Jeremiah 7
Incantations vs. Prayers!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, March 22.
People frequently allow superstition to infiltrate their faith, treating the name of Jesus like an incantation, repeating it, and tacking it on to the end of their requests. But there is a significant difference between praying to God and performing an incantation. Jesus taught about prayer in Matthew 6:7, “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.” This is the exact practice God was rebuking through His prophet in Jeremiah 7:3-7:
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’ For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.”
Prayer is not a magical means of compelling God to do your bidding. Instead, prayer is a divine gift by which you can know and walk with God, as Jesus taught in Matthew 6:8, “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, the authorized way to have intimacy with the Father (John 3:16; 14:6, 13-15; 16:23-28); He is not an incantation to be invoked.
Seize the moment and pray the Lord’s Prayer, taught by Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13, as a means of grace to walk in covenant faithfulness to God in your daily life.
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
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