UNTAPPED POWER!

My wife sent me this article about prayer this morning, and really encouraged me to persevere in prayer, no matter how the circumstances may be.

When We Pray – God Works!
“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

(1) God listens when we pray. "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Mark 11:24). You may not have much clout anywhere else, but when you pray God listens.

(2) We seldom pray. We've the greatest privilege imaginable - access to the control center of the Universe - yet we rarely use it. And our lack of prayer surprises God. Through the prophet Ezekiel He lamented: "I sought for a man among them who would . . . stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one" (Ezekiel 22:30 NKJV). Upon learning that Sodom and Gomorrah were going to be destroyed, Abraham didn't rush to warn the cities. No, he chose to "[remain] standing before the Lord" (Genesis 18:22 NIV).

When God said the golden calf warranted a nationwide death penalty for Israel , Moses interceded and saved them. One translation of Exodus 32:11 says, "Moses soothed the face of his God." An obscure priest by the name of Phinehas begged God not to send the plague, and it was checked. (Psalm 106:30 NIV).

You say "Why place such a premium on prayer?" Simple. Because when we work, we work. But when we pray, God works! Scripture attaches breathtaking power to prayer. "When two of you get together on anything . . . and make a prayer of it, My Father in Heaven goes into action" (Matthew 18:19 TM). Does any other activity promise such results? Did God call us to preach without ceasing? Or have committee meetings without ceasing? No, but He did call us to "pray without ceasing."

HE DOESN'T LIE

The Bible is full of God’s promises. They are waiting for us Christians to tap into them by praying and believing. 2nd Peter 1:3-4 says “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature.” These are incredible words when you stop and read them and meditate on them. Read them slowly…. He has given us all that we need in the life to experience God and His character in our lives (godliness). We can experience Him by praying and believing God’s “precious and great promises.”

This is an amazing way of life, when we truly dip into God’s Word and through prayer, ask God to fulfill these promises in our lives according to His will. That’s what this passage means: “Ask anything in my name, and I will do it.” No just anything that we want, but anything that pertains to life and godliness, any of His promises; anything related to His Word, His will, everything that He wants. In His perfect time, He will answer.

Regarding God’s promises, the apostle Paul says: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.” 2nd Corinthians 1:20. Let’s take a minute to practice this now: God promises “peace” to His followers. Now, how do we experience that peace? Take one of His promises; for example, Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!” The promise is: perfect peace. Our action is: trust in God, fix our thoughts continually in Him. When we do our part, His perfect peace will fill our lives. It is His promise, and He doesn’t lie.

Now, go and do it!

TROUBLE: A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

The psalmist wrote: “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn your statues. I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.” Psalm 119:71,75. I don’t know about you, but troubles always draw me closer to God. They make my prayer life come alive. They are the conduit for experiencing strength that comes from God through prayer.

Life in itself is full of problems. Everyone knows of the Bible’s greatest example of trouble: Job. “Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.” Job 14:1. No one is exempt from it. The Lord Jesus said: “In this world, you will have trouble.” John 16:33. Notice that He said “you will,” not “you may.” Granted, some have more than others, but the issue is: what do we do when trouble comes our way? Do we curse God, get far away from Him and try to fix life our own way? Or do we bless God, get closer to Him and let Him fix our lives His own way? The choice is ours to make. Chose right.

Jesus’ complete statement in John 16:33 goes like this: “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." His Word is given so that we may have peace, consolation, tranquility. Trust Him, He defeated the world.

THANK YOU FOR.....!

“The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.” Psalms 126:3 Thanksgiving is born from a clear understanding of God’s goodness to us. What great things has the Lord done for you? Well, let’s think about salvation for starters. Because of our sins, we deserve hell, being eternally separated from God in hell, but God in His goodness, provided a way for us to be eternally together with Him by forgiving our sins through His sacrificial death, the shedding of His precious blood on the cross, and His resurrection. Isn’t that big enough cause to be thankful?

Prayer and thanksgiving go hand in hand. Where there is true prayer, there is true thanksgiving. “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; ” Colossians 4:2 And then in the letter to the Thessalonians, it is written: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. .” 1st Thessalonians 5:16-19. Wow! Here is the solution to the problem of anxiety: “Prayer with thanksgiving.”

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. .” Philippians 4:6-7

Now, don’t just read this; to make it work you need to try it; just pray to God and tell Him: “Lord, thank you for…..”

