Communication is the most important aspect of any relationship. No matter what kind, if you are not communicating, the relationship will die. The closest friends I have ever had were the ones I made in college. I was attending Tarleton State University at the time. We did everything together; they were in my wedding. Yet now, there is not a single one I am still in contact with. It’s not that we had some great falling out, we didn’t. We just lost touch. We stopped communicating.
We communicate with God through prayer. This is a statement I have heard so many times throughout my life. Yes, it is true, but prayer is so much more. It fosters an intimate relationship with our Holy Father. Through prayer we speak with the maker and sustainer of the universe. We speak directly to God himself. However, when we cut off that communication, when we stop praying, we begin to falter in that relationship.
Now understand me clearly here, if we have truly made Jesus Lord of our lives, then the status as children of God never changes, we do not lose our salvation when we truly have one with Him. But without prayer, the strength of that relationship weakens.
John 15:5 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
A few weeks ago, I was able to travel with 50 other pastors from Texas to Brooklyn, NY, to study with Jim Cymbala, the pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle. Our focus was creating a culture of prayer in our churches. In referencing this verse in John he said this, “The flower looks good, so you cut it off. It’s pretty, but it will die very soon. You will not flourish without the vine.”
The lack of an active prayer life in the Christian is like a beautiful flower that is cut off the vine. Eventually it fades and dies. We need our connection, our communication with God. Without it, our faith fades. As Christ said in John 15:5, “apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Some of you may have some quest ions about prayer, that is good. Go and talk with your pastor, come and talk with me at Meadowbrook. I would love to talk with you about such an important topic. However, the best answers you can get come from praying.
E.M Bounds said, “The greatest questions about prayer are answered by praying.”
My friends, spend time every day, throughout your day, in prayer. Don’t give up, keep it going. It is one of the many ways we worship our God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul says, “Pray without ceasing.”
Pastor Steve can be heard daily on the “Meadowbrook Minute” and every Sunday morning, 11 a.m. live on KRXT 98.5.
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