Thursday, April 25, 2013
GOD'S PRESENCE IN PRAYER
Most of us are generally
familiar with Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28. We have all sung “We are climbing
Jacob’s ladder.” But I think we miss the thunderous reality of an experience
with God. First, angels are fearsome beings. No wonder Jacob woke trembling in
fear. The word “angel,” “malak” in Hebrew means messenger. These beings were
divine emissaries. They were message carriers between God and humans. And I had
somehow missed the fact that the Lord Himself was above the ladder and spoke
powerfully to Jacob. Upon waking Jacob said, “Surely the presence of the Lord
was in this place.” We rightly sing that song about gathering in the church.
Jesus said we never gather in His name that He is not present. In fact He is
present whenever we pray to Him. (Deut. 4:7) And His presence is the most
significant thing about prayer.
Friday, April 19, 2013
THE LANGUAGE OF PENTECOST
And at this sound the
multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing
them speak in his own language. [1]
God’s power is unleashed in
the lives of people when they hear the gospel in their own language. I believe
there is a need to pray for the miracle of Pentecost as we seek to translate
the gospel and scripture into the languages of people who have never heard.
There are still many people groups, most of the fairly small, who are unreached
and unapproached with not one word of scripture translated into their language.
I also believe every person
has his own heart language. I pray daily for people I see and know to hear the
gospel in their own heart language. Pray with me for a continuation of the miracle
of Pentecost.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
PRAYING FOR GOD TO REMOVE BARRIERS BETWEEN US AND HIM
Are you aware of barriers
that keep you from hearing the voice of God? Every time we open the Bible,
every time we seek intimacy with the holy God, we need these barriers removed. Let
me suggest three barriers that often separate us from fellowship with God.
You can ask God to remove
resentment and unforgiveness from your heart. Resentment twists your thinking
in ways that you cannot perceive until God breaks its hold on you. It poisons
your own soul and makes you miserable. It always brings depression in its wake.
Resentment affects every relationship in your life. And worst of all it blocks
your relationship with God. Jesus said if you will not forgive men, the Father
will not forgive you. (Matt. 18:35) Who are you unwilling to forgive? Is your
resentment worth God not forgiving you?
Lust and greed will be
barriers to God. The same word translated “lust” in James also translates “Thou
shalt not covet” when it is quoted in the New Testament. We miss many blessings
because we are driven by our wants instead of listening for what God wants to
give us.
Another barrier is pride. Our
society seeks to promote pride. But it keeps us from having fellowship with
God. Are you unwilling for your heart to be broken over sin? I think it is
worth praying for God to remove pride and so spiritual complacency from our
hearts.
O Lord, remove the berries between us/me and You.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
SEEING HIS FACE
2 Corinthians 4:6 reads,
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of
darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. [1]
A famous sermon entitled “THE FACE OF JESUS, is
based on this passage of Scripture. It was preached by R.G. Lee, who also
preached PAYDAY-SOME DAY. What a privilege to come to God in intimate prayer,
and let him shine into our hearts the light of the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Jesus.
I recently heard Vince Vitale, with the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics talk
about the face of God. Vitale said he liked to think of
understanding God like seeing a face. You could never describe every detail and
moving nuance of a face to someone else. You would have trouble describing it
clearly enough for someone to recognize it on sight. The only way to grasp a
face is to look at a person, to meet them face to face. He went on to say that
in the times that he was plagued with doubts he realized that he was trying to
understand God intellectually. And God is far too complex to fully understand
that way. He would then begin to seek God face to face in prayer and scripture.
When we pray we come face to face with God.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
WAITING IN HIS LOVE
One of the most important
though difficult facets of prayer is waiting. The greatest answers to prayer
come through the patience of the petitioner. Abraham waited 25 years to become
the father of a great nation. The disciples waited in despair after the Lord
was crucified. In John ll:5,6 we read,
“Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6 Yet when
he heard that Lazarus was sick,
he stayed where he was two more days. [1]
Are you tempted to give up on
God because He is causing you to wait? God’s love for you is a settled matter. You
can wait for Him because you are waiting in His love.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
PRAYING THE WORD
I wonder about believers who
think the word of God is boring. I have heard people talk about disciplining
themselves to read the Bible every day. I do encourage that discipline. But I
also think we should approach it like we would a telephone. Your phone may be
solid black with none of the applications your friends’ phones have. You cannot
get excited about your phone. But you would be excited if someone could talk to
you on it from heaven. What if it were God Himself calling your phone every
day? That is of course the case with Scripture. Our Bible reading should be immersed in prayer as we carry on a conversation with God.
In Psalm 119:18 David prayed,
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your
law.”
As you open your Bible pray
for God to open your heart to hear His voice as you read.
I cannot wait for next week.
I am making videos for my 1 year old grandson. In my next blog I will tell you
some of what I am encouraging him to pray.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
PRAYING FOR THE SUPERNATURAL IN ME
In Luke 1:37 the Angel assured Mary that nothing is
impossible with God. We clearly see Mary believing God would do what was
absolutely impossible in her as well as on the earth and in history. We also
need to pray for the impossible in our own lives.
I have a personal challenge
right now that I know I am not strong enough to carry out. I do not have the
courage. I will not be able to stand against people I love who do not agree
with me. I do not see how it could be accomplished if I had enough backbone to
carry it out. I believe this is definitely of God. So I am praying for God to
do the impossible in me.
I want to remind you that the
Kindle edition of my novel, IN THE WILDERNESS, is free this week, March 12-16,
2013. You can access it on my website, http://daveswatch.com/
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