PREPARED TO PRAY AND PERSUADE
March 16, 2021
Prayer: Lord, You have called and prepared me for your purposes in my vocation. Help me to walk in this knowledge and confidently persuade others of Your great provision. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Scripture: Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord for we walk by faith, not by sight we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:5-11 & 20 NAS
We walk by faith and not by sight, but God knows what will happen today, next week, after spring break, to the end of this school year, and beyond. It is up to us to believe that He has it all under control. He has put His Spirit in you, and as a Christian, all the strength, wisdom, power, patience, joy, discernment, courage, faith, energy: everything you need, He will provide if you abide in Him.
There are probably many changes that have taken place at your school since last spring. The nationwide call seems to be, “Do more with less.” Less money, less teachers, less resources, less support, and so forth; but today’s Scripture tells us to always be of good courage, to walk by faith and to be ambitious to please God. God has a purpose for you every day of this year, you are Christ’s ambassador, here to persuade others to be reconciled to God through the clear, visible evidence in our lives. If that seems overwhelming to you, stop and remember that God has prepared us. What does that really mean? As my third grade teacher always insisted, let’s “define some key words so we can apply them properly in the text,” (and I will add) in our lives.
In the original text the underlined words in our scripture mean:
Prepare – to perform, accomplish, achieve, to work out, i.e. to do that from which something results of things: bring about
Ambition – to be activated or set in motion by love and honor
Persuade – to induce belief or faith through one’s words or behavior
Understand that God has done all the groundwork, He has planned and provided for every opportunity, trial, situation, person, and more. He is ready for us to respond in our motivation of love and honor towards Him.
Unfortunately, many educators have started doubting or even forgotten the immense influence they have been given. If you ask a crowd of successful people who they credit most, besides their parents, for helping them become who they are today, over 85% name a specific educator. In many cases the educator has more influence than even the parents. What gives educators such power of persuasion? The student trusts them. The one being persuaded must have confidence and trust first in order to listen, yield, and obey. Once that confidence is established, what you say and do will impact them for the rest of their lives and hopefully for eternity.
The only way to prepare for this power of persuasion is through prayer. In addition to praying daily as individuals, gather weekly with other Christians: come together to pray, learn from God’s Word, be inspired and encouraged, and grow in your relationship with God and with one another, sharing your thoughts, lives, and prayer requests. God has all the answers, and He is waiting for you to inquire of Him. Your intercession and influence will impact your campus and community for Christ.
My prayer for you is that you would know the immense influence you possess and that you would be prepared through prayer as Christ’s ambassador to your campus.
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]