politics and opinions: discussions vs. shaming....and a call to vote!

You may or may not agree with me as you read. Please be willing to read to the end before making any judgments. Thank you.

Politics and opinions: I am not one who normally gets too involved in politics. I often have a thing or two to say but I try not to get too deep into it. I do this because I find the deception and misleading statements of potential candidates distasteful and disgusting. Yet I find myself talking about this election more and more. There are so many opinions about this one too. Those who dislike Clinton and feel that our country will be destroyed unless she is defeated. Those who believe that Trump is so bad that unless HE is defeated we are all doomed. Those who feel that both candidates are bad choices and therefore they are going to vote for a third party. Those who want to write in a candidate who didn't make it or a friend who is 35 and over. Those who are considering staying home or not voting for the office of president. So many different opinions.

Discussions: Those opinions are leading to some good discussions. In person I have talked to WAY more people who have said they won't vote for either than those who are confident that they have to vote for one to avoid another. Yet, I also know many people who have said they WILL vote for one of them and it is specifically to help make sure that the other is not elected.

Shaming: 

Having a low opinion about someone or someone's decision is very different than trying to cause someone to have a low opinion about themselves. I can't force you to have a good opinion of me or to respect my opinions. In fact, I wouldn't want to because I like differing opinions because they help us grow.

"If you aren't going to vote for one of the two main candidates then you shouldn't even go."
"If you don't vote for Trump or Clinton then you are throwing your vote away."
"Taking the 'moral high ground' is selfish."
There was another instance where I and others were told that we were being naive and stupid if we didn't vote for one of the candidates. The other three statements have all been made to me and mostly recently.

Can I be honest with all of you? So far it has only been Republicans or Republican leaning voters who have tried to push this on me and others. Those people would probably argue "well the Democratically leaning voters are happy to have you not vote for either because they want Clinton to win." False! The Democratically leaning voters that I have talked to have specifically told me they won't vote for Hillary either and are not sure what to do, but they are more respectful of my choice to vote. *just sayin'*

Can we not have a discussion and agree to disagree or does everyone have to agree with you? Isn't your argument strong enough to sway me without trying to make me think less of myself or be so ashamed that I change my decision?? Can someone not vote to their conscience even if you don't agree. I could point you to the New Testament and make a strong argument that your shame methods have the potential to make another Christian stumble in their conscience or in their morals. Does that mean they are right and you are wrong? Absolutely not! This post is NOT about right and wrong. It is about the right to make this decision for ourselves and not feel pressured to do it someone else's way!

(Addition: I have since talked to one of these people and they've helped me understand their argument and I now understand where they are coming from. I may not agree still, and I don't agree with the wording, but I appreciate the extra dialogue.)

My beliefs: I don't believe that the ends justify the means and I don't believe in situational ethics. I believe that both of the main candidates WILL damage our country but in completely different ways. I believe that God is sovereign and He doesn't need me, you, or the United States of America to fulfill His plans. I praise God that He has chosen to use our country this long and I pray He continues to use it and me and you as long as possible. However, an election doesn't destroy God's plans. Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton are incapable of taking God off-guard or destroying His plans. Could it get ugly here before things are all said and done? Absolutely! However, I trust God to provide for me, my family, and all others who believe in Him. That's it. That assurance is going to walk me through this election and out the other side without being depressed or ashamed of my actions.

You may make a completely different decision than I do in this election. I respect that and I will NOT think less of you because of your choice. However, even if I do *says while smiling* I promise not to try to make YOU think less of YOURSELF for your decision!

Will I vote? Is it "throwing my vote away"? I will vote and it is NOT throwing my vote away. I believe that this election above any other I'm aware of has the most potential for third party votes to NOT be throw away votes.

OK, I want to end by talking to the folks who are considering either not voting or not filling in the spot for president. You DO have a voice. No matter what anyone tells you. In this election could it be a whisper that is drowned out by the crowd? Maybe. But you still have a voice and you should plan to exercise it. Imagine an election where the winner wins with 45% while their opponent wins with 40%. Now imagine an election where a candidate wins with 35% and their opponent with only 30%. While they still win, a statement CAN be made without refusing to go to the ballot box on election day. God has given us the privilege of living in a nation where we have the right to vote! Let's exercise that right.

To GOD be the glory.

Responsible for hypocrisy

Isn't it funny how children want so badly to grow up and be adults? I mean, I remember being a kid and assuming that all the injustices that were being played out on me would be solved once I grew up. I'd be able to drive so my parents couldn't say, "No, we aren't going there today." I would have a job so no one could tell me what I could and couldn't buy. I'd be the master of my own time and no one would be my boss ever again!! :o) *sigh*

It's so wrong, but that is still the impression that children have. Yet, what they forget is that with age, knowledge, and power comes more and more responsibility.

This is also true for Christians. Not only to other Christians, but also to an unbelieving world. Romans 2 talks about this and it just really struck me today. See, I instruct, correct, and discipline my children. the irony is that my 9 year old (who came to live with us when she was 5) is EXACTLY like I was at that age....and in many ways exactly like I still am.

Side note: have you ever been faced with a child who, to look at them is to look in a mirror? Is it infuriating to you too??? Just wondering.

So, as I instruct, correct, and discipline, there are times when, in the middle of the correction, etc. I am realizing that the thing I'm correcting is something that I do too. *oops*

So, how does it affect non-believers when they see us, as Christians, living in a way that even they realize isn't right? Or, when we try to correct them for things that we ourselves are doing but we know we shouldn't?

Rom 2: 21-24: You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."

I know there is a lot going on in Romans, but the reality and reminder of what hypocrisy does is scary. To think that the name of God would be being made light of because of my/our broken reputation or testimony. May God keep us from the kind of actions that would cause others to see God as less than He is. May we always make much of God and seek to show others the best of Him through our lives.


To God be the glory!!!

Wait! I'm NOT God??

"The turning point in our Christian lives comes when we begin to 'let God be God,' the day we throw all fear to the winds and look to Him to carry out His purpose for us in His own time and way." - Miles Stanford


So, we must ask ourselves: who is God? Is it me? Am I the God of my universe? Even, just my own life? Because I know that I often act like I am the God of my life and my family. I have plans for my family and, while I want to have God's blessing, I'm only willing to see if my plans match His plans IF His plans match my plans....otherwise I'm not sure I want to know.

If I am not God (which we all know I'm not) then what am I doing? Well, I'm trying to put the plans of a created being (me) before the plans of the creator who was never created (God). I am putting the plans of a finite, imperfect, stuck in one moment of time with tunnel vision before an infinite, perfect, timeless God who has plans that cover the scope of all mankind in all times and not just my little moment of life.

God loves us and God desires what is best for us. That often won't connect with our own selfish desires because either the timing is off or the desires are off. However, if we allow God to work in His way and in His time, we will find that it is better in the end than the best dreams we ever had for ourselves: different, but better!


To God be the glory.

Disciples - deny yourself

I have really been struggling. I have been struggling to give my family and my families future to God lately. Things like, "If I give them to God then there is no longer a guarantee that I will be able to get them a house with 3 rooms and a yard to play in....because I can't be sure that is what God really wants for my family." That, and the honest struggle to want to just feel in control and not feel vulnerable by being out of control where my family is concerned.

You are probably already thinking it, but one response is, "Really Nate? How selfish can you be? You are going to ask your family to accept less than God's best simply so that you can feel in control even though you won't actually be in control???" I know. I can't explain it, but it's been a real struggle and I'll leave it at that.

Sunday night's speaker, however, really brought a few things into perspective for me.

Matthew 16:24 (also Mark 8:34 and Luke 9:23) "Then Jesus told His disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'"

The Greek word that is translated Deny in all three of these passages means  "to forget one's self" and to "lose sight of one's self and one's own interests."

What I love, as I keep looking at this, is the intentional action that is required. This is not passive and it is not subconscious. To forget one's self and to lose sight of one's self and one's own interests. Man. Imagine the family problems we have that wouldn't exist if we did this a little more. Because we wouldn't be so self-focused that we would be able to hear those around us and respond in a loving way more often than we do now.

The Luke passage (9:23) says "take up his cross daily..." - to take up one's cross is to die to oneself. We think of the cross today and we can have this idea of hope and salvation because we are 2000 years removed from the cross as capital punishment. The cross was an image of not just suffering and anguish (though it certainly was) it was also a brutal way of death. And "daily" also emphasizes the point that this is intentional.

