We have been looking at prayer that is focused, birthed and enjoyed with God's glory in mind. Prayer that begins, rather than ends, "in Jesus' name" Praying with Godly priorities is expressly what Jesus meant when He said in Mark 11:24:
"Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
We have to look at this verse in the context of Scripture. Mark 11:20-24 gives us a fuller picture of the proper understanding of this familiar passage:
"Now in the morning as they passed by they saw the fig tree dried up from the root. And Peter, remembering said to Him, "Rabbi, look the fig tree which you cursed has withered away."
So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God, for assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'be removed and be cast into the sea' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." NAS translation.
First we see that the fig tree that Jesus had cursed back in verse 14 had withered away "from the root". Interesting because the root is the source of life for a tree. Jesus judgement on the tree was for not providing what its appearance promised. It should have been full of fruit but it had none. The fig tree was often used in the OT as representing the Nation of Israel. (Hos 9:10; Nah 3:12; Zech. 3:10) Jesus' condemnation, here is for the "fruitlessness" on the nation of Israel and specifically those who were given the responsibility to teach and reveal the truth of the Scriptures (The law-keepers and teachers: Pharisees, Sadducees and High Priests). Jesus cursed the tree because it appeared to be bearing much fruit but coming closer found it to be barren. Appearances deceived. And this occurred at the root...it was at the very core.
Bryan Chapell tells us " ...Christ's promises to honor our requests come in the context of His demonstrating (through the cursing of a fig tree representing the Jewish leaders who rejected Him) how He will deny blessing to anyone who refuses to give preeminent glory to God (vv.11-23; See also Matt. 21:15-22). Jesus' promise to provide whatever we ask in prayer rests on the understanding that we will pray with godly priorities."
To pray with a godly priority, preparation and expectation should bring peace and joy to all our prayers because we understand that God's will is right. When we pray we should not fear or doubt the result of the prayer even when it is answered contrary than how we prayed.
First priority: Prayer should be a way of life for Christians. It should not be duty or another thing to check off our list. Spurgeon puts it this way:
"There are so many persons who complain that they don't enjoy prayer. They don't neglect it, for they dare not; but they would neglect it if they could, because they don't find any pleasure in praying. And don't we all have to admit, that sometimes when we pray, that it is very difficult work and seems to be almost drudgery? We spend the allotted time, but we rise from our knees unrefreshed, like a man who has laid on his bed but has not slept so hasn't really recovered his strength. When the time comes around again conscience drives us to our knees, but there is not sweet fellowship with God...there are many Christians, I think, who complain of this—that they pray not so much because it is a blessed thing that allows them to draw near to God, but because they must pray, because it is their duty, because they feel that if they did not, they would lose one of the sure evidences of being Christians."
Second is preparation: As we move through our day our minds and hearts are joined and gather our petitions. Our mind takes God's Word so that we see things before us with His perspective and then our hearts layer on great desire for God to hear our requests. We filter what we feel through the Word of God so we are not caught up with so much "me centered requests" but God centered. Again, I love C.H. Spurgeon's depiction of being prepared:
" You are like a man who goes to a store and doesn’t know what he wants to buy. He may perhaps make a good purchase when he is there, but certainly it is not a wise plan to adopt. And so the Christian in prayer may afterwards attain to a real desire, and get what he asked for, but how much better would it be if having prepared his soul by consideration and self-examination of his true needs, he came to God with specific requests. If we requested a meeting with a king or a president, we should expect to be able to answer the obvious question, “What do you wish to see them about?” We would not be expected to go into the presence of royalty or a great leader, and then to think of some petition after we came there. It is the same with the child of God. They should be able to answer the great question, “What is your petition and what is your request, and it will be yours?”
Third is expectation: Kaity, our second daughter is in Greece today. For the last six months we have expectantly looked at her upcoming trip. We thought and talked about it everyday. We prayed for good weather, her safety and we talked about the privilege to go and see first hand where Paul traveled. To stand on Mars Hill and imagine what it was like to hear Paul speak to the citizens of Athens. Great expectation went into our preparation. And now we can see how God will answer our prayers.
