This generation is called the ‘me’ generation. The question everywhere and at every juncture is, What do “I” get out of it? Selfishness is more today than at anytime in all human history. These days are predicted as “perilous and dangerous times” when Paul was writing his second letter to Timothy. “Know
this, in the last days, perilous times will come. Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of God” (2 Tim 3:1-4). Of the 18 evils listed out here the first one is that men will be “lovers of themselves.”
This spirit of selfishness that has pervaded religion, especially into Christianity, reaches its climax and zenith in our prayer exercise. Our prayers are by and large self-centered. “My” needs, “my” job, “my” family... that’s what overoccupies us. If you turn to the model Prayer taught by our Lord, which we
are referring to often, which most of us know by heart, it begins as, “Our Father who is in Heaven.” It does not say “my” Father in Heaven, but “our” Father in Heaven. Give “us” this day “our” daily bread; not give “me” this day “my” daily bread. Forgive “us” “our” debts as “we” forgive “our” debtors. Do not lead “us” into temptation, but deliver “us” from evil. Everything is in the plural. This is not accidental. Jesus wanted to teach us that we should be selfless in our prayer. God has no respect for selfish prayers.
In a prophetic message in the Old Testament God tells His people, “When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean. Put away the evil of your doing from before My eyes” (Isa 1:15,16). What did God mean when He said, “Your hands are full of blood?” The answer follows: “Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow” (vv 16b,17). In other words, when our prayers are overoccupied with our own needs, with no concern for others, God has least respect for such prayers. He will hide His face from us.
Today there is a revival of praise and worship everywhere. When we get excited about this praise and worship we should not lose sight of the sufferings of people around us. Here’s a forthright admonition: Hebrews 13:15,16, “By Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our
lips giving thanks to His Name.” Yes, God encourages non-stop praise and worship. This is only one side. The next verse speaks of the other side: “But do not forget to do good and to share; for with such sacrifices God is well-pleased” (v 16). The tendency to “forget” the needs of others is checked here.
Learn to come out of your self-sympathy, whatever be your problem. Beloved, we must bear in mind an important truth: The problems and sufferings of other people are more and worse than ours. This is 10best illustrated in the life of Patriarch Job. He lost everything he had, in quick succession (Job 1:13-19).
But instead of sinking himself in self-sympathy, he started praying for his friends. He had three friends who kept counselling him with empty words. The Lord said to Eliphas the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and the two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job did” (Job 42:7). We have no Biblical record of what misery actually came upon them. But I believe, it must have been terrible, because God said, “My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly” (v 8). Only the prayer of Job would arrest the tragedy that would otherwise come upon them. “The Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends” (v10). What a truth!
A Tamil proverb goes like this: “If you sumptuously feed someone else’s child, your own child will grow well and on its own!” Let’s take our eyes off from all our immediate, personal and selfish needs, and broaden and widen our horizon in our prayer exercise. May be you are already praying for others. Do you pray for strangers and your enemies? Look at what Jesus taught: “I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven, for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt 5:44.45).
Let’s expand and enlarge our hearts to enclose and encompass those people who are outside, not necessarily belonging to our immediate circles. Let’s have a big heart like our big God. He encompasses the good and the bad, the righteous and the unrighteous. God wants us to pray for all these people. That was the teaching Paul gave to Timothy: “I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men” (1 Tim 2:1). It’s not a casual mentioning of “all men” in our prayers. We are called to “supplicate” for them, “pray” for them, and “intercede” for them. We are to
“give thanks” to God for what He is going to do in and through their lives.
Pray for all men. Plead for them. Praise God for them. Give a new dimension to your prayers. Don’t be selfish. Enlarge your heart and enclose as many people as possible. When your son or daughter is going to write an exam, don’t stop with praying for him or her. Remember to pray for other students also
who would be writing that examination, especially for those who are weak in studies, with all sincerity. Pray for those students who come from poor and disadvantageous backgrounds. That kind of prayer will gladden the heart of our loving God.
Another example: Suppose you have a son or a daughter in a marriageable age, it’s natural that you pray with all burden and concern. At the same time, think of and pray for those parents who cannot afford to conduct a decent marriage for their sons and daughters. I will give you one more illustration: Suppose one of your own family members is killed in an automobile accident. You just cannot contain that sorrow. At the same time, don’t forget to pray for the family of the paid driver who was also killed in that accident.
Keep stretching your imagination and include as many people as possible in prayer. Perhaps, as an exercise, you can write down all the specific needs of people that you could include in your regular prayer. Let “ours” become “others.” Jesus did not live to please Himself. He always lived for others.
Everything He did was for others. His prayers were not selfish. Take for example, His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. He did not pray for Himself to be protected by an angelic host. On the other hand, He prayed for His disciple, Simon Peter, and said, “Simon, Simon, indeed, Satan has asked for
you that he may sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail” (Lk 22:31,32). In the wilderness, Jesus became hungry after 40 days of fasting. The devil suggested to Him, “Turn the stones into bread.” Jesus replied, “I am living by every Word that comes out of the mouth of God.” He did not perform a miracle for His own hunger. But He multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed the multitude. Let us follow Him and develop the spirit of selflessness in prayer.
this, in the last days, perilous times will come. Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of God” (2 Tim 3:1-4). Of the 18 evils listed out here the first one is that men will be “lovers of themselves.”
