Renewal of prayer and living in the real world
Matthew 16:13~20 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (18~19)
♬ Hymn for scheduled worship: Korean/English Hymnal #70 God is Our Refuge Strong (#79 in previous version)
Renewing ourselves is something that we know we must do but have a hard time actually doing. On the other hand, it is something that people who were greatly used in the Bible did the best. Renewing ourselves is correctly seeing the time schedule right now. Renewing ourselves is correctly understanding ourselves. Renewing ourselves is perceiving the age in which we live correctly. If we are indeed the ones to receive answers, then we must renew ourselves. The most important renewal of all is the renewal of prayer. The prayers that Joseph prayed while at home and while being enslaved were different. The prayers of David as a shepherd and as a man on the run were different. How must we renew our prayers and what must we do first?
1. Renewal of the Gospel
We must begin with the renewal of the Gospel. The renewal of the Gospel is discerning what is fundamental, basic and elementary. We must also have integrity and rationality. Along with these traits, we must take up the challenges and truly experience the strength that God provides. We can restore spiritual power through 24-hour prayer. Then we can restore intellectual power through messages or evangelism materials. We must restore physical power as we exercise whenever we have time. Investing in the things that have the potential to bring in large profits and productivity is the restoration of financial power. Discovering the schedule each person has is the restoration of manpower. We need the renewal of prayer to receive answers in these areas.
2. Renewal of the things that we do
Along with the renewal of prayer, we must renew the work that we do. We must be able to work 10 times more than others. We must be able to give 100 times more influence than others. And we must have with us a specialty that contains a sense of uniqueness. This can easily be acquired if we enjoy the five blessings.
3. World evangelization
We must renew our prayers as we pray for world evangelization. To what extent must we do it? We must continue with the renewal of our prayer to the point that we can see with our eyes, hold in our hands, and grab hold of the evidence of the messages that Jesus gave after the resurrection. We need prayer to renew ourselves so that all of these things become ours. And we must make preparations for realistic prayers for the generations that are soon to come. We must renew ourselves with prayers in the Gospel so that we can conquer the world, culture and finances.
● Forum Topic - We must make our past a platform and turn the future into our present reality. And we must make today the greatest day for us. Making today the greatest day can be accomplished through prayer and renewing ourselves. How must you renew your prayers today?
Young Adult Leaders’ Retreat Lecture 2 / 2010.2.13