Raise Your Hearts and Voices in Prayer! (2 Chronicles 7:11-16)

September 30, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

For the past few weeks I’ve been providing you with information about the Pray31 campaign.  I’ve put announcements in the bulletin and I’ve explained it to you verbally in our closing announcements.  In doing this I’ve been extending to you the invitation to join me in raising your hearts and voices to the Lord in prayer on behalf of our nation, its leaders, and its churches.  I’ve been inviting you to be part of a movement whose goal is simply to rally one million Christians throughout our nation to raise their hearts and voices to the Lord in prayer, fervently and strategically praying to the Lord about the challenges that we face as a nation today.

But why would I take the time to invite you to join me in this during the next 31 days of October?  The simple reason is that God wants his people to pray, and throughout history he has provided prayer as our direct line of communication with our heavenly Father.  In fact, in our Scripture lessons today we have already seen the great importance of prayer as we witnessed Jesus, in our gospel lesson, teaching his disciples to pray by giving them the words of the Lord’s Prayer.  We saw how the disciples gathered together to pray to the Lord after Peter and John were released from prison, and we saw how the Lord so quickly answered their prayer by shaking the place where they were meeting and filling them with the Holy Spirit.  In fact, through the Old Testament lesson are reminded just how important it is for us to be regularly lifting our voices to the Lord in prayer as the Lord speaks to King Solomon and to us, saying: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV84)

Now, when the Lord spoke these words to King Solomon, 13 years had passed since the temple had been completed and dedicated to the Lord.  Thirteen years had passed since Solomon had stood before the Lord at the temple dedication, praying to the Lord on behalf of the Israelites, asking that the Lord would bless his people by his presence dwelling among them from his temple.  Thirteen years had passed since Solomon had prayed to the Lord asking that the Lord would hear the prayers of his people when they turned their hearts toward the Lord and his temple and prayed to him in faith.  Thirteen years had passed since Solomon had prayed, asking the Lord to hear the prayers of his people when they turned to him after they had sinned; after the Lord had brought war on the land, famine on the land, or even plague or disaster upon the land and upon the people.  Thirteen years had passed since that day, and now, after Solomon had completed his palace the Lord appeared to him at night and said, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV84)

Though it took thirteen years, when the Lord came to Solomon on that night, the Lord assured Solomon that he would answer Solomon’s prayer.  The Lord assured Solomon that he, the Lord, would indeed hear the prayers of his people.  The Lord assured Solomon that he would not only hear the prayers of his people, but he would also listen.  He would hear and listen and answer the prayers that his people brought to him in faith.  Though it is clear from the Lord’s appearing to Solomon that the Lord never promised that the answers to prayers would come instantaneously, it is also clear that the Lord will do what he promised—the Lord will hear the prayers of his people.  The Lord will forgive the sins of his people.  The Lord will heal the lands of his people.

This is why we, as Christians, are being called on to raise our voices to the Lord in prayer!  We are being called on to raise our voices to the Lord in prayer, because the Lord has promised to hear our prayers.  We are being called on to raise our voices to the Lord in prayer, because the Lord has promised to answer our prayers. We are being called on to raise our voices to the Lord in prayer, because the Lord has promised to forgive our sins. We are being called on to raise our voices to the Lord in prayer, because the Lord has promised to heal our land.  We are being called to raise our voices to the Lord in prayer because our nation is greatly in need of our prayers!

Just think about what we, as a nation have been facing lately.  We have been at war for the last 11 years.  Our economy has taken a down-turn, started to stabilize, and some experts say that it will soon get better while other experts are saying that an even greater down-turn is coming in the near future.  Unemployment rates and underemployment rates see to be continually on the rise.  Housing prices and housing markets that used to be so strong are now nowhere near where they once were.  Health care is facing a major change in the coming year, and as some have said, the election will determine what direction health care will go.  Federal and state budgets are facing deficits, while programs like welfare, social security and Medicare place an even greater strain on budgets as the baby-boomer generation begins to retire.  Our nation is facing a drought and because of that food prices will soon be going up.  Gas prices seem to be constantly on the rise!  Even when they come down for a while they don’t seem to stay down too long before they start going back up.  On top of all of this we, as Christians find that we are under more attacks and more scrutiny than ever before.  The very things that we hold dear are openly mocked and ridiculed on a daily basis.  Marriage itself is under attack as special interest groups seek to redefine God’s definition of marriage, change its parameters, and utterly destroy the foundation of society itself!