So, forgetting one's self and dying to self so that we can follow Jesus. That is good stuff. However, the clincher was this next verse:

Luke 14:27 - "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."

Key term: disciple - all Apostles (there were 12 originally) are disciples, but not all disciples were apostles. I point this out because we are disciples, although we are not apostles. (Maybe you've never been confused by that, but it used to confuse me a lot.)

That puts a stop to Nate's selfish attitude with his family. It has to. I don't have a choice. For me to be a disciple of Jesus (read: Christian) I have to be willing to take up my cross and follow Jesus. That is to die to self. It is forgetting me and forgetting what I want and choosing to allow God to reign in my life and in my family and to accept His loving best no matter what that looks like.

I'll close with this quote, "Is Christ the master of your life? Have you put to death your own plans and committed yourself to His will for your life? Don't be satisfied with anything less, for there is no greater joy in life than following Christ every day." ...and there is no other way to be His disciple.


To God be the glory.

Prayer - making room for praise and glory

The Bible commands that we pray. There are so many passages that tell us to pray, but it isn't just about the requests. It is also about the worship.

A. W. Tozer, in his book Knowledge of the Holy points out that God is not constrained by time, space, or matter. Yet, even knowing that, I find myself praying to inform God of what is going on...or to try to get someone I love higher on God's healing list so that they can be healed sooner. But God doesn't work that way. The day I was born, God was there. BUT, at the same time, He was here....in this moment that I'm typing. AND He was here in the individual moments when each of you reads this. Time plays no role for constraining God because He created it too.

Now, before I am misunderstood, we are to bring requests to God. Read Luke 18:1-8 sometime. It's a beautiful story, but mostly because it is written to encourage us to keep praying and never to stop. If God lays something on our hearts, we ought to be praying about it.

Again, my point is that we aren't making sure God knows about it though. He knows. He is, even as you struggle through it, already in the moment of the end of it. Whether that is the end of a life, or the end of a problem, or whatever it looks like. God is not just aware of it, He is already there!!!

What this should do, is free us up for more time to praise Him and give glory to God. Because, if God already knows about XYZ, then it is still good for us to bring it to Him again, but we don't have to necessarily pour over it every time. We can, in fact, remind God and then go back to praising Him. In fairness, some things are going to be more on our minds. They will take more of our prayer time because they occupy more of our minds and that is perfectly fine.

At the end of the day though, we should be slotting more and more time to praise and glorify God because that is the true end goal of our lives as Christians. To do whatever will most effectively honor, praise, and glorify God.

Our speaker last night spoke from Psalm 115. The first verse says, "Not to us, Oh God, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love (or mercy) and faithfulness."


To God be the glory!!

Prayer - pray without ceasing

We are wrapping up 40 days of blogging about prayer. I thought it was today, but I re-counted and it is actually tomorrow. I think it'd be good to touch on the verse in I Thessalonians 5 that says. "pray without ceasing."

Now, we've been talking about prayer and all kinds of topics about prayer. Part of the challenge was to help establish a consistent habit of daily, along, meaningful prayer with God.

However, this verse is taking things to a whole new level.

Think about it. Would we be worrying about habits and times and things like that if we were trying to actively practice this verse? Nope.

Pray without ceasing. I will admit that I don't fully understand the concept of this. I'm not pretending to either. I simply know that if I consciously work to strive for this then the rest will fall into place. If I am trying to remember God in every moment of my day and to actively communicate with him then I am bound to be more filled with Spirit. Then I am bound to be more patient, kind, and gracious to people around me. I won't have to remember to praise God for who He is because I'll be thinking about it regularly throughout my days. Then I will feel genuine guilt (not self-assessed shame) for my sin and for relationship issues I have with loved ones. Then I will think about who to pray for in my life and keep them in prayer more consistently. Then I would more consistently get into the Bible because I'd want to know more about God to know better how to pray to Him and praise Him.

So, for all our talk about habits and consistency, if I (we) could just get one thing down...it would be "Pray without ceasing." If I could have one thing I was working daily to improve, it would be to pray without ceasing.


To God be the glory.

Prayer - get into politics

I know that I already posted about praying for our country so that is NOT what this is about. I promise.

No, it has been on my heart to do something for the next 3 months. This is going to be a brutal, personal, emotional, divisive election season. At least on the presidential level and possibly in other areas depending on where you live.

However, what I don't want is for us to get self-righteous attitudes and start praying for God to fix this person or that person so that they will agree with us politically...or even morally and ethically. That's cheap and petty to me.

Also, I have often noticed that many Christians I rub shoulders with have a huge tendency to remember that we should pray for our president when the current president is someone they disagree with. But they aren't as outspoken when the president seems to agree with them...

So, the last time I checked both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have a soul. ...and I do NOT want any jokes about this because I'm feeling serious so it isn't funny! They do and that's enough.

So, let's consider the reality of the position that these people are running to attain. It is the head of a great nation. A powerful nation. A nation with influence and responsibility. They will be the head of a nation that makes decisions that has ripple effects around the world. So, we should be praying for them no matter what their political affiliation or moral standing is. Whether we agree with them or not should be irrelevant to our prayer life. They will have a great weight of responsibility on their shoulders.

My challenge is that for the next three months we spend time (every week, every day, etc.) praying for each of the candidates. That God will work in their lives and hearts and that God will use them to better His plans. (I didn't say America's plans because I don't assume to know the mind or plans of God.)


To God be the glory.

Prayer - the example of Moses

Yesterday we talked about Jonah. Today I want to talk about Moses. This struck me some time ago and talking about Jonah yesterday and talking about questioning God several days ago also brought it to mind.

Moses at the burning bush. We read about this in Exodus 3-4. Chapter 3 has Moses seeing the bush, approaching it, and God talking to Moses. God reveals His plans for Moses and for the Israelites all the way through plundering Egypt on their way out.

Chapter 4, however, begins a dialog between Moses and God with Moses making comments and God responding.

1. Moses doubted if the Israelites would believe that he had seen God (Vs. 1-9). God now gives Moses three signs that Moses can provide to the Israelites so that they will believe that Moses has truly seen God. Turning his staff into a serpent and then turning it back into a staff; turning his hand leprous and turning it back; and taking water from the Nile, pouring it on dry ground, and having it turn to blood. Wow, what an amazing response. It must have been for Moses too because he doesn't make this argument again.

2. Moses questions his own ability to communicate (Vs. 10-12). Here we see God's response to Moses, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." This too was a compelling answer and we don't see Moses bringing up this argument again either.

3. Moses simply asks God to change His plans (Vs.13-17). Moses has given two doubts and God has answered them without question, fail, or frustration. Here, however, we don't have a doubt. We simply have an attempt to get out of doing what God is asking him to do. Moses says, "Oh, my Lord, please send someone else." That's it. He just asked God to send someone else. Yet we then read that, "Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses..."

I don't know about you but I never want the sentence "then the anger of the Lord was kindled against _____" to be about me! But what amazes me is that it wasn't Moses questioning God. I've told you that Scripture supports honest, legitimate (not rebellious) questioning of God. No, it was when God had answered all of Moses' doubts and Moses still didn't want to obey. Then God was angry with him. That's the lesson. Question and wonder all you want. Pray to God and ask Him "why?" However, when you know that God has placed something on your heart to do, then you need to do it.

My challenge is two-fold. First, let's pray that God will make it clear to use what He would have for us. That is both long-term and short-term. In the moment, in the day, in the week, and in the lifetime: that God will make clear what He wants us to do. Second, let's pray that we will learn from Moses and have the courage and humility to obey and do what He has asked us to do.


To God be the glory.

Prayer - pray like Jonah

I have often been very judgmental of Jonah. He's the prophet that ran away. The one that whined when God fulfilled His promise and didn't destroy people. The one who got mad when a plant died.

Yet, for all that, he still knew how to pray.

1. Jonah prayed in response to correction.

Chapter 2 is devoted to Jonah's prayer in the belly of the fish. Yet, it starts in chapter 1. When the men on the boat ask him what he has done, he takes responsibility for his actions. In 1:12 we read, "He said to them, 'Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.'"

So, we see that he takes responsibility for his sin and then, chapter, we see that he directs that toward God. Read chapter 2 when you can. it's a really cool prayer.

2. Jonah prayed with frank honesty.

Chapter 3 was all about Jonah going, preaching, and the Ninevites repenting. The prayer we are talking about now is verses 1-4 of chapter 4. Jonah is angry, he blames God, tells God a kind of "I told you so" (even though he hadn't told him), and God asks if he has a right to be angry. In fact, Jonah throws God's attributes back at him. "For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster." Yet, he obviously doesn't like that those aspects of God carry from Jew to non-Jew. From those he loves to those he hates.

