“Bible prayers: Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come”
Revelation 22:20
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
A little over fifty years ago, back in December of 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was the very first manned space flight that made it all the way from the earth to the moon.
And after traveling more than sixty hours at four thousand feet-per-second, they finally made it to the moon. Over the next twenty-four hours, they would orbit the moon ten times.
And on Christmas Eve of 1968, midway through the flight, the commander of the mission, Frank Borman, read the first ten verses from the book of Genesis. He said, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
At the time, that broadcast was the most-watched television program ever!
And not only did he read from the book of Genesis, he also prayed. This is what he said: “Give us, O God, the vision which can see Thy love in the world in spite of human failure. Give us the faith to trust Thy goodness in spite of our ignorance and weakness. Give us the knowledge that we may continue to pray with understanding hearts. And show us what each one of us can do to set forward the coming of the day of universal peace.”
Not only have astronauts prayed, but presidents have prayed too. George Washington prayed, “O eternal and everlasting God, make me always watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual slumber, but daily frame me more and more into the likeness of Thy Son, Jesus Christ.”
Abraham Lincoln prayed, “With malice toward none, with charity for all, let us finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and for his orphans, and to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
And Ronald Reagan prayed, “For the love of God and His great goodness, let us pray in search of His guidance and the grace of repentance, in seeking His blessings, His peace, and the resting of His kind and holy hands on ourselves, our nation, our friends in the defense of freedom, and all mankind, now and always.”
Throughout our time together in this series on prayer, we’ve looked at quite a lot of prayers throughout the Bible. Abraham prayed for Sodom, Eliezer prayed for Rebekah, Jacob prayed for Esau, Moses prayed for the people of Israel, Gideon prayed for guidance, Elisha prayed that the Lord would open his servant’s eyes, Hezekiah prayed for healing, Jabez prayed for blessing, David prayed for forgiveness, Peter prayed for Tabitha, Paul prayed for strength, a thief prayed for mercy, and Jesus prayed on the cross to His Father in heaven. “Forgive them,” He said, “for they know not what they do.”
And it’s good that we’ve taken these past several months to study prayer, for as C.S. Lewis once wrote, “I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God. It changes me.”
Martin Luther wrote, “Prayer is a strong wall and fortress of the church; it is a godly Christian weapon.”
St. Francis of Assisi wrote, “Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.”
And another wrote, “The sweetest time of the day is when you pray, because you are talking to the One who loves you the most.”
Now here in the book of Revelation, the very last book of the Bible, we find yet one more prayer. In the very last chapter and the second last verse, we find this: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).
If you didn’t already know it, the book of Revelation isn’t only the last book of the Bible, it’s the conclusion of the whole Bible. As one commentator wrote, “From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures point to the person of Jesus Christ. And the end of the Bible brings all of God’s redemptive plan, from Genesis to Revelation, into perspective.”
And if you were to hold the books of Genesis and Revelation, the first book and the last book, side by side, you’d be surprised at what you find!
In Genesis 1:1, God created the heavens and the earth. In Revelation 21:1, He creates a new heaven and a new earth.
In Genesis 1:16, He created the sun. In Revelation 21:23, there will be no more need of sun.
In Genesis 1:5, God created the night. In Revelation 22:5, there will be no more night.
In Genesis 1:10, God created the sea. In Revelation 21:1, there will be no more sea.
In Genesis 3:6, man fell and was cursed. In Revelation 22:3, there will be no more curse.
In Genesis 3:19, death entered human history. In Revelation 21:4, there will be no more death.
In Genesis 3:24, God drove man out of paradise and away from the tree of life. In Revelation 22:14, God restores man to paradise and the tree of life.
In Genesis 3:17, sorrow and pain are the result of man’s fall. In Revelation 21:4, there will be no more tears or pain or sorrow anymore.
