Title: The Faith called ‘TODAY’
When it comes to the word ‘Today’ in the Bible, it sometimes does not refer to a day of 24 hours concept. The most obvious example can be found in Luke 23:43. Jesus said to the right-side criminal who advocated for Jesus on the cross that he shall be with Jesus in Paradise today. However, we know that Jesus stayed in the tomb for 3 days and even after the resurrection, He stayed 40 more days on earth. Thus, when Jesus promised “Today, you shall be with Me in Paradise” does not refer to a day with 24 hours concept. Therefore, ‘today’ is rather an expression of a spiritual state whereby a person is filled with faith fully.
Why do we have to have the faith called ‘today’? It is because only those who have the faith of ‘today’ will be brought to the paradise. Why do we have to go to the paradise? It is because those who enter to the paradise can eat from the tree of life (Revelation 2:7).
How shall we have the faith called ‘today’?
- We should pray and keeping alert (Awakened Prayer)
- Yearning & Desperate Prayer
This is the prayer we make overcoming our weakness and tiredness.
In Mark 14:37, Jesus took Peter, James and John to pray in Gethsemane. Jesus asked them to pray together with Jesus as prayer watch, but they all fell into sleep because of physical tiredness. Of course, they could be due to great spiritual pressure, but Jesus indicated that if they are spiritually awake, if they are desperate, they could have overcome their physical weakness (Mark 14:38). This is an example of failure and not yearning enough, not desperate enough.
Secondly, what about the prayer of Paul and Silas (Acts 16:23-25)?
Wouldn’t they be tired and exhausted because of the harsh life and treatment in the jail? However, they prayed at midnight. It means they overcame their physical weakness and tiredness and prayed to God earnestly. Without such prayer, how could their cuffs be released? Without such prayer, what kind of miracles do you expect from God to perform for you?
Thirdly, let’s look at the prayer from Hannah.
Hannah was loved by her husband, but she had no child. She was desperate to have a child, so she prayed. When Priest Eli saw her, he thought she was drunken, weeping and dropping tears continually. How crazy and abnormal scene it must be that even the priest could not recognize that she was praying. However, because of such desperate prayer, God listened to her and remembered her (1 Samuel 1:19; 1 Samuel 2:21).
The Bible and God recognizes that we do not pray or when we cannot overcome our weakness is because we are not desperate enough. If we have desperation and yearning heart, we can and will overcome tiredness and all situations.
- Prayer that Overcomes Fear
Awakened Prayer is the prayer that overcomes fear we have.
Firstly, let’s look at Deacon Stephen. We all know that Deacon Stephen martyred by being stoned. If we look at Act 7, we can understand how thoroughly he understood the Bible and how greatly he was occupied by the Holy Spirit. Through the awakened prayer, he saw that the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. And because he received such answer, he didn’t fear but gladly took the martyrdom (Acts 7:55-56).
Daniel also had no fear of death. Knowing that the decree of king was announced and signed he continued to pray to God (Daniel 6:10).
Our biggest enemy is Satan and the biggest weapon he uses is death. We have to repent daily for the life that we didn’t live fulfilling God’s way 100%, and we are trying everyday day by God’s grace. However, we shouldn’t fear death because we are with God and God will never lose us from His possession.
(3) Repenting Prayer
Awakened Prayer is repenting prayer and the repenting prayer brings about God’s victory in our lives.
The Bible says that it was because of the pride of King Hezekiah that the wrath of God came upon the nation Israel. However, when he heard this from Prophet Isaiah, rather than hardening his heart like other kings, he repented whole heartedly. Thus, God lengthened his life for another 15 years and protected the nation Israel from enemy (2 Chronicles 32:25; Isaiah 38:1-6).
Conclusion:
We should pray keeping alert
If we don’t pray keeping alert, it means we are sleeping or we are dead spiritually. God promised to us that He will hear our prayer and answer our prayer (John 14:13-14; Philippians 4:6).
Let’s pray for the way to the tree of life be opened. Let’s pray to be allowed to eat from the tree of life. Let’s pray to have the blessing of the faith called ‘today’. Amen!
The Lord's Covenant Church Malaysia 