Prayer - How Long has it Been ?

How long has it been since you prayed? I don't mean the before-you-eat kind of prayer, but, instead, the lay-it-all-out-there kind of praying. I mean the kind of prayer where you tell God your deepest, most private thoughts; where you pour out your heart to Him. We NEED an intimate relationship with God through prayer.

Need forgiveness? Pray. Need healing? Pray. Need comfort? Pray. Need direction for your life? Pray. Need a job? Pray. Need money to pay the bills? Pray. If you truly have a need, God wants to meet that need in your life!

There are some prerequisites though. First of all, you must put your faith and trust in Christ for forgiveness of your sinfulness and be committed to being a Christ- follower. He hears the prayers of His children. Only those who are in His family of believers are His children. After that, you must pray within His will. If you know you've been called to be an evangelist, but you are praying for a job as an accountant, that probably isn't in His will - and you know it. The same goes for asking the Lord to let you win the lottery. He doesn't want you to waste your money on such things! The last prerequisite is simple but we sometimes forget it. We must ASK, believing that if it is within His will, He will provide what we need. Yes, God knows our needs before we ever come to Him, but He wants to hear it from us. He wants us to communicate with Him!

So, I' m not a Name-it-and-Claim-it kind of gal, because I don't believe we can ask for just anything because we want it, and then expect God to give it to us. However, we ARE told to bring our burdens to the Lord. We are also told that if we call to Him, He will hear us and will show us great and mighty things which we did not know. So I ask again, how long has it been since you prayed? Has it been a while? I want to encourage you to find a quiet spot and spend some time with God today. He's waiting to hear from you!

The Benefits of Spending Time with Jesus

I used to think that spending time with Jesus was just a luxury for single people and those who no longer had children at home. Of course, I was wrong. Yes, I actually said it! I was wrong. Our time spent talking with the Lord should not be merely once, or maybe twice, a day! Instead, we should be having an ongoing conversation with Him all day long! As we are driving to work or school, we should pray for the day ahead, asking for His guidance throughout the day; asking Him to direct our thoughts, actions and even our reactions to others. 

Jude 1:24 says that Jesus is able to keep us from stumbling, slipping or falling. Now that could be taken literally, but I think, more often, it is to be taken figuratively. He can help me keep my mouth shut when I really want to blast someone. He can keep me from reacting badly in an already volatile situation. He can help me listen calmly and openly when someone is criticizing me instead of reacting defensively. He can keep me from putting my foot in my mouth. All of this and more are available to me.......IF, and ONLY IF, I walk with Him daily, hourly, every minute of the day.

As we go through our day, we must remember that God cares about the little things as well as the big problems in our lives. There is no problem too big OR too small for God. I can't even count the number of times I've asked the Lord for a parking space, when I was in a time crunch, or asked Him to show me the keys I had misplaced, and I needed to leave, like, NOW! He always comes through- right on time! He cares about our every need. Of course He also knows whether it is a genuine need or just something we want! Currently, I have misplaced something that is valuable to me and I have been asking the Lord to show me where I "put it for safe keeping." ( I do that a lot, and I have GOT to stop doing that!) So far, He has not chosen to let me find it. I have looked high and low, but...nothing. I am trying not to freak out over it. I have every confidence that if I really need it, the Lord will show me where it is hiding. Until then, I have PEACE!  What a blessing! I can have peace instead of stress because I know Jesus cares about every small detail of my life!

 

Philippians 4:6-7 CEV - "Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything.  With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel."

Jude 1:24 AMP - "Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight]--"

What is Revival?

Our church is currently in the middle of a 4-day revival. I am told that church revivals are pretty rare these days. So that set me to thinking about this subject. What is the point of revival? What is it, really? Why don't more churches want revival?

As I understand it, revival services are intended to revive our spirits. The daily grind of everyday life tends to weigh us down, speed us up and, often, pull us away from the path God intends for us. Revival is a time to "set right what once went wrong", ( If I may quote a line from Quantum Leap.) sometimes we don't realize just how far we've drifted away from God. This reminds me of the beach. As I get out into the water and enjoy jumping over the waves and splashing around, I look up to the beach, where our car is parked. I want to be sure I can still see it. The more I stay and play in the waves, the less I look up to locate the car. After an hour or so, when I'm ready to get out of the water, I make my way onto the beach. It is then that I realize just how far away the waves have carried me! It's a pretty long walk to get back to where I started.