My point with this prayer isn't the attitude. It (obviously) isn't the seeming disrespect or the drama either. It is that Jonah was angry with God's decision and he let God know. He didn't try to deny it, he didn't walk away again, he told God. I mean, he had done his job - tell the people of Nineveh that destruction was at hand - so he could have just left, but he chose to talk/rant to God anyway.

3. Jonah prayed in his depression.

Again, I am so impressed with Jonah here. How many times do we get depressed and we just stop praying. Or we just to pretty up our prayers instead of being honest. This man is honest. He asks God to kill him. When God makes a plant grow (which makes Jonah happy) and then kills it, God asks Jonah if he should be angry over the plant. Instead of grudgingly saying "no, I shouldn't. God, I get your point" we see an attitude of frustration and honesty. He said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die."

OK. Now, Jonah is super dramatic and he does come across as whining. So, I'm not trying to praise those things. What I'm trying to point out is that he was honest and he was real with God. He told God when his depression left him wanting to die. He told God when he was angry that God was gracious to people he hated. He told God he was wrong when he knew he was being punished for his sin. These are examples we can follow in our own prayer life. You may not struggle with depression, you may be 100% content with life at all times. However, even if that is true, I bet you at least know someone who either struggles with depression or struggles with being content with God's plans. So, now you can help them to see and know that it's OK to be honest with God. Respectful, but honest.


To God be the glory. 

Prayer - fear, respect, or rude?

We all remember the story of Esther, right? Do to some drunken madness, the king has his wife banished. Then he is advised to find the most beautiful woman in his kingdom to be his new, better wife. Many interviews and reference calls later, Esther is chosen as the best for the job.

Another guy, Haman, was really important and full of himself. So he had an edict made that forced people to bow when they saw him, but a guy name Mordecai wouldn't do it. Mordecai was Esther's cousin, but secretly. Secretly because they were Jews in a foreign land and Esther was no revealing her heritage at this time. So, it is known that Mordecai is a Jew, but not that Esther is as well.

Long story short - Haman hates Jews because of the frustration of a single man and he contrives to have all Jews killed.

When his plot is made public, Mordecai goes to Esther to ask her to plead with the king for the life of her people. Esther agrees to fast (her and all of her servants) for a time and then to go to the king. She agrees knowing that this could be her life. See, when you went before the king, but he hadn't asked you to come, you put your life at risk. He had a golden scepter and if, as you approached, he extended it, then you got to live because you had the king's favor. If he didn't, then guards took you and killed you. That simple. Is the king in a good mood today or does he feel offended that you came uncalled.

Those who know the story, know that Esther was safe and the story turns out really well. If you don't remember, read it here.

Now, what if Esther had been told by the king "Esther, you are amazing and I love you. I will always hold out the scepter to you. You never need to worry about your life when you come to me. Please come anytime you want." What would her attitude be? Would she continue to go in fear and trepidation? Why? She has assurances from the king, right? The only way she would go in fear was if she didn't trust him. How about rudely? Would she go rudely knowing that he has told her he won't kill her for coming? Of course not. She would know that his position still demands respect because of the authority he still holds. So, the only logical answer would be respect. She would go, whenever she wanted to, without fear, but with respect for the king!

Hebrews 4:14-16 (specifically vs 16) says, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The King James Version saw "come boldly." That's Esther. That's us. We can go to God whenever we want, without fear of the creator of the universe, yet we go with respect for His position and authority.

Hopefully that helps you have a different view on prayer and what it is and means. Let's go to the King today so we may receive mercy and find to help in our times of need.


To God be the glory.

Prayer - because it just works

"Although I depend on technology every day to get my job done, I don't understand much about how it works. I turn my computer on, bring up a Word document, and get to work on my writing. Yet my inability to comprehend how microchips, hard drives, Wi-Fi connections, and full-color displays actually function doesn't get in the way of my benefiting from technology.

In a sense, this mirrors our relationship with God. Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us that God is far beyond us: 'My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'

Even though we don't understand everything about God, that doesn't prevent us from trusting Him. He has proven His love for us. The apostle Paul wrote, 'God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom 5:8). Trusting that love, we can walk with Him even when life doesn't make sense." -- Bill Crowder


Many of us know this to be true, any yet the reminders are so good. God is good, He loves us, and we can pray to Him. Like a computer or a car (for most of us) we don't always know how prayer works, but we know that it does because we have experienced the power of prayer. If we haven't, then we know people who have and their experiences can bolster our own faith until we have!


To God be the glory!

Prayer - a Father to the fatherless (and everyone else too)

I know that I have at times struggled with some of this and I know many people who I love and respect who do not have good earthly father-figure examples. The beauty of prayer is that we have a heavenly Father who knows what is best, loves us perfectly, and will always provide for our needs. Sometimes He will cause us to stretch and grow through hard times. Sometimes He will let us make our own mistakes so that we can learn from that...even if we don't want to learn the hard way. Sometimes He will allow things to happen to us, so that we can become who He wants us to be...so that someone else can be affected by us and God can be glorified later on in life. We don't really know.

The beauty is that our heavenly Father is perfect and all-knowing. We earthly fathers fall short all the time because we run on imperfect knowledge, we love imperfectly, and we live with a self-focus at times (or more often). All of these things cause us to fail. We can have the greatest of intentions, but without perfect knowledge, I'm going to screw up. I've told my oldest many times that I am always going to do what I think is best for her. However, that is colored by my perceptions, my own selfish thoughts, and my lack of perfect knowledge. God doesn't have those limits.

So, to those who had a great earthly father, just remember that God is a perfect father.

To those who had an "OK" dad who did his best but didn't really stand out either way. Just remember that God is a perfect father.

To those who didn't have a father, just remember that God is a perfect father.

To those who had a father, but if anyone knew the truth about your childhood, they would agree that you may have (or would have) been better off without an earthly father - just remember. God is a perfect heavenly father.

So, even if the image of "father" that you have (or don't have) from earthly men, God is in heaven, is perfect, and is always available to talk. We can eagerly go to Him, with respect for who He is, but boldness that He will never turn us away, and just talk to Him. We can thank Him for being so amazing and for loving us in spite of us. We can ask him to help heal the hurts that broken people have caused and allow Him to fill those empty spaces in our souls.

God is love. He represents everything perfect about Love. So, do you want to know what a perfect Father looks like? (Note: Dad's that are reading this? You have an obligation to your kids to step up and be the best model of this Heavenly Father that you can be! They deserve more than we often give them. Having said that, you also have an obligation to point them to a perfect, heavenly Father who will NEVER fail them!!)

God is patient and kind.
God does not envy or boast.
God is not arrogant or rude.
God does not insist on his own way. (Think about it. How many times has God let you be stupid and live with the consequences so that you could learn and grow?)
God is no irritable or resentful.
God does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
God bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.
The love of God never ends!!


To God be the glory!!

Prayer - practical application

I'm taking this from someone who was quoting something they had seen, but this was really good to me and I wanted to share. Too often I see the Lord's prayer used literally (Catholic) or disregarded (Baptist/Evangelical) instead of being used as it is given (a model of prayer).

Re: Jesus' Model Prayer recorded in Matt 6:9-13:

 - Praise: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
 - Priorities: Your kingdom come, Your will be done.
 - Provision: Give us this day our daily bread.
 - Personal Relationships: Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
 - Protection: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from (the) evil (one).
 - Praise: For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

"Prayer and praise are the oars by which a man may row his boat into the deep waters of the knowledge of Christ." -- Charles H Spurgeon.


I especially love the pointed reminder that this model really both starts and ends with praise. How often are we forgetting to praise God in our prayer time? Much less both starting and ending with it!!

What a great challenge on this Sunday. Start your prayer time (and your day) praising God and end your prayer time (and day) praising God!!


To God be the glory!!

Prayer - break the mold

"I like J. B. Phillips's paraphrase of Paul's message to the Christians in Rom: 'Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity' (Rom. 12:2). How relevant this is today as we find our thoughts and the way our minds process material affected by the world around us.

We cannot stem the tide of information that bombards us, but we can ask God each day to help us focus on Him and to shape our thinking through His presence in our lives. - David McCasland"


Do you find this to be true too? I sure do. This is an area that we could pray about day in and day out every day and not have prayed about it enough. The world wants to fit us into a mold. Maybe it's a mold of the world's ethical or moral standards. Or the worlds way of viewing "religion." The world tells us that things are OK that the Bible says are not and the world tells us not to do things that the Bible tells us to do.

