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The Freeburg - Shamokin Dam Charge

of the United Methodist Church

........................Open hearts................................Open minds....................................Open doors..................................The People of the United Methodist Church

Why Should We Pray?

“Are any among you suffering?  They should pray.  Are any cheerful?  They should sing songs of praise. 

Are any among you sick?  They should call for the elders  of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with the oil in the name of the Lord. 

The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up;  and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 

Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.  

The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective."  (James 5:13-18)

The rains that brought relief from the drought in Pennsylvania and the northeast serve as a reminder of the power of prayer.  The prophet Elijah is powerful example; he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and there was no rain for three years and six months.  When he prayed again, he prayed for rain and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest. 

For many months we were under drought advisories with mandatory and/or borderline mandatory water conservation measures in affect. Our land was dry and becoming more and more parched.  The results were felt more severely than the declining stock market.  Afterall, this was relevant to our physical sustenance. Farmers were not yielding the anticipated harvest and had to resort to other means to feed their livestock.  The loss of crops would be felt well into the winter months.  In times such as these, hearts were poured out to God in prayer.  

And God is always faithful to answer prayers.  This was not an exception, though perhaps more noticable.   Not only were we blessed with substantial rains, but we received them at a pace that allowed for it to soak in the ground rather than flood.  There is not any room for coincidence; God heard and answered prayers.

O, if we would pray as fervently for the revival of souls as we do for our own physical needs and desires! Spiritual wells are running dry all across this land, leaving barrenness and nothing to sustain except that which is offered by the world.  And we ask, 'what is wrong with the world'. 

Robert Murray McCheyne, also known as the prophet of Dundee (Scotland), wrote a paper "The Cry for a Revival," which was published by James Taylor of Castle Street, Edinburgh, 1844. Here is an excerpt that is very relevant to these times:

"That thy people may rejoice in thee." They plead with God to do this for the sake of His people, that their joy may be full; and that it may be in the Lord -- in the Lord of their Righteousness -- in the Lord their Strength.

When is the Prayer needed: In A Time of Backsliding
    There are many times when, like Ephesus, many of God's children lose their first love. Iniquity abounds, and the love of many waxes cold. Believers lose their close and near communion with God. They go out of the holiest, and pray at a distance with a curtain between. They lose their fervency, sweetness, and fulness in secret prayer. They do not pour out their hearts to God.
    They have lost their clear discovery of Christ. They see Him but dimly. They have lost the sight of His beauty -- the savor of His good ointment -- the hold of His garment. They seek him, but find Him not. They cannot stir up the heart to lay hold on Christ.
    The Spirit dwells scantily in their soul. The living water seems almost dried up within them. The soul is dry and barren. Corruptions are strong: grace is very weak.
    Love to the brethren fades. United prayer is forsaken. The little assembly no more appears beautiful. Compassion for the unconverted is low and cold. Sin is unrebuked, though committed under their eye. Christ is not confessed before men. Perhaps the soul falls into sin, and is afraid to return; it stays far off from God, and lodges in the wilderness.
    Ah! This is the case, I fear with many. It is a fearfully dangerous time. Nothing but a visit of the Holy Spirit to your soul can persuade you to return. It is not a time this prayer -- "Wilt thou not revive us again?"
    "A drop fell from heaven upon their hearts. They trembled, wept, prayed. But the showers passed by, and the rocky heart ceased to tremble. The eye again closed in slumber; the lips forgot to pray. Ah, how common and sad is this case! The King of Zion lifted up His voice in this place and cried. Some that were in their graves heard His voice, and began to live. But this passed by, and now they sink back again into the grace of a dead soul. Ah! This is a fearful state! To go back to death, to love death, and wrong your soul. What can save such a one, but another call from Jesus? "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." For your sake most of all I pray, "Wilt thou not revive us again?" "

Let us set apart days of fasting and prayer and lift up our hearts in fervent prayer, that God may rain down the Spirit of Righteousness upon all flesh!

In Ephesians 3:14-19, Paul prays,

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.  I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.  I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

This is my prayer for you and for all people.

 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

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