Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to the Kingdom Perspective.

What is prayer?

Prayer is the cry of desperation, a final resort when there is nowhere else to turn. It is the instinct of every human heart to look up to heaven for help when all else has failed. As the saying goes, there are no atheists in foxholes.

However, for those who know God as their Father through Jesus Christ, prayer is not merely the final resort, but more so the first response. When anxiety and fear arise, as a matter of first order, we can turn to our God in prayer. The Bible commands us to! Listen to Philippians 4: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

In your care for one another and in your ministry to your unbelieving neighbors, prayer is powerful and irreplaceable. Pray for your neighborhood. Pray for your school. Pray for your workplace. Ask God to give you opportunities to serve those that are anxious or in need. Offering to pray for a friend or co-worker who is sick or fearful is a great way to minister to them and to help direct them to God.

We have a God who hears!

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

~ Matthew 6:25-33 (ESV)