Two required things. First, we have to know the Word of God so that we know the view of life that should be affecting us. Second, we have to pray for God to help that view of life to just consume and overflow our entire being so that we live it out on reflex to the best of our ability.

May God grant us the strength to break the world's mold and live as the believers that He calls us to be.


To God be the glory.

Prayer - answers and obedience

I John 3:22 was pointed out to me the other day and I really love this verse. This verse is in the middle of a larger thought process so please take the time to read the chapter/book to get the context.

However, this verse specifically says, "whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him." I'm going to add verse 23 which says, "And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us."

First, I'll add my usual caveat that we know from the greater context of Scripture that there is more to answered prayer than just asking and receiving. There is faith, there is not having unconfessed sin, there is reconciling yourself with your brothers and sisters in Christ, there is forgiveness, etc. So, with that in mind, let's keep going with this verse.

I love that "we receive" is attached with a "because" and it is keeping his commandments and doing what pleases him...that is Him! See, it isn't just about getting what we want because we ask the right way, or the right amount of times, or just because we want it. There must be obedience to God's Word in our lives before we should expect answer to prayer as well. Now, is this saying that we won't get "yes" answers if we are not obeying or simply that we won't get as many "yes" answers as we would if we were obeying? I don't know. I could read this either way. However, I would argue that if we are asking that question then we have a problem anyway as we should always be striving to obey God's Word and to do things that please our Heavenly Father.

Last, I liked verse 23 because it adds belief and loving each other to the list of things that we are commanded to do. So, if we struggle in our belief or if we aren't loving each other, then we aren't following the commands of God.


To God be the glory.

Prayer - prayer for another generation

I had family here tonight so I don't have many thoughts about prayer and need to get to bed. The one thing that God did bring to mind today was praying for other generations. This can look different for all of us:

Within your family or outside your family.

An older generation, a younger generation, or both.

Parents, children, nieces and nephews, or grandchildren.

Neighbors.

Neighbor children.

Families at church.

Co-workers.

People walking outside where you work.

The checker at the grocery store.

The anchor on the news.

The announcer of the Olympics.

So many people with so many needs. So, why my thoughts on praying for a generation other than your own? I think we tend to get stuck in the mindsets of our own generation. Right? These are our peers. Many think the way we think and/or think about things similarly to the way we do. But older generations and younger generations have a new (or old) way of looking at things that can be really helpful. So, by praying for them, it steps your mind outside of your age demographic and can allow you to remember the rest of the world and its people...and its ways of thinking!

We live in a culture of self-focus and self-love. This is meant to be a way to step us out of that and get into the minds and needs of other people around us!


To God be the glory.

Prayer - the Bible says it best

It's always true that the Bible is the greatest authority that we have. Sometimes, however, I find that it can be hard to grasp or understand. Less often the more time I spend in it, but it still can be for many.

However, the Bible still says it best when it comes to all the issues of life if we are willing to listen and work at ensuring we understand what it is saying.

Today's example of the bible saying it best on prayer is James 5. Verses 13-18 is the section we are going to look at. I am just going to hit the highlights below but you can read the whole section through the link above.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.

Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for hte elders of the church, and let them pray over him...

Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another...

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Then, the passage shows the example of Elijah and talks about his prayers causing a 3.5 year drought and then his prayers opening the heavens back up for rain again.

Prayer is not only powerful, it is diverse and covers all the aspects of our lives. The power of the God empowering the prayers is the reason for the greatness of the prayers. It wasn't how awesome Elijah was. It was the God he was praying to. And what an amazing thought: we pray to the same God!!


To God be the glory.

Prayer - God doesn't want prayer

Ha! Gotcha.

Today's thought comes from Psalm 51. This is the Psalm that David wrote after Nathan the prophet confronted him about Bathsheba. The Psalm is full of David's asking God to cleanse David and to bring them back together. It's a great Psalm for those who have sinned and need to come back to an unbroken communication with God.

Side note: I don't believe that our relationship, as Christians, is ever broken with God, but I do believe that communication can and is broken when sin is in our lives.

However, what caught my eye this time was verses 16, 17.

"For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, Oh God, you will not despise."

What are we talking about here? Well, remember. This is when the laws of Moses still governed the people of Israel and sacrifices were required of the people. And yet, we see David saying that the sacrifice is not what God wants. What God wants is a broken and contrite heart.

The same is true today. While my goal is to help us establish a habit of prayer, it is also important to remember that the goal is to establish the habit, but not just for habits sake. But rather, because we know this is necessary for a healthy Christian's life and as a response of love toward God. Yet this habit is something that is often hard to establish on our own.

If we are establishing the habit, while harboring sin, or doing it just so that you can tell others that you are, then the whole exercise is wasted.

So, today's challenge is for you to pray and just ask God to reveal your heart to you and allow you to honestly assess your motives. Not with a desire to stop praying but with a desire to correct any issues God brings to you so that you can get right back into praying regularly.


To God be the glory.

Prayer - who are we defending?

Jesus defended the children when the disciples wanted to get them out of the way.

Jesus defended women on multiple occasions (healing, woman at the well, etc.)

Jesus defended outcast minorities via the Samaritans (woman at the well, using a Samaritan in the Good Shepherd parable, etc.)

Jesus defended a woman caught in adultery who was about to be given the death penalty.

Jesus defended you and me, knowing how our lives would turn out and how we would curse His name (if not in word, then in action) at times in our lives.

Who would God have us to defend? Is it that person we talked about here? The co-worker no one likes? The customer/patient/neighbor everyone wants to pass off? The check out clerk who is having a bad day....all month! The person in line at the grocery store who is being a jerk to everyone. The screaming kids at the store/library/mall.

The ethnic minority that scares us? The ethnic majority that gets slighted in the name of equality? The black lives that matter? The cop lives that matter? The homosexual couple you know that gets hate because of their lifestyle? The heterosexual couple you know that gets hate because they take a personal stand against homosexuality? The family that has aborted their baby? The family that hatefully responds to abortionists? The person running for president that you don't agree with (....maybe that is ALL of them). Did Christ die for all of these people or not? Seriously!!! We get so caught up with not wanting our action to somehow justify sin that we forget to love the sinner. Then the world just sees people who hate people instead of people who have a moral and ethical stand against actions/behaviors, but not against people.

So, I would encourage you to start with prayer for them. Just like I encouraged you to when I wrote my blog about praying for people we don't like. However, I want you to pray that God works in you (again) and then that God working in your actions and life. Let this be about more than just prayer. Let it be about us acting out the love of Jesus. We took "What Would Jesus Do" and made it trivial and irrelevant. Which is disappointing. Because if you look at the example of Jesus in the New Testament and literally asked yourself "I wonder what Jesus would do in this situation to show love without justifying sin" I guarantee you most of us would respond and live differently than we do today!


To God be the glory.

prayer - when did we stop praying for each other?

I'd like to have a conversation with all of you who read this (details at the end).

So, first, we talked yesterday about the way in which we communicate that we are or have prayed for someone. the different between the future, past, or present language that we can use.

That conversation got me thinking and I realized...we don't talk about prayer with each other anymore. At least, I'm not hearing. I don't hear people say, "I'll pray for you," or "I have been praying for you," OR "May I pray with you now." I just don't hear those things being said anymore.

I am wondering two things. First, am I right and second, if I am, what happened. Since I can't explore the first question without some help, I've put a request at the bottom. However, I have some speculation on the second question for myself and I'm hoping maybe this helps.

I know why I don't say these things. To begin, what I talked about yesterday, I hadn't really thought about before....yesterday! :o) Which means that I have often only been viewing statements of prayer towards others in the future language. That is, "I will pray for you." Yet, I also knew how hollow that can and has often felt. I knew how hollow of a statement it has been. I have had every good intention of doing it, but life gets in the way and I have often forgotten. So, knowing how hollow it can be or can feel, I have often felt hypocritical saying it so I stopped.

Stopping wasn't the right answer, though I would argue that it was better than continuing to be hypocritical. Now, I could have dedicated myself to writing down every time I told someone I would pray for them and then make sure I did. However, having now thought of past and present language for encouraging others with prayer, I am consciously aware and hope to apply this language more.

(Side note: I still recommend saying you WILL pray for someone when it is the best you can do. We can't always stop and pray with someone and we haven't always been praying for them. However, you can ensure that it won't be a wasted sentence by ensuring that you will pray for them the soonest that you can.)

