraham, “Lift up your head and count the stars. Can you count them all?” At this point in time Abraham was awakened. “How vast is this universe! This God who created this, is He not greater than all of them? To man things are impossible but with God it’s possible.” Abraham’s faith rekindled and he praised God.

Sometimes we ourselves doubt and feel discouraged. The things we see around us and happen to us are disappointing. Sometimes we’re discouraged even by ourselves. Don’t look at the left or right anymore. Lift your head to the sky. Just like what the hymn said “look up to Jesus Christ who’s in heaven and we’ll be comforted and have strength. Our faith will be revitalised and we can praise and thank God.”

Can we praise and thank God everyday of our lives? Some people say: I have troubles everyday. Not that I don’t want to praise God. It’s just that I have so many troubles.

There was a blind choir group. They often had presentations and witnessing. The life of the blind is not easy. There’re many inconveniences. For example, when everybody is eating together. We see all the delicious food on the table. But the blind can’t choose what food he wants. He needs people to help him. Even then, the help is limited. When walking on the road, if there’s a hole, the blind may fall into it or twist his leg. All these inconveniences and accidents are common to them. Sometimes our heart is pained when we see them. Is this suffering ordained to them? Why are they born this way? Why is it so unfair for them? But they don’t murmur against God for it. Instead the theme of their presentations have two touching slogans.

1. To overcome obstacles with love
2. To replace murmurings with praise
   Through the love of God they overcome every single obstacle on their way. Even though they can’t see a thing in front of them, in their hearts, because they have God, they feel warm and comfort. They find light in their own hearts. They have the joy and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ in their hearts. Their voices reflect their thanksgiving towards God. Jesus Christ didn’t perform miracles to cure their blindness. But they receive sight in their hearts and see clearly with their hearts. Isn’t this a greater miracle?

When we put ourselves next to these people born blind, what more can we murmur about? Should we not give thanks to God all the more? If the handicapped can give thanks to God, what more us?

Helen Keller said, “I always complained about not having shoes. Until I saw a person without legs.” Of course not literally see because she had no eyes. With the eyes of her heart she was able to perceive others who suffered more than her. If we use our eyes to see we won’t see people without legs. Have you seen people without legs the past few days/month? With our eyes we can’t observe all these days. We only see people driving big cars.

In the bus on the way to church, the speaker said to his wife, “Wah what a grand car!”

We always observe others living a better life than ours. When we do this, would we give thanks for the small car we have? Or give thanks for the legs we have to walk to church? Until one day, we feel being able to walk to church is a blessing in itself.

In the operating theatre, the speaker had many thoughts. He didn’t know the operating theatre was so crowded. “Today is Wednesday. If I could just walk to church, even if it’s raining, I’ll be happy. Normally when you’re at home and it starts raining, you sigh. The people in the big cars drive and splash you!”

But when we use the eyes of our heart, we see people without legs. There’re people in beds who can’t come to church even if they wish to. We may have many problems. We may still need to walk to the bus stop to take the bus home. But thank God we still have this pair of legs to walk home. Even though I still have many problems I still have God with me. I still have someone to rely on.

Then for all these things, we give thanks.

Why must we pray?

1. Because praying is a divine work
   2 Cor 1:11
   Paul said, “You also helping together in prayer for us.”
   Although the church at Corinth had many people who gave in to their desires and gave into their own enjoyment, there were still devout Christians. When they look at the deterioration of the church and how weak the members were, they didn’t stop praying. Not just for their own church but also workers preaching in other regions. Therefore Paul said “you also helping together in prayer for us.” Prayer is an important divine work that helps the church. Therefore we need to pray. Because prayer is a divine work that helps the church. Other than praying for our own problems, we need to learn to pray for the church.

1 Tim 2:1-4
When we pray for the church, what should we pray for? Of course there’re many things. Paul summarises here:

1. That supplications and intercession be made for ALL men. To pray for the salvation of all men. Because it’s God’s will for all men to be saved. If we don’t wish for all men to be saved we won’t pray in this way. Or if we don’t think of the salvation of all men, we won’t pray for the salvation of all men. If we understand God’s will for the salvation of all men, then we’ll have the same heart of Jesus Christ to pray for the salvation of all men. This is something that pleases God because He loves the people of the world. It’s not His will that anyone should perish. To Him, the salvation of souls is of utmost importance. Even if we don’t have the ability to save people’s souls, we can pray for them.

Two Christians were talking.
“Sometimes I feel like asking God. He wills for all men to be saved but there’re so many people who aren’t! Every time we preach to people it’s so difficult. Why doesn’t God do something? Why doesn’t He act?”
“You ask a good question. Have you asked God?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I’m afraid if I ask this God will ask me what I’ve done.”

The moral: All of us need to do our part in saving souls. God will ask us one day whether we’ve done our part.

We may say: we’re old. We no longer have the vigour to preach. After a while the people our age or our relatives have already passed, there’s no one to preach to.

But still there’s a little bit of things you can do. What? To pray for the salvation of these people. Prayer is what all of us can do. Even if one day we’re bedridden, we can still make petitions and tell God, to pray for another person.

Two matters Paul specifically mentions we should pray for:
Col 2:2-4

1. Pray for God to open a door for us to the word
   When we want to preach but the door for the word is not open, we can’t preach. Remember what Jesus told His disciples. First ask for the peace of the home. If they’re worthy of the peace, peace would come upon the family. If they aren’t worthy, the peace would come onto you. This means when we preach and knock on others’ door, it won’t be fruitless. If the door opens and we are happy but then they say “go away”. Ok lah not so bad. Some people set their dog on you. We find door to door evangelism fruitless/meaningless. Much effort has been put in to motivate the youths to do door to door. But because of much troubles, we get discouraged. When you go home and your parents ask you how it went, and you tell them a dog was set on you, they say, “Aiyo….next time don’t go anymore. Ask Pr Chin to go” LOL

But is it fruitless? It isn’t. If you knock at the door and ask if peace would come to this family, if they reject this peace, the peace will come onto you. So it is not fruitless. The grace and peace they reject will come onto you. Think of what Jesus said. He knows we have laboured for Him. He knows the discouraging events that happens when we work for God. He won’t let us suffer in vain. This peace will return back to us. Therefore we need to condition our minds once more. Tell your parents! “Today I received a lot of blessing because many people didn’t want. That’s what Jesus said!” Only the words of Jesus Christ can give us comfort and strength. Some doors requires us to knock before it’ll be opened. The door won’t be opened on its own. So Jesus sent His disciples in pairs to knock on doors. Some doors though won’t open no matter how hard you knock. That’s when we need to ask God to open the door.

Like Paul whose hands were bound. Yet he still preached in chains. God opened a door no one thought of. Even though he was under house arrest. He couldn’t leave the door of the house. But God moved the people outside to come inside to visit him. For 2 years(?), he preached to many people. He said he was in chains but the gospel cannot he chained. His hands couldn’t knock at doors but God opened a special door for him to preach.

We need to play our role to preach this gospel for God to open the door for the word. Jesus tells us, “The harvest is plentiful. The workers are few.”

Call the Lord of harvest that He May send forth reapers. Let us pray specially for this. That God will move more people’s hearts to take part in this divine work. That God will choose and call more workers to fulfil His will. If we find we cannot or don’t have the strength to do this work, lift our hands to pray. Let us help with our prayers.