7/19/2022 • Desk of Dennis Piller • Written by David Shek
First Prayer, Last Prayer, and the In-Between Prayers Part II
Yesterday we spoke about praying on your five fingers. The first is your Thumb: Praise
When we raise our thumbs, “thumbs up” we tell l God I acknowledge him as God almighty. I want to tell him about my feelings for him.
Index Finger: Thanksgiving
Our second finger is the index finger. In a bakery, we might point to your favorite confections. So my index finger reminds me of all the good things God has provided. Psalm 103:2 says, “ Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits. ” Yes, we might forget some of God’s blessings, but we cannot forget all of them. Take a moment every day to thank God for his immense blessings.
Middle Finger: Confession
I’m NOT going to show you my middle finger. But to me, they represent two words and SIN and CRIME have an I in common. This should remind us of the danger of putting ourselves in the center of everything.
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
In the Garden of Eden, it was not God’s purpose not to let human beings know what was good and evil when he told Adam not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God just wanted Adam and Eve to follow his standard of good and evil and not covet the authority of defining good and evil. A thief steals because they consider it good to take whatever they want from the rightful owner. A cheater commits extramarital affairs because they’d rather enjoy lustful pleasure than remain faithful to their spouse and build a happy marriage. It is all about I, ME, and MYSELF. So when I look at my middle finger, I examine my heart, confess my sins, and ask God to forgive me for neither submitting to his authority nor obeying his commands. This much, and more.
Ring Finger: Supplications
As a married person, I wear my wedding band on my ring finger. It reminds me to pray for my wife and children. Every morning, my wife and I pray together. I have pictures of my children in my house. As I walk by these pictures, I pray for them. I also pray for others who care about me and whom I care about. I pray for every member of our church staff by name every day.
In his letters in the New Testament, Paul repeatedly asks his recipients to pray for him. We should pray for our pastors and church staff and worship team. In all our services, they lead us to praise God and come closer to him. I pray for all of the ministries that serve our body. I pray for our youth leaders every day.
BTW, Clash Camp is starting today through July 23. That is like the basketball Sweet Sixteen of our youth ministry! All of us should pray for them and the counselors and volunteers this week. Pray the Holy Spirit changes their lives! There is more; We pray for neighbors, friends, and family regularly.
Too Many Prayer Requests
Of course, we cannot pray for every person we know in detail all the time. And when people see that you are a person of prayer, you’ll soon receive more prayer requests than you have time to pray for or remember to pray. We may promise to pray for someone and forget about it. One way to avoid forgetting is to pray with them immediately. And if someone texts you and asks for prayer, pray for them before you put down your phone. If it is someone you would pray for more often, add them to your prayer list right away. If you use a prayer list, you’d know what a great joy it is to check off answered prayers on your list!
Pray for our country and our world.
The prophet Jeremiah told God’s chosen people exiled in Babylon to pray for the city where God had sent them, for in its welfare they would find their welfare. (Jeremiah 29:7)
Pinky Finger: Finally, this is my shortest, weakest, and least significant finger. It is also most appropriate to remind me of myself. There are many things I need to pray for myself: my health, my walk with the Lord, and my service to him. I pray every day that the Lord would help me do his will.
That’s a Lot to Pray About. How can I find time to pray? Sometimes, I have to take a concise version of prayer. Dedicating a particular time to pray every day is essential. But if saying grace before dinner is about all your prayer time, don’t suddenly plan to pray for an hour every day. Start with what you can do and continuously build up your prayer life. We should also be ready and willing to pray anytime when the need arises, whether you are working or grocery shopping.
A friend once told me she’d pray out loud whenever she was alone in her car and even closed her eyes to pray when she stopped at a red light. She never missed a green light because the driver behind her always reminded her.
Find time to pray every day, and pray anytime you can.
We have taught you how to pray.
We pray now that you are obedient and tap into His power .
Amen!
Kari Jobe I am not alone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfveawSAHJA&list=RDmH9kYn4L8TI&index=17
