A letter appears in the “Letters to the Editor” urging that the brotherhood unite in a day of prayer on Sunday, March 31. The objective would be to unitedly seek God to shorten the time of Israel’s travail and to beseech Him to cause the Middle East situation to have a positive impact on interested friends, wayward believers and all of those in Christ.
God’s plan will proceed
Whether we pray about it or not, a final agony will come to Israel. Christ will deliver the nation and those who respond in faith will enter the Kingdom age under the terms of a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34). So what practical difference could be made by our prayers?
Consider the impact of the effectual fervent prayer of Elijah. In his time, wickedness was widespread in Israel. God had clearly declared He would punish such conduct with extended drought (Deut. 28:23-24). But the drought in Elijah’s day did not start until he prayed for it. His prayer affected the timing of God’s action. His prayer also affected the timing as to when the drought was broken.
James (5:16) specifically tells us to heed that incident with respect to the impact our own prayers can have. Yes, God’s purpose with natural Israel will be accomplished. But the effectual fervent prayers of His servants can impact when a spirit of grace and supplication will be poured out upon them. What a powerful incentive is here to open our hearts in supplication that the Almighty might quickly bring peace, true peace, to Jerusalem.
God wants repentance
The outbreak of war has shaken a lot of us awake. The number of baptisms in January is no coincidence. And many ecclesias have experienced better attendance of interested friends and have received inquiries from former members about a possible return to fellowship. There is something about the outbreak of actual war in the Middle East that accentuates the fact that God is and that He is working to bring the nations to that great day of God Almighty.
The Lord wants such reactions as much as we do, so what difference will our prayers make to increase the impact of current events on the spiritual awareness of those around us?
Consider Paul’s words in Col. 4:3-4: “…praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ…that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.” Certainly God wanted Paul to preach the word and to preach it clearly; that was the whole reason for selecting the man to his special calling. But God was not going to force His will upon Paul or upon anyone else. Paul expressed his desire to conform to the will of God by prayer and by requesting the prayers of others. The same is true for ourselves.
If we want to preach more effectively, if we want to live more spiritually, if we want others to respond to the Truth, we will say so — in our prayers. Prayer is powerful. Therefore let us join together in prayer on March 31.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One