To round off this religious holiday of Easter, I once again present you with another written piece by my husband’s Filipino friend, Pastor Brother Louie. He sent this one to us by email wishing to share it on our blog. He writes passionately about the word of God and I hope you enjoy this particular piece entitled The Latin Principle…
“If we look at the word ‘prayer’ we can see that it comes from the Latin word ‘perire’. It means to persevere in, strength; to refrain from; to be watchful. Inherently we know that to persevere in anything means never give up. I will never forget the first time I raised my hand in a church praying. It was an absolutely incredible experience. I did not know what was going on but I certainly felt my spirit soar. Later when I became a christian I began to get more involved in church. I remember being in the choir and everyone was singing the same song. I don’t remember the words but I just remember the feeling and passionately sing Pilgrim’s Songs. Later walking out of the church I remember feeling embarrassment because I did not know what was going on. I did not know that my feelings were a sign that I was a sinner or that I needed to pray or read the bible more.
In Romans we are told to use it positively which means with good intention, to effect or to grasp hold. What is being referred to is not the typical form prayer but it is a reaching out with a fervor or intensity. It is a focus of the mind with an intent to prevail over one’s circumstances or a perseverance that is to prevail in a circumstance.
To surmise from this brief study ofRomans 12 consider the following points or principles:
- The desire to persevere.
- A call to exhaustion.
- The willingness to invest everything.
- A steady hand.
- A willing mind.
- A grave responsibility.
- The victory of perseverance.
In the context of the game, the first point is that it is not enough to pray as a casual walk with God without a goal or objective in mind. The goal must be stated specifically before the prayer or as a conclusion of a prayer.
The second point is that our desire must be a consuming passion. It is hard to pray in a wandering state of mind. We must have a destination in mind or a goal to achieve.
The third point that we must have is endurance. It is not enough to have a desire to persevere. We must not be discouraged by failures but rise again and again from the ashes.
The fourth principle is that we must never quit. We must never allow the wandering mind to persuade us to give up and to stop at the midway point of our journey. The goal must never be lost sight of and a mindset that is anything but perseverance will become a snare.
The fifth principle is that we must have firm hearts. It is not enough to have a burning desire to persevere. We must also have a comforting assurance that we shall achieve our goal. This assurance is found in the promises of God in the scriptures and in the ten commandments.
The sixth principle is, remember withoutasing the name of Jesus and our lesson from it. We must always try to recall the testimonies of God in our own lives that testify of His compassion and love. It is in the memories of His actions and words that we know what compassion and love are.
The seventh principle is to have holy thoughts. This is talking about avoiding thoughts that are unholy or sinful. We must replace such thoughts with God’s word and words that are pleasing to Him.
The eighth principle is to seek the kingdom of God. We must be willing that God’s words be as a part of our every day lives. We must not think that we can separately operate in His kingdom without His permission. Perseverance is what gives the kingdom to us. Perseverance can never be eliminated or ignored as long as we are in this world. It is part and parcel of what walking with Jesus Christ is all about.”
Brother Louie
Amy's Thought Corner 