Social Distancing Devote Yourselves to Prayer

Social Distancing

Devote Yourselves to Prayer

 

Social Distancing frees up time

What will you do with that time?

Paul a man who was in chains says, Devote yourselves to prayer

Paul showed great strength in his times of confinement

In the end, Paul’s confinement was like having the virus

He was in custody either waiting for a trial or held until he was martyred

Paul never showed weakness, lack of hope or purpose

Paul found his strength because he devote himself to prayer

How about you and I?

When we put on a scale the events of the day

And the prayers of the day on the other side, what will we have?

James 4:8-10 NIV

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Devote Yourselves to Prayer

It may surprise you but the Scriptures

speak a lot about Social Distancing.

We first find Social Distancing in the

Garden of Eden when God separated

one of Adam’s ribs to make a woman.

  Then God said in Genesis 2:24…

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother

and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

The Book of Leviticus tells us that when people

have a disease, infection or other health issues that

could spread to others there was to be a separation.

  

In the New Testament, we find Jesus

speaking of a separating of people

like you separate sheep from goats

In 2 Corinthians 6:14…

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.

For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?

Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

There are also many examples of people in the Old

Testament and New that were separated from society…

Abraham, Moses, Daniel, Prophets,

Prisoners of the Faith like Peter,

John in the island of Patmos.

Jesus was led into the wilderness by

the Spirit and in the morning Jesus

would isolate Himself to be with the Father.

Mark 1:35, 45 

There are a lot of reasons for Social Distancing…

For health (physical and spiritual)

for solitude and silence,

for advancement and progress (starting a family).

There are also bad reasons for Social Distancing like

prejudice and withdraw due to anxiety and depression.

God has a lot to say about Social Distancing.

One example I find very helpful comes from

a man who was accustom to Social Distancing…

 The apostle Paul.

The Bible records the Apostle

Paul was arrested three times.

These lead to a total of roughly five and

one-half years spent in custody either

waiting for a trial or held until he was martyred.

We can find Paul in chains in the

Book of Colossians and he writes…

 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt,

 so that you may know how to answer everyone. 4:2-6

 These verses are packed full of good advice

when we are in a place of Social Distancing.

Devote yourselves to prayer,

being watchful and thankful.

The Covid-19 Pandemic put the whole

world in a place of Social Distancing.

Social Media, TV, Radio, the Internet

had only one subject, “The Coronavirus”.

It was informative but it was also political.

Dealing with an unseen enemy gave

way to floods of opinions and speculation.

Self-quarantine meant people had lots of time

for Social media, it was like a magnet.

A magnet that drew you in and held on to you.

Social Media took up the time we spent

on work and other productive things.

Along with being helpful it was also harmful.

Maybe this is why we should

take these words of Paul to heart…

      

Devote yourselves to prayer.

Social Distancing frees up time.

What will you do with that time?

Paul a man who was in chains says…

 Devote yourselves to prayer.

Paul showed great strength

in his times of confinement.

In the end Paul’s confinement was like

having the virus, he was in custody either

waiting for a trial or held until he was martyred.

Paul never showed weakness,

lack of hope or purpose.

Paul found his strength because

he devote himself to prayer.

How about you and I?

When we put on a scale the events of the day

and the prayers of the day on the other side…

What will we have?

James 4:8-10 NIV… 

Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Wash your hands, you sinners,

and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Grieve, mourn and wail.

 Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Scripture Reading

Colossians 4:2-6 NIV

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

James 4:8-10 NIV

8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.