Torch, Fall 1990

- --------------------------- An interview with Reese Kauffman 0 Mr. Kauffman, how did prayer become such a priority with you? Many years ago I began to realize that God is in control Q of all the affairs of our lives, every detail. We flatter ourselves when we think we control our lives. The fact is we have very little to do with things , and God has everything to do with things. l also came to under– stand that God delights in the prayers of the righteous. As these thoughts made sense to me I concluded that prayer must be a priority. What can be more impor– tant than talking with the Controller of the Universe Who directs the details of every day , every hour of my life? Furthermore, God has commanded us to pray, not just at intervals, but continu– ally, as I Thessalonians 5: 17 states. We are to constantly bring Him our petitions without tiring, without wearying. 0 As you pray, are some of your prayers of higher priority than others? Certainly. I call them priority prayers. These are Q concerns that I believe I must bring daily before the Lord. To be honest with you, the highest priority prayer for me is repentance fo r some sin that I may allow in my life. Sin puts a wall between me and God. Positionally I am still right with God, but my fellowship with Him is not right. My prayers are hindered, even unheard. Psalm 66:18; I Peter 3:7 ; and Isaiah 59: 1,2 teach th is. So sin has to be taken care of right away before I can come to God with other matters. The next highest priority prayer for me is my own personal spiritual needs. Look at the prayers of the Apostles for the churches to which they wrote. Oh yes , there is mention of health and traveling mercies, maybe three percent. But 97 percent of the petitions concern spiritual needs. It seems to me that if we are to set our priorities on New Testa– ment patterns, then the church today is out of step. Go to the average prayer meeting and listen to the prayer requests. Rarely will you hear fo lks stand up and say, "I am having a terrible devotional life, pray for me." Or, "The Word of God is cold to me lately."