DEVOTION vs. RELIGION

Religiosity makes a person go to church every Sunday, dress a certain way, talk different, filter what he or she listens and reads, and even moves the person to give money for certain causes. But religiosity doesn’t touch the intimate being, our affections, our zeal, and our desires. We may sing a song or say a prayer, but it lacks power, effectiveness; it’s dull and empty and it reaches the air.

Devotion, on the other hand, reaches God. It goes beyond the walls of a church building into the streets, into our cars, at our work place, at home. It touches the innermost fibers of your being; it stays with us at night when we go to sleep, and is with us when we wake up. “Whether you eat or drink, or do anything else, do it all for God’s glory.” A lifestyle of passion for God is not restricted to one particular activity, during one particular day in a particular place; it’s a 24 hour way of life.

Devotion is fed by fervent prayer, by meditating in God’s Word, by responding to the Spirit in humility and obedience. It bursts into praises and singing to God. It makes its beholder to laugh and cry with deep emotion for the things of God. Religiosity is a response of duty and becomes mechanical; devotion is a response of earnest love and is spontaneous. Which do you posses?

Devotion to God makes life to be packed with excitement, and free from religion. Experience it for yourself!

HUMILITY - A Rare Commodity

Do you pursue high places? Are you looking for prominence? Do you like to be recognized in front of others? Do you like it when your name is mentioned in public? Do you have dreams of grandeur? Pride has seen the fall of many. Proverbs 16:18 says: "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."

On the other hand, modesty, lowliness, humility (rare commodities for us human beings) are pleasing to God. In Luke 18:10-14 Jesus tells the following story: "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'I thank You, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don't cheat, I don't sin, and I don't commit adultery. I'm certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give You a tenth of my income.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, 'O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.' I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Which of these two individuals characterizes you? Which one do you rather be?

Stay away from pride, self promotion, from being self conceited, and looking for the praises of others. Stay low; seek God’s favor; lift HIS Name on high and not yours; praise HIM and not yourself, for “God resists the proud, but give grace to the humble.” James 4:6

THOUGHTS ON PRAYER - Part 7

We Christians have an untapped source of power called prayer. When we pray, things change that otherwise would not change if we didn’t pray. Throughout the Bible and the history of Christianity, we encounter great and fascinating stories of unusual achievements that would not have been realized except through prayer. Do you want to see God at work in your life? Pray. James 5:16 says that “the effective prayer of the righteous avails much.” And James 4:2 says: “You do not have, because you do not ask.”

So to resume our thoughts about prayer:

1. Why pray?
We humans are very independent; we rely on our abilities and pride to accomplish things. But the truth of the matter is that we are imperfect, we don’t know much about what’s going on and we can do very little to change things around us. We are not in control. We pray because we trust God; He is in control; He created the heavens and the earth; He knows everything that goes on and what we really need. He loves us with a love that we cannot comprehend. He is our loving Father. Besides that, we pray for many reasons: “God commands it” 1st Thessalonians 5:17; “Jesus set the example” Mark 1:35; “for strength” Ephesians 6:18-19; “to serve God and others” Luke 2:36-38, and many other reasons.

2. Who do we pray to?
We are to pray to the Triune God of the Bible: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We are not to pray to anyone other than our God. That includes dead relatives, “saints,” idols, etc. Jesus said in Matthew 4:10 “Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.”

3. What should we pray for?
It would take a long time to list the many examples of prayer listed in the Bible. A good exercise for you and me would be to search the Scriptures for these prayers examples and incorporate them in our prayer life. Anyhow, the Bible should be our guideline so that we pray His will, but this does not mean that we are limited to what is in the Bible.

4. When should we pray?
We should have a constant attitude of prayer. 1st Thessalonians 5:17 says “Pray without ceasing.” Of course, you cannot pray when you are talking to someone else at the same time, but everything that we do or say should be seasoned or bathed in prayer.

5. How should we pray?
There are certain ingredients for effective prayer. We need a clean heart when we approach God (Psalms 66:18; James 5:16; Matthew 5:23-24.) Have a humble attitude (Luke 18:10-14.) Have a conversation with God, just as if you were having a conversation with your best friend. Do not use repetitive words. The Lord’s Prayer (which should be called the disciple’s prayer) is more like a model on what we should pray for and not to be used as a repetitive prayer (Matthew 6:7.)

There is much more that can be said about prayer, and you can search the Scriptures and learn. However, the most important thing is that you experience it by yourself. Start today; set some alone time with God; pray for yourself, for your family, for your friends, for relationships, for your church, for government, etc.

“The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26