Tag Archives: pray

April 28, 2016 · 5:50 AM

Watching And Waiting


Have you ever been around a person who loves to hear the sound of their own voice? How does it feel when you try to engage them in conversation and they never give you the opportunity to speak? After a while, you either quit trying to talk to them or you just don’t say anything at all to them because you know it’s going to fall on deaf ears. When you see them approaching you or their caller ID shows up on your phone, you almost sigh because you know what’s coming.

If we don’t like it when people do that to us, then why do we think God likes it when we do it to Him? Think about your prayers to God. How often do you stop talking and start listening? Prayer should be a conversation between you and God, not a wish list of things you’d like to see done to make your life easier. There’s a time for you to talk and a time for God to respond. If it’s been a while since you’ve heard God speak to you, ask yourself, “When’s the last time I was quiet in my prayer time?”

I know it’s a hard concept to some because we think of prayer as a list of things we want, but prayer is so much more than that. It’s designed to be the time you communicate and have a conversation with the creator of the universe. It’s designed for us to spend time with Him getting to know His heart. We have to learn that it’s ok to spend your prayer time listening. If we never listen, how will we know His heart, His desires for our life, or His thoughts on how we should respond to social issues as His representatives on earth?

David said in Psalm 5:3, “In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart]” (AMP). David understood that God wanted to hear his prayers and that God wanted to speak to His heart so he built time to watch and to wait into his prayer time. God wants us to do the same so He can speak to our hearts. If it’s been a while since you’ve heard God speak to you, try watching and waiting today to see what He says.

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April 18, 2016 · 5:30 AM

Spiritual Maturity

Do you remember the moment you began to appreciate what your parents had done for you, and you wanted to do something for them to show it? A child never really knows or understands the sacrifices their parents make for them. They don’t know how many things their parents gave up of what they wanted to do so the child could do what they wanted. Parents instinctively love their children and do things for them not expecting anything in return. When the child begins to understand all their parents have done, it’s usually when they’re an adult.

That mark of maturity can also be seen in a spiritual sense. One of the signs of spiritual maturity is when you no longer see God as a genie in the sky whose job it is to give you what you want and pray for. When He moves from just your provider in your life to all the other things He wants to be, you begin to have a deeper understanding of who He is. God’s desire for us is to move into spiritual maturity.

One night as David was in his palace, and I imagine he was thinking of how far he had come since tending the sheep. I’m sure as he looked the ceiling, he remembered how many times before he was out in the elements. As he thought about these things, another thought came to him. So in II Samuel 7:2, he went to the prophet Nathan and said, “Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but God’s Covenant Box is kept in a tent!” (GNT) David had an aha moment that night. He decided that he wanted to do something for God instead of asking Him for something.

Imagine that. It’s no wonder David was known as a man after God’s own heart. He was deeply flawed, yet he was mature enough to know God beyond the surface level. He wasn’t scared to dive into the heart of God to know who He is, nor should we be. God will reveal Himself to each of us to the extent we are willing to spend time with Him. You will find that the closer you get to the heart of God, the more your life will change to reflect His holiness. Spiritual maturity is possible, but it will take you getting your eyes off yourself and onto Him.

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April 5, 2016 · 5:30 AM

Go Without Going

  
When I read Mark 16:15 where Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, (NLT)” I get excited and want to grab my passport. I want to spin a globe, put my finger on it, and go immerse myself in that culture so I can be the hands and feet of Jesus. To many of you reading this, that is the scariest thought you could ever have. You have no desire to leave home, and that’s ok.

So many think that the only way to fulfill the Great Commission is to leave home and to go. I believe there are at least two other ways you can “go”. One way is to send your prayers for those who are around the world winning the lost to Christ. Having lived over seas in a missions capacity, I can honestly tell you that you can feel the prayers. You know at that moment that someone is praying for you. Those people who pray will inherit a reward for those souls as well.

Another way you can go without going is to give to those who go. It costs more than you think to be in full time missions. Beyond housing and living expenses, they have to create and print literature, deliver it or mail it, visit various parts of the country, and so many more things that require money. If you can’t or won’t go, give to those who will and are. You will reap where they reap.

