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Struggling for the world, amidst heavenly race – Part 2

By Baba Aladura, Elder (Dr) Israel Akinadewo (Omoeri)
19 August 2018   |   3:54 am
King David was an obedient child of God, who in his many battles with the nations against the state of Israel, wrote Psalm 35 in total submission to the supremacy of God, over his antagonists. However, several of his songs were full of praises and thanksgiving to God, for he knew quite well, that not…

Israel Akinadewo

King David was an obedient child of God, who in his many battles with the nations against the state of Israel, wrote Psalm 35 in total submission to the supremacy of God, over his antagonists.

However, several of his songs were full of praises and thanksgiving to God, for he knew quite well, that not all problems emanate from enemies.

This was the reason, when Prophet Nathan rebuked David, for killing Uriah, so as to marry his (Uriah’s) wife, Bathsheba, which later led to the death of the first child of that evil action, that David did not bother to look for enemies anywhere, but sought the face of God for forgiveness (2 Samuel 11, 12).

The punishment for David was said in 2 Samuel 12:10-14 thus:

(1) Sword shall never depart from your house

(2) I will raise up evil against thee of thine own house

(3) I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbours

(4) Your deed was done secretly, but your punishment shall be meted in the open

(5) The child that is also born unto thee, shall also die.

Situations like these require prayer of forgiveness and not prayer against any enemy.

To David, Psalm 32:5 is needed here: “I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid.

I said, I would confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.”

On this matter, David knew God and had no doubt as to what was expected of Him, to continually serve that same God.

Unfortunately for him, the struggle for things of the world, which to him would make his kingdom to ‘be respected’ and ‘feared,’ made him at that point, to lose the path to eternal life.

Therefore, prayers against enemies would not have saved his soul, but prayers for forgiveness, which exactly was what he did.

It takes a man with a godly heart to know that soul-searching will help us more in the effectiveness of our prayers, than ascribing our problems to others.

This was what the Bible says that, “when a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7).

It is instructive to know that too much focus of our prayers on our perceived enemies might result in self-righteousness and lack of forgiving spirit.

Meanwhile, when we now offer such destructive prayers and support it with “In Jesus name,” it would tantamount to calling the name of God in vain, for according to the instruction of Our Saviour – love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44), so calling His name, to destroy our enemies, will be counter-productive.

Phariseecally-intentioned prayers involve the exhibition of hatred and pride in the process of our communicating with God.

There are situations, when praying, that some of us would perceive an unfriendly odour coming from the body of the person closer to us, and immediately, we will change position and the concentration of our prayers will then be entrenched in our subtle despise of that person.

This also involves the self-righteously assuming that those that we are praying with do not possess the required spirituality to stand together with us in prayers, thereby despising them in our hearts.

In addition to this, we equally create class in prayer groups, by relating with only those possessing beautiful vehicles and at the same time, offering unsolicited prayers for the ‘big men’ of the society, when we all know that everyone is equal in God’s presence.

If we study the different attitudes of the Pharisee and the Publican, which the Bible says they both went to the Temple to pray, we will see that those traits are still entrenched in the lives of so many of us, Christians.

According to Luke 18:9-14, the Pharisee in his prayers asserts that every other person is unrighteous, justifying himself and even despised the Republican.

His prayer was filled with pride and self-righteousness, yet he expected his prayer would be answered by God.

The truth of the matter is that, when we encircle ourselves with characteristics of arrogance, there is no way God will listen to such prayers, for we would only be struggling to get the attention of the world.

Remain permanently under God’s banner!

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