It is because of all of these things that I am inviting you to join with me in praying for our nation during the month of October.  Whether you choose to follow the pray31 prayer atlas or simply choose to keep the leaders of our nation, our states, and the churches of our country in your prayers is completely up to you.  But the reason I invite you to raise your hearts and voices to the Lord in prayer with me during the month of October is so that we might join together with hundreds of thousands if not a million other Christians who are raising their hearts and voices to the Lord in prayer on behalf of our nation. 

Now, just imagine with me what could happen if we did just this; if we raised our hearts and voices to the Lord in prayer for our nation during this next month.  Imagine what could happen if we raised our hearts and voices to the Lord in prayer during this next month, with Christians everywhere who have pledged to do this!  Imagine the sheer volume of prayers that the Lord will hear.  Imagine the sheer volume of prayers that the Lord will listen to and answer!  Imagine the changes that could be affected in our nation because we, as Christians, stormed the Lord’s throne of grace with prayers on a daily basis!  After all, it is the Lord who has commanded us to pray!  It is the Lord who has promised to hear our prayers!  It is the Lord who promises to answer our prayers! 

Thus, we can be assured that when we pray to the Lord our prayers will make a difference!  Can our prayers change our nation?  Absolutely!  They can defiantly change our nation!  But, will they change our nation?  That is up to the Lord!  When we pray to him, he hears our prayers!  When we pray to him, he answers our prayers!  However, he does not always answer them immediately.  Though he immediately answered the apostle’s prayer by shaking the place where they prayed and sending the Holy Spirit, it wasn’t until thirteen years had passed that the Lord appeared to Solomon and specifically answered his prayer by telling him, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV84)

The same thing is true for us!  When we pray the Lord will hear us and answer us.  If he answers us immediately, we will praise his name.  If he holds off for a time, we will praise his name by continuing to raise our hearts and voices in prayer to the Lord our God.  So, dear friends, let us heed the Lord’s call!  Let us raise our hearts and voices to the Lord our God in prayer.  Let us storm the throne of his grace with prayers and requests for our nation, for our leaders, for our sates, for our churches, for our schools, for our educators, for our synod, her leaders, her teachers and her pastors.  Let us continually raise our hearts and voices to the Lord our God in prayer, knowing that the Lord will hear and answer.  Let us continually raise our hearts and voices to the Lord in prayer trusting the promise that he gave us in our lesson today when he said, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV84)  Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Remain in Christ the True Vine! (John 15:1-8)

May 22, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

I have always been amazed at how the Lord has blessed this great country of ours. Though it began out of 13 colonies it has grown to contain 50 individual states, which are able to operate independently within the system of our National Government. Yet, even though each state is free to act independently in many ways, no state is able to exist apart from our National Government. Though about 150 years ago some states tried to succeed from the nation and go it alone, It was the determination of President Lincoln that those states should remain part of this nation and that this nation should remain a unified whole. Thus, today, we find ourselves living in the best of the 50 states—states that have remained together as a nation. Well today, as we study the lesson before us from John 15:1-8, we will hear Jesus speaking to us about the importance of remaining together. However, he will not be speaking about the importance of remaining together as a nation. Rather he will be calling on each and every one of us to remain in him, the true vine.

Now, when Jesus spoke these words, he was speaking to his disciples one last time on Maundy Thursday Evening. Though in our Gospel lesson from John 14 Jesus and his disciples were still in the upper room, by the time Jesus is speaking in chapter 15, they have left the upper room and are most likely together in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you,” (John 15:1-4a).

As soon as the disciples heard these words, their ears must have perked up, for all through the Old Testament Scriptures, the Lord had used the illustration of vines and vineyards in reference to his chosen people Israel. However, rather than speaking about his chosen people, this time Jesus is drawing their attention to himself. This time Jesus is telling his disciples that he is the source of their faith and their life. In essence, what Jesus is doing in these last moments is boiling down the last three years of teaching and assuring his disciples that if they remain in him, Jesus will remain in them. Well the same thing is true for you and me today, for in the same way that the branches of a grapevine depend on the vine for sustenance, we also depend on Jesus for our lives. He is the one who has called us to faith. He is the one who nourishes our faith through his Word. He is the one who comforts us and assures us in every trouble. He is the one who strengthens us and protects us when the hardships and challenges of life come our way. He is the one who is faithful to us and has promised us that if we remain in him he will remain in us, because he is the vine and we are his branches. If we remain in him we will continue to grow, but if we don’t remain him we will quickly begin to wither and die. This, in fact, is the very warning that Jesus gives us as he tells us “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:6).

