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Prayer


In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:4-6)

          When you pray for others, is it with joy? Are you confident that he who began a good work in them will carry it on to completion? How do we pray for others? I know part of the time, we pray “solve the problem” prayers. Heal them, get/keep them out of trouble, meet that need, grant salvation…. I don’t think these are wrong things to pray about. Neither do I think it wrong to pray “WDA” or using the fruit of the Spirit. David even prayed “shatter their teeth!” I’m not sure that’s the best prayer to pray, but it’s honest. 
          I don’t know which is easier to pray, in confidence that he who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion, or in confidence that he who began a good work in you or them will carry it on to completion. I don’t know how you think, whether from specific (He does for me) to general (therefore, He does for all) or from general to specific. 
          As you look around, can you rejoice that God is doing a good work? Read the paper, watch the news, look at social media; so much of what we see looks like bad news. But the truth is that God has begun a good work. And no matter how things look around us or in us, He is carrying it on to completion. 
          For me, this idea comes back to two phrases: “Thy will be done,” and “bow the knee.” As I look around the world, my life, your life, etc., God is at work in countless ways that I don’t understand. We are told, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phil 4:6) We are to voice our concerns to God, but then we should take our hands off the situation and let Him work. That last is always the hard part.

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