Eric Casagrande (26 Nov 2007)
"Reply To Kay - Prayer"

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Hi John & All:

 

Kay wrote an interesting letter which appeared last Saturday, concerning the subject of prayer. What I have found amazing over the years, is the number of Christians praying against  the Word of God. For example, as Kay points out we know that prior to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, certain unfavorable events will occur. There are even some very situation specific prophecies that must be fulfilled, because they are spoken by God Himself in His Word. Yet I am amazed that some folks appear to believe it their missive to pray off every future event that looks like it might happen.

 

The way I approach prayer is like this -- I first pray the promises of God. There are many things we do know to be the good will of God for us. For example if we take the famous Twenty-third Psalm -- I might pray it along these lines:

 

"Thank you, Heavenly Father, that You are my

Shepherd, and that I shall not want. Thank You,

that You make me to lie down in green pastures.

Thank You, for leading me beside the still waters,

 and thank You, for restoring my soul.

 

Thank You, that You lead me in the paths of

righteousness for Your Name's sake. Thank You

that though I walk through the valley of the

shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are

with me, and Your rod and staff comfort me.

 

Thank You, that You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies. Thank You, that

You annoint my head with oil, and that my cup

overflows. Thank You, Heavenly Father, that

Your great goodness and Your mercy shall

follow me all the days of my life, and Thank

You, that I shall dwell in your house forever."

 

 

Generally speaking, I pray many of the promises of God over myself, as well as those around me. This includes, by the way, the Jewish people. Afterwards I mention specific petitions for both myself, those around me, and the Jewish people. For example, I might thank God for bringing His people back into the land of Israel, as an ensign to the nations (just as it is written in His Word). We can also thank Him for being ever-mindful of His covenant towards them, and that He has established it forever. I also pray the veil might be removed from their eyes, and that they might see Him and worship Him with all of their heart and soul and strength and mind, as the Messiah. I also pray that all Israel will be saved.

 

Now of course that raises the issues of how to pray regarding darker matters, including the upcoming Annapolis Peace Conference. Well it is obvious that none of us currently know exactly how everything will come together and fulfill the end-time scriptures. It always seems one thing happens here and another happens there, and with the passing of time we can look back and ascertain just how it all transpired.

 

But what I do in the area of dangerous situations such as this conference, is I pray for the safety of the people of Israel ... and that nothing happens except that which must take place in fulfilment of God's Word. This is how our Lord Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He said that none of those (12 apostles) given Him by the Father had been lost - except the son of perdition (Judas) in fulfilment of the Scripture (John 17: 12).

 

See ya in the air,

 

Eric