The Line of Prayer
The Circle of Prayer
February 17, 2008
2 Corinthians 1:8-11
The thing that I want to accomplish this morning by the Spirit and the Word of God is to stir you up to pray earnestly in the weeks ahead for me as your pastor and for the whole ministry of the gospel as we all strive together, with the strength of God, to enlarge and purify the body of Christ in Cut Knife and area. "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain" (Psalm 127:1). We can work our heads off and have countless meetings and go through the motions of worship, but if God isn't in it, it will be hollow and merely human with no divine spiritual life or power in it. And there are few things more fearful to me than the specter of a church running on the momentum of tradition and habit when the power has been severed. Like a train full of people enjoying the scenery, but coasting to a stop in the desert because the locomotive has been disengaged and has disappeared over the horizon. Earnest, heartfelt prayer is the means by which we couple ourselves to the locomotive of God's power. Without it we would be like the Lukewarm Church we read about in Revelations 3 or the Loveless Church of Revelation 2.
Didn't Jesus say, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5)? Those of you taking Master Life will remember this as your memory verse in Lesson 1some weeks ago. We are called to bear fruit. What is the fruit of the church? Programs? No! Rousing songs? No! Meeting budget? No! Prayer? Yes!, for prayer brings souls closer to Christ.
We came across an interesting Scripture passage in Psalm 51 in one of our recent Sunday School classes. This is David’s Psalm of contrition after Nathan the prophet points out David’s gross sin with Bathsheba. David’s Psalm is a heart-wrenching prayer for God to forgive him and purify him and return his joy. In verse 13 he states that the result of his fervent prayer is he hopes to teach transgressors the way of God and convert sinners. Have you ever thought of that before? Your forgiven sins can be used by God to teach others and convert the lost around us. Think of how humbling that would be, to admit to unbelievers the worst from your past. But God says as He creates a clean heart in you, you will be made useful for kingdom work – teaching and converting sinners. Our prayers of penitence will become fruit for our church’s growth. Let’s take a moment now and read Psalm 51 together. If you have your Bible with you, please turn there now and follow along as I read from the New Living Translation. “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my shameful deeds— they haunt me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being. Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. Don't keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to sinners, and they will return to you. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. Unseal my lips, O Lord, that I may praise you. You would not be pleased with sacrifices, or I would bring them. If I brought you a burnt offering, you would not accept it. The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise. Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will be pleased with worthy sacrifices and with our whole burnt offerings; and bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.”
But, O, how easily a church can become deceived into thinking that, even though it is not praying, its many activities are worth something, when in fact Jesus says they are nothing. O, how grateful I am that this church is not severed from the Spirit’s power; the locomotive is hitched, the sap is flowing. Many people tell me that they are in prayer for this ministry. And so I have good reason to believe that it will not be said of Good Shepherd Community Church what Paul said to a group at Colossae:
They are not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments grows with a growth that is from God. (Colossians 2:19) Instead, our church will be blessed. For in God’s economy, if we bless others, we will be blessed in return. Turn to Proverbs 11, verse 25 and 26 for confirmation of this principle. They say: “The generous prosper and are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. People curse those who hold their grain for higher prices, but they bless the one who sells to them in their time of need.” Matthew 10:42 puts it this way: “And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded." And the reward of fervent penitent prayer, as David said, is that we will teach others to be Christ’s disciples and the sinners around us will be converted.
I believe Good Shepherd Community Church will continue to hold fast to our Head, Jesus Christ and reap His reward. And my message this morning is aimed to kindle that very thing: a spreading flame of prayer, and not only closet prayer but also group prayer. O, may the Spirit of God, who teaches us how to pray, put it into your hearts this morning to crave God in prayer in 2008. History proves beyond doubt that the way God effects revival, spiritual power, joy in worship, the healing of animosities, and zeal for outreach is by putting a burden for group prayer upon a congregation and then pouring out blessing in response to their pleas. God give us such a burden!
