When You Pray

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Is there a Rule Book for prayer? In my lifetime, I’ve read many books on prayer. I’ve even written a book about it: “But You, When You Pray.” It contains my thoughts about the Lord’s Prayer. Rather than rules, here are some guidelines that will help you if prayer has become a burden rather than delight.

Be aware of to Whom you are speaking. Think about it this way, it’s easy for the mind to wander if you’re in a conversation with someone you find boring, isn’t it? In prayer, you’re in the presence of the Almighty. How could that ever be boring! I would argue that it is insulting to God to be bored in His presence. So, set your heart and mind as befitting those who enter the presence of ultimate greatness.

Don’t ask God for what is improper. It’s profane to implore God’s blessing to fulfill sinful desires. God doesn’t want everyone driving a Rolls Royce! 

Pray with passion. Cute little prayers repeated perfunctorily will get you nowhere. People who pray this way often feel they are fulfilling an obligation to God. Prayer should never be considered the performance of a task to God. 

Accompany your prayers with repentance. I call this being submissive to God. John Calvin said that submission “casts down all haughtiness, [and] we have numerous examples in the servants of God. The holier they are, the more humbly they prostrate themselves when they come into the presence of the Lord."

When you pray, remember who God is and remember who you are. If you keep these two things in mind, your prayers will be characterized by adoration and confession. Prayer is a priceless treasure that God has offered to His people.

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 1 Peter 4.7

Rejected by the World

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

An old, country proverb goes like this: You can judge a man’s character by who his enemies are. It’s a spiritual truth as well. The “world” loves its own. When you became a Christ follower, you came “out of this world.” And since you are no longer “of the world,” it hates you [John 15.19].

This shouldn’t take any of you by surprise. The “world” has always been like this. It showed its hostility toward Jesus, you should expect the same. 

Unrighteousness has always hated righteousness. The Apostle John relates the tragic story of Cain and Abel in which Cain killed his “righteous” brother [1 John 3.12-13]. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, accurately summarized the treatment of righteous prophets by Israel who killed the prophets and stoned the ones sent to her [Matthew 23.27]. Peter went so far as to say the reason unbelievers malign and denigrate Christ followers is because they won’t participate in their excessive debauchery [1 Peter 4.4].

Perhaps this hatred is caused by holy living and sound doctrine. The righteousness of a Christ follower is a living rebuke of their sin and a reminder of a coming judgment when all will give an account to God for their lives on earth. 

Have you experienced that? When Jesus spoke for God and exposed the utter unrighteousness of people, He was resented, resisted, and rejected. Christ followers will experience the same. But please remember, you may be rejected by the world, but you are accepted by God. 

Not as Cain, who was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous. Do not marvel, brethren, if the world hates you. 1 John 3:12-13

Let's Eat

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

My Mother told me about a time she was babysitting our son, Greg. She and my Dad had gotten busy doing something and didn’t stop for lunch. Some time in the afternoon, my son pull on my Mom’s dress and said, “Grandma, let’s eat!”

The body needs food for strength. It’s the same with your spirit. You need spiritual food to stay strong. The best food you can “eat” is the Bible. In it’s pages, you’ll find water, milk, bread, and meat (the Bible is called all of these things) for your spiritual life. It provides everything you need for sustenance.

Maybe the reason some Christ followers have so little success in winning spiritual battles is they are starving to death. It’s critical that we feed on the Word of God. What I find interesting is that when I eat food, I get full. But when I eat the Word, I get hungrier! The more I “taste and see that the Lord is good,” the more of Him I want. 

So, how do you fill up on God’s Word? Here are a few suggestions:

Receive the Word with your ears. Go to church and listen to the Word of God as it is taught by gifted teachers.

Read the Word with your eyes. Find time every day to get away with your Bible and read the text. If you start with just 5 minutes a day, it won’t be long until you’ll crave more. 

Write the Word with your hands. As you study, take note of what God teaches you. Write the lessons down. Tell your loved ones and friends what you are learning.

Reflect on the Word with your mind. Stew on it. That’s an old fashioned way to say, meditate on the Word.

Remember the Word with your heart. Commit God’s Word to memory. You may not have a Bible handy when you need it. 

Search for the LORD and for His strength; always seek His presence. 1 Chronicles 16.11

Keep Listening

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

You wouldn’t have expected to see him there - in a cave miles away from home. But there he was, trying to warm himself. Fresh on his mind was Queen Jezebel and her violent threats against him. By then, it seems Elijah had forgotten the spectacular miracle on Mt. Carmel and the victory gained there. At the moment, he was hiding in fear. [Read 1 Kings 19]

I hate to admit it, but I’ve been in that cave before, and pretty much for the same reason. God came through with an answered prayer leaving me nearly breathless. But soon afterward, a little sign of trouble popped up and I became an emotional train wreck. Instead of sleeping soundly, my mind tossed back and forth… will He help me? 