Around here, we don’t see too many grapevines or other vinery plants, but we do see trees, and I’m sure that we’ve all seen a tree that is just thriving, but has a few dead branches here and there. We had a tree like that just outside the fellowship hall not too long ago. During the winter, one of the branches broke either in the wind or under the snow. Though it was winter, the prognosis for this branch was bleak. It had broken and no sap would be able to flow to the limb and nourish it. There would be no leaves on this branch come spring because it had broken and died. Though this broken and dead branch hung there in the tree through the winter, a couple of months ago, it was removed by the city while they were cutting down the tree at the neighbor’s house on the other side of Smith Street. It was cut off, hauled away, and if it hasn’t already been burned up it will be burned up the next time the branches are burned down there by the river. In the same way that this branch was removed, so also will be the fate of all those who do not remain in Christ the True vine, as Jesus himself tells us, “[My Father] cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit…it is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown in to the fire and burned,” (John 15:2a,6).

Sadly, there are many who, though they once were fruitful branches in the Lord Jesus are no longer bearing fruit. There are many who, though they once held tightly to Jesus their true vine, have loosened their grip on him and have allowed themselves to wither. There are even some who have allowed their faith in Jesus to die and are like that dead branch in the tree outside, simply waiting to be removed completely. This is why Jesus tells us in verses 4-5, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me, I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing,” (John 15:4-5).

Now, with your permission, I will ask you an obvious question. If I were to go out to vineyard, find a nice branch form a grapevine, cut it off and bring it home, could I expect it to produce grapes for me? No, I couldn’t because that branch is now on its own. It is no longer attached to the vine. That branch is no longer receiving the life sustaining sap, which allows it to flourish and grow and produce grapes. All that is left for that branch is for it to wither and die. We are the same way. Only when we are connected to Christ by faith can we bear fruits of faith. When we neglect to read God’s Word and speak to him in prayer; when we neglect Holy Communion; when we allow our church attendance to drop because we are too busy doing other things; we are in effect taking a saw and cutting ourselves off from the Jesus the true vine. We are separating ourselves from the faith sustaining sap that Jesus the true vine provides us, and as we know apart from Jesus we can do nothing. This is quite a warning for us to behold, because if we do not remain in Jesus our Savior, our faith will die, we will be removed from him, and we will be cast into the fires of hell where we will pop and crackle like the burning branches in the campfire.

However, if we remain in Christ Jesus our Vine, he will remain in us. When we remain in Christ, we are like the branches of a grapevine that are laden with clusters of succulent grapes, as we bear fruits that flow from faith. When we remain in Christ our faith quite naturally shows itself in love to our fellow neighbor. Our faith blossoms into simple acts of kindness, a gift given for no particular reason or two children quietly and peacefully playing a game. When we remain in Christ, our faith blooms into patience and self-control as we learn to accept the crosses that the Lord has given each of us to bear in this life. When we remain in Christ, our lives glorify our Father in heaven, for through our lives, we bear much fruit and show ourselves to be his disciples. This is what Jesus was teaching his disciples that day, and that is what he is teaching us as well. Though no one can look into the heart of another human being and see who is a Christian and who isn’t, we can see the results of faith in the way people live and the fruits that they bear in their lives. This is why our Lord Jesus calls on us to remain in him, to bear fruit with our lives. As we live and remain in Jesus the true vine, he gives us the promise that we will receive whatever we ask for in prayer. Just as he tells us in verse 7: “If you remain in men and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you,” (John 15:7).

Now this passage has often given people trouble, because they are not exactly sure what Jesus is saying here. Sometimes people think that this means that when they become Christians Jesus will give them everything they ask from him. But the truth is Jesus is not telling us that everything we want will come to us just because we prayed for it. Rather, Jesus is teaching us that when we remain in him and he remains in us he forms the minds of his faithful people into a single will. He makes us to love his commands and desire his promises. When we remain in Jesus, we will pray that his will be done, just as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, and he will work his will in our lives just as he did in the lives of the disciples. When the disciples asked Jesus to explain the parables to him, Jesus did so. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus taught them the Lord’s Prayer. When the disciples prayed that the Lord’s give power to his servants to speak the Word of truth boldly, that is exactly what the Lord did.

What about us? How many times haven’t we received whatever we ask for in prayer? How many times haven’t we prayed for safe travel and he has given it to us. How many times haven’t we prayed for good weather or rain and he has given it to us? How many times haven’t we prayed for the growth of his Church in all the world and he has given it to us. How many times haven’t we prayed, “Thy will be done,” and his will has been done. Yes, we know that it is true! We know that when we remain in Jesus the true vine our will understands God’s will and asks that God’s will be done. This is how we receive whatever we ask for in prayer.

Dear friends, we belong to Christ in the same way that branches belong to a vine. Remain in Jesus Christ, our true vine. For when we do so, he will remain in us. We will bear much fruit to the glory of God the Father. We will receive whatever we ask for in prayer.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN