How Praying for Your Oikos Can Transform Your Entire Day
“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” —GOD (JEREMIAH 29:12-13)
The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that without the infusion of new energy, a system will gradually lose steam and, thereby, experience an increasing level of entropy or disorder. Eventually, maximum entropy occurs or, in our terminology, the whole thing comes apart at the seams.
That “law” is the reason perpetual motion machines cannot exist. That is, nothing just keeps working on its own. That’s why, over time, your car doesn’t work better and better. Neither do you. Both machines and people gradually require more and more maintenance, and both will eventually stop running. Nothing ever works as well as “it ever did.” And if you think it does, then your brain is experiencing that Second Law of Thermodynamics right now!
The implications of that law are immense! In fact, one of the moral corollaries to the Second Law of Thermodynamics states that without the infusion of spiritual encouragement, an individual will gradually lose enthusiasm for the Kingdom of God and, thereby, experience an increasing level of entropy or disorder. When I was younger, we called that “backsliding.”
The problem is, we live in a world where many days are virtually void of encouraging news. We woke up this morning in a world reeling from inflation, environmental disasters, and international crises. To make things worse, when we open our newsfeeds, we’re typically reminded that we’re being governed by people who don’t share our values. Life can be flat-out discouraging. So, “encourage one another daily.” (Hebrews 3:13) All of us need an infusion of spiritual energy and, evidently, often.
Praying specifically for each member of your oikos will generate the kind of spiritual energy that impact each relationship and changes lives forever.
Paul exhorted Timothy, (1 Timothy 2:1) “that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people… (3) This is good, and pleases God our Savior, (4) who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
So, at any point in time, prayer can purposeful. It has the power to change the circumstances and people around us. But even more than that, it changes us. Those who pray are changed in multiple ways.
1. Beginning the day by praying for our oikos gives us a renewed sense of optimism.
The prophet Jeremiah (29:11) described the God we love and serve as the Supreme Optimist. We are more familiar with verse 11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
But we often don’t consider how close our optimistic God actually is to us. Read the very next verse.
(Jeremiah 29:12) “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. (13) You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
The Apostle Paul echoes the same optimism.
(2 Thessalonians 1:11) “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.”
Margaret Feinberg put it this way. “Always be suspicious that God is up to something good.”
2. Beginning the day by praying for our oikos gives us a renewed faith.
Praying for the people in your oikos demonstrates your faith, even when some of them don’t have much of their own. Recounting the story of the paralytic’s friends, you might remember how they had a difficult time finding a way to bring him to Jesus. The size of the crowd presented what seemed to be an insurmountable challenge. But the four men refused to give up. They ended up pulling part of the roof apart to lower the man right in front of Jesus. Desperate times called for desperate measures. And they were convinced that Jesus was the only one who could help him. That’s faith.
(Mark 2:5) When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
That may be the most impressive thing about those four guys. The paralyzed man, himself, had his doubts about Jesus’ abilities. But his friends were convinced, even before they picked him up! My point is, the healing began “when Jesus saw their faith.” It’s our faith that carries those relationships until they recognize their need for Jesus and and their faith takes over. So don’t give up.
If it’s not good yet, then God’s not done yet. So, keep praying!
3. Beginning the day by praying for our oikos gives us a renewed sense of purpose, as we renew our focus on why God gave us another day down here!
As disheartening as the headlines might be, we actually live in exciting days, filled with opportunities to do something eternal! God has graciously decided to use us to fulfil His purpose, the greatest initiative in human history, the redemption of humanity from sin. The oikos principle refocuses Christ’s Church on the mission that Jesus continues to fulfill, only now, through us.
The word “enthusiasm” finds its origin in ancient Greece. It’s a compound word combining the Greek prefix “en” with “theos”. It literally means “in God.” So, beginning each day enthusiastically is quite literally the godliest things we can do!
Jesus loves people more than anything. So, praying consistently for the people He has supernaturally and strategically brought into our lives aligns us more closely with Him—our optimistic, faithful, and purposeful God.
So, should you ever begin to lose your enthusiasm and need an infusion of spiritual energy, just pray. It has the power to transform your entire day, simply by transforming us!
(Praying for your oikos is just one step in The Oikos Challenge, a five-step strategy to change your world. You can read more about The Oikos Challenge in any of Tom’s three books.)