“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving; and pray for us also, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ.” Colossians 4: 2, 3

Prayer is essential to our fellowship with the Lord, we pray in various ways: whilst we are pottering about in the home, at work and when we are travelling from one place to another.
Thora Hird’s Book of Prayers, ‘Praise Be!’ page 26 “I sing hymns while I’m dusting and hovering . . .But what I enjoy most is just chatting to the Lord, like I do to you. Take the other day. I was going through the post and amongst it I opened two letters, one after the other, which both contained money . . . both asking me to donate it to a charity of my choice. And I thought, “Oh dear, Lord! Which ever charity shall I send it to?” well the very next letter I opened came from a leprosy hospital, asking for help. . . . So I think that’s what I think the Lord was saying to me. I really think that. I think the Lord heard me asking, and answered, “Thora, please send the money to help cure people with leprosy.” So I did.”

Then there are also prayers that are written down, Jesus gave his disciples a prayer that has been written and used by Christians for almost 2,000 years ‘The Lord’s Prayer.’

The Messiah’s Secret ‘The Lord’s Prayer.’ page 69
The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. What Jesus gave them, as described in Luke Chapter 11 verse 2, was something new, “When you pray say, ‘Our Father hallowed be your name, thy kingdom come. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us and lead us not into temptation.’”

Praying in earnest is another form of prayer. The Christians at Camp Hope in Chile they prayed continuously for 68 days/nights for their loved ones and friends trapped in the San Jose Mine 623 mitres under ground. It was through the combined effort of the engineers and the people praying, surrounding the whole situation with prayer, that on Wednesday 12th October the first man was brought to the surface and over several days all 33 men were saved. As the people of Chili gave thanks and rejoiced, we joined in with them. It was a witness to the world of their faith in the Lord.

All families and some times communities find themselves going through hard times. Jacob and his family went through a crisis when Jacob was about to meet his brother Esau. It was after many years of separation through strife between them.

Rebekah’s prophecy
Rebekah the wife of Isaac had a prophecy after the twins Esau and Jacob were born. ‘The elder would serve the younger’ Esau was the eldest, he was the first to be born. When Isaac was old, blind and frail the time came for Isaac to hand on the inherited blessing from his father Abraham to his eldest son Esau. Rebekah and Jacob conspired against Esau, they deceived Isaac into thinking he was blessing Esau when it was Jacob. Jacob wore Esau’s clothes and he covered his arms and neck with the skins of a young goats to have a hairy texture like his brother’s skin. Rebekah made the meal that Esau would have made. So Isaac blessed Jacob and Jacob inherited Abrahams blessing, ”God would establish a nation through him and the son of promise, Isaac and his eldest son.”

When Esau found out he was furious with his brother and threatened to take his brother Jacob’s life. Genesis 27: 41 Rebekah sent Jacob away to her brother Naban’s home in Haran.
This was the last meeting between them. Now years later Jacob asked his brother to meet him. The memory of that last meeting must have still loomed large in his mind and when he heard that Esau was bringing with him 400 men, he was afraid.
Would Esau be still harbouring anger and resentment against Jacob?
“Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and slay us all, the mothers with their children.” Genesis 32: 11

Jacob planned to appease his brother with gifts of sheep, bulls and cows, goats and asses, before they met face to face.

After sending his family crossed the ford of the Jabbok, he was left alone. Still anxious he had this meeting with angel. He caught hold of the angel and would not let him go, saying “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” A determined cry for help.
It reminds me of the families of those trapped miners praying from the depths of their being for their loved ones to be saved.

Jacob earlier in his prayer reminded God of his promise to Abraham, “But thou didst say, ‘I will do you good, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.” Genesis 32: 12

Jacob did not take this promise or the prophecy given to his mother for granted, he had to pray through his situation.

The meeting took place between Jacob and Esau, all of Jacob fears melted away in tears of reconcilliation. Both brothers embraced each other. Genesis 33: 4

Some Christians would say why is there a need to pray if our lives are predestined by God, if our lives are mapped out?

Predestination – to decree beforehand: to foreordain.

God can change his plans.
500 years later Moses was in conversation with God over the Israelites disobedience they had made and worshipped a golden calf. God said that he would wipe the people of Israel out and change the line of decendency to Moses line.
“Now let me alone, that my wrath may burn against them and I may consume them; but of you I will make a great nation.” Exodus 32: 10
God told Moses ’to leave him alone’ disappointed and rejected God would not continue the relationship with those who had worshipped the golden calf.

Moses was descended from Levi a son of Jacob.
The line that the Messiah would come from was Judah, another son of Jacob

In Luke’s gospel in the genealogy of Jesus he is descended from Judah : The son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham going back to the son of Adam, the son of God.

Moses pleaded with God and he relented and God forgave the people.

