Thursday, January 31, 2013

PRAY EVERYWHERE


1 Timothy chapter 2 is a notable call to prayer. In verse 8 Paul sais he desired that men should pray in every place.

What a force would be unleashed if God's people were praying everywhere. Every time a believer went into a Post Office every clerk and every customer waiting in line would be lifted in prayer. We would pray for people in every aisle of the grocery store. WalMart would become a hotbed of prayer. God might shake the bleachers of sports stadiums. Traffic jams on freeways could precede revival as believers pray for every driver in sight. Parks and playgrounds could be the seedbeds of another great awakening. Crowded churches would tremble with the presence and power of God. Are you praying everywhere?

Thursday, January 24, 2013

DON’T LOSE HEART


Luke 18 begins with this verse. Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. [1]

All of us have been discouraged in our prayer. The reasons for that are fairly obvious. Mary Queen of Scotts reportedly said she feared the prayers of John Knox more than all the armies in Europe. Well our enemy, the enemy of God, is terrified of your prayers. And he puts great energy into his efforts to discourage and distract you from praying.

But we should know that the greatest miracles in prayer come about in those areas where answers seem stubbornly impossible. Keep praying. Pray again and again. Pray more and more. We are going to see God do mighty things in our day.

 



[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989 (Lk 18:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

THE TIMES THAT TRY MEN'S SOULS

Thomas Paine did not know anything about crisis when he wrote the pamphlet series The American Crisis that began with the words, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
We are living in a day when gambling is pervasive in our country. And millions of families are afflicted with problems related to gambling and gambling addiction. We are legalizing recreational drug use while we are forced spend untold energy and money trying, often unsuccessfully, to redeem those whose lives are pillaged by drug abuse. We are reducing love to lust and glandular tension and legitimizing something we are calling same sex marriage. The recent massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in the upper-middle class suburb of Newtown, Connecticut reminds us of the violence in a society where television, motion pictures and video games target our children and others with violent themes. We continue to murder millions of unborn babies every year in sacrifice Moloch the God of sexual indulgence.
But understand this. Neither Thomas Paine nor identify our times as the days that vex men’s souls. These are the days that test the mettle of prayer warriors. How seriously are you praying for God to intervene in the lives of people around you, your family, your neighbors, people you come in contact with from day to day. Have you prayed for people in Hollywood that put out filth that destroys the fabric of society and spreads its contagion to the rest of the world?
Are you willing to pray when you see no outward sign of revival? Will you keep praying when God’s judgment falls on America, like Abraham before Sodom and Daniel over Judah carried off to Babylon? These are not the days for Summer Disciples or Sunshine Prayer Warriors. These are the days for God’s people to step up and pray in the gap before it is too late, and even after it seems to be too late to save our nation.

 

Thursday, January 10, 2013

LONG TERM PRAYER

Have you considered committing to a long term prayer for this year? It radically changes what you pray for and how you pray when you commit to pray for something for an entire year. Most of us are familiar with Matthew 7:7,8 and Luke 11:9,10. But most who read this passage in a language other than Greek miss something. The tense used in these words of Jesus requires continual action. These words might well read, “Ask and keep on asking; seek and keep on seeking; knock and keep on knocking.”

It seems to me that such a statement calls us to a perspective on prayer that may well be life-long as well as year-long. I could suggest some such prayers. But I think it would be more beneficial to everyone for some of you to suggest what you want to pray for, or what you believe God is calling you to pray for, this year.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

A PRAYER RESOLUTION


Possibly from lack of success we do not talk so much about New Year’s resolutions in these days. Still, I believe they can be really good for us spiritually. Paul seemed to be projecting a goal driven life when he wrote, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." However, I think we would be much more pleased with the process as well as the outcome if we altered our approach to resolutions. They become little more than emotional outbursts if they are not primarily prayer. I hear Peter saying. "Lord, I am willing to die for You!" But his actions didn’t prove his words true.
First, it is important to spend time praying for God to show you what new goals or disciplines you need to adopt. Resolutions are foolish and futile if they do not come from God. Then we need to write them out. And I suggest that you write them down as prayers. "Lord help me . . ." And finally, if you really believe they are the will of God, it is worth making them as prayer commitments. By this I mean making to resolution to pray all year that God will bring the necessary changes in you. Suppose you believe God is urging you to begin rising earlier to pray longer each morning. Do not simply resolve to get up early. Commit to ask God all year to develop this discipline in you. For one thing you are less prone to give up because of failure. You may find yourself praying, “Father, I have stopped rising early to pray. But I am sticking with my commit to ask You to develop this in me.” I need to add one more important reminder to this. We are in a spiritual war. And the enemy of our souls will attack serious commitments. Hence prayer is the most important weapon of defense against his attacks.