Last month we talked about prayer and I asked for your prayer requests. All of you impressed me in what you asked me to be praying for. Your hearts were directed toward other people and toward the needs of your ministries. Many people only think of themselves when asked for prayer requests. Thank you for having the heart of Jesus and having a heart for others!

Staying on this theme let us look at the Apostle Paul’s heart for one of the churches he started. Gal 4:19 tells us “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.” Paul first prayed for them to be saved or born again. Now he is praying again for them to grow up into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. Paul “travailed” for them; which is a type of prayer that reminds us of a woman in the process of giving birth to a child. Travailing prayer is not necessarily emotional prayer or a particular form of prayer but simply prayer that gives birth to something. It is prayer that creates or brings forth into being. In Galatians Paul is praying for the bringing forth of maturity in the church. Prayer is Paul’s part the forming of the image of Jesus is God’s part. Only people can pray; only God can bring about the answer.

Notice Paul’s level of commitment in prayer; he prayed until the forming took place in the believer’s lives. This is not a prayer of faith where a disciple prays once and believes for the answer. Intercession is the commitment to pray until the answer arrives. It is the type of prayer where the one praying carries the sense of responsibility for the answer. There is no release from praying until the results arrive. This is a point where all of us need to improve. Consistency and perseverance are areas of our lives that deserve our attention. This month let us make it a point to be in prayer for one another that the character quality of perseverance will be worked on.

Another month we will look into what it means to have the image of Jesus “formed” in us.

Be blessed,

Jim Burbank

This month we would like to change our focus to the subject of prayer.

Here is a few quotations from famous people on their attitudes about prayer:

“He does the most for God who is the highest skilled in prayer.”

“No man is greater than his/her prayer life.”

“The secret of all success is our success in secret prayer.”

“You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you can never do more than pray until you have prayed.”

The first point that needs to be said about prayer is that it is based upon the believer’s relationship with the Lord. The more we know the Lord and are walking in that close fellowship the easier prayer becomes. Listen to yourself pray and see if you are praying as if you really know your Father God. Sometimes prayers sound like a business transaction or like a group of religious words designed to either impress God or the other people who are praying. There should be love in our prayers, they should be expressions of our deep devotion to our Saviour. Like our worship, praying is using ordinary words but saying them out of a heart of love and gratitude.

Prayer also needs to be looked at in terms of the blood covenant Jesus established with His people. The New Testament is a covenant that gives believers both privileges and obligations. We would never come to God demanding our rights yet we can “come boldly to the throne of grace.” We are now heirs of God meaning we have access to His resources. Prayer is that point of access and using the Name of Jesus gives us the legal right to come before God with our prayers.

All of us need to be praying for our government leaders. The Bible tells us to do so and in our hearts we want our countries to do well and prosper. Everyone is talking about a global economy and how we are all connected. In the Kingdom of God we also have a global network; we are connected by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. As each of us prays for each other, that global Kingdom grows and increases in power. Let’s pray.

Here in this new year we would like to continue talking about change; discipleship is a long continuous change into who Jesus intends us to be. We encourage you to start this off with a fresh commitment to live as a true disciple of Christ.

This month we will be talking about Abiding in Christ as an aspect of change. Abiding is an invitation from the Father and the loving Son to go deeper into relationship and fellowship. To abide in Christ is to make Christ your home, not a visiting place at your convenience but a place of residence. To abide is like this picture of a marriage; a decision is made to leave the home of the parents and to permanently live with the new mate.

Gal 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave himself for me.”

When this verse becomes a reality it will be evidence of your abiding. To abide is to exchange your life for Christ’s. To abide is to live moment by moment in the reality of Christ. It is to walk in the light of everything you know about Christ. That place of connection between you and Jesus is that place of abiding. Do not allow anyone or anything to take you away from that living connection. Many Christian leaders allow the ministry itself to steal their place of abiding with Christ. Activity, even Christian activity is no substitute for Jesus Himself.

In the parable of the Vine and the Branches in John 15 the vine is the life of the believer, and that believer needs to be doing three things; living, growing and producing fruit. Each of us needs to examine ourselves to see if this is true for us. Being busy does not produce fruit, abiding in Christ produces fruit.

As you start this new year, humbly ask the Lord if you are producing fruit for the Kingdom of God, or are you only busy doing Christian activities.