Now Is The Time To Pray
Now Is The Time To Pray
Pastor Barry Kerner
When we ask something of God and do not get it, we may feel that our prayer did not work. Those of us who live in a consumer culture tend to view prayer as a transaction, a way to place an order or purchase a blessing. We then measure its impact by our level of customer satisfaction.
Jesus’s relationship with His Father was marked by different types of prayer, setting a perfect yet practical example of what a life of prayer looks like. Jesus dedicated Himself, often hours at a time, to prayer. When we look to the relationship between God and Jesus as our example, we see that prayer is vital to our relationship with Him. Yet instead of imitating Jesus, we can fall into the habit of treating God like a genie in a bottle, thinking of our prayers like the magic words that force the genie to fulfill our wish. Then, when we don’t get the answer we want, we feel confused, upset, or angry, declaring that prayer does not work and is a waste of time and energy.
But prayer does work and if there was ever a time in our lives NOW is the time to pray!
If you would have told me last month that grocery store shelves would be bare and that we could not hold church services on Sunday, I would have thought that you were an alarmist. And if you would have added that it would be best for me to “self-quarantine” because I am one of the “vulnerable” to COVID-19 I would have thought that you had lost your mind.
Well, it’s happened. Our lives have been upended and every day’s headlines confirm that we’re living in uncertain times. The President has declared a national emergency and America is in an absolute panic. I’m not quite sure why so many people have emptied the store shelves of toilet paper though. It has become so valuable that we may start using it as currency! “How much for that candy bar? Will two squares of toilet paper do?”
All joking aside, you can see the fear on peoples’ faces. They are alarmed and feel as though they don’t have control, because the truth is, they don’t. This is a wake-up call from God Almighty if I have ever seen one. Now is the time to pray.
I don’t mean flippant, casual prayers. I am talking about a fervent, storm-the-gates-of-Heaven type of prayer that calls out to God in desperation and urgency. Thomas Watson wrote a book called, Heaven Taken By Storm. That’s what we need to do. We need God in America today. We need him to eradicate what President Trump has called, “An invisible enemy.” We need to bang on Heaven’s doors, pressing on and pressing forward with ardent and impassioned prayers crying out to God.
In the Bible, prayer stopped storms, calmed waves, healed the sick, raised the dead and even stopped time. Scripture reminds us, “With God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). We need to turn our panic into prayer. At this time, the sources we often turn to for comfort cannot do anything for us.
Hollywood can’t save us. There is no blockbuster film or actor that will get us out of this. Technology can’t save us either. Our smartphones and computer screens just feed us a barrage of information that heightens our stress and anxiety. Our lawmakers in Washington can’t save us from this pandemic. They will hopefully work together and do what they can, but the outcome is outside of their control.
Even the President of the United States can’t save us. He has put together an excellent task force to deal with the Coronavirus, but they can’t fix this for us. We should, however, take their advice seriously.
That is why the President wisely called for a National Day of Prayer. In his proclamation, he stated:
“As your President, I ask you to pray for the health and well-being of your fellow Americans and to remember that no problem is too big for God to handle. We should all take to heart the holy words found in 1 Peter 5:7: ‘Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.’ Let us pray that all those affected by the virus will feel the presence of our Lord’s protection and love during this time. With God’s help, we will overcome this threat.”
We need to begin praying in earnest and to keep on praying, because the worst of this virus may still be coming. But remember this: God is bigger than the Coronavirus. He is bigger than any problem you may be facing right now.
The Bible says, “You do not have, because you do not ask.” (James 4:2) And the Lord promises, “‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’” (Jeremiah 33:3)
The Old Testament tells us the story of a man named Jehoshaphat. He was in big trouble. Three armies were marching toward him bent on destroying the King of Israel and his people. This terrified Jehoshaphat, and he asked everyone to fast and pray.
He prayed, “O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.” (2 Chronicles 20:12)
And guess what happened? God answered their prayers and their enemies turned on each other.
There is a spiritual element to every problem. And this is the time to pray to break spiritual strongholds. Here is a promise from God: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14)
God says we need to humble ourselves, pray, seek His presence and turn our backs on our wicked lives. If we do that, the Lord promises to hear our prayers, forgive our sins and restore our land to health.
God keeps His promises.
NOW is the time to pray!.