That is but a minor way to illustrate how expectantly we should be about God answering our petitions. “Cold prayers,” says an old Christian, “ask for a denial.” When we have in our hearts and minds our petitions, our souls must become so possessed with the value of that request, and our own excessive need for it, we are compelled to plead as a man pleads for his life. We plead and persevere and keep asking but always under the authority and submission to God's will.
"We must have such a desire for the thing we want, that we will not stop praying until we have it—but always in submission to his divine will, nevertheless. Feeling that the thing we ask for cannot be wrong, and that he himself has promised it, we have resolved it must be given, and if not given, we will plead the promise, again, and again, until heaven's gates will shake before our pleas will cease. No wonder that God has not blessed us much lately, because we are not fervent in prayer as we should be. Oh, those cold-hearted prayers that die upon the lips—those frozen supplications; they don’t move men's hearts, how should they move God's heart? They don’t come from our own souls, they don’t well up from the deep secret springs of our inmost heart, and therefore they cannot rise up to him who only hears the cry of the soul, before whom hypocrisy and formality are clearly seen. We must be earnest, otherwise we have no right to hope that the Lord will hear our prayer." Spurgeon
How can we resolve to pray God's will and still put our requests forward.? Again, I can't put it in better words or perspective than Spurgeon did back in 1860. Timeless words that intertwine God's sovereignty and our privilege to pray our needs and requests to the Father.
"Our prayers are God's decrees in another shape. The prayers of God's people are but God's promises breathed out of living hearts, and those promises are the decrees, only put into another form and fashion. Don’t say, “How can my prayers affect the predetermined will and plan of God?” They cannot, except in so much that your prayers are decrees, and that as they come out, every prayer that is inspired of the Holy Spirit to your soul is as omnipotent and as eternal as that decree which said, “Let there be light, and there was light;” or as that decree which chose his people, and ordained their redemption by the precious blood of Christ. You have power in prayer, and you stand today among the most potent ministers in the universe that God has made. You have power over angels, they will fly at your command. You have power over fire, and water, and the elements of the earth. You have power to make your voice heard beyond the stars; where the thunders die out in silence, your voice will wake the echoes of eternity. The ear of God himself will listen and the hand of God himself will yield to your will. He commands you pray, “Your will be done,” and your will, will be done. When you can plead his promise then your will is his will. " emphasis mine.
Amen! Amen!
Have a blessed weekend and Lord's Day.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Prayer...Ask and it will be given?
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Praying without Doubting, II
Charles Spurgeon once said "Prayer is never futile but powerful. You may not always get what you ask for, but you will always have your need supplied. When God does not answer according to the letter, He answers according to the spirit...let faith and patience have their perfect work"
I received an e-mail yesterday from Melanie, a dear friend, who had this godly perspective:
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Praying without Doubting
Friday, March 21, 2008
Smile...it is Good Friday!
John Piper posted this beautiful depiction of Christ's Resurrection on Desiring God.
Enjoy...
"The love of Christ for us in his dying was as conscious as his suffering was intentional. “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16). If he was intentional in laying down his life, it was for us. It was love. “When Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1). Every step on the Calvary road meant, “I love you.”
Therefore, to feel the love of Christ in the laying down of his life, it helps to see how utterly intentional it was. Consider these five ways of seeing Christ’s intentionality in dying for us.
First, look at what Jesus said just after that violent moment when Peter tried to cleave the skull of the servant, but only cut off his ear.
Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” (Matthew 26:52-54)
It is one thing to say that the details of Jesus’ death were predicted in the Old Testament. But it is much more to say that Jesus himself was making his choices precisely to see to it that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.
That is what Jesus said he was doing in Matthew 26:54. “I could escape this misery, but how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” I am not choosing to take the way out that I could take because I know the Scriptures. I know what must take place. It is my choice to fulfill all that is predicted of me in the Word of God.
A second way this intentionality is seen is in the repeated expressions to go to Jerusalem—into the very jaws of the lion.
Taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” (Mark 10:32-34)
Jesus had one all-controlling goal: to die according the Scriptures. He knew when the time was near and set his face like flint: “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).
A third way that we see the intentionality of Jesus to suffer for us is in the words he spoke in the mouth of Isaiah the prophet:
I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6)
I have to work hard in my imagination to keep before me what iron will this required. Humans recoil from suffering. We recoil a hundred times more from suffering that is caused by unjust, ugly, sniveling, low-down, arrogant people. At every moment of pain and indignity, Jesus chose not to do what would have been immediately just. He gave his back to the smiter. He gave his cheek to slapping. He gave his beard to plucking. He offered his face to spitting. And he was doing it for the very ones causing the pain.
A fourth way we see the intentionality of Jesus’ suffering is in the way Peter explains how this was possible. He said, “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23).
The way Jesus handled the injustice of it all was not by saying, “Injustice doesn’t matter,” but by entrusting his cause to “him who judges justly.” God would see that justice is done. That was not Jesus’ calling at Calvary. (Nor is it our highest calling now. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord, Romans 12:19.)
The fifth and perhaps the clearest statement that Jesus makes about his own intentionality to die is in John 10:17-18:
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.
Jesus’ point in these words is that he is acting completely voluntarily. He is under no constraint from any mere human. Circumstances have not overtaken him. He is not being swept along in the injustice of the moment. He is in control.
Therefore, when John says, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16), we should feel the intensity of his love for us to the degree that we see his intentionality to suffer and die. I pray that you will feel it profoundly. And may that profound experience of being loved by Christ have this effect on you:
The love of Christ controls us . . . . He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) "
HAVE A BLESSED EASTER AND MAY YOU THE ENJOY THE FULLNESS OF OUR LORD'S RESURRECTION!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
What is sin...
We had our second Book Club gathering today. Great discussion on the book "Praying Backwards"
We talked about how to pray for the full glory of God. How when we pray in Jesus name we pray that His character is exhibited in us and to others. Talked about forgiveness and the fullness of God's forgiveness in Christ on the cross. We shared that an unforgiving attitude is a sin that impedes our prayers.
The girls wanted me to post Susan Wesley's definition of sin. This is what she told John Wesley when he asked her to define sin...
"Son, whatever weakens your reasoning, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes away your relish for spiritual things; in short, if anything increases the authority and power of the flesh over the spirit, then that to you becomes sin, however good it is in itself."
What a wonderful definition to give our own children. We are told, that definition became the guiding beacon for John. Oh...that we as mother's would so imprint this , not only in our own minds, but in the minds and hearts of our children. That sin is anything that would rob God His due place in our hearts...regardless of how good it may appear.
Hope you have a blessed Easter. May all our hearts be filled with the majesty of our risen Lord!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Forgiveness...
"Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing" Luke 23:34
This was Jesus' first cry from the cross. When He was able, in the midst of pain and suffering at an unbearable level, this is what He said. True forgiveness is not in our nature, but it is in God's.
Forgiveness sounds like a wonderful idea until it is us who have to do it. How can we forgive someone who keeps hurting us? Breaking a promise? Must we forgive when someone is out to destroy us? Or when we are the wronged party? Nowhere are those answers seen more clearly than at the cross. Now as Easter approaches, my hope is to look at the cross with the fullness of what it represents and offers...forgiveness from the One who never wronged and extended freely to all who have.
All through Jesus' ministry we see Him as one who forgives, heals, restores. Paralytics, mutes, demon-posses all seek out Jesus for healing and ultimately Jesus forgave their sins.
Erwin Lutzer in his book, "Cries from the Cross' explains it this way...
"Jesus explained that He had the right to forgive sins because He had the credentials of deity." He goes on to say: "Now at the cross, He did not exercise this divine prerogative. He asked the Father to do what He had previously done. Sacrificed as the Lamb of God, He refused the role of deity. He was God to be sure, but chose to suspend His divine rights. He so completely identified with us that He temporarily withdrew Himself from a position of authority. Yet His heart was burdened for those who had instigated and committed history's greatest crime. He prayed that the unforgivable might be forgiven."