I know most of you don't comment (either here or on Facebook), but I'd really like to get some feedback on this. When you comment, give me your age decade (40's, 20's, etc.) if you are willing and tell me if you hear this often and, if you do, who it's coming from. Is it coming from your peers, younger Christians, or older Christians.

I hope this can start a really healthy conversation in our churches and with fellow Christians.



To God be the glory.

Prayer - as an encouragement

There are several prayer statement we make to people. The most common is "I will pray for you." The reality, though, is that this is not very encouraging or comforting...most of the time. You may have someone who has not heard that in a long time (or ever) and it may be very encouraging. You may be someone who always follows up on this and DOES pray for them and the person you are telling knows that...and that would be encouraging for them.

I want to contend that there are two better statements we could make to people that have a much higher chance of being encouraging.

1. I have prayed for you. Maybe it was just now or yesterday, but it guarantees the act. Instead of putting it into the future, it allows the hearer to confirm that it happened. Maybe they knew you were going to or maybe they didn't, but what an encouragement it is to hear that someone has prayed for you.

2. May I pray with you. This will usually require a deeper relationship than just anyone you know, but this usually means so much. Again, the context of your relationship and what is going on will drive this some, but I have usually found it encouraging (and been told the same from the other end) when a person is willing to stop what they are doing and pray with me in that moment. Not only is there no way I can wonder if they'll actually do it, but doing the act together also drives the "I am alone" feeling that often come with the struggles and trials of life.

So, I want to encourage you to check your language. Are you leaving the encouragement to an unknown time in the future or have you done it and/or are you willing to do it right now?


To God be the glory.

Prayer - You want me to pray for who??

Oh man. Does this hit home or what?

First, let's get this out of the way: I don't mean your enemies. The Bible says that we should love our enemies. Somehow, that idea sometimes actually seems easier than what I want to talk about. It's more removed to say "enemies" than to say:

The co-worker that you avoid because they drive you crazy.

The person that you know isn't doing their best with the resources they have and so they don't deserve your patience, prayer, or love.

The family member that offended you. Not really badly, but enough to give you negative thoughts when you think of them.

The person who said something, one time, and you can't seem to forget it.

These are the in-between people. You don't really hate them. You certainly don't love them. But you find them to be hard to handle sometimes. Well, guess what? If we are supposed to love our enemies, then we have no excuse for these folks.

So, here is how I would challenge you. Don't pray for them. That's right. Don't start there....because that's not where we need to start. Nope, you need to pray for yourself and that God will work on your heart. Maybe to be softer towards them, maybe to have wisdom to know how to handle (or not handle) them. Maybe to just pray that you'll have a desire to pray for them in a loving and selfless way. Let the prayer be aimed at you, but with their best interest at heart.


To God be the glory.

Prayer - use your imagination!!

Today I am going to share an article that I received that is just fantastic for what we are talking about. I hope this encourages you like it did me.

What are the five best toys of all time? Jonathan H Liu suggested the following: A stick, a box, string, a cardboard tube, and dirt (GeekDad column at wired.com). All are readily available, versatile, appropriate for all ages, fit every budget, and are powered by imagination. No batteries required.

Imagination plays a powerful role in our lives, so it's not unusual that the apostle Paul mentioned it in his prayer for the followers of Jesus in Ephesus (Eph. 3:14-21). After asking God to strengthen them with His power through His Spirit (v. 16), Paul prayed that they would be ableo to grasp and experience the full dimension of the love of Christ (vv. 17-19). In Closing, Paul gave glory to "him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (v. 20).

Often our experience limits our prayers - a situation we can't picture being different; destructive habits that remain unbroken; long-held attitudes that seem to defy change. As time passes, we may begin to feel that some things cannot be changed. But Paul says that is not true.

By God's mighty power working in us, He is able to do far more than we may dare to ask or even dream of. - David McCasland


So, use your imagination....and just remember that God, who knows what is best for us, can always top our best imaginings!!

To God be the glory.

Prayer - accountability

You know, I should have thought of this. But the truth is that I didn't. But, thanks be to God for friends and family who are thinking ahead.

So, yesterday we talked about habits and the value of working to build good habits rather than working to remove bad habits. Again, I should have thought of this and I didn't.

When we are working to form good habits, we often will use accountability. I want to spend less time on the computer, get to the gym more, eat less, eat more, spend less, spend....anyway, you get the point. We often turn to accountability for these things. We have a friend who joins the gym with us, or a friend we can text when we are wanting to eat or spend money who can remind us not to. There are many ways to do it, but many of us have (successfully or unsuccessfully) had an accountability partner while trying to build a habit.

So, why not with prayer. If they live in your home or you communicate daily, then you can plan to pray alone...together! If not then you can e-mail each other reminders. Send a text or Face-message during the day.

Prayer is private and while praying together is great, what I'm trying to emphasize this month is praying that is done in secret. So, this isn't about finding someone to necessarily pray with you, but it is NOT a secret that we all have a human nature and good habits can be hard to form. Especially when they are replacing bad habits that are thoroughly formed. in those cases, someone to just remind you to pray, or even to just let you know when they've had their time and vice verse, can be a huge help in the process of setting that habit in stone.

So, find a friend and ask them if you can keep each other accountable about praying meaningfully each day!!


To God be the glory.

prayer - habits

Now, you might be thinking "prayer habits" ....but I've already talked about that a lot. I've talked about building habits of praying, why we should have those habits, etc.

Nope, This is a prayer topic and the topic is habits.

Do you have habits you wish you could break? Do you know of habits you wish you could form? Now, these can span the whole spectrum. From "I want to get to bed sooner" habits to addiction. These are all habits. Some are harmless, some are harmful, and some are simply destructive.

So, I think it is pretty obvious that we could talk about all the habits we want to get rid of. I want to stop going to bed so late. Maybe you want to stop binge eating ice cream. I want to stop acting out my anger in XYZ circumstance. I want to stop being inattentive to my wife when we talk in the evenings. And on and on it can go.

OK. That's all fine and dandy, but I promise you that this is the hardest way to do anything about habits. In fact, I would argue that habits CANNOT be broken or destroyed. Ever. Ever. Ever. It's how we are hard-wired and therefore it doesn't work. I have heard that no habit is ever removed, it is simply replaced. (In truth, I'm sure there is an exception to this, but I'm trying to make a point here!)

The point is simply that if you focus on removing a negative habit, you have a nearly (if not completely) impossible task ahead of you. Instead, focus of building a new habit that replaces the old one. So, I want to stop going to bed too late? I start the habit of going to bed sooner. You want to stop binge eating ice cream? Then you start a habit of _______ (I'm not sure. Maybe when you feel that binge you go get something healthy to eat....or you drink a couple big glasses of water so not as much ice cream will fit.....I don't know on this one. Sorry!). If I want to stop acting in anger, then I start acting more level headed. Maybe that means taking some deep breaths. Maybe I start closing my eyes and praying, in the middle of an argument, anytime I want to say anything in anger. If I want to stop being inattentive, then I start making sure that there are no other distraction around me when my wife and I are talking (close the computer Nate!!)

Little things, big things, addictions. Focusing on the bad thing usually drives your mind to the bad thing. It causes you to think about the bad habit even more. However, finding a way to focus on the good things will move your mind there.

Here's my challenge today. First, identify the positive habit you want to form to replace the negative one. Then, put it on your prayer list. Make THAT a matter of pray. Pray for God to encourage and remind you of the GOOD habits that you are working to build. If you aren't sure how to flip your bad habit and come up with a good, alternative habit to build then you can pray for wisdom concerning that and seek advise. The same is true if you know what good habit you want to build but you aren't sure how to implement it into your day-to-day in a habit-forming way. Give God control and let Him help you grow and mature even in the kinds of habits that make up your days and make up who you are!


To God be the glory, great things He has done. So loved He the world that He gave us His Son.

prayer - everyone is doing it

Buddhists pray. Those of the Hindu faith pray. Muslims pray. Catholics pray. Lutherans, Calvinists, Baptists, and most Evangelicals pray.

The Catholics pray to saints, confess to priests, and use prayers they have memorized.

Muslims pray five times a day. They base it on the positions of the sun (seems like complicated calculations to me).

According to Wikipedia (I know) the Eastern Orthodox use the term "worship" to refer to the activity of the church as a body offering up prayers to God and the term "prayer" refers to the "individual devotion traditions of the Orthodox."

