Prayer and Preaching

Wade Webster

In past studies we examined the prayer and fasting and prayer and watching. In this study, we are going to notice prayer and preaching.

The sixth chapter of Acts records a controversy that arose in the early church that consumed a large amount of the apostle’s time. As you recall, Grecian widows were being neglected in the daily ministration. The apostles had to step in and handle it. Likely, they handled it initially by serving tables themselves. While this was a good thing for them to do, it took them away from two greater things - prayer and preaching. Therefore, they instructed the brethren to select seven men who could serve tables so that they could give themselves continually to those other things. We read, “Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:3-4). Clearly, this passage shows the priority (importance) that the apostles placed on prayer and preaching. Caring for widows is extremely important. One’s religion is deficient and defiled without it. James wrote, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). The apostle’s statement also shows the partnership (connection) between these two things. Prayer and preaching go together. Just two chapters earlier, we see them together. We read, “And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus” (Acts 4:23-30). Prayer and preaching are powerful partners (Rom. 1:16; Jam. 5:16). Finally, the apostle’s statement shows the position of the two. Prayer precedes preaching. In the thirteenth chapter, we read, “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away” (Acts 13:2-3). Before the church sent out Barnabas and Paul to preach, they fasted and prayed. They knew the success of this mission depended on prayer and God’s blessings.

As we get ready to worship this week, we need to pray for the preacher and the lesson that he will preach. We need to pray for the church and the message that they will carry home and to the world.

A Verse That We Need To Know

David Sproule

Early in His ministry, Jesus made this bold declaration: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matt. 7:21).  Think about each element of this verse and the two verses that follow.

There is nothing more important or essential for us than to “enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Jesus first tells us who will NOT enter the kingdom of heaven.  It is not enough to say to Jesus, “Lord, Lord.”  What did He mean by that?  Look at the next verse (v. 22), as Jesus looks ahead to the day of judgment: “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’”  Here are persons who, like Jesus discussed in verse 21, call to Him as Lord, AND they itemize for Jesus some things that they have done for Him in His name.

Think for a moment, how impressive the actions are that are mentioned in verse 22:  prophesied, cast out demons, done many wonders.  They are very impressive things to be able to do for the Lord in His name.  And, notice how sincerely these people thought that what they were doing was right, acceptable, and even commendable by the Lord.

Was there something wrong with what they were doing?  It all sounds good and looks good.  Jesus’ stern rebuke and condemnation in verse 23 is compelling.  To these individuals who just claimed to have done all of these great things for the Lord in His name, Jesus pronounces: “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”  To a group of sincere believers and followers, who just declared their allegiance to Him and doing deeds in His name, Jesus announced: (1) “I never knew you”; (2) “Depart from Me”; (3) “You practice lawlessness!”  Their activities for Him were lawless.

Jesus had warned in verse 21 that, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Then, He gave a clear illustration that He is dead-serious about this warning; He will not hesitate to condemn for all eternity even those who sincerely claim to follow Him.

Let’s go back up to verse 21.  Jesus also makes it very clear who SHALL enter the kingdom of heaven—it is “he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”  That is a VERY limited number of people (see verses 13-14).  Jesus said that there are only a FEW who would do the will of the Father and enter the narrow gate of heaven.  In Matthew 7, Jesus both limits and specifies the ones who will go to heaven.  Are you in that number?  Are you doing the will of the Father in heaven?

Watch And Pray

Wade Webster

When we think of prayer, we usually think of heads bowed and eyes closed. From a young age, most of us were taught this approach to prayer. We may even remember a sibling ratting us out for not having our eyes closed. Of course, they were unknowingly revealing as much about themselves as they were about us. After all, if their eyes had been closed, they would never have known that our eyes weren’t. Now that we are older, we realize that it isn’t an unpardonable sin to pray with our eyes open. In fact, it is sometimes the prudent thing to do. For instance, if you are praying while driving, I highly recommend keeping your eyes open. Not only is praying with our eyes open sometimes the prudent thing to do, it is also sometimes the prescribed thing to do. On a couple of occasions, Jesus instructed His disciples to watch and pray. The first occasion was in anticipation of his second coming. We read, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mk. 12:32-37). Four times in six verses Jesus told His disciples to watch. Rarely, if ever, do we see one thing mentioned as much in one section of Scripture. The second occasion when Jesus told His disciples to pray was when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane in preparation for His death. We read, “Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:37-38). Simon’s head was bowed and his eyes were closed. However, I doubt that his mom or his dad or his siblings would have been proud of him. He wasn’t praying. He was sleeping. Jesus lovingly instructed him to open his eyes (watch) and pray. Satan was lurking as a lion (1 Pet. 5:8). He had already claimed Judas and he was now stalking Peter (Lk. 22:31). Peter should have been watching for temptation and praying for God to deliver him from it (Mat. 6:13), but he wasn’t.