One of the first things I notice in His cry is that relationship "Father" He says. When it is impossible for us to forgive, that is what we who have a heavenly Father must cry out also. It is as we realize how difficult it is, maybe impossible in our own strength, that we ask for the strength to forgive. When man had done his worst, Jesus prayed, not for justice but for mercy. He called out to His Father and pleaded that His enemies would be exempt from the rightful, just punishment they deserved. And He prayed not after His wounds had healed but while they were yet open. Can we cry out "Father" when our wounds are clearly exposed? When our sorrow is at it's greatest? Can we pray for forgiveness for those who are out to hurt and destroy us? What about hurt our kids? Often I can say hurt me all you want but don't touch my children! Yet here was the Son of God crying out for mercy for His and the Father's enemies.
Roman's 12:19 "Do not take revenge...but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay' says the Lord"
Here, on the cross, Jesus who has all right and power to judge and destroy chose instead to ask forgiveness on the behalf of those who deserved it. And just so we don't remove ourselves to far from this scene...our names are included in this scene. He is pleading to the Father to extend forgiveness that goes beyond that moment. Jesus often prayed that way.
John 17:20 Jesus prayed " My prayer is not for them alone, I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes
"Now we stand as sinners at the foot of His cross, and now a puzzle difficult to understand is solved: Jesus Christ, the innocent one, prays as God's vengeance on the godless is fulfilled...the one who bore the vengeance, He alone was allowed to ask for the forgiveness of the godless."
That is you and me...what a wonderful example for us to live by. Love is at it's greatest when forgiveness is extended. The lowly are exalted when retribution is set aside. But a question still lingers...
Should we forgive those who do not ask for forgiveness? Yes...when we grant forgiveness we release our bitterness to God and commit our adversaries to Him. The goal of forgiveness is always reconciliation, but if the other party does not forgive then we must release them to God. We will find freedom and we can trust God with the outcome.
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Naples Girls meet tomorrow
10-12 pm
Brunch and discussion of chapter 1 and 2
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Prayer and forgiveness
My family is a boating family. David had a boat as a young man and he taught us to fish, ski , snorkel and just enjoy a day out in the ocean. We now share a boat with his brothers, but often we all daydream if we had a boat what would we name it? That is always fun hearing and reading the names of so many boats...we have seen names like "Just for Fun", "Splash", "Sea Legs" and the name we have thought for our boat is "4-given" Yes we have four children but the implication is that we have been forgiven. There is such peace, joy and rest in fully understanding that forgiveness has been granted to us through Christ.
Bryan Chapell talks about forgiveness and prayer:
"Jesus teaches us to pray 'Forgive our sins'. These three words open the door to the vast storehouse of heavens mercy. To give us the right to utter these words, Jesus gave His life. He shed His life to pay the penalty for the sin of all who trust in Him. Now, whoever asks for pardon in His name receives God's mercy forever...Jesus' willingness to teach these words as a regular patterns for our prayers greatly encourages us, because we know that we will not exhaust His mercy."
Forgiveness marks the character of a Christian. As a Christian when you fail to forgive someone else you set yourself up as a higher court than God. For God infinitely forgives. If you hold back forgiveness, that’s idolatry for you’re worshipping yourself as if you were God. You’ve usurped His place. In Ephesians 4:32 it says that we are to forgive one another even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us. None of us have endured what Christ has endured and He forgave us all. He set the pattern and the example so Christians are to forgive because Christ has set up that pattern and we are to follow Him.
When we forgive we get rid of guilt and guilt can destroy a person. Unforgiveness also hinders prayers...why? Because it is sin. Where there is an unforgiving spirit there is sin. And where there is sin there is also chastening. And every son that the Lord loves He scourges and chastens, Hebrews 12 says.