This Hindus use mantras and pray to god as father, mother, and "everything."

So, pray isn't new and it isn't unique to those of an evangelical faith by any means. Admittedly, things are different between the religions. Who is being prayed to, sometimes how the prayers are done, etc. In fact, even with the broader Christian sphere, prayer is done differently. The differences between Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical are fairly profound in certain areas.

So, what about you? I know I don't pray 5 times a day. I know I don't regularly physically get on my knees. I know these things aren't required of me. However, I have open access to the god of the universe through the blood of His son. Do I take advantage of that or do I take it for granted? Do you?

To God be the glory!

Prayer - God, make me tired!

Tonight I prayed with my wife and 9 year old as we were putting the 9 year old to bed.

Background: every night we pray with our daughter. Usually 1, 2, or all 3 of us will pray that we all get the sleep we need. Why, you might ask? Is it just habit and we aren't thinking about our prayers?? Nope. It is a sad reality that the parents in this house haven't been getting the kind of sleep they need for over 6 months. Not consistently anyway.

So, tonight, I changed it up. I've been feeling very burdened/motivated to get the sleep I need and encourage my wife to do the same. So, tonight I prayed and I didn't ask God to help us get the sleep we need. I knew that the lack of sleep was in our hands because we were making life choices that weren't conducive to getting sleep. So, tonight I switched it up. I prayed that God would make us tired so that we would go to bed when we needed to. *sigh*

I'm exhausted while I write this, but it's it just after 9:30 and I am going to bed!

Here's the challenge for today then. Do you take things to God constantly, but find that you are hindering the results? Then change up the prayer.

Need sleep? Pray that God will help you be tired.

Need to watch the sweets because you can't seem to stop eating what is in the house? Pray for either a tooth ache or less money so you'll stop buying the extras.

Have a sin/addiction problem? Don't pray that God will help you resist, pray that you will get caught!

The point is this. We can pray and say, "God, I need help in this area. I don't know how to pray about it, but would you work in my life to bring about XYZ result? Would you also give me wisdom if that's what is needed to get this done?"

That whole, "when we don't know what to pray" thing also falls into these categories too!

So, get on your knees today and pray outside of the box and see how God helps bring about change in our life.

To God be the glory.

Prayer - I didn't pray today

Confession time. I was getting ready to blog tonight and I realized that I don't remember praying today. Not meaningfully anyway. I prayed for a meal or two. I prayed with my daughter before bed. But I don't remember praying to my heavenly Father...just because. Or for any need. Or to say thank you.

This was one of those days I've been warning about. The days where nothing goes really wrong or really super amazing or really anything. Don't get me wrong. It was a good day. I went to work (I have a job), I put both girls to bed, I played a game with my 9 year old for about 2 hours, and I put a play kitchen together for the 2 year old. Good things. Great things.


....but I didn't "need" God. At least, not at a conscious level. Which is both scary and sad.


So, I'm going to take my own advice. I'm going to save this post and I'm going to stop and pray.

How about you? Did you pray at all yesterday? Meaningfully? When are you going to today? Right now or "later"??


Let's all make the effort to intentionally pray today!!



To God be the glory.

Prayer - Cry out to God!!

Psalm 61:1-4 says:

Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!

Something I keep coming back to in my thoughts is that it is so much easier for us to pray in the midst of struggle. It's the easy, coasting times that are hardest to pray. This is, as I have mentioned before, mostly because we don't need to depend on God when things are going well. It's easy to forget that God is providing for our daily needs when we are the ones going to work, paying the bills, buying the food, etc.

But, when we are in distress. Then, it is easier to cry out to God and lean on Him for strength. To beg Him for wisdom.

...but that isn't right. It's natural, but it isn't right. We should be running to God when life is going well AS WELL AS when things are tough.

I love this chapter in Psalms. This 61st Psalm. It is a cry to God that recognizes our weakness. That we call when we are weak and weary. That God is our refuge and strength from enemies. I love this chapter because I don't have to feel alone in my natural tendency to go to God quickest when life is in turmoil. The Psalmist is admitting that he goes to God when he is in trouble. And we should too! The reason I am constantly trying to encourage us to go to God all the rest of the time is that a) it will be that much easier to go to God in distress if we have a habit of doing so when we aren't in distress and b) if we truly love the God who loves us then we owe it to that relationship to go to God at all times. I don't, however, want to miss out on the blessed reality that we can and should go to God for protection, comfort, and strength in times of trouble.

To GOD be the glory!!

Prayer - when you don't know what to pray

I was actually struggling to come up with a topic for today. So, I asked my wife if she had any ideas and she almost immediately said, "what to pray when you don't know what to pray."

I LOVE this topic. It's one of my favorites. Because it is a topic that involves falling back on our faith and often in hard times

What do I mean by that? Well, let's see. If we don't know what to pray:

Do we believe the Bible? Romans 8:26 tells us that the Spirit intercedes for us when we don't know what to pray for. Do we believe that?

Do we believe that God will keep the promises we have in the Bible? James 1:5 (really the whole chapter) tells us that if we lack wisdom, and we ask in faith, that God will give us wisdom and give it liberally. So, if we don't know what to pray for and mean it in this sense of needing wisdom to know what to pray, then do we believe the promise of James 1?

Do we believe that God knows us better than we know ourselves? That is, He knows our frame and that we are made of dust (Psalm 103:14). He knows that sometimes grief, confusion, and even anger can leave us speechless before God.

And yet, if we are in a mindset of praying, even if it is pray to God to admit the reality that we don't know what to pray, then we are already in a good place. We aren't ignoring God. We aren't doing life on our own. We are turning to Him even to admit that we are at a loss for words.

There is so much more to this topic, but this is a great start. For starters, remember that it is no surprise to God when we don't know what to pray, that the Spirit of God is working to intercede for us, that we can and should admit to God that we don't know what to pray, and that we can trust how much God loves us and doesn't want to leave us in a state of confusion, frustration, anger, etc.

To God be the glory.

Prayer - God, God, God

I am glad that we worship a God who is loving, just, patient, and forgiving.

We also worship a God who is jealous (for the worship that He deserves), can be angered, and who does not allow sin to go unchecked. I'm glad for those things, but they are also scarier to me when they are pointed at me!

And yet.

And yet.

Prayer is communication. It is having a relationship with a God who loves me. Who loved me so much that, before I was born and knowing how sinful and rebellious I would be, He sent Jesus to die a cruel death so that my sins would be forgiven. That same God wants to talk to me and has encouraged me to do so.

And yet.

I know that God wants the best for me. I know that He knows what is best for me better than I do. I know that He wants me to pray about things and then trust Him with the results.

And yet.

I know that He is the creator of the universe and everything in it. That He has had ultimate victory over sin and death and we are just waiting for the time when He returns to take us home.

And yet.

And yet I still find it hard to get into a habit and lifestyle of praying. Is it just me, or should that be offensive to God. Shouldn't God be angry with me for slighting Him by ignoring His constant presence as often as I do? Thoughts??


To God be the glory!

Prayer challenge 2 - the local church

Did you take advantage of yesterday's challenge to be thankful and praise God as often as you could?? I hope so. I know I did and I was encouraged by the things that I was stretching myself to thank God for that I often don't take the time to.

Today's challenge relates to our churches. I want to start by saying that the Church is God's, not ours. When I'm talking about the church today, I specifically mean the local church.

Just to spice things up, let's not make it a "whenever you think about it" sort of challenge. Rather, let's make it a 10 minute challenge. 10 minutes. What is that really? one-third of most evening shows. The difference between 6:30 of sleep and 6:20 of sleep. So, take 10 minutes and spend some time in prayer today!

1. Do you attend a healthy church? Where things seem to be going alright. Sure, there are issues - it's full of people after all. But all in all you would say that your church is doing really well. Then you could pray that a) God will continue that health, b) that God will help you (individually or as a church) not to become complacent during this time, and/or c) that if you are or have become complacent that God will shake things up!

2. Are you at a church that doesn't have a pastor right now? I know that in our area there are three or four different churches without pastors. You can pray that God will direct the leadership of your church and give them wisdom during this time, that you (individually and as a church) will grow and learn the lessons God would have for you during this time, that God would be working in the life of the man/family that He has for your church, and/or that God would continue to be encouraging and uplifting your previous pastor.

3. Are you a missionary who is on the field (either here in the states or internationally)? You can pray for your own church/work (like I needed to mention that), you can pray for your sending church, you can pray for your other supporting churches, and/or you can pray for the other churches in your area or your previous hometown and the ministries that God is working through in those churches. (All of this applies to all of the rest of us too!)