Life as a Christian can be like that.  The place where you parked on the beach is representative of that time in your life when your were made right with God through faith in Christ. Your sins were forgiven and you committed to living your life fully for Him. Playing on the beach, right by the car, building sand castles and burying yourself in the sand might represent going to church, reading your Bible, hanging out with Christian friends and living in a right relationship with Christ. Going out into the water represents life, full of its ups and downs. Family, jobs, and relationships tend to cause you to drift with the tide. You occasionally look up. That is, you remember your faith, but are too busy " doing life" to really focus your efforts on it. After all, jumping waves CAN be fun! Eventually, the world pulls you so far away from God that you can barely see Him, barely feel His love. You are no longer in a right relationship with Him. It's time to step out of the water and up onto the sand. It's time to walk back up to the place where the car is parked. (And DON't stop to collect seashells along the way!) Revival is a return to God; a time to ask for forgiveness once again. We must renew our commitment to living a life that honors Christ. When we do this, God will refresh our spirits and give us a renewed sense of freedom, hope and purpose. Joy will be restored!

So, why don't more churches have revival services? Perhaps they are busy splashing in the waves of good works. Maybe they are picking up seashells of knowledge. Maybe, just maybe, the currents of "dong church" have caused them to drift away from the Lord. They've been focused on church attendance and finances and the people who criticize. When the waves get high, it can be hard to see and equally hard to hear the still small voice of God. 

WE ALL NEED REVIVAL.  Whether it's as a church or individually, today's Christians NEED to turn back to God, ask for forgiveness, and recommitt to living a life that honors and glorifies Him. When we do, we will feel refreshed, renewed and we'll be ready to share our faith with those around us!

The Ugly Word

SIN. It's such an ugly word. So ugly, in fact that most people deny that they are " sinners." The very mention of the word conjures up images of  murder, theft, someone being physically or verbally attacked; what we consider "real" sin. Then we say to ourselves, " I'm not THAT bad!

We are ALL sinners. We all have sin that we don't even realize is there or that we don't remember because we felt it was so small or insignificant. There are things that we neglected to do. That is sin, too. We also, of course, are aware of the sins we commit which we consider "real" sin. We must ask forgiveness for ALL THREE types of sin. In God's eyes, sin is sin. It doesn't matter if we think it's major or insignificant. It only takes ONE sin to separate us from God, who is PERFECT. 

I am so grateful that Jesus paid the penalty for my sin; so grateful that I only had to pray for forgiveness. I chose to follow Him and I am no longer separated from Him. I'm not perfect but my Father in Heaven sure is and, with His help, I can be the person I was meant to be, both now and for eternity!

"None of us can see our own errors; deliver me, LORD, from hidden faults! Keep me safe, also, from willful sins; don't let them rule over me.Then I shall be perfect and free from the evil of sin. May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O LORD, my refuge and my redeemer!"

                                                           Psalms 19:12 - 14  GNT

A Prayer for Our Time

As I was doing my daily Bible reading the other day, I was in Psalms, reading the words of David as he was hiding from King Saul and his soldiers. They were out to kill David. I had been reading this section of the Bible for several days. Many of David's prayers seemed to be similar. This prayer, however, seemed to jump out at me!  This is what I read.

    

      "Break the power of wicked and evil people;punish them for the wrong they have done until they do it no more."  Psalms 10:15 | GNT.   

Perhaps it stood out to me because of all the terrible news I've been hearing lately: police officers being shot for no reason, refugees fleeing their homeland because the war has taken their jobs and the ability to feed and cloth themselves, people selling body parts of aborted babies. Oh, the HORRORS!

I feel like we are living in a nightmare. Why do these people not see that what they are doing is wrong?

