BLOG: Spiritual Growth, Part 4.75



WRITTEN BY MELISSA H. STRAUTMAN, LMT

Spiritual Growth, Part 4.75: Prayer
Companion blog to “Paths of Grace, Part Two” from the study Spiritual Growth

In my last blog post we focused on the first two (of three) places we go to find God’s continuing grace that grows us in our sanctification (spiritual growth).  We call these three the ‘ordinary means of grace’, which we get from Acts 2:42.  Without our straining efforts in these areas we will not reach the goal¹.

3 Means

  1. The Word Received²
  2. The Fellowship Enjoyed
  3. The Prayer Employed

The key here was understanding that God feeds His people and grows His people through the regular digestion of the reading and preaching of the Word; through a local church.  You cannot just read your Bible and pray at home and think God is going to bless your spiritual growth if you are disconnected from a local fellowship.  You can’t just listen to sermons all week, and never truly be invested in the fellowship of a body of believers, and expect God to bless that.  Your isolated efforts will not grow you.  Your commitment to God’s ordinary means of grace, being in the Word, fellowshipping and praying is where you will see God’s approval.

Probably the most difficult of the 3 Means for Christians in today’s fast data-bite world is to sit quietly and pray to our holy and waiting Heavenly Father.  Our brains are geared to spit out info in 140 characters or less and statistically we give three to five seconds for input to catch our attention before we move to the next thing.  We have unintentionally allowed our brains to be conditioned by highly manipulative images and emotive words.  I wouldn’t know how to write a competitive ad for my small business that would catch your attention without them.

One of our parishioners said having her Bible open in front of her helps her keep her attention focused on her prayers and kept her mind from wandering.  That’s makes sense because the only time God is speaking to us is when the Bible is open.

Hebrews 7:25 tells us…
Consequently, he [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession [talking to God directly] for them [us Christians].

So when we are talking to God in prayer, Jesus is talking to God on our behalf.  This is the third means of grace that helps us grow.  Jesus is our only mediator here.  Just like nothing can substitute for the first two means of grace (the Bible & fellowship); nothing can substitute for prayer.  It is an essential part of growth.

If you struggle with the concept of prayer, please revisit my blog series from April 2017 entitled, Always Praying.  God has ordained that you would pray and sometimes we let fear, laziness, idolatry or just general ignorance keep us from doing what we ought.  You can’t tell me that you are satisfied with who you are right now in Christ.  No one should be.  Surely you have room to grow.  But, in case I’m wrong, I’m sure some Christian book store makes a t-shirt for that…

 

 

Q:  Why do we want to find grace?
A:  Because it helps us grow spiritually and not be stunted

Q:  Where do you go to find grace?
A:  The Word received, the fellowship enjoyed, the prayer employed

Q:  When does grace help me?
A:  Right now, in my time of need

Q:  What is the greatest need of a Christian?
A:  Spiritual growth, not physical needs.

Those physical needs (pain, sufferings, etc) are there to keep you humble; not boasting in anything, so that grace can flow in your life.  Paul tells us all about the thorn in his flesh³ that kept him humble and reaching out in prayer for God’s help.

James 4:6
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

If everything were all good in your life, you’d never be humble.  So I guess you have a choice.  Seek your best life now, free from thorns, or seek God’s grace through three ordinary means:

3 Means

  1. The Word Received²
  2. The Fellowship Enjoyed
  3. The Prayer Employed

Next week we are going to look at Spiritual Growth Multiplied.  You can listen ahead to Pastor Wilson’s message here: Multiplication, November 26, 2017

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¹ Philippians 3:14
²1 Thessalonians 2:13
³2 Corinthians 12:1-10