In I Samuel 30, David and his men were chasing an army that kidnapped their families and burned down their town. A couple of days into the journey, about 200 men decided they couldn’t go any further. The rest caught the other army, fought them, and recovered everything and more. When they got back to the 200, they didn’t want to share. David said in verse 24, “We share and share alike – those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment.” He set the precedent that all of us involved, in whichever way we can, will receive the reward. 

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March 22, 2016 · 5:30 AM

Get Your Umbrella

  
I once heard about a farm community who was experiencing a drought that threatened to bankrupt the whole town. One church decided to hold a prayer meeting to ask God for rain. Many people from the community showed up and lined the pews of the church. The preacher walked up front to address the crowded church. He said, “This prayer meeting has been cancelled.” The people gasped in disbelief. They had shown up to pray. How could he dismiss them? He said, “I noticed that none of you came with an umbrella. Why pray if you don’t believe God is going to answer?”

I’ve always loved that story. It reminds me of Hannah in the book of Samuel. She had wanted to have a child, but couldn’t. Her husband would go to the temple every year to offer sacrifices. He would then give his other wife, Peninnah, and her children meat from the sacrifice. He then gave the best piece of meat to Hannah. When he did, Peninnah would taunt her and tease her because she couldn’t have kids. Hannah would get so upset she would break down in tears and couldn’t eat.

On one such occasion, Hannah ran to the temple to pray. She quietly wept before the Lord as she prayed. She asked God for a son and promised to give him back if He answered her. As she sat there weeping, Eli the priest, confronted her thinking she was drunk. When she explained that she hadn’t been drinking and had been in prayer, he responded, “In that case, go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him” (1 Samuel 1:17 NLT). Hannah then went back, ate food, and was no longer sad.

She acted in faith before she got her answer. She believed that God heard her prayer and answered it. We could all learn from her and the farming community. Jesus said in John 14:13, “You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.” If we will start acting like God is going to answer our prayers, we will start to see more of them answered. Faith doesn’t wait in order to act. It acts before it knows there will be an answer. 

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March 10, 2016 · 5:30 AM

Crazy Faith

  
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is found in Joshua 10. Joshua led the Israelites into war against five kings. As they were fighting, God threw hailstones from the heavens and killed more men than the Israelites combined. The battle continued to rage, but the daylight was going to end. That’s when Joshua stopped, looked up into heaven, and said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon” (Joshua 10:12 NLT). The next verse says the sun stood still until Israel defeated their enemies.

Can you imagine the kind of boldness, courage, and faith it took to make such a request? This is one of the greatest miracles of the Bible. God paused time so that Joshua could defeat his enemies. I love it when God shows off like this. To me, it’s Him saying, “If you can think it, I can do it. All you have to do is ask.” The problem is that I feel like I’m bothering God when I ask for something crazy like this. But God is sitting there wanting me to stretch my faith and ask Him for the unthinkable.

Ephesians 3:20 is a familiar verse to most Christians, and I love how the Amplified Bible writes this verse. It says, “Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams].” God can do infinitely more than your wildest prayers, craziest hopes, and unrealistic dreams. He’s just waiting for you to trust Him enough to do it.

Many times I wonder if I’m asking God for enough, is my faith big enough, or do I trust Him enough. Joshua asked the sun to stand still, a widow asked Elisha to bring her son back to life, and Peter asked to get out of the boat. All three were granted because they were bold and courageous enough to ask. All three had the faith in God to answer their requests. If God is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all we could ever ask or think, I believe it’s time we had a faith that’s crazy enough to ask for those things.

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February 22, 2016 · 5:41 AM

All Things Are Possible

  
I scoff sometimes when I read about Moses. He met with God consistently, he physically saw God, He had the Shekinah glory over the Tabernacle that led them, and there was Manna on the ground every morning. He still found a way to doubt God. When the people were tired of Manna, they whined and complained. God called out to Moses and told him that He would provide meat for a month. Moses immediately thought of the impossibility of the situation instead of the ability of God.

