The Inca Empire in Central and South America was at its height 500 years ago. It had a rich oral language still spoken today by about a third of the Peruvian population. Yet, little is known about the specifics of how the government was set up or its power disseminated.
The Inca had no written language.
What they did have was quipu, a coded system of knotted ropes for recording vital knowledge and other important information. This information could be carried over vast distances or stored for later reference without the possibility of misinterpretation.
Facts were recorded in the rope, from tax obligations, census records, and calendric information, to military organization, vital to maintaining political control. The knots were easily read and provided invaluable record keeping for a vast empire—as long as the rope remained unbroken.
What did a broken rope mean? Miscommunication, invalid information, and a decline of trust in the truth. A broken rope was a disaster in the making.
We have knotted ropes of our own. They are called prayer. They stretch between us and God, the series of knots recording our communication with him.
Paul encourages us not to let our ropes become broken. We must maintain a solid line of prayer, making it a regular habit for every believer.
Paul describes six vital knots on our prayer rope in Colossians 4:2-6:
Knot #1 – The Knot of Thanksgiving.
Verse 2 describes the way we should present our prayers to the Father. We must come first with thanksgiving, for when we show our appreciation to the One who gives us life, we stir his heart towards us. We become tightly knotted with him, bound together, and in one accord.
Knot #2 – The Knot of Pastoral Support.
Verse 3 encourages us to support those in direct ministry over us. It is through our pastors and lay ministers that God reveals his mysteries unto us. Without our prayers, our leaders cannot stand firm in the face of the evil one, and their knots will unravel to become loose fibers blowing in the wind.
Knot #3 – The Knot of Christ.
Verse 4 is the core tenant of our faith. If we do not preach Christ as the Truth, the Light, and the Way, all else is for nothing. Without this knot, all we hold in our hands is broken rope.
Knot #4 – The Knot of Wisdom.
Verse 5 starts with an admonition that we pay attention to how we appear to others. We have to “order our behavior” in such a way that those who are not a part of our faith see Christ in us. In 1 Corinthians 10:23 Paul states that everything is permitted, but everything is not beneficial. Romans 14:13 says not to be a stumbling block with our behavior. We must be the tight knot that does not unravel or break.
Knot #5 – The Knot of Time.
Verse 5 ends with an instruction to use our time for the furthering of the gospel of Christ. We must be diligent in recognizing the opportunities Christ presents unto us to share with those who do not know him. When we put the message of the cross above our own needs, we will see ministry opportunities in every doorway and on every street corner, reinforcing our rope of communication with the Father.
Knot #6 – The Knot of Speech.
Verse 6 reminds us that our speech is our spoken presentation of the Christ who lives in us. When we are gracious and pleasant, and we speak regularly of the evidence of Christ in us, we will be able to minister to others, because they will trust in our unbroken rope.
Today, quipu is rarely used in the lands of the old Inca Empire. When it is, it is mostly for ceremonial use, not for recording and conveying important information. The true quipu, buried with the dead and unused for centuries, now crumbles at the slightest touch, nothing more than broken rope. It no longer carries the power of an empire in its fibers.
What we do not use, we lose. We must pray on a regular basis, keeping our prayer ropes stretched taut, so that our knots never crumble. Only then will we continue in the true power of our Lord.
Use it or lose it. When we do not pray, our power that comes through Christ becomes frayed, no more than old, broken rope.
Copyright © 2014 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.B.25.14.vp