But the most important reason we are to forgive is because we are forgiven. When we think of all the hundreds of offenses we stand guilty of before God, how little we are asked to forgive in comparison. Yet it is often not easy to forgive. We have been deeply hurt. Can I suggest a couple of steps we can take to express forgiveness and live in the peace that it brings. First...forgiveness is a decision. Even more, we are commanded to forgive as Christ has forgiven us. So it must be a choice. We have to say "I forgive you". And every time that resentment and hurt rises up in us, we have to say again "I have forgiven". So we need to remind ourselves, that we have forgiven.
Second, don't let emotions lead. What I mean by that, our heart can take over what our mind tells us. If we know we have forgiven, we have to tell our heart also. That means we stop our emotions from digging up all those old feelings. We "take very thought captive under the authority of Christ" We say to ourselves "I have forgiven because I have been forgiven for greater things".
So we make a conscious choice to forgive and every time afterwards, when those hurt feeling rise up again, we remember we have forgiven and let go.
And third we take our emotions and mind to the cross and pray that God would cause us to forget the pain. We can make a conscious choice to forgive but God is the one who will help us forget. So we move to the cross. Scripture tells us "as far as the East is from the West" He has forgiven us and will not remember our offenses anymore. I find it so comforting as we look at the Old Testament against the New. In the Old Testament we see godly men and women depicted in the fullness of their lives. They sin, make wrong decisions. We see Abraham and his lies. We see Lot and his lure towards worldliness, Jacob and his deceit and so many others. God did not spare to show us their rebellious nature. Yet when we move to the New Testament their sins are not replayed for us. They are now depicted in the full grace and forgiveness of the Cross. That is the way we are seen after the cross. Sins forgiven and recalled no more.
God can do that for us. As we choose to forgive He will cause us to remember no more. This does take time, as we discipline our thoughts taking them directly to the cross.
Mr. Chapell tells us :
"Jesus teaches us to approach our heavenly Father with the humility to ask 'Lord, let me not only know your forgiveness but radiate it' "
Is there someone, as you have been reading this, God has placed in your mind? Do you need to extend forgiveness? Have you ever made the choice to forgive? Or do you need to take that thought captive under the authority of Christ?
Today could be the day to life in peace and joy and guilt-free.
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Lord's Prayer...keep from temptation
We are making our way through Bryan Chapell's book "Praying Backwards". One of the first thoughts that impressed me is his instruction was that if we put the person of Jesus Christ first in our prayers there is change in our heart, mind and even petitions. As we focus on Christ...His power, compassion, love and truth ignite a fervency for His glory in our lives and diminish a self-seeking approach to prayer.
In his section sub-titled "Keep from temptation" he explains why we ask God for our "daily bread" and he uses Solomon's petitions to provide great insight why our dependency on His provision daily (sometimes minute by minute) is a way to keep us from the temptation to become self-sufficient:
"Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. OTHERWISE, I may have too much and disown you and say 'Who is the Lord?' or I may become poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God" Proverbs 30:8-9.
Here is the divine balance we seek from God...don't give me to much or too little for in both of these I will turn away from you and be satisfied in my own efforts. Temptation to sin can come when you have too much or even to little. So therefore, the request to give "us our daily bread" establishes our need to be dependant not just for bread but for Him every day.
"Thus the prayer for daily bread naturally flows into the petition 'Lead us not into temptation' . By granting the earlier petition, God provides the means to fulfill the latter one. And in combination , both petitions guard the spiritual health of believers and orient their lives toward fulfilling God's will.
Jesus does not pray with the expectation that God would ever tempt us. The Bible teaches 'When tempted, no one should say 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. (James 1:13) Instead we we are tempted when selfish priorities and evil desires cause us to forsake the will of God. (v14) The trials God uses to build up our faith, Satan tries to hijack and use as temptation to tear down our spiritual commitment. In this sense, the very same circumstance can be a nurturing instrument from God's heart and a injurious temptation in Satan's hand. Ultimately, the key to whether a circumstance is a trial or a temptation is not found in its features but in our heart. The Lord's prayer teaches us to pray that God, who knows the capabilities of our heart, would keep us from anything that satan could use to overpower our ability to do God's will." (page 42)
What a great admonition to us...that God would keep us from being to satisfied in our own efforts because in that position or thought is the very temptation to dishonor Him. If ever we think "I will do" or "I will accomplish this" or even "I will take this" apart from God's provision, we dishonor Him and place ourselves in a position to be tempted by satan.