The disciples were in a similar situation. They had been with Jesus for a long time, seen Him heal the blind, cure diseases, and raise the dead. Yet when there was a crowd of hungry people, they looked at a couple of loaves of bread and some fish and saw the impossibility of the situation instead of the ability of Jesus. They projected their abilities and limitations onto Jesus instead of His onto themselves.

You and I find ourselves in the same struggle thousands of years later. God has proven Himself over and over to us. He has answered our prayers, He has opened closed doors, He has changed our life, and has spoken to our heart. Somehow, we still find ways to doubt His ability to come through in the impossible. I have to remind myself what Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God” (AMP).

God reminds you and I over and over in scripture that what’s impossible for us is possible for Him. I love His answer to Moses in the situation above. In Numbers 11:23, He asked Moses, “Has my arm lost its power?” (NLT) I believe He’s asking us that today. Has anything changed with who God is? I don’t know what impossible odds you’re facing today or how bad your situation looks. I do know that whatever it is, our God is able to provide. His arm has not lost its power. He specializes in coming through in the impossible. Rely on His ability, not yours.

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February 9, 2016 · 5:30 AM

Changing God’s Mind

  
When I was a pre-teen, I was pretty sure I had God figured out. I could tell you all the books of the Bible, quote entire chapters of it, and beat adults in Bible trivia. I was shocked when I went to a vacation Bible school at a friend’s church and the pastor stumped me. I’ll never forget that moment. He asked, “Can God change His mind?” I thought long and hard. I decided that since God is always right, He would have no need to change His mind. So I answered, “No!”

He directed me to Exodus 32:14. It says, “So the Lord changed his mind and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened” (GNT). I couldn’t argue. There it was in Scripture. My idea of God began to unravel and my face must have shown it. He butted into my thoughts, “Why do you think it’s important that God is able to change His mind?” I was lost. My mind was still reeling from defeat. He tossed me a life preserver and said, “If God can’t change His mind, why bother praying for God’s help?”

Suddenly, prayer took on a whole new meaning for me. I realized in that moment that the things I most fervently pray for are things I’m asking God to change His mind on. If Moses was able to pray to God and have Him change His mind, then my prayers could have the same effect. That new knowledge gave my faith a boost, changed how I saw God, and shaped my future prayers.

James 5:16 says, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man available much” (NKJV). Part of that “availing much” is changing the mind of God. Our prayers have a more powerful effect than we can ever imagine. Never underestimate what your faith can accomplish. Jesus said, “All things are possible to Him that believes” (Mark 9:23). Whatever you’re praying for today, don’t give up. Don’t quit. Keep praying effectively and fervently. 

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January 29, 2016 · 6:56 AM

The Path To The Promise

  
Have you ever tried to right your wrongs? Have you tried to do two good things for every bad thing you’ve done? Have you tried to play God in situations? We’ve all interfered with things thinking, “This is what God wants. Maybe He’s been waiting on me to do it.” So we stick our nose where it doesn’t belong and we try to do what only God can do. We try to enforce God’s will in a situation only to make it worse.

Abraham tried it with Hagar. He knew that God was going to give him a child, but he couldn’t see how. To me, that’s the most dangerous territory we can find ourselves in. When we know what God’s will is, but we don’t see the path to the promise. In those moments, we often try to do God’s work for Him. We improvise and innovate in order to make what God said co e true when we think it needs to. Why? Because we are impatient.

I imagine David felt this way too. It had been declared to him that he was the next king of Israel, but his best friend’s dad was the king. There was no path to the promise. As Saul hinted him down, David had the opportunity, on more than one occasion, to kill Saul and to inherit the kingdom. But David didn’t do what Abraham and so many of us do. He didn’t make his own path, he waited for God’s path to open up. What made him different?

I believe the answer is in many Psalms, including Psalm 19. In verse 13 David prayed, ” Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I could take over your work” (MSG). David prayed often that God would keep him from doing what only God can do. He asked God to keep him from deliberate sins. He used the power of prayer to ask God to help him live the way God wanted him to. In return, he got the patience to wait for God’s plan to work itself out without him messing it up.