Now, I want you to turn with me to our key passage for this morning. It is in 2 Corinthians chapter 1.Paul tells the church at Corinth about his unbearable experience in Asia and what God's purpose was in it and what he anticipates in the future because of it. Read with me now, starting at verse 8:
For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. Why, we felt that we had received the sentence of death; but that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from so deadly a peril, and he will deliver us; on him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. Now, listen carefully to verse 11.You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us in answer to many prayers.
It is clear from verses 9 through 11 that God had three purposes for bringing Paul to a point where he was unbearably crushed. First, he says in verse 9, "that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." In other words, God brought Paul so close to death that there could be no more hope in this life but only in the God who raises the dead. And God’s aim was to put an end to self-confidence in Paul—to make Paul feel that in the things that really count man is of no help; only God is. Suffering is allowed by God to bring to our attention that we are finite creatures absolutely dependent on God for absolutely everything. God's will is that we know it, feel it, and live like it. Reliance is his first purpose in bringing Paul into unbearable circumstances.
God’s second purpose for taking Paul through affliction is mentioned in verse 10: "He delivered us from so deadly a peril and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again." In Paul's case God aimed to deliver him after he had purged him of self-confidence. And so Paul is moved to have hope in the God who resurrects the dead. And Paul is so encouraged that God must yet have things for him to do, and he is hopeful that God will go on preserving him.
There is a great lesson to be learned here that will help us to understand what God is doing in our daily lives and that will help us pray about our circumstances as we ought to. The lesson is this: God always aims to glorify himself in our adversity. He always aims to wean us away from relying or trusting or hoping in any help but him alone. Adversity by its very nature is the removal of things on which our comfort and hope have rested and so it will either result in anger toward God or greater reliance on him alone for our peace. And his purpose for us is not that we get angry or discouraged, but that our hope shift off earthly things onto Him alone. This fact resounds through the Old Testament. Listen to these verses about whom we should put our trust in:
Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes the flesh his arm, whose heart turns away from the Lord. (Jeremiah 17:5)
Put not your trust in princes, in the son of man in whom there is no hope. (Psalm 146:3)
Turn away from man in whose nostrils is breath, for what account is he? (Isaiah 2:22)
A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love. (Psalm 33:16–18)
The horse is made ready for the day of battle but the victory belongs to the Lord. (Proverbs 21:31, cf: 19:21; Psalm 60:11)
The whole Bible wants to teach us the lesson of 2 Corinthians 1:9-10. Don't pin your hopes on man or anything this world can offer. Look to God for your hope, your joy, your fulfillment, even in death, for he is the God who raises the dead. If we trust him like that, he will be greatly glorified, and that is his second purpose in our adversity. Call out to God for such a hope!
God often glorifies himself by delivering from death those whom he has taught not to fear death. God receives praise when his people die in peace, trusting him. If you were at the Glorybound concert a couple of Sundays ago, you will remember the keyboardist, Nancy, telling us how blessed her family were as they gathered around their father on his deathbed, as they watched his eyes and smile grow large and his hands reach out to an unseen presence who beckoned him into his heavenly reward. God was glorified when Nancy’s father walked into paradise with a jubilant heart. And God also receives praise when he delivers his people from death. Which he choose to do lies in his secret counsels and whether he has more work for us to do. And he will deliver us for his evangelistic work until his purpose for our calling is complete.
