The Prayer Warrior In The Grave

There are many lessons we can learn from this story:

1. Praying when it is too late: The rich man prayed late like the foolish virgins. At this juncture, I would like you to take this prayer point: "I will not pray when it is too late, in the name of Jesus."

2. Use your money and opportunities to serve the Lord while you are still alive: Riches are not for self-indulgence. They are not supposed to make you proud or arrogant. They are to enable you serve the Lord, help your neighbours and build a fine mansion for yourself in heaven. A lot of people are putting their money in the desert where it cannot yield any fruit. When you drop your tithe in a church where the pastor has seven wives and expect to be blessed, you will gain nothing. If you expect that God would have mercy on you because you bought a car for a pastor who is trying to commit immorality with you, you have sowed into the desert.

3. Giving to the needy: We must learn to have mercy on the poor, especially the poor amongst us Christians. You will be wasting your time if you use the wealth God has given to you help a person who does not recognize Jesus Christ as Lord. Psalm 41:1-3 says, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive: and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou will not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou will make all his bed in his sickness.”

In some churches, when it is time to take the offering for the needy, people look for the dirtiest notes, their most wretched clothes and things they do not value anymore to give. This is very wrong. We must have pity on the poor. When you see someone who is always wearing the same shirt to church and you have 50, you should give out some to such a person.

4. Rejecting and being indifferent top the things of God: This is dangerous. The rich man in our story must have heard the gospel a number of times before he died, but he wouldn’t listen just as many rich people today who think that the churches are meant for only those who are poor. Anyone who is not ready to accept and heed the word of God as it comes to him or her will be lost. Abraham said they had the laws and the prophets, let them hear them.

5. There is no second chance for salvation after death: Death does not announce its arrival. Eternity cannot be decided after a person has died. The Bible says that there is no repentance in the grave. Eternity is decided here on earth, and one of the worst tragedies that can befall a person is for him or her to attend a living church while alive and still go to hell fire. If you were in a church where the pastor and members belong to one secret society or the other, then there is no problem because it is clear that everybody there is hell bound. But when you come to a living church and you are not serious with God, you will end up where you are not supposed to. What excuses will you give for that? If you try to blame your pastor or any other person, you would be wasting your time, because at the judgement throne everyone including the pastor, will be accountable for his her actions.