SMALL PRAYERS

I have written a great deal in the past about praying great prayers. And I still believe they are terribly important. I have said, “I have cancer. I don’t want to spend my time praying for a better parking place at the Old Country Buffet.”

However, it is important to pray for small things as well. Jesus told us to pray for “our daily bread.”

One of the crucial things about praying for small things is that they are daily. I need to pray for my daily attitudes, my daily habits, my daily devotions. If I do not pray for these I will find I have little power to pray for great things that we face in life. The prophet warned us not to despise the day of small things. They are often the foundations of the mighty works of God.

Praying for small things lays the foundation for my relationship with God. I once heard a man say, “Some of the best praying I have ever done was when I was lying on my back wrestling with a stubborn nut underneath a car I was working on.” As we take our small struggles to God we become instant in prayer. We learn to begin praying as an instant response to life.

http://daveswatch.com

SLOW DOWN

Have you ever felt you needed to slow your life down enough to pray? I have. I seem to be naturally in a hurry. Prayer calls me to slow down and rest, focus and commune with God. I have even felt the need to slow my prayers themselves down. Two weeks ago I made that as a commitment. So each day as I prayed through prayer lists and took needs to God, I told myself over and over again “Slow down.”

I tried to slow down to narrow my focus on people; to slow down and watch; to slow down and listen; to slow down and remember; to slow down and think; to slow down and give thanks, even or especially when I am not focused on anything I deem thankworthy.

 

The primary thing I learned in the experience was that I need God to help me slow down. I cannot do it on my own. Like every other facet of prayer. I need God’s help. It is worth asking God to help us slow our prayers down to connect with God rather than the hurried world.

 

 

http://daveswatch.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POOR IN SPIRIT

Our pastor is preaching through the Sermon on the Mount on Sunday mornings. A few weeks ago he preached on the first Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” He pointed out that the word translated “poor” here means to be destitute. It can be used for a beggar who is absolutely dependent upon help from others. Poverty of Spirit is the heart of prayer.

We come to God because our help, our strength, our hope of salvation, our very lives depend upon Him.

Spiritual poverty is the starting place for prayer. “God be merciful to me a sinner.”

Faith springs from spiritual poverty. “I come to You, Father because I know I cannot solve this problem. I cannot even understand the problems I face.”

The extent of my spiritual poverty is shown by the fact that I do not even know how to pray as I ought. I even depend on God’s Spirit to help me pray.

"Thank You, Lord, that You died for my spiritual poverty. Thank You, Father, for meeting my poverty with Your everlasting wealth."

 

 

 

http://daveswatch.com/

WHO ARE YOU PRAYING FOR?

Throughout history God has brought about great movements that shook the earth with His Spirit by raising up a man whom He chose to use. God raised up Martin Luther, John Wesley, Evan Roberts, D.L. Moody and the like to bring about great revivals.

Are you familiar with the prayer meeting held on the Graham farm where young Billy Graham who had not yet accepted Christ as his Savior was in the barn pitching hay? Eighty years ago men gathered on the Graham property to pray for spiritual awakening. Praying together in May of 1934 one of the men suggested a bold prayer. They prayed for God to raise up a young man who would be used to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

http://billygraham.org/story/praying-for-revival-80-years-ago/?SOURCE=BY146ANL1&utm_source=BGEA+Today+email&utm_medium=bgemail&utm_campaign=bgemailnewsletter&utm_content=6.3.14+email+1

Can we pray again for God to raise up such a person who would turn the hearts of America to Him? Can we pray for God to raise up another Moses or Elijah, an Ezekiel or a Daniel for our day? We could pray like the men prayed eighty years ago on the Graham farm. God heard them. We could pray for God to raise such a person up in China, South America or Africa that would preach to the entire world. You could also be praying for young people you know who already sense God’s call on their lives. For some time I have been encouraging people to pray seminary students at the Pacific Northwest Campus of Golden Gate Seminary. Can you pray for a seminary campus near you? Are there such young people in your church or otherwise in your acquaintance? God has brought them to you to pray for them. What great thing might God bring about in our day if we ask Him?

http://daveswatch.com/

WATCHING IN PRAYER 2

  Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 

Psalm 37:4 is a particular treasure for every believer. Have you discovered wonders as you have thought about this verse this week? I would like to hear what you discovered. Last week I focused on choosing to delight. Now I want you to see that this verse calls us to delight in the Lord Himself.

