Coffee With The Lord

Some Christians have no tolerance for those who disagree with them theologically or in matters of personal preference and practice! Unless there is complete agreement with them in doctrine or practice those who differ are excluded or vehemently vilified. How tragic! How out of step with the teaching of Jesus! This morning during “coffee with the Lord” I read what Jesus told his apostolic band…

“John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not one of us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in My name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. For the one who is not against us is for us! For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.’” (Mark 9:38-41 ESV)

It really means a lot when you’re going through a difficult trial to have faithful, godly friends (even casual acquaintances) commit to prayer on your behalf… And not just promise to pray – actually support you with “fervent prayer!”  Prayer makes a difference!  The good news is, God hears and answers prayer!  You can feel the impact of prayer – real prayer support can be called “palpable” (a feeling so intense it seems almost tangible).  It’s a comforting and faith-building experience to have “prayer support!”

How do I know?  Well, I’ve experienced it!  Recently Sharon and I experienced a trial that shook us to the core!  We felt alone and bewildered… It was a trial that we couldn’t really share the details of… still can’t.  But we invited (appealed to) people to pray… even without the details, to “pray in the Spirit!” (Romans 8:26-28) Oh what a wonderful response!  A multitude of people rallied to the need and assured us of their prayer support!  They prayed and we felt it!  Not only that, we saw evidence that God was marvelously at work in the situation!  Wow!  Praise the Lord!!!

Here’s what Apostle Paul said about a similar experience in his life!  I read about it this morning during “coffee with the Lord”…

“For I do not want you to be unaware of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself!  Indeed, 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 such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.  YOU ALSO MUST HELP US BY PRAYER, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for THE BLESSING GRANTED US THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF MANY.” (From 2 Corinthians 1:8–11 ESV)

So here’s my advice… If you’re going through a serious trial… ask your friends – ask your church family to support you with prayer!  And if you know of someone who is going through a trial, commit to pray for them… and then do it!  Really pray!  Sustain prayer on their behalf!  The result?  The sense of Divine and human support will be wonderfully “palpable!”

I’ve faced some pretty challenging situations – the kind that sometimes lead to despair and despondency – even loss of faith! Perhaps you’re going through some circumstances like that right now.

The temptation in a situation like that is to see the size of the problem, the greatness of the difficulty, or what appears to be the insurmountable nature of the challenges. When that happens to me – I don’t know about you, but the greatness of God in my eyes decreases, my evaluation of his power is diminished, and tragically, most of all, my faith falters.