Much has been written about how to pray including much discussion on what Jesus had in Mind in Matthew 6:9-13. This week, my challenge is to prepare my/our hearts appropriately before approaching God in prayer, no matter what form that prayer may take. The prior verses of Chapter 6 teach us plenty about ourselves.
You see, we either come to prayer time with the Lord for pure reasons or for improper reasons. Motive is the operative word. Some improper motives can be:
1. Pride - Jesus tells us to stay away from the hypocrite prayer life. All show and no heart. Prayer, in its simplest form, should be the humbling of ourselves below the One that we pray to. Coming to Him in any other way is vain and may very well result in a humbling experience!
2. Uncertainty - Don't get me wrong - I am often unsure as to what way to pray. However, I am speaking to our allegiance. When Jesus teaches us to pray for His Kingdom to Come and His Will to be Done we are making a stance of certain and clear allegiance to the One and Eternal King of Glory. If we are not yet ready to commit to His Kingdom and therefore commit to the results of praying for His Will then we must refer to point #1.
3. Ignorance - To ignore a truth and pretend or hope for circumstances that are clearly out of touch with reality and/or the Father's Will is not prayer. God is not a genie in a bottle. To seek God's will is to educate ourselves on what God wants in the World. He has revealed that perfectly in His Word and given us His Spirit so that we interpret it correctly. In 'The Message' Translation - Eugene Peterson says that many people think of themselves as prayer warriors when what they really are is prayer-ignorant.
I hope that we can treat prayer with the proper respect it should have as the means of living out our relationship with God through Jesus Christ!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Spring is coming
The changing of the seasons is always a great time but there may be none better than the transition from Winter to Spring. We all enjoy a good snow (as long as it doesn't stick around too long) but the truth about winter is it can get a little too dark, stark and even depressing if we let it. The season of Spring swoops in at just the right time to remind us that God is constantly in the process of restoring beauty and new life to the world.
Since He does this so clearly in creation we can know that He does this in our lives as individuals and families as well. I look outside and see a warm sunny day instead of a dark and dreary one and I can know that even in my toughest days God can and will restore to me the 'joy of my salvation'. Psalm 51
In Arkansas today, we can look outside (or even better we can go out and enjoy it) and see a glimmer of a coming spring. Can we look at our lives and see God bringing on a new season of life, color, wonder and hope as well? I can, and I hope you can as well.
Since He does this so clearly in creation we can know that He does this in our lives as individuals and families as well. I look outside and see a warm sunny day instead of a dark and dreary one and I can know that even in my toughest days God can and will restore to me the 'joy of my salvation'. Psalm 51
In Arkansas today, we can look outside (or even better we can go out and enjoy it) and see a glimmer of a coming spring. Can we look at our lives and see God bringing on a new season of life, color, wonder and hope as well? I can, and I hope you can as well.
Monday, February 13, 2012
The only thing we have to Fear is...
Scripture teaches an amazing truth in 1 John 4:18 that 'There is no fear in love and perfect love casts out fear'. We learn back in Verse 16 that 'God is Love'. Put those two truths together and we can know that God casts out fear from the life of the believer. Yours and my love relationship with God gives us all the ammunition needed to live a life of victory over fear.
Yesterday, my very good friend, Holt Condren, came and spoke to us at Pilgrims Rest. He taught from Ephesians 2:10 about God's plan and purpose for us. He taught that we must live courageously in this world to be able to achieve the abundant life God has called us to. He made the point that anything worthwhile will also be challenging and that to overcome those challenges we must overcome fear. His statement was that we should actually 'accelerate through our fear' knowing that as God's children we can be victorious over the challenges life will give us.
I don't know about you, but I am certainly challenged by this thinking. We live in a world full of fear and we almost expect our challenges to be 'too big' for us. Can we counter-culturally embrace the truth that we should run head-long towards our challenges?
Well, come to think of it, Jesus - the Son of God - walked perfectly through this life. All the while, He knew He was walking 'The Calvary Road'. Our Savior knew the challenges ahead and He knew that each step He took would lead Him closer to The Cross. Hmmm, if that is our model - why do we shrink, why do we whine?
Maybe the only thing we have to fear is...a life of unfinished business because we have shrunk from the 'God-Sized' Plans He created for us (Ephesians 2:10, Jeremiah 29:11).