But now, having told the Corinthians in verses 9 and 10 what God's purposes were in Paul’s unbearable affliction, Paul calls on the church in verse 11 to pray for him that those purposes might in fact come about. Calling others to pray may be the third reason God allows adversity. James 5:16 tells us to confess to one another and pray for one another. As you probably noticed, our prayer chain has had a workout lately as many of you have been called to prayer for Donna and Josh, and Fred, and Norm and Rick and me. The rest of James5:16 assures us that fervent prayer accomplishes much. I've come to see in this what I call "the circle of prayer." And the more I meditate on this passage from 2 Corinthians, the more insight it unlocks. Paul says, "You also must help us by prayer so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted to us in answer to many prayers." I read that sentence over and over again and could not get the gist of it until I drew it on paper. It begins in the heart of Paul. He feels a need for help in his life—to rely more on God and to be delivered from the many people who were against him in his ministry. So he sends out an appeal to the Corinthians: "Please help us by prayer." That is stage 1 in the circle of prayer: a request by Paul to the Corinthians.
Then the circle of prayer curves up through the hearts of the Corinthians as they respond to Paul's plea and send up their prayers for Paul to God. That's stage 2 in the circle of prayer.
Then the line of prayer enters the heart of God, and in response to the many prayers of the Corinthians, he gives a gift or a blessing to Paul. In this case the blessing is deliverance from some peril or threat as well as the ability to rely fully on God through trial. This answer of God to the Corinthians' prayers is stage 3 in the circle of prayer. "Please help us by prayer," stage 1. Many Corinthians pray for Paul, stage 2. God answers their prayers, stage 3. Full circle? Not yet! Wait, there’s more!
And now, just as many heard that Paul had a need, so also many see that, in response to many prayers, God has met Paul's need. People are awake to God's working and are aware of his gifts to Paul. That is stage 4 in the circle of prayer. Now it is a complete circle. Wait! There’s still more!
In response to what they have seen, these people turn their faces to God and give him thanks for blessing Paul in such a remarkable way in answer to so many prayers. And so the circle of prayer curves up through their grateful hearts toward God again. So stage 5 in the circle of prayer is that God is thanked on behalf of Paul for the blessing granted to him in answer to many prayers. It is a circle and a half! Do you see it? Paul to the people to God to Paul to the people and back to God!
There the text stops—with God being thanked by his people for his gracious answer to many prayers. But I have added a 6th stage which I think is implied. The very fact that Paul tries to motivate the Corinthians to pray for him by showing them that this will result in God being thanked by many people indicates that Paul delights in the thought of God being thanked. This is what he lives for, that many people will glorify God through genuine gratitude. So stage 6 of the line of prayer is the joy that comes back to Paul when he sees God glorified in the praises of his people. A double circle!
So that is the circle of prayer that emerges in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11. Paul has just come through an unbearable crisis and God has delivered him and in the process taught him to rely less on self and more on God. But now Paul faces new threats. (He said in Acts 20:23, "The Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.") So he sends out a plea for help to the Corinthians: "Pray for me that my faith fail not and that God deliver me." The Corinthians, in love to Paul and confidence in God, call out to God: "Lord, grant that your servant Paul be faithful to the end and save him, O God, from the violent opponents at Thessalonica and Berea and bring him to us and on to Jerusalem in safety!" And God hears their prayers and pours his Spirit into Paul to increase his faith, and he turns events again and again to save Paul until his ministry is complete. And then the Corinthians and all the others who know that prayers were being sent up on Paul's behalf see God's mercy in his life and faith, and they turn to God with a song: "Praise be to God who always leads Paul in triumph and spreads the fragrance of the gospel everywhere through him!"
There are more lessons for us in this circle of prayer than I can mention this morning. First, there is an answer here to the question, "Why should we pray publicly and corporately and not just privately?" Why does Paul not simply pray for himself instead of soliciting the prayers of so many others on his behalf? Why might God be more inclined to answer the prayers of many than the prayers of one? According to our text, the thing that is different when many prayers are ascending is that the stage is being set for lots and lots of thanks to God for the answer to these prayers. Matthew 18:19 and 20 says, “"I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them."
