We need revival in our families -- Did anyone notice any lost family members yesterday? Anyone depressed, sullen or in need of direction? It may be they have either not been saved or are not walking with the Lord!
In the Old Testament it was frequent that prayers to open the barren womb were employed and answered (Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, even before Messiah was born in Elizabeth "Your petition has been granted" the angel told Zecharias [Luke 1:13]). It is clear the "dominion mandate" given twice in early Genesis, "be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it" is replaced with The Great Commission, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel, (repentance) make disciples and teach everyone to obey everything I have commanded, with signs following, as the Father sent Me so I send You, and You will receive Power to be my witnesses" (Matt 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, John 20:21, Acts 1:8). History is filled with testimonies like "Praying Hyde" and George Muller (Not to mention Whitefield and Wesley, and other more modern Evangelists like Billy Graham who prayed, as Hyde, following Rachel, "Give me SOULS lest I die."
May the revival And salvation of our loved ones be waiting in part for our faith-filled prayers, preaching, teaching and Godly living? Faith comes from hearing the Word. That is the "ordinary" and most common way of salvation, as well as reading the Word (and please understand I mean the written Word of God, especially the New Testament). Are we telling our family members, who are strangers of the covenants of God, that Christ died and rose so they could be adopted? Reading that explains salvation and living or it would not have been written since the recently saved Jewish and Gentile believers would not have had need for it. But we see how great a need they did have for it. Many of the letters were written to churches [made of individuals] on the brink of apostasy [1 Corinthians, Galatians, Hebrews, Jude, 1st John, and 6 of the 7 churches in Rev 1-3]).
I have always been amazed at how many people get saved when they come to a gospel crusade and actually hear the gospel. We may have been praying for them, befriending them, listening, and making the gospel attractive, but they never hear what leads them to faith until they hear the message of Christ's sinless life and death as a sacrifice and how God honors those that honor that death and own it as the one they deserved. Faith comes from the foolishness of hearing that message PREACHED -- yes, the word in Greek is announced publicly and unashamedly -- a good announcement or proclamation. One plants and another reaps, John 4, but let's not wait for an evangelist to come to town, but pray for open doors and share about Jesus life, death on the cross and resurrection (the last part of the armor of God in Eph 6:19-20 is praying for open doors to share with confidence as it ought to be shared) and go through those open doors and share! (see also Col 4:3-4). Share a tract, read the Words that converted you aloud, give your testimony, et cetera, but talk about the blood of Jesus, how it was different, how it can atone, and talk about believing in Jesus, John 3:16.
I ask it for my mom, dad, my descendants, my cousins: feel free to fill in the blanks for your own family members -- Father, we also are "not willing that any would perish but all would come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). I pray for myself and those who agree, "That (we) would discipline (our bodies) and make (them our slaves), lest after preaching to others (we) might be disqualified" (1 Cor 9:27). I ask you lead us away from temptations and stumbling blocks (Matt 6:13, John 17:15), fix our eyes on things above, where Christ is, and give us watchful alacrity to look for our redemption drawing near (Luke 21:28), much nearer than when we first believed (Rom 13:11), in Jesus name.
In the Old Testament it was frequent that prayers to open the barren womb were employed and answered (Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, even before Messiah was born in Elizabeth "Your petition has been granted" the angel told Zecharias [Luke 1:13]). It is clear the "dominion mandate" given twice in early Genesis, "be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it" is replaced with The Great Commission, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel, (repentance) make disciples and teach everyone to obey everything I have commanded, with signs following, as the Father sent Me so I send You, and You will receive Power to be my witnesses" (Matt 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, John 20:21, Acts 1:8). History is filled with testimonies like "Praying Hyde" and George Muller (Not to mention Whitefield and Wesley, and other more modern Evangelists like Billy Graham who prayed, as Hyde, following Rachel, "Give me SOULS lest I die."
May the revival And salvation of our loved ones be waiting in part for our faith-filled prayers, preaching, teaching and Godly living? Faith comes from hearing the Word. That is the "ordinary" and most common way of salvation, as well as reading the Word (and please understand I mean the written Word of God, especially the New Testament). Are we telling our family members, who are strangers of the covenants of God, that Christ died and rose so they could be adopted? Reading that explains salvation and living or it would not have been written since the recently saved Jewish and Gentile believers would not have had need for it. But we see how great a need they did have for it. Many of the letters were written to churches [made of individuals] on the brink of apostasy [1 Corinthians, Galatians, Hebrews, Jude, 1st John, and 6 of the 7 churches in Rev 1-3]).
I have always been amazed at how many people get saved when they come to a gospel crusade and actually hear the gospel. We may have been praying for them, befriending them, listening, and making the gospel attractive, but they never hear what leads them to faith until they hear the message of Christ's sinless life and death as a sacrifice and how God honors those that honor that death and own it as the one they deserved. Faith comes from the foolishness of hearing that message PREACHED -- yes, the word in Greek is announced publicly and unashamedly -- a good announcement or proclamation. One plants and another reaps, John 4, but let's not wait for an evangelist to come to town, but pray for open doors and share about Jesus life, death on the cross and resurrection (the last part of the armor of God in Eph 6:19-20 is praying for open doors to share with confidence as it ought to be shared) and go through those open doors and share! (see also Col 4:3-4). Share a tract, read the Words that converted you aloud, give your testimony, et cetera, but talk about the blood of Jesus, how it was different, how it can atone, and talk about believing in Jesus, John 3:16.
I ask it for my mom, dad, my descendants, my cousins: feel free to fill in the blanks for your own family members -- Father, we also are "not willing that any would perish but all would come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). I pray for myself and those who agree, "That (we) would discipline (our bodies) and make (them our slaves), lest after preaching to others (we) might be disqualified" (1 Cor 9:27). I ask you lead us away from temptations and stumbling blocks (Matt 6:13, John 17:15), fix our eyes on things above, where Christ is, and give us watchful alacrity to look for our redemption drawing near (Luke 21:28), much nearer than when we first believed (Rom 13:11), in Jesus name.