God could have changed his plan and not destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abraham pleaded with God to save Sodom. If out of 50 people 45 were righteous would he save the city of Sodom? God said that he would save the city. Abraham pressed on saying to God, “Do not be angry with me” but if there are 40 righteous people . . . till he said, if there are 10 people righteous would he destroy the city. God said,” No,” he would not destroy the city.
The events took there course and there were only 4 people who were saved, Abraham’s nephew Lot, his wife (shortly after leaving Sodom his wife turned back and she became a pillar of salt) and his 2 daughters. The husbands of his daughters chose not to leave Sodom.

Choice is very important, we make a choice whether we accept Jesus as our Saviour or not. God, will not force us to accept Jesus in this life. Therefore our lives are not predetermined by God.

Omniscience – knowledge of all things – an attribute of God

The Hebrew People, God’s Chosen People.
St. Paul in his letter to the Romans 8: 28-30 the Israelites were given the promises, the Law and the covenants and from them the promised Messiah would come.
The Apostles were Jewish and were predestined, foreordained as God’s chosen people to take the good news to the rest of the world about the Saviour, the Messiah.

Jesus prayed for his disciples to fulfil God’s purposes, “I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gave me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gave them to me, and they have kept thy word.” John 17: 6
The disciples chose to follow Jesus; they had opportunity to turn away from him if they chose too.
“And many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. Jesus said to the twelve, ”Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6: 66-69

Whoever believes in Jesus shall be saved
John the Apostle wrote, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
John 3: 16 – 18.
The good news of salvation is available to all people everywhere, all over the world.
In the foreknowledge of God he knows the hearts and minds of all people, those who will accept Jesus as their personal Saviour and those who will not. I personally do not believe that it is pre-ordained by God who will and who won’t accept Jesus as their Saviour because God’s love is unconditional. God gives to us the freewill to chose.

Freedom of Choice and Freedom of Speech.
There are those today who have forgotten or who have not yet been informed what Jesus has won for us on the cross: freedom to choose, freedom of speech, based on Jesus’ teaching, ‘Love fulfills the Laws of Moses. He writes the law into our hearts.”
Our Christian democracy isn’t a soft touch; it is founded on Christ’s teaching. As a Christian nation some people would say that in our multicultural society we should impose our Christian beliefs on others, I don’t believe that is Christian way, but if we continue to ignore our Christian way of life as a nation, it will be our nations undoing.

Persevere in Prayer
Jesus taught the importance of prayer and the need of perseverance not to give up when it seems to be taking a long time in receiving the answer to prayer.
This implies to me that the outcome of a situation is not predetermined, our prayers are essential to the end result.
“Jesus told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” Luke 18: 1-8
The unrighteous judge in the parable might have been either one of Herod’s judges or a Roman judge. They were notorious for taking bribes and receiving favours, which no doubt allowed some wealthy and corrupt people to jump the queue at the court. Whilst the poor people were pushed to the back of the queue.

The widow was so fired up with the injustice she persued her case to the judge. Maybe she was driven by harbouring anger and resentment against her accuser. The judge responded eventually clearing her of guilt, because she never gave up.
Jesus made the point that God will bring justice about speedily when we like Jacob won’t let him go until he blesses us or like Moses in his meekness speaking with God, ‘Leave me alone’ but Moses didn’t, until God relented and forgave the people their sin.

Our daily conversation in prayer with the Lord is essential.

There’s work to do, deadlines to meet;
You’ve got no time to spare,
But as you hurry and scurry –
A.S.A.P. – ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER

In the midst of family chaos,
“Quality” time is rare.
Do your best; let God do the rest –
A.S.A.P. – ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER

It may seem like your worries
Are more than you can bear.
Slow down and take a breather –
A.S.A.P. – ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER

God knows how stressful life is;
He wants to ease your cares,
And he’ll respond to all our needs
A.S.A.P. – ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER

A job to do for the Lord
When we receive a prophecy, do we expect all the doors to open and the way made clear to fulfill it?
On our Christian journey the Lord gives us prophesies plans to fulfil his purposes. Through this study I realise that they may not happen even when they are predetermined by God, unless we pray continually.
It is essential that we pray: praying first of all is the directive from the Lord? Pray for confirmation either by scripture or by some other person. Prayer should be undertaken before any step is taken to move the work on.

The Holy Spirit helps us pray
Sometimes we want to pray for a situation but we can’t find the right words. If we hand it over to the Lord, he will undertake for us without us saying anything in the form of a prayer. The Holy Spirit will sometimes express our heart felt prayer in speaking in tongues the language of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer before Worship
“Five young college students were spending a Sunday in London, so they went to hear the famed C.H. Spurgen preach. While waiting for the doors to open, the students were greeted by a man who asked, “Gentlemen, let me show you around. Would you like to see the heating plant of this church?” They were not particularly interested, for it was a hot day in July. But they didn’t want to offend the stranger, so they consented. The young men were taken down a stairway, a door was quietly opened, and their guide whispered, “This is our heating plant.” Surprised, the students saw 700 people bowed in prayer, seeking a blessing on the service that was soon to begin in the auditorium above. Softly closing the door, the gentleman then introduced himself. It was none other than Charles Spurgen.” “A Barrel of Fun” J. John & Mark Stibbe, Monarch Books