Elijah’s first mistake (and one of ours too) was to believe he had the only pure heart before God. That kind of pride often leads to those hated feelings of fear, loneliness, and discouragement. As he waited, God came to Him. But first, there was a powerful wind. Then, a mighty earthquake. Then fire. God always shows up in fire, doesn’t He. Not this time! Finally, in a whisper, a still, small voice, it was God, and the prophet sensed it. 

God could, if He wanted to, merely snap His fingers and, POOF!, all your problems disappear. Perhaps as He so lovingly did with Elijah, God allows the wind to blow, the earth to quake, and the fire to fall to get our full attention. When that happens, remember you have a loving heavenly Father who desires that you draw close to Him. So, worship Him. And be sure to tell Him that you’re listening for His voice.

When thoughts of fear surround your life, remember, God is still on the throne. 

When Elijah heard [the still, small voice], he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. 1 Kings 19.13

Now I Belong to Jesus

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Have you heard this old hymn?

Jesus, my Lord will love me forever,
From Him no pow'r of evil can sever,
He gave His life to ransom my soul;
Now I belong to Him;

Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.  

(1938, Now I Belong to Jesus, Norman Clayton)

I woke up this morning with that hymn in my heart. It wasn’t long before one of my favorite Scriptures came to mind:

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,” Jesus said [John 10.14]. I belong to Jesus. I am His own. He is mine. I don’t know if I will ever grasp the depths of that, but I am in awe at the thought. 

Everyone is a child of God in a general sense. After all, we are His creation. But there are some that are uniquely His because He redeemed them. Peter said we are “a people for God’s own possession” [1 Peter 2.9]. He used a Greek word that means, to acquire at a price.

Listen to the Apostle Paul:

He told the Ephesian elders to "shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood" [Acts 20:28. 

He asked the Corinthian Christ followers, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body" [1 Cor. 6:19-20]. 

He told his disciple Titus that Christ "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem [purchase] us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession” [Titus 2.14].

If you are a Christ follower, God has chosen you as His own possession. He gave His Son to purchase your salvation at the price of His precious blood. Now you belong to Jesus.  Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity. Rejoice! And live accordingly in such a privilege. Since God paid the price to redeem you, you belong to Him. 

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Peter 2.9

Choose Wisely

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

One of my Bible College professors was fond of saying, “Life is a series of choices.” He was right. And, when as Christ followers we are confronted with decisions, temptations, and priorities, we can choose wisely or unwisely. No one has a perfect record when it comes to making the “right” decision. Hopefully, we learn from our mistakes so that, in the future, we make better choices. 

Choosing wisely:

Leads to eternal blessings rather than short-term happiness 

Leads to peace and contentment rather than misery

Leads to success rather than failure

Ultimately, choosing wisely will glorify God and expand our faith. One of our greatest choices is to obey Christ in all things. Obedience doesn’t come naturally, even to Christ followers. We choose to follow Christ every day in order to live a life of faithfulness to God. That means we must choose:

To make time to pray

To feast on God’s Word

To walk by faith 

To witness for Christ

To live for Christ and not ourselves

To make God our top priority

Now the big question: What kind of choices are you making? Are they earth-bound or kingdom oriented? Your choices reflect your faith in God. Do your choices reflect a weak or strong faith? If the answer is “weak,” confess it right now. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in making wise choices and to give you strength to step out in faith.

Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek Me diligently but they will not find Me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD. Proverbs 1.28-29

Your Speech and Your Heart

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

If you are a Christ follower, there should be a connection between the purity of your heart and your external activity. There are some, unfortunately that are deceived or confused about this. Maybe they have confused their love of religious activity with love for God. In other words, their religion is strictly ritual. They may attend church services, give money, read a daily devotional, but the truth of the matter is their hearts are far from God. 

Our Lord’s brother, James, wrote one of the books in the New Testament. In it, he disregards claims of Christianity that aren’t followed by obedience to the Word of God. You might call them “tests of Christianity.” And, hold on to your hats ladies and gentlemen, one of them has to do with how you talk. The test goes like this: If you think you’re religious, you’ll bridle (hold in check, restrain) your tongue. 

Why a test of the tongue, you ask? Because that little object is like an Xray of your heart. Jesus said, “From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” [Matthew 12.34]. Godly speech displays a godly heart. Righteous speech displays a transformed heart. Corrupt speech betrays an unregenerate heart. It doesn’t really matter how orthodox your theology is, if your tongue is out of control, your religion is useless!

How about it, Christ follower, do your words reveal a pure heart? The Apostle Paul exhorted the Ephesian Christ followers to “let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear” [4.29]. 

That exhortation is good for us too! Oh that we would be people with the grace of disciplined speech! Keep in mind, today and everyday, your speech reveals the condition of your heart. 

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. James 1.26