Prayer Changes Everything

This is the second lesson/sermon I wrote for school. This one really got me excited. I must tell you that Prayer certainly changes everything!! 

 

Paul's Sound Counsel

How many of you feel that prayer is important? Today I would like to talk about Paul's Counsel to Timothy about the church. My main focus will be on prayer and its importance.

" FIRST OF all, then, I admonish and urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all men, For kings and all who are in positions of authority or high responsibility, that [outwardly] we may pass a quiet and undisturbed life [and inwardly] a peaceable one in all godliness and reverence and seriousness in every way. For such [praying] is good and right, and [it is] pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior, Who wishes all men to be saved and [increasingly] to perceive and recognize and discern and know precisely and correctly the [divine] Truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-4, AMP)

 How many of you have seen people bashing our president on facebook or heard it on the news or in person? In these verses in 1 Timothy, we are called to pray for our leaders. It says, "For our kings and all who are in a position of authority or high responsibility." I know this has been a hard last four years for a lot of people and we feel like we need to blame someone. So instead of praying for our leaders we speak badly about them. I struggle with this sometimes too. We get so caught up in the moment even though we know what we are doing is wrong. The awesome thing is God can help us through it!

           

 Not only did Paul say to pray for our leaders, but he also said to pray for all men. We are to be intercessors in prayer on behalf of others. When we see people hurting or a person comes to mind we are to pray to for them. Paul says this type of prayer is "Pleasing and acceptable to God."

           

 Just a few weeks ago, before youth service I was praying in a chair over the service when I felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit telling me to pray for the person who would be sitting in that chair. As I prayed for that person to see Jesus in a brand new way; I again felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray for that entire row. I felt like something big was going to happen! Fast forward to the end of youth service. We had an altar call and three people on that row got saved including the person that was sitting in that specific chair. This is such a great example of what prayer can do.

          

  God wants everyone to be saved and to know the full truth of the Word. We, as Christians, have the heart of God. We should want everyone to be saved just like Jesus does. My challenge for you and for myself, is to think before we speak badly about others and instead get on our knees and pray. We should be praying for our leaders, our pastors, and our families. Prayer changes things because God gets involved. So today I challenge you to pray for others just as Paul teaches Timothy to do in this passage of scripture.