I am finding a deep yearning in the hearts of believers in many parts of the world for God to move in a powerful way. The yearning is not just so that believers have a more peaceful life, though we certainly long for that. We look at the indifference of all the nations of the world to the ongoing Muslim slaughter of Christians in Nigeria and in many other parts of the world and we cry out in desperation, “Lord, May Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” We want God to intervene directly when it appears humans have no great desire to do so.

We look at the way the world at large is ignoring its Creator and rubbishing Christian values. It involves mocking God’s people, the very people for whom Christ died on a cross. Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, didn’t mock them. He died for them!

We look at nations which were formerly based on Christian values and the emphasis on the rights of the individual and we see a tearing down of those concepts. We see too the pursuit of insanity as “would-be world changers” try to obliterate the historical distinctions between male and female and insert meaningless “categories” of human beings.   Mocking what God has created and inserting other categories in their place is not only insane but highly dangerous as human creatures rebel against their creator.

What can one do especially when time is getting short? Each September, many of us who are older remember the hauntingly beautiful tune and words of “September Song” sung by Frank Sinatra in 1965. The song had these lyrics, “Oh, it’s a long, long time from May to December, but the days grow short when you reach September.”  And later in the song, “Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few, September, November.” It was not a Christian song but the lyrics remind us that time is running short and opportunities have to be taken lest they be lost for ever! The time to bring more healing into the world is right now, not just some time in the indeterminable future!

My little short-term contribution is to pray through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, praying that the truths embodied in that letter may be experienced in today’s world. The truths are life changing for individuals and have the power to change nations and individuals within the nations if they are known, prayed and acted on.

What I would love to happen as I formulate these prayers in coming blogs is that at least one individual in a nation might pray the prayer and begin a transformation in his or her own situation within their own nation. With readers looking at my blogs from over 185 nations there is that distinct possibility if they pray to God personally. He loves to hear and to answer prayers prayed sincerely to Him from any “insignificant” person anywhere in any “insignificant” part of the world. You will notice of course that I have put “insignificant” in inverted commas because in God’s sight no one is insignificant and He cares for His whole creation. He can do great things through the most unlikely people in the most unlikely places!

The blogs [articles] will feature the passage of scripture from Ephesians first, then some notes on meanings of words and then the suggested prayer. His word is infallible. My suggested prayer will not be. However it is an attempt to get folk praying for God to work a mighty healing in His world and especially in the bodies, minds and spirits of individuals in His world. Many of my friends have children and grand-children facing life-threatening illnesses and I am trusting our prayers will make a difference in the lives of those needy people.

It may take some time to cover Ephesians but I have these 3 articles with suggested prayers already posted on my blog site. They are the following:-

Blog No.192. Praying Our Way Through Paul’s Letter To The Ephesians. Ephesians 1:1-2. A Gracious Greeting about God’s Grace and Peace

Blog No.193. Praying Our Way Through Paul’s Letter To The Ephesians. Ephesians 1:3. Thanking God For What We Have In Christ

Blog No.284. Praying Our Way Through Paul’s Letter To The Ephesians. Ephesians 1:4. We are chosen by God Himself to fulfil His purpose for us in His world.

Blog No.285. Posted on www.jimholbeck.blog on Saturday 01 September 2018.