4. Are you not currently attending a church? Then you can pray for the church that God has for you, pray for the church you last attended, and/or pray that God will work in your heart to give you the desire to be in church.

See, there are so many ways that we can pray for our churches. Some of these things fit into other categories and I certainly haven't covered everything.

So remember, 10 minutes. Anytime today.

To God be the glory.

Prayer challenge 1: praising my savior, all the day long

We've done all this talking about prayer (well, I've talked/typed and you've been listening/reading) and I hope that you've put some of it into action and been encouraged to pray more. however, I want to set us a challenge for today.

As you go through the day, I want you to take every moment that you think about it and find something to praise God for or something to thank Him about. You can pick an attribute of God (one of the omnis, etc.) or you can look to his grace, his love, etc. You can thank Him for big things (the family you have, the safety we have in our country so far, the church He has allowed you to be in) or the little things (your car on the way to work, the children that drive you crazy today, etc). Just pick something and praise God or thank Him.

Then I would like you, at the end of the day or tomorrow, to either post on this blog or on Facebook and tell all of us a way that God encouraged you through you praising and thanking Him throughout the day.

Let's not only be encouraged to pray and to be grateful, but let's encourage each other to it as well.


To God be the glory.

Prayer - practical application

We were heading home from our trip today and we had a moment come up.

Pam was driving, we were all tired from a 4-day trip and a long day of driving, and suddenly the low fuel light came on. We were on I-35 in northern Iowa. If you know that stretch, you know that gas stations aren't coming up every few miles to say the least. So, Pam asked me to stop and pray. So, I stopped and prayed out loud.

I should have thought of this as a teaching moment for Maya K at least, but I didn't. I just thought that I hoped we would find a gas station. However, that isn't all that I prayed for. I prayed that we would, but that if we didn't that God would give us the grace and wisdom to get through the alternative.

Well, we found a gas station. Then we saw a rest stop across the street so we went over to let the girls get out and run. We still had another hour of driving to get home and knew they were as done with the trip as we were.

So, they got out and ran and had some great time getting stretched. We got back in the van and within 2 minutes it started raining. So, we THEN took advantage of a teaching moment....for ourselves and for Maya K.

We asked Maya K to pray and to thank God that we got to a gas station AND to thank God that it waited to rain so that the girls could play a little. It was something small and we hadn't asked for it, but it was an encouragement to us as the parents and good for the girls' spirits too!

So, we were reminded to A) thank God for answered prayer and B) to thank God for things we didn't even think to ask for!


To God be the glory.

Prayer - the human race

I saw an article today with that title and I read it as "The Human Race." That fits with hot topics of the day so I clicked to read it.

Instead, I got something that fits our themes of prayer so much that I'm going to share the article with you!

"The alarm clock goes off. Too early, it seems. But you have a long day ahead. You have work to do, appointment to keep, people to care for, or all this and more. Well, you are not alone. Each day, many of us rush from one matter to another. As someone has wittily suggested, 'That's why we are called the human race.'

When the apostles returned from their first mission trip, they had a lot to report. But Mark did not record Jesus's evaluation of the disciples' work; rather, he focused on His concern that they rest awhile. Jesus said, 'Come with my by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest' (6:31).

Ultimately, we find true rest through recognizing the presence of God and trusting Him. While we take our responsibilities seriously, we also recognize that we can relax our grip on our work and careers, our families and ministry, and give them over to God in faith. We can take time each day to tune out the distractions, put away the tense restlessness, and reflect in gratitude on the wonder of God's love and faithfulness.

So feel free to stop and take a breath. Get some real rest." - Poh Fang Chia


I would also argue that we need to take this time to rest so that we can spend some of that time in prayer. Many times our busyness takes away at least as much prayer time as our forgetting God's presence and underestimating His power. When are we going to learn that we need to slow down in order to be at peace enough to talk to (and be talked to by) God?


To God be the glory.

Prayer - a country in need

I don't have much to say today. Our country is in need of some bi-partisan prayer.

Pray for our current leadership.
Pray for the elections - not just the results but that people will get out and vote.
Pray for the elections - for wisdom to make a decision that is God-honoring.
Pray for our next round of leaders - not just the president and vice president but the Congress as well as local officials that will be elected.

I have often said that if you don't exercise your right to vote, then you lose your right to complain.

Well, I would argue that if you don't exercise your right to pray for our nation, then you can't complain if Satan wins and we lose here at home. So, take a few minutes and pray for our nation!!


To GOD be the glory!!

Prayer - days without crisis

Prayer. It's something we know we should do more of, yet something that many of us struggle to do. I know this is true simply because we have the label of "prayer warrior" for the wonderful people we know who do pray often. This title, and our reverence for it, assumes that there are NOT a lot of them.

So, here is something else I've noticed in my life. It is SO much easier to pray during times of stress/sorrow. This may go back to my post two days ago about God's power and thinking too much of myself and my abilities. In fact, I'm sure that plays a role in it, but I'm sure there is more to it than just that.

Anyway, the point is that those hard moments, when we finally realize our weakness and are prepared to ask God for help, are the moments when we are quickest to go to God.

But, what about a day like today. A day when nothing went wrong. When we didn't have any crisis. The children didn't cut anything or light anything on fire. Our car did all the traveling we asked it to do and we didn't have any issues. We enjoyed some time with family. No one got sick.... I mean, what do I have to pray about???

I can be thankful for how things didn't go wrong. I can pray for tomorrow. I can acknowledge God's sovereignty. I can pray over my prayer list and another missionary family. And so on and so forth. There is so much, but it is easy for me to forget anyway.

Hopefully you saw the folly in my statement "what do I have to pray about" and hopefully it was easy for you to spot it. But, is it as easy to spot it in the days when you don't take time to pray?

Victory doesn't come by accident. Let's be intentional about praying every day. Showing our gratitude and acknowledging who God is!!


To God be the glory. 

Prayer - God's presence

Yesterday we talked about God's power. Today, we are going to talk about His presence.

When we talked about experts in yesterday's blog, one thing we have to also discuss is the immediacy of the help we need.

Let's take the electrician analogy again.

If we need immediate help, we aren't going to write a letter to an electrician requesting that they come....three days ago when I sent the letter.

If we need immediate help we aren't going to rely on a text or e-mail either. Sure, they are much faster than snail mail, but there is no guarantee that the message will be received immediately and that doesn't even account for the delays that come simply from sending the information from one device to another.

A phone call. That's better, for sure. Again, however, you are dependent on them being on the other side of the phone and being able to answer themselves. What if their lines are busy because this is a wide-spread electrical problem? What if they are out to lunch? (Thankfully God will never be out to lunch or hearing so many prayers that He can't hear yours!!)

No, the BEST method to guarantee the help of an expert when it is needed immediately...it to have a face-to-face conversation. To talk to someone who is right there with you.

So, since this is about God and prayer, how immediate can God's help be? Where is His "presence"?

In Joshua 1:1-9 we see God talking to Joshua as He hands the reigns from Moses to Joshua as leader of the Israelites. Twice in this passage we see God promise Joshua that He is with him. Once He says that He will never leave or forsake Joshua and once that God will be with him wherever he goes.

Psalm 23:4 notes that "even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

Psalm 46:1 is really cool. The Hebrew word that is translated "present" here comes from the root "to find" and gives the idea that "God is our refuge and strength, a very findable help in trouble."

Psalm 139 is an amazing Psalm in general. Specifically, read the first 12 verses. These are a great reminder of God and his presence. (Please read those 12 verses through the link and then before moving on. It's worth it.) I especially loves verse 4. "Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether."

Matthew 18:20 reminds us that where two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus, He is there.

Matthew 28:19-20 is great. Many of us know the great commission and are aware that we are told that while we are going, we are to make disciples, teach, and baptize. However, the great truth here is at the end where Christ says, "behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

John 14:16 we see Jesus promising to ask the Father to send the Spirit to us as a "Helper" which we know did happen in the book of Acts.

Lastly, in I John 4:13-16 we see the apostle John reinforcing the idea that God abides (dwells) in us and we abide in Him. 

God's presence is a constant. Our awareness of His presence isn't though. So, our two keys are God's power and God's presence. There are other things that are also important in prayer, but I can promise you that if at any point we lack one of these, we will not have a healthy prayer life. If we forget, diminish, or disregard the power of God or if we are not constantly aware of the presence of God, we won't be driven to pray to Him. We won't stop in the middle of a crisis moment to pray because we won't be remembering His presence. Or we won't stop in a crisis moment to pray because we are so caught up in our own ability (or the ability of someone else) because we have disregarded the power of God to fight and work for us. 

Let's remember God's power and His presence as we aim to have a healthy and consistent prayer life.

To God be the glory.

Prayer - "God's power" or "We need an expert"

This is an excerpt from a devotional on Sunday night.

When we have a problem, who do we go to? Say we have an electrical problem.

I could go to my next door neighbor....because he is great at grilling.
I could go to my wife... because she's an awesome teacher.
I could go to my oldest daughter...because I love her very much and would do anything for her.
I could contact an electrician...because they are the experts in their field.

Now we need to ask ourselves, who is the real expert in life?

When we have a problem with people: the one who made those people.
When we have problems with my finances: the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills...even if He isn't just going to give them to us! :o)
When we have a problem with sin issues: the one who died for those sins.
When there are problems in our churches: the bridegroom of the church.

ANY problem: the one who made us, loves us, and actually knows what is best for us, not just what we think is best.

The power of God. Do you believe that God has the power to help you in your time of need. Is He able to do everything we could think of, everything we can't think of, and exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ever ask for?? I believe He can.

So, if God is the expert, why doesn't our prayer life reflect that? If He is the expert, then why am I still depending on myself? Why am I seeking wise (even Godly) individuals before I go to God?? Look, the reality is that God places people into our lives to be a help to us. However, we should start with the expert and allow Him to decide how He is going to help rather than assuming who should be a delegate for His power, wisdom, and authority.

If we do not have a firm understanding of the power of God and if we don't remember it, our prayer lives will be non-existent.

Tomorrow we will look at the other half of the devotional and tie this together. There are two very important keys in having a healthy prayer life. Power and ....... (come back tomorrow!)


To God be the glory.

Prayer - prayers for others - praying for missionaries

Well, back to the book of Colossians and chapter 4. In Col 4:3 Paul now asks for prayer himself. He is in prison but he doesn't ask for prayer about his health. In fact, those receiving the letter would have wanted to know how to pray for him and might have been surprised by the way he answered....then again, maybe they wouldn't have!

1. That God may open to us a door for the word, [with the purpose being] to declare the mystery of Christ.
2. That I may make it (the mystery of Christ) clear.

Paul spends the time to send a letter, to ask for prayer, and his focus is on his ministry.

So, do you attend a church? Does that church support missionaries? So, how do we pray for them?

Well, OK, the first question is actually DO we pray for them. If we are, as we should, then this verse can be a model for us.

Side not: have you had missionaries in your church? How many of them have told you that while they appreciate financial support, then truly covet prayer support? I've heard it many, many times. So, let's give it!

It shouldn't be too hard. Find a list of your church's missionaries and pray for one of them per day when you pray over the rest of your list. Soon, I would imagine that you will begin to seek out more information (where they are, who their ministry is to, do they have kids, etc.) but the beauty of Paul's prayer request here is that it is universal. You don't need to know a thing about your missionaries. You can still pray these two things for them and take that request to God.

So, take some time and pray for your missionaries this week and month!!


To God be the glory.

Prayer - how to pray

Well, look at this, we have Colossians again! :o)

Colossians 4:2 shows Paul encouraging the Colossians to pray in a certain way. The ESV says, "continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."

"Continue steadfastly" has the idea of "to persevere and not to faint" So, continuing steadfastly in prayer has the idea that we don't quit.

Then, we get the second half that talks about being watchful in prayer with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving we understand. We are to be thankful. Thankful no matter what life throws at us knowing that our heavenly Father has not left our side.

But, "being watchful"? What is that talking about? Well, I looked it up on Blue Letter Bible and it gave a cool image.

"To Watch" (duh)
"Give strict attention to, be cautious, active"
        "To take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one." (whoa)

I also found that this is the same word used in I Peter 5:8 that is translated "vigilant" in "be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the Devil, like a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour."

So, Paul's encouragement about praying is that we are intentional about not quitting. Also, that we, through thanksgiving, are being watchful (for ministry opportunities, for temptations that may trip us, for Satan to attack our families, for loved ones to witness to, etc.) in prayer!


To God be the glory.

Prayer - God is not a vending machine

I don't want to be giving a wrong impression in these blog posts. Having a list is a great idea, but I don't believe God is just some vending machine. However, I know how easy it can be to have my prayer life function like He is one. It can be easy to make a prayer list and then, in the haste of wanting to "get through it" just take the time to pray for/about those things.

So, knowing this can be a problem here are some thoughts/thoughts about keeping ourselves from this really bad habit.

C.A.T.S.

Confession

Adoration/praise

Thanksgiving

Supplication


Notice that on this list saying "thank you" and asking for things (either for yourself or for others) are the last two things. We need to ensure we don't have sin that we need to confess and we need to just spend time praising God for who He is. Recognizing his holiness and love. We have a two-way relationship with God...not just a "vending machine" relationship.


To God be the glory.

Prayer - prayers for others - what to pray

I have at many times wondered, how do I pray for other people. Sure, there are things going on in their lives that I know about, but sometimes that either runs out or feels redundant. Sometimes it is people I know as acquaintances or as students (not peers) and I don't know specific things to pray about. So, then what? What are ways we can pray for fellow believers even without knowing what is going on in their lives?

I figure, the Bible was given to us for a purpose and having specific prayers was also intentional. So, let's look at one.

The book of Colossians opens up with a greeting from Paul and he mentions that he has been praying for them since he heard of their faith and their love for other believers.

Then, in verses 9 & 10, he mentions several things he prays for them.

The first is, "asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

Wow. There is SO much here. Spiritual wisdom for the purpose of walking worthy of our Lord. With the specific purpose of pleasing Him. That we will bear fruit and continue to increase in our understanding of who God is.

That is something we should be praying for ourselves, but surely we can pray this for anyone who we know who is a believer. Roommates, spouses, children, fellow church members, co-workers, etc. If you know someone who is a Christian, then these are things we should desire for them and can pray on their behalf.


To God be the glory.

Prayer: time, time, time

You know. I have tried to make prayer lists before. Do you know what my greatest deterrent has always been? Time.

Not that I start spending a lot of time and then don't like it...but that I've gotten scared that I would spent a lot of time praying. That it would be too much time and the thought was daunting.

....

....

Ok, now don't judge me. How many of us have actually done that without maybe thinking it that specific way? For example, have you simply not taken the time to pray because you have other things going on? Then you think about praying, realize what you wouldn't be able to do or consider how long it would take and you never even start?

If you've been reading my blog this week then you are fully aware that I have been being challenged in this area of prayer and what my prayer life looks like...or doesn't.

Prayer is communication. Right? Communication is also a key to great relationships. It's not the ONLY key, but it's an important one. Look at many divorce cases and you will see other issues too, but you will also see a breakdown in communication. (I mean non-self-centered, healthy, communication.)

So, a God who loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us...and we can't take the time pray? To communicate consistently??? What is the world are we doing? Is there even a relationship there if I'm not making the time to communicate with my Father?

I mean, sure. I pray when I'm driving to work or driving home if something is on my heart. Sometimes I'll pray on a break at work if something is really bothering me. I pray before meals...when I'm with my family. If it's just me, then I usually pray before meals. I pray with my oldest as we get her ready for bed....but if I miss her bedtime, I often don't. These times of prayer are important, by the way. I'm not knocking any of them. I think there is real value in praying as you do your day!!! I just know that some deep, meaningful, uninterrupted prayer time is also very needed in a Christians life.

What would it cost me? To begin with...maybe 7-10 minutes. Really? Please tell me that I'm not making excuses to avoid 10 minutes of communication....with someone who loves me...and who I also love!!!

So, what's the hold up? Is it selfishness (wanting to spend my time the way I want to spend it)? Is it pride (I've got this. I don't need help)? Is it fear or doubt (is He really listening? Maybe what I want to pray about doesn't matter)? Is it habit? Have we just developed the habit of NOT praying this way and therefore we don't.

If you are interested in building a habit of purposeful, meaningful communication with your heavenly Father and you would like some encouragement and motivation, then please click below.

If, however, you either already have a consistent and meaningful prayer life, or if you know you don't, but you know you don't have the time (or for whatever other reason) then this post is done and please don't click the link below. That message isn't for everyone! Thank you.

Link

To God be the glory!