Covenant Presbyterian Church

A few of you have approached me and asked how your prayers can be more kingdom focused. This is not to say that our heavenly Father is unconcerned with the daily issues of life: health, family, finances, and direction. Because he loves us and is working out all things for our good, he is concerned with these things. Yet we cannot become too absorbed with them, too narrowly focused upon the details of our lives and the needs of our immediate circle of friends. It is necessary for us to open our eyes and see how the Lord is working out his purposes in other environs and how our prayers might contribute to those ends. Yes, contribute toward those ends. God uses the earnest, humble, and consistent prayers of his people to work out his purposes in history (James 5:16; Rev. 8:3-5). Prayer is a practical, daily activity in which God’s sovereignty and secondary means, in this case prayer, combine in his providence to achieve his ordained ends. The purposes of God to exalt the kingdom of his Son, establish justice and righteousness in the earth, and disciple the nations will not be realize apart from your fervent and persistent prayers. Accordingly, as you begin the summer, make these needs a daily part of your family’s prayer time. Not only will the direction and focus of your family mature and expand, but God’s kingdom will increase through your faithfulness. We have his promise.

Rain. We have not had much lately in the south. The problems associated with drought are not due primarily to poor planning on the part of municipal leaders, overbuilding, or too much water usage. The Bible is clear. Rain is a blessing from the Lord; drought is his judgment. How should we pray? Yes, we all want our lawns to stay green and our shrubbery to survive. But the Lord has larger purposes. Use this season to pray for God’s professing people to humble ourselves before him, to search the Scriptures to determine how we have offended him in life, doctrine, and worship. Ask him to make our witness to God’s sovereignty over nature much bolder than it has been. Perhaps God is withholding rain because we have turned atheist - assuming that nature operates on impersonal cycles, failing to praise him when he sends rain and humble ourselves before him when he withholds its. When it does not rain, I am far more concerned with the condition of the church than with the world. Unbelievers never deserve rain. God is seeking to arrest our attention by harmful and unpleasant weather patterns. Does he have it?

Abortion. Some of you heard State Rep. Martin Scott speak at Geneva Christian Academy’s commencement exercises on Friday evening. He mentioned the Human Life Amendment he has introduced into the legislature. It is tempting to assume that the wheels of politics will grind on and against biblical faith, that there is little we can do as Christian citizens to impact the process, and that the forces of secularism are too strong and entrenched to be dislodged. Hogwash. Secularism thrives on popular ignorance and distraction, skepticism and fatalism, and a despairing sense of helplessness. The secularists are not in charge of this nation; the enthroned Christ is. His will and victory are not realized in a day or a cycle of four years. They are not stymied by the political process. They unfold through the principled stand of God’s people, fervent prayer, and humble attempts to establish righteousness in our nation. Support this amendment. Pray for the glory of God to be revealed by using the weak to topple the strong, to give victory to the humble in the face of the assaults of the arrogant. Pray for the law of God to be honored and obeyed throughout our state and nation. I have no idea what God’s ultimate purposes for this nation are. I do know that Jesus Christ rules over everything for the sake of the church. Ask him to give faithfulness to those standing for righteousness, to cause the wicked to fall into the pits (think: courts) that they have dug for the righteous, and to bless the meek with salvation. Wherever the political battle touches upon the kingdom of Jesus Christ, his new order of grace and salvation, there Christians must be praying for all who are in authority, asking God to turn their hearts to himself that we might lead quiet and peaceable lives and enjoy the blessings of civic righteousness in our land. It is not too late for this; we may be too prayerless for it, but it is not too late. There is never a late hour in the kingdom of Jesus Christ; he ever reigns in the dew of his youth, his freshness, vigor, and power.

The lost. Abortion reminds me that some people want abortion. Others want pornography, a big government, personal autonomy, and freedom from the law of God. The major social issues will not be resolved ultimately through legal action, though we should not despise this means since God has ordained civil leaders to be ministers of righteousness even when the people do not want righteousness. They will be resolved through the hearts of the people of this and every nation turning to Jesus Christ in faith and repentance. Do you want to contribute to the kingdom of Jesus Christ this summer? Pray every day for the spread of the gospel, for pastors, missionaries, and Christians to be bold in speaking the gospel of God’s mercy and grace, and for the church to assume the great commission mantle so glorious laid upon our shoulders by our victorious Savior. Pray that he will give us a sense of urgency - not so much because of a perceived "late hour" in history, for between the first and second advents of our Savior, every hour is late, every time is the "now" of salvation. And you only have a brief life to contribute to the honor of God in the salvation of the nations. Pray that God would stir you up to reach and disciple those around you. Do you want to end abortion in this nation? Still the pornographer’s camera? Silence the music of pimpdom? Remove the demand. But the demand will only be removed when the hearts of men turn to Jesus Christ in faith and repentance. Pray, I beg you, for this. Do not let a day pass without asking the Lord Jesus to have mercy upon us and pour out his Spirit upon the church empowering us to labor toward the fulfillment of the great commission. Pray that he will use you to save someone, anyone.

Our leaders. When was the last time you prayer for our President? For our senators and congressman? For our governor? For our state leaders? We do not pray for them because we have bought into the lie that the political battle is between political parties. It is not. It is between God and Satan. Do you not remember the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, and he turns it wherever he wants it to go? Where does God want it go, if we may use this language? He would have kings and queens be nursing fathers and mothers of the church. He would have the kings of the nations come and lay their gifts before him in his church. He would have our leaders be ministers of righteousness instead of slaves of agendas. Are you praying for this, for them? The control you exercise as a citizen at the ballot box is utterly insignificant in comparison to the effects of your prayers. This is God’s earth. He has given all things into the hand of his Son. God will withhold blessing from us if we fall into the trap of partisan politics. Pray for God to save Ted Kennedy, Nancy Polosi, and the Presidential Cabinet. He saved Paul. Dedicate yourself to doing what God tells us to do - pray for our leaders, at every level, regardless of political affiliation, without regard for what you see with your eyes. God does not rule by your eyes, by the opinions of your favorite conservative website, or by the predictions of political pundits. He rules according to his holy purposes for the sake of his church and the advance of his Beloved’s kingdom.

You may have a busy summer planned: vacation, a little rest, some gardening, the round of family outings. In the midst of these things, please make this summer oriented toward kingdom prayer. The above are just a few suggestions. You might also pray that the Lord will bless us to make progress toward beginning construction on our building for the advance of his kingdom and gospel in Gwinnett County. You might also pray for the success of our ministerial education program that we might more laborers for the fields, which are ripe unto harvest. They are not rotting, just untilled and unharvested. Each day, dear brothers and sisters, enter into the privilege of kingdom prayer. The hour is not hopeless. It simply awaits a people who will believe the promise of God, don the weapons of our warfare, and enter the fray. The result is certain. Will you join? Will you pray?