I spent this Sunday afternoon reading wholesome writings, and reflecting on life, the Word and God, but the question kept coming back at me, “What do you live for? Really?” Being stirred within, and not quite knowing how to answer the penetrating query yet, I went for a swim in the condo pool to give it more thought. While I allowed my body to savor the warmth and pleasurable sensation of the water, my soul, on the contrary, was restless and kicked in high gear. Right there, in the privacy of the pool, I searched my heart, or should I say, the LORD searched me big time to expose to my eyes the purpose of my life.

Without further ado, this is what I want to live for. Not just live for mechanically or aimlessly, but with all the passion I can muster. So here it is: I want to be consumed by a raging fire of continual intercession for my own spiritual life, so that my life may count somehow for His eternal Kingdom. I want to really pray my heart out for the soulmate that God would be pleased to grant me in His fullness of time so that my house may be restored to wholeness. I want to aggressively intercede with knowledge and compassion for the shepherd of our flock and his sweet wife, not in clichés and platitudes, but with the same intensity the LORD does for the man even now. I want to see everyone I meet with eyes of prayer so that I may leave with my fellow man seeds of eternal life.

Moreover, I am willing to pay the price to know the power of prayer in one man’s life, to know what it is to live and pray like the apostle Paul, or a Luther, Calvin, Newton, Bunyan, Spurgeon or Müeller. I give myself no other pursuit or hobby. My whole life is oriented in such a way to make it possible to devote significant blocks of time for the purpose of renewing the mind and engage in protracted prayer. I am tired of “kicking the tires” of a random and tasteless prayer life. If I must experience the spartan lifestyle of loneliness in order to know the soul Gethsemane of prevailing prayer – so be it!

I have only one prayer. “LORD, make me pray now!” Moment-by-moment, this is what I truly desire to do with the rest of my paltry life. No matter what activity my body is engaged with, “LORD, give me a prayer – now!” is what I want my soul to simultaneously burn with. Be it prayer, supplication, lamentation, thanksgiving – regardless – everything is fair play, “LORD teach me to pray – now!” The ‘now’ is all that I have in my possession; not money, friends, church, health, career, home, or car. The next ‘now’ may be my last breath. Therefore, in whatever ‘now’ the LORD sovereignly places me in, I want the given moment to be saturated in prayer.

I’ve answered the question. I’ve prayed my answer beforehand, as I was typing it and likewise afterwards so that the LORD will use it for His glory. All of life for a Christian is to be lived as a perpetual prayer, akin to the everlasting burning incense in the tabernacle. It is also the way the LORD intercedes for us – even ‘now,’ “since He always live to make intercession for [us],” (Hebr.7:25).

To the best and all of me, and by the grace of God alone,I am praying at this very moment and will persist in being so consumed until the day I am no more, so help me God.

When the paramedics arrive on the scene of an accident, it is of paramount importance for them to determine if an unconscious victim is still alive or has passed away.  Tests are being performed to that end looking for what are called vital signs, such as a heart pulse or breathing, no matter how faint.

Likewise, in the spiritual life of a Christian, there are “vital signs” that testify to one’s genuine spiritual life of faith.  Even though there is a plethora of “signs,” none is of a more crucial nature than prayer.  To amplify this conviction, I am quoting extensively from a man of God who has been unwavering in the proclamation of the gospel and sound doctrine for over 40 years, a man that knows a thing or two about prayer –  Pastor John MacArthur.

In his commentary on Philippians, he writes:

There is no truer indicator of a Christian’s level of spiritual maturity than his prayer life.  Paul’s prayer life reveals more of his true spirituality than all of his preaching, teaching and miracles – marvelous and divinely blessed as those were.  He was compelled to pray by the continual and powerful working of God’s Spirit in his heart.

Clearly, prayer is a duty for Christians. . . . But prayer is much more than a duty; prayer is a compulsion for the spiritually mature Christian.  Fervent prayer does not arise from a mere sense of duty but from a deep inner desire.  It does not flow from external requirement but from an internal passion.  The deepest longings of the Spirit-filled heart for the honor (and I would add: glory and pleasure) of God and the blessing of men find their natural expression in prayer.

The measure of a person’s spiritual maturity is not how well he or she conforms externally to the command to pray. The issue is how internally constrained that person is to pray by a strong love for God and others. The truest longings of the heart will come out in prayer… A heart focused on the glory of the Lord and His people will produce prayers focused on God’s glory and others’ needs.  A strong sense of duty cannot compensate for a cold heart or produce fervent prayer.  Early in the life of the Church, the apostles set the standard when they. . . were to “devote [themselves] to prayer and to the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4) (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Philippians, pp. 38-39, emphasis and parenthetical comments mine).

Dear friend, what have you got to lose by sacrificing, if I may use the word, one hour of your Sunday (actually the Lord’s Sunday) by coming to the OGC office at 6:00 PM, and humbling yourself with other men and women to call out to our GOD?  And while I’m at it, how much will you suffer if you give away 45 minutes of your Sunday morning (again, the Lord’s day, not our own) to come and supplicate the Lord of Heaven at 8:30 AM?

“What’s in it for me?” you ask.  Glad you did.  Some of the known benefits, and this is only the tip of the iceberg, are as follows:  “good and perfect gifts from above” from a benevolent Father who delights to give choice presents to His children who will humbly ask for these, an invigorating “shot in the arm” for your faith, a definite blessing to those who listen to you pray with them, and the best of all – an incredibly powerful encouragement to your pastor and others on our prayer team who regularly pray for his ministry and the overall work at OGC.

“C’mon OGC, men and women, young and old – let’s roll… and give evidence of life.”  It’s vital to the life of our lil’ flock!