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January 15, 2016 · 5:30 AM

Panic Prayer

Sometimes when I get into a situation that doesn’t look like anything like what God promised, I panic. I then pray and remind God what He told me. “God, you said that if I did this, then you would do that. So why am I in this situation? Where are you? Why aren’t you being true to your promise?” Have you ever prayed a panic prayer like that? You heard God, did what He said, and the results weren’t what you expected.

When that happens, we trend to freak out a bit. We hear God and then our imagination creates what the outcome should look like. When it doesn’t turn out that way, we ask God why He isn’t holding up His end of the bargain. We think our obedience should be rewarded. We even think our act of faith should be broadcast to all of creation, but we end up in a situation that requires more faith.

Jacob was in this same boat in Genesis 32. God told him to return to the land of his father Isaac. On the way, he sent servants to his brother, whom he had double crossed, to tell him that he was coming. The servants came back with the news that his brother was coming and that he had 400 men with him. Jacob’s mind went to work. He thought of the worst possible scenario. In verses 11 and 12 he prayed, “Save me, please, from the violence of my brother, my angry brother! I’m afraid he’ll come and attack us all, me, the mothers and the children. You yourself said, ‘I will treat you well; I’ll make your descendants like the sands of the sea, far too many to count’” (MSG).

He didn’t know if his brother was still angry 20 years later. He didn’t know if his brother was coming to kill all of them. He saw a small piece of the puzzle, made assumptions, panicked, and prayed. He’s not that different than we are. He saw a situation snd thought of the worst outcome. He didn’t trust God, so he reminded God of what He had said. I wonder how that makes God feel. I wonder if He does a face palm with some of our panic prayers and says, “Will you just trust me?”

It’s one thing to pray a promise of God so you can build your faith and another to use it to remind God in case He forgot. Jacobs situation wasn’t anything like what he had imagined. In fact, his brother was coming to bless him. The same is true of our situations. If God has promised you something, and you’ve acted in faith, don’t look at the circumstances. Trust God to do what He said He will do. There’s no need to panic pray. God keeps His promises and is true to His word.

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January 1, 2016 · 12:00 AM

2016 New Year’s Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank for the start of a new year and a new chapter in my life. Help me to make the most out of this year by focusing on the things you want me to focus on. I ask that you would put people in my life that would draw me closer to you and to the will that you have for my life. For my existing friends, let us mutually stir up the gifts you’ve placed inside each of us so that we will love you and serve you the way we were intended to.

This past year had victories and losses. Teach me to be humble in victory and forgiving in defeat. Help me to let go of past hurt so that no root of bitterness will spring up. Give me the grace to forgive others and the courage to speak truth in love. I want to be a reflection of your Son Jesus who was full of grace and truth. I want to be able to be free by letting go of the things that don’t matter so I can hold on to the blessings you’re going to bring into my life this year.

I ask that 2016 would be a year of blessing. Open up the windows of Heaven and pour them out on my life and into the lives of my family and friends. I know that every good and perfect comes down from you, and I’m asking you to rain down those gifts this year. Help us not to hoard the gifts you give, but to use them to glorify you and to make you known. Whatever you give to me, you can get through me to whomever you please.

This year, I want to act justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly with you. I want to live this year better than I did last year. I want to give you more of my time, my resources, and my talents. I want 2016 to be the year I hold nothing back from you. I want to experience unparalleled growth in my life, in my relationships, and in my walk with you. I’m asking that you create rivers in the desert and open doors that have been shut. Show me the paths you want me to walk down so when 2017 comes around, I’ll be where you need me to be.

I give 2016 to you. I want what you want for me this year. Help me to lay aside my desires for the year and to embrace your desires. Give me strength to do what you have called me to do. Give me courage to go where you’ve called me to go. Give me ears that hear your voice and eyes that see your path. Keep me from turning to the right or the left, and help me to stay focused on you. May 2016 be known as the year of your blessing in my life. I trust you to do what I’ve asked because I’ve prayed according to your will.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen 

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