So in the book of Genesis, what began with man’s fall and curse will end, in Revelation, with no more curse, no more death, no more sin, and no more sorrow or suffering anymore. There will be a new heaven and a new earth, and we’ll live with God forever and ever. Amen
Now here in the last chapter of the last book, Revelation chapter 22, we have what’s called the epilogue, the conclusion, or the summary of the book. And in this last chapter, Jesus promises three times that He’ll come and He’ll come soon.
In verse 7, He says, “Behold, I am coming quickly.” In verse 12, He says, “Behold, I am coming quickly.” And in verse 20, He says, “Surely, I am coming quickly.
It’s a chapter full of comfort, of warning, and of benediction.
And it all begins with this. Verse 1: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:1-5).
And in the midst of this chapter full of strength and comfort and blessing, we find in verse 20: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
Or as Paul wrote in I Corinthians 16: “Maranatha.” “Our Lord, come” (I Corinthians 16:22).
For those of us who are living on this side of heaven, can you think of any better or stronger words we could ever hope to hear?
Let’s take a moment to consider the world around us.
For example, just a few months ago, back in November of this past year, rain and flooding in the Dominican Republic took the lives of thirty-four people and destroyed more than seven thousand homes. And along with that flooding came disease affecting eighteen thousand people and killing twenty more. Even worse, another four hundred thousand people there still don’t have safe water to drink.
And to that we pray, “Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come.”
In December, a series of earthquakes followed by three thousand aftershocks rocked the Philippines, completely destroying hundreds of homes, and affecting the lives of more than five hundred thousand people.
And to that we pray, “Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come.”
Also in December, extremely cold weather and blizzard conditions blanketed ninety percent of Mongolia, impacting the lives of a hundred and fifty thousand people and killing one-and-a-half million livestock. And as we make our way through 2024, they expect those numbers to grow only worse.
And to that we pray, “Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come.”
In January, wildfires burned millions of acres across central and southern Chile, killing 122 people with two hundred more still missing. And the fire danger forecast for much of Chile is still very high to extreme.
And to that we pray, “Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come.”
And since the beginning of February, on a group of islands off the coast of Africa, there’s been an outbreak of cholera. So far, at least two have died with the potential of many more.
And to that we pray, “Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come.”
That’s the world around us. Now let’s look a little closer to home. In a recent survey, Americans cited the top problems that we face as a nation. They include, in order, inflation, the cost of health care, drug addiction, gun violence, violent crime, the federal budget deficit, the state of moral values, illegal immigration, the quality of public K-12 schools, racism, conditions of roads, bridges, and other infrastructure, domestic terrorism, international terrorism, and unemployment.
As one author wrote, “The signs are everywhere. Fading economic opportunity. A failing educational system. Faltering health care. Deepening partisan divides. People are frustrated and looking for answers. They know the status quo isn’t working--that we need new and better solutions to our country’s biggest problems.” And he wrote, “It’s been a tough few years, so tough that it seems America’s promise is slipping away.”
And to that we pray, “Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come.”
A little over seventy years ago, back in August of 1950, Florence Chadwick swam across the English Channel, a distance of twenty-three miles(!), in record time. Then in 1951, she did it again in the opposite direction. So with those remarkable feats behind her, a year later, in 1952, she set out to swim the twenty-six miles between Catalina Island and California.
But after swimming for fifteen hours, a thick fog settled in, causing her to doubt if she could finish. An hour later, since she still couldn’t see the coastline and didn’t think she could make it, she gave up. She stopped swimming. It wasn’t until she got into the rescue boat that she learned that the shore was less than a half a mile away.
She said, “All I could see was the fog. I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.”
Hope against hope, we too are desperately waiting to reach the other side.
But the good news is that there, on the other side, our Savior Jesus is waiting for us and preparing a place for us, far beyond what we could ever hope or dream or imagine.
And so we pray, “Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come.”
We thank You, Father, for the power and the privilege of prayer. Open our hearts as we seek to know and to follow You, for Jesus’ sake. Amen