|
Colossians
4:2-4, "Continue in prayer, and watch in
the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for
us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance,
to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in
bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to
speak."
Romans 8:26, "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our
infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for
as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."
This morning, we are greatly looking forward (again)
to be at a weekend meeting, and the hope and
anticipation seems to well up with each passing
moment. When thinking about the blessing that comes
in public worship in the Lord's house, many times, we
have past experiential knowledge that we draw strength
from in that the Lord (while moving in a mysterious
way) shows us time and time again His presence in the
service. One of the ways that His presence is known
is by the "feeling" upon entering of how many prayers
have been offered up for the services to come. The
minister sometimes can feel that impact when entering
the pulpit, and it is a source of great comfort that
the Lord is in the matter, and the Spirit's power is
manifest on these occasions. But, whether minister or
member, I am sure all will be familiar with the
experiential knowledge that we wish to discuss based
on the verses above.
Many times, ministers from different parts of the
country arrive at a weekend meeting and all the
messages have a central "theme" throughout the
weekend. Now, should one have a placard, bulletin, or
newsletter that announced this "theme," there would
not be much surprise in that. But, when the ministers
have not talked with each other beforehand and the
messages still flow together in such a way, there is
no explanation beyond the Spirit answering the prayers
of the people and giving them what is needed at the
time. Sometimes, I wonder what I will try to speak on
if called on, and sometimes the answer is not manifest
until shortly before entering the pulpit. Sadly,
sometimes the answer is manifest afterwards on what I
"should have" talked about.
Yet, the sheep of the Lord's pasture pray for the
services and may not know exactly what they stand in
need of. The minister (especially if a visitor) may
have no idea what is needed at the time. But, the
Spirit helpeth us with our infirmities, and while we
may not know exactly what to pray for or have need of,
the Spirit helps us in that He knows what we stand in
need of. There have been a few times when I prayed
specifically for a certain subject to be preached (as
I felt in need of hearing it), and during the course
of the meeting, that prayer was answered. But, many
times, I pray that the Lord be with us and give us the
message that is suitable for the occasion (even if I
know not the message needed).
Paul goes on in the Colossian letter to encourage
the church to pray for him and other ministers that
labour to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Pray that a door of utterance would be granted. Oh,
how easy is it for us to take that particular point
for granted! We think sometimes that the minister is
just going to be able to speak, but there are times
when the power of the Spirit is absent that it would
be better if the minister was dumb. We need the
utterance that can only come from on High, and without
it, our words are dry and dull. So, if the message is
about Christ, does this automatically make it the
message that is needed for the time? More
pertinently, if a minister gets up and speaks about
something true, does that necessarily mean that the
door of utterance has been granted?
There are times, when we hear something preached
that is completely true, but there did not seem to be
much consolation as a result of the message. What has
happened at such a time? Paul goes on to say that
when prayer for a door of utterance is offered, the
end result is that he would make the mystery of Christ
manifest as he ought to speak. The phrase "as I ought
to speak" implies that it must be the suitable message
for the occasion (and of course the truth as it is in
Christ Jesus). There may be a message preached that
is completely true on the doctrine of election or how
to raise a family, but perhaps the suitable message
for that occasion is eternal security or the
infallibility of the Scriptures. It is imperative,
for sure, that we preach true principles and concepts,
but we need to pray also that what is needed at the
time will be what is doled out in the message.
This is why I am in awe and sheer amazement when
blessed to be a part of a meeting that has 10 or more
messages centered around one subject with no
repetition or redundant points. These messages
carried a subject that the congregation needed, and
the consolation and comfort was abundantly manifest by
all that heard and rejoiced. These experiences gives
us manifest tokens that the Spirit answered the
prayers even if we did not know what we needed at the
time. Sometimes we need encouragement, sometimes
exhortation, sometimes comfort, sometimes rebuke,
sometimes we need to be reminded of the world to come
or the battle that Christ fought. But, let us take
solace in the fact that the Spirit knows our needs
better than we ourselves. Even when praying for
natural things, the Father knows them better than we
ourselves. (Matthew 6:8) Let us continue in prayer and
watch that the Lord would open a door of utterance to
the ministers in His house that the mystery of Christ
would be manifest to the things that we need by the
Spirit's answer to prayer.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
|