This spirit of selfishness that has pervaded religion, especially into Christianity, reaches its climax and zenith in our prayer exercise. Our prayers are by and large self-centered. “My” needs, “my” job, “my” family... that’s what overoccupies us. If you turn to the model Prayer taught by our Lord, which we
are referring to often, which most of us know by heart, it begins as, “Our Father who is in Heaven.” It does not say “my” Father in Heaven, but “our” Father in Heaven. Give “us” this day “our” daily bread; not give “me” this day “my” daily bread. Forgive “us” “our” debts as “we” forgive “our” debtors. Do not lead “us” into temptation, but deliver “us” from evil. Everything is in the plural. This is not accidental. Jesus wanted to teach us that we should be selfless in our prayer. God has no respect for selfish prayers.
In a prophetic message in the Old Testament God tells His people, “When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean. Put away the evil of your doing from before My eyes” (Isa 1:15,16). What did God mean when He said, “Your hands are full of blood?” The answer follows: “Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow” (vv 16b,17). In other words, when our prayers are overoccupied with our own needs, with no concern for others, God has least respect for such prayers. He will hide His face from us.
Today there is a revival of praise and worship everywhere. When we get excited about this praise and worship we should not lose sight of the sufferings of people around us. Here’s a forthright admonition: Hebrews 13:15,16, “By Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our
lips giving thanks to His Name.” Yes, God encourages non-stop praise and worship. This is only one side. The next verse speaks of the other side: “But do not forget to do good and to share; for with such sacrifices God is well-pleased” (v 16). The tendency to “forget” the needs of others is checked here.
Learn to come out of your self-sympathy, whatever be your problem. Beloved, we must bear in mind an important truth: The problems and sufferings of other people are more and worse than ours. This is 10best illustrated in the life of Patriarch Job. He lost everything he had, in quick succession (Job 1:13-19).
But instead of sinking himself in self-sympathy, he started praying for his friends. He had three friends who kept counselling him with empty words. The Lord said to Eliphas the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and the two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job did” (Job 42:7). We have no Biblical record of what misery actually came upon them. But I believe, it must have been terrible, because God said, “My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly” (v 8). Only the prayer of Job would arrest the tragedy that would otherwise come upon them. “The Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends” (v10). What a truth!
A Tamil proverb goes like this: “If you sumptuously feed someone else’s child, your own child will grow well and on its own!” Let’s take our eyes off from all our immediate, personal and selfish needs, and broaden and widen our horizon in our prayer exercise. May be you are already praying for others. Do you pray for strangers and your enemies? Look at what Jesus taught: “I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven, for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt 5:44.45).
Let’s expand and enlarge our hearts to enclose and encompass those people who are outside, not necessarily belonging to our immediate circles. Let’s have a big heart like our big God. He encompasses the good and the bad, the righteous and the unrighteous. God wants us to pray for all these people. That was the teaching Paul gave to Timothy: “I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men” (1 Tim 2:1). It’s not a casual mentioning of “all men” in our prayers. We are called to “supplicate” for them, “pray” for them, and “intercede” for them. We are to
“give thanks” to God for what He is going to do in and through their lives.
Pray for all men. Plead for them. Praise God for them. Give a new dimension to your prayers. Don’t be selfish. Enlarge your heart and enclose as many people as possible. When your son or daughter is going to write an exam, don’t stop with praying for him or her. Remember to pray for other students also
who would be writing that examination, especially for those who are weak in studies, with all sincerity. Pray for those students who come from poor and disadvantageous backgrounds. That kind of prayer will gladden the heart of our loving God.
Another example: Suppose you have a son or a daughter in a marriageable age, it’s natural that you pray with all burden and concern. At the same time, think of and pray for those parents who cannot afford to conduct a decent marriage for their sons and daughters. I will give you one more illustration: Suppose one of your own family members is killed in an automobile accident. You just cannot contain that sorrow. At the same time, don’t forget to pray for the family of the paid driver who was also killed in that accident.
Keep stretching your imagination and include as many people as possible in prayer. Perhaps, as an exercise, you can write down all the specific needs of people that you could include in your regular prayer. Let “ours” become “others.” Jesus did not live to please Himself. He always lived for others.
Everything He did was for others. His prayers were not selfish. Take for example, His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. He did not pray for Himself to be protected by an angelic host. On the other hand, He prayed for His disciple, Simon Peter, and said, “Simon, Simon, indeed, Satan has asked for
you that he may sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail” (Lk 22:31,32). In the wilderness, Jesus became hungry after 40 days of fasting. The devil suggested to Him, “Turn the stones into bread.” Jesus replied, “I am living by every Word that comes out of the mouth of God.” He did not perform a miracle for His own hunger. But He multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed the multitude. Let us follow Him and develop the spirit of selflessness in prayer.
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