The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Prayer - the Function Of the Family"
"We can safely assume that God calls us to pray because His great love for us blesses us with involvement in the function of the family."
God's involving us in the fulfillment of His will through our prayers would seem to be a risky business, at the very least.
"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven" (Matthew 6:9-10).
Considering the challenge every born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ faces regarding prayer, why would God call us to such a privilege and responsibility? He could easily do all things apart from our requests. It would certainly seem He could better further His interests apart from our less than perfect response to Him. Indeed, the warning of James that "ye have not because ye ask not" clearly reveals that God, according to His purpose for us, must sometimes still His hand when we do not avail ourselves of the gift, privilege, and responsibility of prayer (James 4:2).
Why then does our Heavenly Father so involve us in His doings? One possible answer presents itself in the rearing of earthly children. Good parents discover how important it is to involve sons and daughters in the functions of the family. Early on, and throughout his youth, a child needs to learn he is part of something very special, and something bigger than himself. He must be assigned tasks that maintain the house, yard, and any other family interests. Certainly at first, a parent could do the chore quicker and better than the child. Patience is required during the training process to allow little ones to learn their assigned duties. Good fathers and mothers well know how important it is to involve children in the needs and goals of the family. The fulfillment of responsibility instills in the child traits of character, confidence, and the absolute necessity of discovering God-given human capabilities for accomplishment.
Regarding prayer, this may be a primary reason our Heavenly Father blesses us with the calling to "pray without ceasing" and to "let your requests be made known unto God" (I Thessalonians 5:17; Philippians 4:6). We are part of "the whole family of Heaven and earth" (Ephesians 3:15). Every member of the family plays a vital role in the function of this glorious family, which will exist forever to serve our Father's eternal purpose in Christ. We will do many things in the scope of this calling, privileges and responsibilities glorious beyond imagining. Prayer constitutes a primary task in our present existence (and likely forevermore). Thus, we can safely assume that God calls us to pray because His great love for us blesses us with involvement in the function of "the whole family" - "Ye also helping together by prayer for us" (II Corinthians 1:11).
An almighty God does not need anyone else to accomplish the things He desires to be done in His creation (Matthew 26:53). The same God, however, ever works according to His love for His children. This leads Him to involve us in His doings, granting a most sublime reason for our existence. As we frequently suggest, while prayer must be viewed as a serious responsibility, our first consideration of the calling should be gratitude for so marvelous a gift and privilege. When viewing the matter rightly, we approach the throne of grace with our primary sensibility being not that "I have to pray." No, "I get to pray!" best leads us as our Father graces us to be part of "the whole family," and to further "the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). The Apostle Paul beautifully depicts the grace and wonder of such participation as we might expect, in a prayer…
"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God" (Ephesians 3:14-19).
Weekly Memory Verse
How excellent is Thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore, the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings.
(Psalm 36:7)
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