Is there an area in you life where you are talking to yourself this way? Are you taking before it is given? Have we have become so self-sufficient that we no longer see God's grace? Remember that one sin is what cause satan to be cast out of heaven ....
Isaiah 14: 12-15
How you have fallen from heaven
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to earth
you who one laid low the nations!
You said in your heart,
"I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.
But you where brought down to the grave
to the depths of the pit."
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Pray for humility.... that is when Christ is most exalted. Be satisfied in Him and He will give you the desires of your heart because they are His.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Smile it is Friday!
If you have not caught up with the past few posts, take a look. Kim left a great comment with additional insights on yesterday's post...
Those that are reading along in "Praying Backwards" what are your thoughts on the Civil War soldier's prayer? (page 37-38)
"I asked God for strength that I might achieve,
I was made weak that I might humbly learn to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do great things.
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything that I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
among all men I am most richly blessed"
The discovery of true blessing always depicts the journey that God's desire is always to give us more fully, graciously and suitably the very things we want but mistakenly seek elsewhere.
ETERNITY WAS PUT IN OUR HEART...WE WILL NEVER BE SATISFIED UNTIL WE ARE SATISFIED IN CHRIST. ALL THE LONGINGS WE HAVE FOR THINGS ARE MEANT TO LEAD US TO CHRIST, WHERE WE CAN FIND FULL SATISFACTION.
THOUGHTS?
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have a great weekend!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
How to pray the will of God
On a personal note:
I have to say that this little blog started out as a "note of encouragement" to some of the ladies that attend my local church. It was a way that we could keep in touch and my hope was that they would find something helpful to their lives in these short little posts. I knew them and they knew me, and with that would come "forgiveness" for typos or run-on sentences because I tend to write slower than my mind gives it to me. And also, because often, I write very early in the morning when the coffee has not kicked in and the senses are not in full attention.
So I must apologise to you all, who stop by and read these posts. Lately, my typos have been many. I noticed this, because as you send me e-mails and tag the post, I re-read what I wrote and say "oops!". I hope to improve on this and I hope you still come to the full understanding of what is being said. Thanks for your patience. If you can offer any insight, let me know.
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We have been discussing "prayer" in the name of Jesus and for a believer. How to pray God's will is always something that comes up. I ran into this Question and Answer session John MacArthur gave and once again, why try and re-write what is so clear and Biblical ? Hope this adds to your understanding and provides clarity.
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He starts...
"How do I know the Will of God?" "I'm trying, I'm praying, I'm asking how do I know if its me or if its God, and so forth and so on?" How can I know the Will of God? Here is a simple plan...
The first thing you do is to go to the Bible. Sound reasonable? You go to the Bible and find out what the Will of God is. Good, let's look very quickly.
1Timothy 2:3-4
"God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." The first thing that God wills, is that you be what? Saved. You be saved. Do you want to do the will of God? Then get saved, come to Christ.
Second thing, Ephesians 5:17 "So then, do not be, Foolish." Can you think of a word that means the same and starts with "S"? Right. Don't be Stupid. "But understand what the will of the Lord is."
Now, let me ask you a question, if you don't know what the will of God is, what are you? What are you? You say, "Is that in the Bible?" It says, "Don't be stupid, know the will of God. If you don't know the will of God then you are stupid. You say, "Well, now wait a minute, it should say, 'Don't be foolish, but try to find the will of God.’" No. You say, "I'm looking, I'm looking."
Well, don't look too far its in the next verse, "Do not get drunk with wine for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit." The first thing God wills is that you be saved, the second thing He wills is that you be Spirit filled.
