Biblical Prayers

I'm the kind of person who does not mark in the Bible.  I do not condemn any who feel free to do so, but I don't desire to place any of my commentary or thoughts on the same page as God's Word.  Every time I crack open the pure Word I seek to gather the fresh manna that can only come from above.  I refuse to be chained to only one point in a passage.  The people did not eat manna in only one fashion:  the scriptures say they "ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it..." (Num. 11:8).  The tragedy was that the children of Israel did so because they grew tired of it.  May that never be said of us, that we would desire the cucumbers, melons, and leeks of Egypt when God has provided of His personal stores manna for us to be spiritually sustained.  Manna after a day would stink and breed worms, and yesterday's portion is inadequate for today's lessons.

I have made an exception, however.  In the back of my Bible there are many blank pages on which I have begun a couple of lists.  On one page I list all verses that confirm the divinity of the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Thought the word "Trinity" is not found in scripture, the concept is clearly taught throughout.  Words are inadequate to describe God (since the summation of God is not possible being infinite in nature), but sometimes a single word can be used to sum up a paragraph of thought.  John said that if the deeds of Christ were recorded in books the world itself could not contain them (John 21:25).  Another list that I have recently begun is prayers in the Bible.  How wonderful it is to pray the truth of God's Word back to Him!

This is a prayer that I found during my daily reading today in Col. 4:12 that I am praying for myself:  "Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God."  How often do we labor to pray, not labor in prayer!  There is a difference!  Epaphras was a slave of Christ and his devotion was observed in his fervent laborious intercession on behalf of the Colossian church.  The summation of his prayer was that the followers of Christ "may stand perfect and complete in the will of God."  They were followers of Christ not through their efforts, but by the will of God.  They were to find their completion in Jesus Christ, not through the keeping of man's tradition.  The zeal of Epaphras for the Body of Christ was revealed through his fervent prayers.

I want to stand perfect and complete in the will of God.  There are those "realists" in the church who will decry this as wishful thinking, but I believe this is God's will for all who follow Christ.  We are to put on the whole armor of God and having done all stand girded and ready for battle (Eph. 6:11-13).  This can be done in us through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us without measure - without measure!  Elisha had a double-portion of Elijah's spirit, which was a hard thing, and we have been granted through rebirth in Christ the same Spirit without measure!  We are complete in Christ, needing nothing in addition to Him.  This is not to say that we can do our own thing by ourselves, for we are part of the Body of Christ.  Col. 2:8-10 says, "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. [9] For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; [10] and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power."

Refuse to be cheated from your God-ordained birthright in Christ.  May we stand perfect and complete in Him, and gather the fresh manna as Ruth gleaned after the reapers in the field.  Boaz saw her, loved her and told the reapers to leave some extra behind.  Have we not benefited in the same fashion since our Savior openly dotes upon us?  It may be that God will have mercy on us and open our blind eyes and deaf ears to the end we might glorify Him more!  He has raised us from spiritual death:  shall we not through Jesus enter into abundant fullness of life?  John 10:10 says, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  The deeper life in Christ is available to all who seek it in faith.  When Jesus is lifted up, He draws all men unto Himself.