Theme: THE POWER OF PRAYER
Text: “Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” – Matthew 23:14.
Comment: Jesus Christ warned that we should not behave like the Scribes and Pharisees whose counterparts we have in the world today. Some who profess the Christian faith engage in long prayer sessions and are violent in such prayers. This is contrary to how Jesus Christ taught his disciples, in that he directed that we should say our prayers in a private secluded room, we should avoid repetitions while praying and should avoid vain glory. “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when you pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” Matthew 6:5-8.
Prayer, which is a solemn petition, must be said in a calm, quiet, peaceful and devoted manner for it to be answered by the Almighty God. King Solomon warned in Ecclesiastics 5:2 saying: “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.” We should follow these godly admonitions so that our prayers will be answered by the Almighty God by His grace and power through Jesus Christ our Lord.