Then I begin to wonder, " What can I do? I have no contact with these people and I have no control over them."  Enter God's Word, prayer of David. "break the power of wicked and evil people..." David was being pursued by wicked and evil people, and his response was to pray. Just PRAY! We are powerless to defeat evil on our own but we know the One who is all-powerful! He can defeat these evil, wicked people. But He's waiting for us to pray. Not just a "Lord I need your help and I need it right now!" kind of prayer but a "Lord, I am your servant and I know You are in control and if it is your will, please defeat these evil people. Punish them so they won't do it any more" kind of prayer.

So instead of allowing all the bad news get me down, making me fearful, I am going to the God-of-angel-armies in prayer. 

     "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."   2 Chronicles 7:14 | NIV

I must first acknowledge my own sin!  I must humble myself before God. That means I give Him control and He is in charge of my life, whether I like it or understand it or not. I must ask to be forgiven and turn from my own wickedness. (Let's  be honest. We all have a little streak of evil deep down inside. We try not to let it out or let it show but, given just the right stressful situation, it just might rear its ugly head!) Aren't you glad that God is faithful to forgive us no matter how evil our sin?

If every believer would follow 2 Chronicles 7:14, then we could be free to pray David's prayer found in Psalms 10:15. This is the ONLY WAY our country, our world, can change! Dear Lord, let it begin with me. 

Will you join me?

     

5 Minutes with Jesus

https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/27863-take-five-with-jesus

I LOVE this new promotion to spend at least 5 minutes each day with Jesus! So often we are busy, busy, busy and we feel like we just don't have time for Bible study and prayer. We put God on the back-burner, so to speak. But ...5 minutes? Everyone can do that. Even me!

I just want to encourage everyone to try it! It might mean reading your Bible while you eat your breakfast or lunch. It might mean praying ( eyes open!) while driving to work! You could even let the kids pray in the car, on the way to school. What a great way to send them off every morning, armed with the Spirit of Truth and with Jesus on their minds! This could truly transform not only your attitude for the day, but also your family's attitude.

Remember those old acronyms - F.R.O.G. and WWJD? Fully Rely on God and What Would Jesus Do? Maybe we should bring those back to life. They might just help our children focus on Jesus this school year.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."
         Ephesians 6:10-13 NIV

Summer's Nearly Gone - Press On!

Nearly 2 months have gone by since my last post. It's not that I forgot, but instead, that I was not able. This summer has been a whirlwind of activity, mostly involving travel both near and far. My summer began with Bible School at home. Then I had the opportunity to see dear friends in Hungary and to make new friends in Croatia. I was blessed to share the love of Jesus with many people along the way. I learned how to live with no cell phone and very little Internet. I drove hundreds of miles on very little sleep and, upon arrival, sang and talked to a group of senior adults about my travels. After driving back home, I was asked, at the last minute, to lead music at a revival my husband was preaching. (No, HE isn't the one who asked.) I am humbled that the Lord chose to use me this summer! I have experienced Him in ways that I never could have if I were anywhere else. 

Finally, I am at home! I have about a week with no real commitments! That sounds wonderful because I am worn out, completely spent, dog-tired and I can't seem to get enough sleep. I know I need to write this blog, but I don't really know what to write about. It's like I've been used up and I'm on "empty",  both physically and mentally. Spiritually, I'm on "full"! 

I'm sure the apostle Paul felt that way many times. He was always going somewhere, too, it seems. Maybe I now understand a little better what it means to "press on". A couple of times this summer, I was so exhausted that I felt I just couldn't continue. Once, I even had a short emotional breakdown. It happens. Our body and mind are connected. When one suffers, so does the other. Over the years, I have learned that crying does a woman good. (I suspect it would be good for men, too!) It's an emotional release, like pulling the plug to let out the steam. Once those emotions had been released, I found I was able to "press on" and do what I needed to do. 

If your summer has left you feeling spent, I want to encourage you to rest, spend time in God's Word, spend time crying out to Him in prayer and don't leave those emotions bottled up! It could cause an explosion! We put a lot of emphasis on being physically healthy, and that's good, but we must put in just as much time becoming healthy both mentally and spiritually if we want to be all that God wants us to be!  

"12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14 | NIV