Title:
5 Minutes Bible Study - Prayer: Getting Things Done

Description:
GETTING THINGS DONE THROUGH PRAYER by Dr. Harold Sala Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. Matthew 18:19 General George Patton believed in getting things done. He once told a chaplain, "There are three ways that men get what they want: by planning, by working, and by prayer." When rainy, foggy weather stopped the Allied Forces intent on liberating Germany , Patton telephoned the Third Army Chaplain and said, "This is General Patton. Do you have a good prayer for weather?" The chaplain came up with one in a hurry, and Patton had it printed and distributed to the 250,000 men under his command with the order to pray for good weather. "I am a strong believer in prayer," he said. When the weather couldn't be changed by hard work or by planning, Patton resorted to prayer. Everyone, however, doesn't share Patton's enthusiasm for getting things done through prayer. A contemporary of the Russian novelist, Dostoyevski, whose name was Turgeniev, wrote that "whatever a man prays for, he prays for a miracle. Every prayer," he said, "reduces itself to this: 'Great God, grant that twice two not be four.'" Donald Cole points out that H. L. Mencken used to laugh at prayer. When he signed his letters, "I am praying for you," he considered that to be wildly humorous. I, suspect, however, that on his deathbed, Mencken changed his mind. As the Titanic listed in the icy waters of the cold Atlantic and people began to realize the unsinkable ship was about to go down, the orchestra began playing, "Nearer My God to Thee," and people began praying. If I had never attempted the broad jump, and I was on a roof with safety a mere six feet away, I can tell you for sure that I would be highly motivated to give the leap my very best try. But if I had trained for the Olympics as a broad jumper, then, a six feet or two meter leap would be a pretty simple feat. The difference, of course, would be the discipline and training. That's why the one who prays only as a ship is going down, or prays only at the bedside of a dying loved one, or only as a plane tosses in angry clouds, is not sure whether his prayer is a grasping for a wild hope that God will hear him, or knows that in the time of trouble, his father will hear his voice. For you who want to discover something of the power of prayer, may I suggest that you start training today. "How?" you may be thinking. Let me put it like this. If I wanted to learn how to acquire a skill, I'd begin by getting some of the best books available and hearing what the experts have to say.Does that work with prayer? Yes and no. Taking time to study both the contents of the prayers which both Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul prayed gives you a structure, something to use as a guide. There are times when I have read some of Paul's prayers—say, those recorded in his letters—and said, "Yes, Lord, that's how I feel. Increase my understanding and give me wisdom. What Paul prayed is what I want and need." But in the final analysis, you have to learn to pray yourself. Prayer is conversation, remember? It has to come out of your heart, not out of a book. A study of Paul's prayer, however, shows that he prayed for others, he prayed for friends, for enemies, for situations, for safety, for deliverance from difficult problems, for physical needs, for deliverance from those who hindered the work. He prayed with other believers in small groups, on his own, in times of worship and praise. General George Patton was right. Prayer is a means of getting things done, God's way. Resource reading: John 17.

Author:
Faith1316

Tags:
Bible, communications, science, social, Study,