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Simple prayers

13 Jun

Simple prayers

Matthew 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Today is a little different. I am so tired from my workload and the heat, I don’t think my brain is connected to my fingers. I sat down this morning and prayed a simple prayer; I thanked God for another day as always, I thanked him for the work and all the blessings that come with it. I thanked him for the ministry opportunities through it. I thanked him for, and asked for more physical strength to continue in it. The physical side of my job is very demanding, and I pray for strength from the One who gives it. I knew where I wanted to read God’s Word this morning, and here was what I read.

Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

I don’t know how to start my day without prayer and some time in God’s Word. It is my daily spiritual breakfast to nourish me for the day. Some days it may be a big meal; others it may be a Pop Tart. But as we know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. When you get up early, and all the house is quiet, it is just you and God; it is your alone time with Him. He does not want anything fancy, He wants to hear what is on your heart. This is The Message’s interpretation:

Matthew 6:5 “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? 6 “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. 7 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. 8 Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.

There is so much truth in that plain English of that scripture. Do you get it?

 
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Posted by on June 13, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Imprecatory Prayers?

30 Sep

Imprecatory Prayers?

Matthew 5:44-45 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

The topic of imprecatory prayer versus a heart full of love is a difficult one in today’s society. We live in a society that breeds selfishness, instead of selflessness that comes with encompassing love for one another. Today we are told to reach for the goal at all cost and we can do anything we put our mind to. These drives push us towards these goals and sacrifice relationships along the way. Those who do not aid us in the pursuit become deterrents and most likely no longer friends. Many of these relationships may be moved against each other. There are many scenarios that cross our paths where others seem to go against the winds of our lives. If they become adversaries, are we taught we can use our faith to pray against them? – No.

When Christ paid the price for our sin at the Cross, we have moved to living under the law of Grace; getting something we did not deserve. On that principle cannot pray invoking judgmental prayers against anything. Christ has told us plainly in Mark that we are forgiven to the amount we forgive.  Mark 11:25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” These are the hard things in life; to let go of our strong sinful desires to lash out at those who hurt us. To defend our honor, or most likely our pride that is being damaged. But when we look at our sins in God’s eyes; what if He took the same approach with us? Every part of our being may want to lash out, but the inner being of His Spirit can keep us still. He whispers to let it go, to let Him deal with the injustice in His Way and His time. We must rest in His Sovereignty, and understand there is most likely a greater work going on than just our pain. He can be using our pain to reach someone who is hurt more.

Luke 6:27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. 32 But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. These things move you up the ladder of sainthood, and closer to God with every blow. A life full of His love and the denial of self is a life He will use to become a disciple that reaches many. You move towards a relationship with your Father that will release you of the pain that these sinful circumstances tend to bring.

 
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Posted by on September 30, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Can’t you see?

17 Sep

Can’t you see?

Matthew 12:46-50   While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

My heart hurts when I hear and experience these things. Of how the stories become too common to those who draw near to the Lord and their lives are changed. They desperately want to share with those closest to them the love of Christ. But many times a deaf ear is turned to Christ’s saving grace through the testimonies of those sharing it. It can be those closest to us that see the change in us; yet deny the possibility of the change in them. It hurts us deeply when those closest to us live for this world and not for Christ.

When Christ really grabs ahold of you to the point that nothing else matters, there is no turning back to the world. The world behind you wants to remind you of where you came from; the life of sin; the life before Christ. Even Christ as God living sinless in the flesh was unaccepted before those closet to Him. Luke 4:22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” It hurts when those closest to us cannot forget the past, or worse yet cannot see the gospel we are trying to share with them. The stories I hear of those close to God seem to all have family members that either deny Christ, or simply have a facade for their faith. These stories all are extremely painful, and graduate level discipleship. Christ is asking us to keep our eyes on Him, even when those closest to us are falling away.

Christ even spoke directly to this struggle in Luke 4:24 Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. We must continue to share our faith with those closest to us, but yet we must also understand we are not in control and cannot argue them into Christ. We are told we must put Christ before ANY thing else in our lives if we are to be His disciples. Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. Only He can do the work He must in their heart; and they must respond to that call. We are only called to be a living example and testimony to His saving grace, unending love, and hope He has placed within us.

 
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Posted by on September 17, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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BC Circle

04 Sep

BC Circle

1 Corinthians 5:9-13 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner–not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

There are so many roads to go down with this scripture. The company we keep; the company we don’t keep; witnessing to them; judging them; and even discipline of all. But a central theme in this passage is the BC (before Christ) and the AC (after Christ) in your life. If you have truly repented of your sins and accepted the grace He gives, your life will never be the same. Your views of the world and yourself before this Salvation & revelation will be much different. The world will reach out and try to tug you back into it’s grip with all types of enticements; but these are all a ploy to steal your soul by Satan.

Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. You are called to go before men and live your life for Christ. Your circle of influence before Christ is your circle of influence after Him. That circle will change and in many ways get smaller in relation to BC; but that is due to His work in you. We are not to become haughty but to become humble. Pride will ruin any testimony you have of change, because pride is the root of all sin. Although you may seem to reject the habits and people of your life before Christ, it is only because you are seeing them living in sin and a glimpse of how Christ sees them.

Don’t withdraw into a shell, but humbly share with those close to you how your life is changing. You don’t have to understand what is going on, but the evidence of change is in you and through you too all those around you. God may place one person before you in the BC time of your life that your heart bleeds for. You want them to share in what you now possess. Luke 15:4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? Begin to pray for yourself as a witness for Christ, and for Christ to use you to reach them. Prayer for someone close to you is an incredible experience to see God start to work in their lives also. Together you have walked down the road Before Christ, and together you can walk down the road to eternity with Him.

 
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Posted by on September 4, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Why Pray?

03 May

Why Pray?

Matthew 6:9-13 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

This being the National Day of Prayer I hope you are spurred to spend some time with God. It would be impossible for me to unfold my thoughts on prayer in this short daily ministry. I have heard the quote “Prayer is like breathing to a Christian” – Amen! What is prayer to you? A time to ask for __________ from God? Is that the only time you approach Him is when you need something? How do you feel when that is the only time you hear from a ‘friend’? God designed you for a relationship with Him, and a key to any relationship is communication. The less we pray, the farther we are from God; for the sin of the world and ourselves tugs us away. Mark 14:38 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. That scripture is the reflection of those closest to Christ failing Him in prayer when He asked them to, because their flesh is weak.

Everyone wants to hear God speak including myself, but He does through prayer and time in His Word. Henry & Richard Blackaby have written great books and studies on Experiencing God. They speak about not asking God to bless where we are at, but asking God to take us where He is blessing. Once you begin to see God for who He is, you are naturally moved into wanting to pray and we are consistently told to pray in the Bible. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I  have talked about my struggles with Anxiety & Depression, the place I gain my strength to fight those demons is with God in prayer and His Word. Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Until you capture the idea of prayer, your life will remain the same, and a life without prayer is a life without God. Salvation is only gained through a repentant prayer, and that alone shows that prayer changes everything. Why should you stop there?

This is a great link with many scripture resources on prayer.
http://www.gotquestions.org/why-pray.html

 
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Posted by on May 3, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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