The Greek word that is translated as watch means to give strict attention to something, to be cautious, to be active, to take heed lest some calamity overtake you. You might think of watching in connection with the work of a shepherd. At night, a shepherd would gather his sheep into a fold. He would then sit in the doorway and watch over them to protect them from predators (lions, bears, dogs, etc.) and poachers (John 10:7-16). David, who spent his early years as a shepherd, wrote, “I cry out with my whole heart; Hear me, O LORD! I will keep Your statutes. I cry out to You; Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies. I rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help; I hope in Your word. My eyes are awake through the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word. Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O LORD, revive me according to Your justice” (Psalms 119:145-149). David spent his nights watching, praying, and meditating on God’s word. You might also think of watching in connection with the work of a soldier. Soldiers were routinely assigned guard duty. They were to be awake and alert at all times. It was a serious offense to fall asleep at your post (Mat. 28:11-15). In the epistle to the Ephesians, Paul employed the image of a soldier in connection with watching. He wrote, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints“ (Eph. 6:10-18). Paul spent his nights watching and praying over the brethren (2 Cor. 11:28).

As we get ready to worship this week, let’s watch and pray. It really is okay to pray sometimes with our eyes open.

Prayer And Fasting

Wade Webster

Prayer is one of the prescribed acts of our worship. It should be noted that prayer is not more important or less important than any other act of worship. The five acts of worship are equal in importance, just as the five steps of salvation are equal in importance. Baptism is not more important than faith and faith is not more important than baptism. In like manner, prayer is not more important than the Lord’s Supper and the Lord’s Supper is not more important than prayer. Faith and baptism are equally essential in salvation and prayer and the Lord’s Supper are equally important in adoration. Our focus in this lesson is simply going to be on prayer.  Specifically, we will be looking at prayer and fasting.

The Bible repeatedly connects prayer and fasting. They are linked in both testaments. They were practiced by both the children of Israel and the church (Neh. 1:4; Acts 14:23; 1 Cor. 7:5). Sadly, we rarely connect them in our culture today. We likely think of fasting as a relic of the past or a Jewish custom. Fasting is strange to us in the States. Yet, it is still practiced by many of our brethren around the world. In this area (fasting), and in perhaps other areas (hospitality), brethren in other countries are miles ahead of us, even though we have had the gospel longer than they have. As much as fasting (skipping meals) would do most of us some good physically, and all of us some good spiritually, I am suggesting a different kind of fasting. Rather than foregoing meals, I am suggesting foregoing media. Most of us spend too much time on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) and too much time in front of the television (Netflix, Prime, Disney, ESPN, etc.). Giving up media, or greatly reducing it, will free up hours for prayer and allow us to focus more clearly on it. For sure, it won’t be easy. Habits are hard to break. I suggest starting small. Take a day off. Take a night off. Take an hour off. Redeem or buy back some time (Eph. 5:16). Use the time that you free up, or a portion of it, for prayer. Less screen time and more prayer time will bless all our lives tremendously.

As we get ready to worship this week, let’s fast and pray. I believe that we will find that this combination will make our week and our worship better

You’d Better Watch Your Mouth--God Is!

David Sproule

Words are just words.  Right?  How is it that some words can be classified as “acceptable” to speak and other words are “unacceptable” to speak?  How can most words in the English language be normal, ordinary words but a select few be pulled out and deemed “vulgar” or “profane”?  If God does not specify which words are appropriate and which ones are not, how can I know the difference?

Obviously, with words having different meanings in different languages around the world and in different cultures throughout the centuries, the Bible could not possibly list all profane words for all languages in all cultures for all time.  But, God does categorize, in principle, words that He deems unacceptable, and with careful and honest study, “The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable” (Prov. 10:32).  You know words that fit the following.

God condemns “corrupt” words (Eph. 4:29). These are words that are rotten, “bad, evil, unwholesome, in a moral sense.”  You know words like this.

God condemns “foolish talking” (Eph. 5:4). These are words that are “foolish, dull, stupid.”

God condemns “coarse jesting” (Eph. 5:4). This denotes a “risqué wit” that utters vulgar or off-color jokes.

God condemns “filthy language” (Col. 3:8). “Filthiness” is condemned in Ephesians 5:4 as a “behavior that flouts social and moral standards, shamefulness, obscenity.”  In Colossians 3:8, the focus is on “speech of a kind that is generally considered in poor taste, obscene speech, dirty talk” that is considered shameful.

God condemns words that “allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness” (2 Pet. 2:18). These are words that paint pictures and lead to thoughts of “unbridled lust, indecency, wantonness” and illicit sexual desires and conduct.

God condemns “malicious words” (3 John 10). These are words that are “morally or socially worthless, wicked, evil, bad, base, vicious, degenerate.”

Knowing that God is aware of every syllable that proceeds from my tongue and that I will be judged for every word I speak (Matt. 12:36), my prayer should be, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer” (Psa. 19:14).  God can and will help you!