"Spirit filled," what does that mean? Controlled by the Holy Spirit. That's God's will. That's God's will. 1Thessalonians 4:3 you know it is amazing to me, people running around looking for God's will. I have seen this through the years, "You know I am trying to find God's will. I am searching for God's will, you know." And they get real mystical, they think they are going to run down the street, slip on a banana peel and land on a map of Argentina. You know, that's a missionary call. They are waiting for God to say something out of heaven.
Look, verse 3, "This is the will of God, your," what? "Sanctification." God wills that you be saved; God wills that you be Spirit filled; God wills that you be sanctified. What do you mean by that? "That you abstain from," what? "Sexual immorality." That's God's will. Stay away from sexual immorality.
You see God's will is very, very specific. Look at 1Peter, chapter 2, verse 13, "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake, to every human institution, whether to a King as one in authority, or to governors as sent by Him for the punishment of evil doers, and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God, that by doing right, you may silence the ignorance of foolish men."
Fourth thing, be submissive. Submit to the authorities, be a model citizen, do right, that's the will of God, that's the will of God. Very basic, that's God's will. God's will is that you be saved; God's will is that you be Spirit filled; God's will is that you be sanctified; God's will is that you be submissive.
And then would you notice in chapter 3, verse 17, "It is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer, for doing for what is right." How committed are you to doing what is right?
Five things, Saved; Spirit filled; Sanctified; Submissive; willing to Suffer for doing what is right. You say, "That doesn't help me to know God's will." Sure it does. Let me tell you something. If you are saved, Spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, and doing right to the degree that you would even suffer, do you know what the next step in God's will is? Whatever you want!
You say, "You are kidding." No, because, who is controlling your desires? Do you know what it says in Psalm 37:4? "Delight in the Lord, and he will give you," what? "The desires of your heart." Do you know what that means? That doesn't mean, "Delight in the Lord, and he will give you what you want." What it means is, "Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." He will put His desires in your heart.
People say, "Well, why did you go to Grace Church?" And I say, "I wanted too." "Oh! You wanted too! That's not very Spiritual." Well, it is if you are saved, Spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, and suffering, because who is in control of my wants? God leads through your desire, beloved. But don't trust you desire unless the things you know of God's will are true.
Simply, this is the system: If I am doing what is already revealed as God's will, then I am not going to have any trouble with the part that isn't revealed. Right? He's going to lead me to the right place; lead me to the right people; lead me to the right relationship.
Guys always say, "How do I find the right wife?" Very simple, be the right husband. You be all that God has called you to be, you be living in the will of God, saved, Spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, suffering if need be for what is right, and if you are the person that God has designed you to be then God will lead you the next step and give you the desire of your heart for the woman that he wants you to marry.
God moves through desires in the heart of the person that is committed to Him.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Prayer..."I will not let go!"
There is an old saying that goes "When it is hardest to pray, pray harder". How true this is. But why is it so hard to pray? If you've been a believer very long, you know that serious prayer is hard work. You know it's a simple privilege we have to come and talk with God as our Heavenly Father and commune with Him. But you also know there's something in this physical body of ours, there is something in me as a fallen being - redeemed though I am - that resists and fights against that privilege. As you contemplate your life, you wonder why is it so hard to find time to spend with God in prayer? Think back over the past week. How much time did you seriously, intently pray in a way that would be described as hard work? When I get done with my prayer time, am I really tired? That is hard work.
You know, we use the excuse that we're busy. Martin Luther's observation was that his days were so busy he could not start the day with less than four hours of prayer. When you stop and think about it, that makes sense, doesn't it? The busier my day is going to be, the more I have to talk over with my God. But instead my thought is that my day's too busy. I have to clip my prayer. "Lord, it's going to be a busy day. Bless me in all I do. Thanks." Out the door. But how much more I would have resolved the difficulties of that day if I had just said, "Lord, this day is awful busy. We've got some things to talk about." Struggling in prayer is intense labor.
We sometimes get disheartened. We don't see change...our loved ones still continue in unbelief, rebellion. Our circumstances don't seem to change.
What should be the focus that compels us to pray? Look at Romans 11:33. These two words are used - wisdom and knowledge. "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" Jesus Christ is God. In Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. And He is the One in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. So because in Him is all wisdom and knowledge, then that is why we persevere in prayer.
