I am nothing but a sinner saved by grace. As such, I cannot live the life that God wants me to live without the constant sanctification of the lovely Holy Spirit. This means that my maturity is ultimately in God's hands, though I may press on to maturity. So, for all of you who consider me a brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, I ask you to pray for me these things:
- Pray that I will pray! Like so many, I pray not nearly enough, yet prayer is the most powerful weapon in my spiritual arsenal! The best way to be transformed by the Spirit is to pray that the Spirit will transform me, so I ask that you will pray for me to pray.
- Pray that I will read! I also read my Bible not enough. For some reason, I don't spend enough time feasting on the sanctifying and love-inducing Word of God. When I read it, I enjoy the sight of God's glory in redemptive history, and I learn how to apply the brilliance of His glory to me own life. So, pray for me that I will listen to God and learn all He has to say about Himself and about me.
- Pray that I will preach! I don't mean from a pulpit (though I may do that somewhere, someday). I lead a pretty quiet life. I do what I'm supposed to, I try to be kind and considerate to people, and I bring up my Christian faith when it comes up. This is altogether insufficient. Did Jesus do anything that commonly? No! It frustrates me to no end that I can't seem to break out of my comfortable box to tell people about Jesus Christ, especially at NFCC, the biggest mission field that I frequent! I need to be radically devoted and in love with Christ in my daily life, of course, but even more I need to actually articulate my faith to those without Christ. Pray, my friends! Pray, my brothers and sisters, than I will open my mouth and speak the mysteries of God to those in desperate need of Him, in hopes that I might bring some to the Savior.
- Pray that I will make a friend! I don't need lots of friends. I have them. I need a friend, someone who is my true best friend. Such are hard to come by, even more so when you go to school for three classes a day two days a week and are a total introvert, having no other social interaction besides church. I need someone to confide in, to pray with, to support, and to talk to. Fellowship with God is wonderful, but even before the Fall, God Himself said that it is not good for man to be alone. How did He fix that? He made a wife. Now, I don't need a wife at this moment, but if I could have an awesome friend, that would go a long way. Two are better than one. An accountability partner, a prayer partner, a confidant: I need someone who can be those things in my life. Pray that God will put someone in my life who can do that for me, and for whom I can do the same.
- Pray that I will find a wife! Wait, didn't I just say that I didn't need one now? I did, but it won't be long, and it's never too early to start praying. One thing I've learned well from the Bible, especially under the preaching of Brother Kyle, is the value of a good wife, especially in youth. My honest hope is to be married within a year or two of becoming an adult, if not for my pleasure, than for God's glory in my sexual purity. Lust is hard enough for even a Christian to fend off living within strict authority, so trying to go long as an independent without marriage will at best make it unspeakably difficult. Pray for a wife for me. God knows I'll never make it on my own.
- Pray that I will press on towards maturity! What can I say? I am but a sinner at the mercy of a glorious God. By my resistance, I am left with so many faults: selfishness, pride, lust, laziness, insensitivity, and more. The more I grow near to God, the more sins I see. Pray for me, that I will walk in the Spirit, wielding His power to fight sin and delight ever more in our lovely God.
- Pray that I will desire God! What is more important? God will certainly be glorified if I do His will, but He will be supremely more glorified and pleased if I cry "holy!" in exuberance at the sight of His glory! Yet I cannot do so on my own. I can't make my heart crave and feast on God. All I can do is pray, and I ask that you do the same. Pray for me, that God will give me an addiction to Him in His glory.
- Pray that I will get a job! This is something I truly need. In this economy, an answer to this prayer would be nothing short of a miracle. I need to have money to pay for my general expenses, of course, to alleviate some of the burden of my parents' finances, and to give back to God and His work so that He may be glorified. It would also provide me with another mission field, one that has greater potential than any I have found so far. Pray, then, that God will grace me with employment for His glory.