Yesterday, my very good friend, Holt Condren, came and spoke to us at Pilgrims Rest. He taught from Ephesians 2:10 about God's plan and purpose for us. He taught that we must live courageously in this world to be able to achieve the abundant life God has called us to. He made the point that anything worthwhile will also be challenging and that to overcome those challenges we must overcome fear. His statement was that we should actually 'accelerate through our fear' knowing that as God's children we can be victorious over the challenges life will give us.
I don't know about you, but I am certainly challenged by this thinking. We live in a world full of fear and we almost expect our challenges to be 'too big' for us. Can we counter-culturally embrace the truth that we should run head-long towards our challenges?
Well, come to think of it, Jesus - the Son of God - walked perfectly through this life. All the while, He knew He was walking 'The Calvary Road'. Our Savior knew the challenges ahead and He knew that each step He took would lead Him closer to The Cross. Hmmm, if that is our model - why do we shrink, why do we whine?
Maybe the only thing we have to fear is...a life of unfinished business because we have shrunk from the 'God-Sized' Plans He created for us (Ephesians 2:10, Jeremiah 29:11).
Monday, February 6, 2012
Healing and Miracles
Does God's Power still manifest through supernatural healing or jaw-dropping miracles? Did His healing power end after the apostles passed on to Glory? This is our topic of discussion this Wednesday Night at 6:30pm.
We have been studying the Spiritual Gifts - those giftings that God gives His Children to accomplish His work in the world. Notably, both healing and miracles are listed in 1 Corithians 12:8-10 and 28-31. These are often listed as sign gifts. What are sign gifts? They are spiritual gifts that God ordains to point to Him, His Power, His Glory and His Goodness (don't signs usually point out what the sign-maker desires to be known about them?).
Tell a cancer survivor that God's healing power isn't in effect 'these days' after they were told they only had months to live - only to go back to the doctor and be told the cancer cannot be found and that there is no 'medical explanation' for what has happened.
Tell the missionary that God does not do miracles 'in our times' after they have seen Him re-grow arms, remove demonic spirits, etc.
As a matter of fact, don't tell them that and don't tell me that. Our God, My God, is still in the business of changing lives and still actively pointing His creation unto Himself and He often uses these powerful and gracious 'sign gifts' to do it. When in the situation of sharing His Gospel with a lost soul, ask and expect Him to deliver signs and wonders of His love for them. Don't test Him, don't corner Him, don't get silly, don't trivialize this gift - just ask Him to demonstrate His nature!
When we pray, we should come expectant of seeing God show up in the matter we have prayed about. That could be a need for bodily healing, a need for financial provision or for the greatest need of all - that a lost soul be brought under the saving Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. What better healing than for God to heal a heart that is desperately sick, so sick that only He can know it (Jeremiah 17:9).
Today, I am praying for our faith family, that God would heal all. I am praying for our community, that God would give signs of His love and power. I am praying for our hearts, that although we believe - that He would help our unbelief. Join me.
We have been studying the Spiritual Gifts - those giftings that God gives His Children to accomplish His work in the world. Notably, both healing and miracles are listed in 1 Corithians 12:8-10 and 28-31. These are often listed as sign gifts. What are sign gifts? They are spiritual gifts that God ordains to point to Him, His Power, His Glory and His Goodness (don't signs usually point out what the sign-maker desires to be known about them?).
Tell a cancer survivor that God's healing power isn't in effect 'these days' after they were told they only had months to live - only to go back to the doctor and be told the cancer cannot be found and that there is no 'medical explanation' for what has happened.
Tell the missionary that God does not do miracles 'in our times' after they have seen Him re-grow arms, remove demonic spirits, etc.
As a matter of fact, don't tell them that and don't tell me that. Our God, My God, is still in the business of changing lives and still actively pointing His creation unto Himself and He often uses these powerful and gracious 'sign gifts' to do it. When in the situation of sharing His Gospel with a lost soul, ask and expect Him to deliver signs and wonders of His love for them. Don't test Him, don't corner Him, don't get silly, don't trivialize this gift - just ask Him to demonstrate His nature!
When we pray, we should come expectant of seeing God show up in the matter we have prayed about. That could be a need for bodily healing, a need for financial provision or for the greatest need of all - that a lost soul be brought under the saving Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. What better healing than for God to heal a heart that is desperately sick, so sick that only He can know it (Jeremiah 17:9).
Today, I am praying for our faith family, that God would heal all. I am praying for our community, that God would give signs of His love and power. I am praying for our hearts, that although we believe - that He would help our unbelief. Join me.
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