The more people there are earnestly praying for some blessing of God, the more thanksgiving will ascend when the blessing comes. Paul's argument is very simply, "You must help us by prayer so that many will give thanks when the prayers of many are answered." The reason for praying is so that God will be thanked when the blessings come. And God loves to be thanked. He loves to be acknowledged and praised as the giver of all good gifts. His great goal in history from beginning to end is to be glorified as the source of all blessing. Therefore, when we urge many people to pray for something that we need, we create a situation in which the provision of that need will produce many thanksgivings to God. And in that way we tap into a tremendous incentive, namely, to glorify God through the gratitude of many people. Therefore, there is a power in church-wide prayer, because the more people there are praying for the spiritual life of our church, the more thanksgiving will ascend to God when he blesses us.
This same line of reasoning, which is taken straight out of 2 Corinthians 1:11, should also move us to pray in groups. Picture these possibilities. There are a dozen people each praying privately for Paul's deliverance, say, from prison in Philippi. God delivers him, and each of the twelve hears about it and gives thanks alone. That would be great, and God would be honored. But what if those dozen people had met together, like the disciples did in Acts 12:12 to pray for Peter's release from prison, and then the word came of God's answer to their prayer? Would not their togetherness heighten their joy of thanksgiving? It is human nature to feel gratitude more intensely when somebody you love is having the same experience with you. When you and I experience a blessing that we have asked for together, your thanksgiving makes mine greater. I remember when Gail sold her house. When she shared the news with us there was great rejoicing and gratitude to God for we had been prying together in our prayer meeting. In Philippians 2: 17 and 18, Paul says :” But even if my life is to be poured out like a drink offering to complete the sacrifice of your faithful service (that is, if I am to die for you), I will rejoice, and I want to share my joy with all of you. And you should be happy about this and rejoice with me. Romans 12:15 exhorts us to rejoice with those who rejoice. First, I see the blessing of God in answer to many prayers, and then I look around and I see it again reflected and magnified in many grateful faces, and so my own gratitude is deepened and heightened by the group which prayed together and rejoiced together. And since God loves deepened and heightened gratitude, it is sure that if we pray earnestly in groups, we are putting ourselves in a position for great spiritual blessing from the Lord. Double circle! Doubly blessed!
The last lesson I want to mention from the circle of prayer this morning is this: Paul sought help for himself from the Corinthians and the way he sought their help was to ask for their prayer. He had learned his lesson well, hadn't he? "Put not your trust in men." What can men do? The only thing they can do is can pray to God for whom nothing is impossible. So Paul makes his Corinthian friends aware of his frailty, aware of his affliction, aware of his need for help as he appeals to them to do the most valuable thing they could do to help him, namely, ask God to help him.
And so I make this same plea to you for myself. You must help me by prayer, or I will not make it. I feel the weight of the responsibility of the spiritual welfare of this church, and it frightens me, for it is immense. In 2 Corinthians 11, at the end of the chapter, Paul lists his hardships as an apostle, and then he adds with tremendous feeling in verse 28: "And apart from other things there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches." There was a Scottish pastor named John Welch who used to keep a blanket on his bed to wrap himself in when he rose during the night to pray. Sometimes his wife found him on the floor weeping. When she complained, he would say, "O, woman! I have the souls of three thousand to answer for, and I know not how it is with many of them!"
Would you all please resolve to help me by praying for me in 2008? Pray that I might learn to rely only on God, that I might be delivered from evil, that I might hear the Word of God daily and deliver it to you with life-changing power, that I might do the work of an evangelist and see many won to Christ, and that I might have vision for our future and the wisdom to equip you, the saints, for the work of the ministry. And I promise to pray for you. As I have just reveled my need for your prayers, I hope you, too, will reveal to me your need for God’s help. Romans 12:15 exhorts us to “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.” How can we do this if we are not aware of your need for God’s intercession?
Remember, it is beyond our imagination what mighty works of salvation and harmony and growth God may perform at Good Shepherd Community Church in 2008 if we gather in Jesus' name and plead for his power.
Remember, we are His people and He has promised, in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” Never forget Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.
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