Ethelfrith was the Saxon king of Northumbria. When the pagan king prepared to conquer the Christian nation of Wales, he noticed among the Welsh forces a host of unarmed men. He asked who they were, and he was told that they were the Christian monks of Bangor, praying for the success of their army.
“Attack them first,” he ordered.
Though Ethelfrith was a pagan, he recognized the power of prayer. Do we?
Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8).
On reading such a strong assurance from Jesus about prayer, some want to ask, “So, how do I make sense of my unanswered prayer in light of this?”
But Matthew 7:7-8 isn’t about that. There are plenty of scriptures to go to that help us deal with unanswered prayer. Romans 8, the Psalms, the Garden of Gesthemane—many other scriptures teach us how to trust God when we get no answer to our prayers. Jesus’ words in Matthew 7 are not meant for those with unanswered prayers but for those who aren’t praying at all. It’s a loud shout from Jesus to start doing what you haven’t been doing.
It’s time to talk to God. About your needs. About others. About our church’s ministry.
Our church will soon begin a campaign called, “Forty Days of Prayer.” We’ll see what the Bible has to say about prayer, and we’ll engage in some specific activities that will get us praying again.
Do you have a prayer request we can pray about during these 40 Days? Turn it in at www.hillcrest.church/prayer.
Think of someone you can bring with you to this special focus! Just forward this email to them with an invitation to join you at Hillcrest at 10am.
--Tom
(Austin Phelps tells the story of the Saxon king Ethelfrith in his little book on prayer called The Still Hour. I just saw that it’s on sale for 99 cents here.)
Sign up here to receive Tom Goodman’s weekly devotional in your email inbox. Tom serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter.