The Essentials of Effective Prayer 05 December

Give us this day our daily bread.  Matt 6:11 (KJV)

This week we will discuss telling God about our needs. We’ve already talked about the first two elements of prayer – worship and allegiance.

We will examine the words of the Master as He explains, in parable form, how we should pray:

And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. 5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. 9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Luke 11:1-10 (KJV)

Why did the friend get out of bed to give bread? Because of importunity (persistence). Jesus gives us a great promise in these verses, but He also tells us that we have to ask persistently. Cry out to Him. Pour out our hearts – not just use Him as an “Christian insurance policy”.

Have you ever persistently prayed, and then watched God answer? Tell me about it! I’d love to know.

Does Jesus give us carte blanche to ask for anything we want? A house? Winning the lottery? A new car?

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15 (ESV)

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John 15:7-8 (ESV)

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:4-7 (ESV)

God expects us to act responsibly and ask according to His will. And how do we know what His will is? By reading the Bible, studying, and praying. The cycle which leads to knowing God better.

Paul gives us a formula for happiness:

1.       Rejoice in God;

2.       Be reasonable;

3.       Don’t worry;

4.       Pray, and

5.       Receive God’s peace through Jesus

That seems, on the surface, to be simple. But is it really? The rejoice part is easy – when we are on the mountaintop. It’s not so simple when we are in the lowest valley. It’s in the valley, however, that we receive the most nourishment; the most teaching; and the strength to climb up that mountain. So rejoice in the Lord always!

I once had a job that I loved. I worked there for 10 years. One day, I was called into the boss and was told that “my relationship with [company] was severed”. The boss gave me a wonderful letter of recommendation – and told me the reason I was fired was to give the wife of another employee a job! I was devastated, of course. I thought about all the things I wanted to do – scream, shout, tell people how badly I had been treated. I didn’t. I calmed down and thanked God for my time there. Of course, I was now in need of a job but felt that God wanted me to wait (not a task in which I excel!). So I did. The days were long and dry. I felt I needed to do something. I was in a valley and it didn’t seem like I could see the bottom of the hole, much less the mountains above. I waited. And waited. I got creative again and started making jewelry. Praising God for my valley, I began to feel calm. One day, I needed a small part for a piece I was working on. I got my keys to go to the store and felt very strongly that I should wait. AAAAAAGGGGGH! I put down my keys and waited. And prayed some more, thinking that God had saved me from an accident by making me wait. This went on for several hours. Finally, I felt that I could go. As I walked into the store, the owner mentioned that her teacher just quit and she was now in need of a teacher. I was hired! Without applying for a single position, waiting on God, I found a new job and a new passion. Not only did He give me a mountaintop experience, He showed me that if I rejoice and pray and wait, He has a plan for my life!

How about you? Are you worrying about the rent? The job? The kids? Are you anxious about that next raise? Or are you asking God to get you through? What difference will it make when you decide to cling to His promises and simply trust?

The Essentials of Effective Prayer 02 December

How did Jesus describe what it means to be a part of His kingdom?

A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. 21  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ 24  “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Matt 7:18-27 (ESV)

I am the fruit that Jesus talks about. Is my fruit good, or am I just going through the motions and playing the Christian game? Do I know the right words, but not put them into practice? To me, this is one of the scariest passages in the Bible. I am assured of my salvation, but every time I read it, I have to examine myself. Does God know me because I continually pray and study His Word? Am I doing His will? Do I continue to build my house on the Rock? Can I do more for Him? Am I the right kind of fruit?

What does that passage do for you? Are you sure of your salvation? If you are not, please email me, or talk to one of the Pastors. There is no more important decision you can make. Your eternity depends on it!

If you are secure in His arms, how does this passage affect you? Are you in His will? Are you reading and studying and praying?

Is there any point to prayer if you are not willing to swear allegiance to His kingdom?

And what if I blow it? I lie, or cheat, or swear, or… how do I make it right?

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10 (KJV)

No wiggle room there. If I think I’m perfect, not only do I deceive myself, but I call God a liar. Yikes! I am guilty of “forgetting” to confess my sins. How about you?

This wraps up the week’s study. I hope that it gives you much to think about. I know that it has convicted me – especially in the area of confessing my sins!

Can It Happen Here?

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3  For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 2 Tim 4:2-5 (ESV)

I was reading part of Acts today. It tells the glorious story of the beginning of the church: healings, conversions, changed lives. It also tells the story of Saul, the great persecutor of Christians, who became Paul’s through the grace of God. It also chronicles the first church persecutions as well.

The ruling bodies told the apostles to stop preaching about Jesus, but they refused, trusting the Holy Spirit to help them speak, and believing Jesus’ promise that they would be with Him should they die. People were run out of town, beaten, jailed, and stoned to death. 

I’m also listening to some of the debate over the National Defense Authorization Act  and section 1032. There seems to be much confusion over whether Americans can be detained and held indefinitely if they are determined an “enemy combatant”. One side says there is nothing to worry about because Americans are specifically excluded. The other says that Americans can be taken off the streets and thrown into jail without due process.

In the last year or so, we have also heard that there is a government paper indicating many reasons to “suspect” people of possible “terrorist” leanings. One of the reasons mentioned in the paper was evangelical Christians. Some on the Christian Right are putting these two items together and wondering whether or not a Christian can be detained simply for being a Christian.

Is the sky falling? Or is this just another brouhaha which will mean nothing?  Can persecution for religious views really happen in America? And when my friends laugh at me for my relationship with Jesus, isn’t that a form of persecution as well?

I hope that “they” are wrong. But what if they aren’t? Am I ready to defend my faith if I know that doing so might lead to a jail term? Or am I a comfortable Christian, only willing to call Jesus my Savior if I have nothing to worry about? How do I know?

How did the first martyrs know that they would be all right, in spite of their hardships? Because they believed in Jesus. They also knew that the Holy Spirit had been sent to help them.

And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said … 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” 13  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. Acts 4:7-8, 11-13 (ESV)

And Stephen is described like this:

And Stephen, full of grace and power … And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.  Acts 6:1, 15 (ESV)

We don’t need a seminary degree to testify. We can be “uneducated, common men” and speak powerfully and convincingly of Jesus. We do this with the help of the Holy Spirit, and by prayer, fasting, reading and memorizing God’s Word.

Whether persecution is coming to you and me personally, or whether we will never have to worry, is a detail known only to God. But Jesus told us this:

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13  But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matt. 24:9-14 (ESV)

The time to prepare for persecution is now. Read and memorize the Bible. Use prayer to help you learn what to do and how to do it. If you do not suffer from persecution, then you can count yourself fortunate. However, without proper preparation and guidance from the Holy Spirit, you would not be able to properly answer either a friend who wants to more about Jesus, or for yourself during a time of persecution.

May we be strong enough to endure anything for His sake – laughter and derision from our colleagues and friends, or imprisonment and even death. And may we be as gracious as Stephen.

And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:59-60 (ESV)