DELIGHT IN THE PERSON OF THE LORD.

We ought to rejoice in His majesty. We should rejoice in His mighty power. We should rejoice in His holiness. We should rejoice in His wonderful Grace. You have sung God Is So Good, haven’t you? He is good and gracious and lovely and majestic. He is wonderful!

DELIGHT IN THE PURPOSE OF THE LORD.

Have you ever thought what a great privilege it is for God to reveal His will to you? You may say, “But I do not know God’s will for my life.” You do not know all of it. But you know something that is God’s will for you. And as you obey what He has already shown you, He will show you more.

DELIGHT IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, God dwells in your life. What is more, when we gather together as believers He is present in our fellowship. Can you imagine how the disciples felt when Jesus first appeared to them? They were locked in the upper room for fear of the authorities who had crucified Jesus when the Lord appeared in their midst. He is with us when we gather as believers. And the Holy Spirit dwelling in you ministers to me, and visa-versa. We celebrate together in His glorious presence!”

 

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http://daveswatch.com/

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^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Ps 37:4). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

DELIGHTING IN THE LORD 1

  Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
^{Psalm 37:4}

 

Psalm 37:4 is a particular treasure for every believer. Great wonders can be mined, refined and crafted like jewelry to adorn the hearts of believers from this verse! I would like to show you a little of what can be drawn from it.

THE DECISION OF DELIGHT

The first word here both in Hebrew and English is the imperative, “delight.” A fact about joy and delight is given us here by the One who created you and knows your heart best. Delight is a choice. You can and must decide to delight in the Lord.

THE DESIRE OF DELIGHT

Someone wrote a negative review of my book, JOY[2] on Amazon.com. He said several things and then concluded that “some of it just didn’t make sense.” I may be too sensitive. No one likes a negative review. But I also think he was reacting to the fact that I said (and the Bible teaches) that joy does not come from pleasure, luxury and ease. We are tempted to desire many things in life. But this verse calls us to redirect our desires to delight in the Lord.

THE DELIVERANCE OF DELIGHT

I have found that I need God to deliver me from temptations and addictions to the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life. I need the moving of God’s Spirit in my life to turn my perverted heart to His delight.

What I have shared here comes from my praying and thinking about this verse. But there is more in it. Let me encourage you to take some time to meditate on these words and see what God reveals to you. It would thrill me if some of you commented on it. Next week I will share more that is in this verse. And your meditation will give you deeper understanding of the verse and even of my musings on it.

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^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Ps 37:4). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

[2] http://www.amazon.com/Joy-David-Young/product-reviews/1477665579/ref=sr_cr_hist_all?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

 

FOCUSING ON FOOT

Have you had trouble maintaining focus in prayer? I often have that trouble. It is embarrassing to write it out like this, but it is still the truth. Every day I pray for God’s anointing to keep me focused as I go through prayer lists. It can be an even greater problem as I try to pray for one person or a single concern. I did something this week that helped a great deal. I walked my prayer.

Many of us understand the value of prayer-walking to pray for a street or neighborhood. But it also seems to help me focus on whatever I am praying for. Twice this week I walked through our neighborhood praying for a single loved one. As I walked I did pray briefly for houses and people I saw. But most of my prayer was for the person I was concerned about. In both cases I did not exactly know what to pray for. And I am not sure I knew better when I finished the walks, but I was overwhelmed with peace and joy as I concluded the prayer walks.

I have not heard anyone else give this benefit of prayer-walking. I would like to know if others of you have found walking helped you focus your prayers.