In Genesis there is a great passage where Jacob is wrestling with God. Genesis 32:24-29:
"Then Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. And when he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh, so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said "let me go for the dawn is breaking", But he said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me" And he said "what is your name?" And he said "Jacob". And he said "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed."
At this time, Jacob was in fear of meeting his brother Esau. You know the story...Jacob had tricked his father and literally "stolen" a blessing that was meant for Esau. Esau had wanted to kill Jacob, and now years later they are about to meet. And fear grips Jacob. And when he was left alone, a man came to him and they wrestled all night. This man, we are told in verse 28 is God. And Jacob would not let God go until he had received a blessing. He knew in his mind how the day would turn out to be. He would not go and meet Esau without a blessing from God. All night this "wrestling continued" Physical pain came from it as his hip bone was separated. There was agony. Determination. Perseverance. And in the end...at daybreak...Jacob received his blessing. His name was changed to Israel. And a blessing came with that name..Israel means "a man of prayer" Jacob who in his past was a man of trickery...deceit...manipulation...taking control of his own destiny and life was now a man of prayer.
Jacob was now about to face the complete result of all those years of manipulation and treachery...his brother Esau...Prayer with God and seeking God's favor was all that he could rely upon. God changed his name after this night and changed his future forever!
Prayer is like that. We wrestle with our pride, our self-conceived notion of how our life should be. We wrestle with God in confusion...fear....doubt. Not only for our sake but for the sake of others.
I want us to notice that Jacob would not let go until God answered. Do you and I pray like that. Do we "let go" to quickly and then return to a life ruled by "self-will and self-determination"? What blessing are we missing for lack of perseverance?
Prayer is hard work. It often costs us...time...sleep...even physical pain (knees hurting from kneeling to long) But what a blessing would we receive if we "hung on" just like Jacob? What if you and I said as Jacob "I will not let you go until I receive a blessing" And we would hang-on...and keep praying...at all times...in all situations.
Praying for God's glory demands prayer like that. When God answers prayer like that it is for His glory and for His people's good. A blessing is not necessarily removing a situation...Jacob still meat Esau, but the result was totally unexpected...peace. God did not remove Jacob from that meeting...but changed Esau's heart and Jacobs heart...enough that they separated in peace. Jacob's fears were grounded in the flesh and guilt of what he had done in the past. But through prayer and perseverance, God restored and refreshed him in ways he could not have foreseen.
This is what prayer can do...why don't we overcome those hard times with more prayer? Why do we sell out way before the time? Can you and I this week, commit to persevere and "don't let go" until God answers?
Monday, March 10, 2008
Praying Backwards
The privilege of Jesus' name...
What is in a name? Today much care is given as we name our children. We try to think about what the name means...often we pick a name because it was "in the family", it highlights a special relationship...it reminds us of a dear loved one. Is Jesus' name any different?
Matthew 1:21 tells us of the choosing of the name of Jesus...
"And she will bear a son and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is Him who will save His people from their sins"
This was Jesus' "human" name. It means Savior. Notice it was not Mary and Joseph who chose His name...it was God Himself...The Father...who chose His Son's name. And in that name is Jesus' purpose. He would save His people from their sin.
Matthew 1:1 tells begins the Gospel of Matthew with a genealogy. It begins: "A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ..."
First of all, the word "Christ" comes from "christos", a Greek word meaning "anointed". It is the equivalent of the word "moshiach", or Messiah, in Hebrew. So, to be the Christ, or Messiah, is to be "the anointed one of God". Christ is His title...Jesus is His name. Put them together and we have "Jesus Christ: The Savior who is the Messiah or the Anointed one"When we pray in His name we pray to the Savior who came to save His own and He alone is the anointed One who can.
Brian Chapell says: "Our prayers are not more powerful because we chant our Savior's name like a magic spell...Behind Christ's instruction to use His name is the understanding that He makes it possible for us to approach God." In His name we can come confidently to the Throne of Grace.
Hebrew 4:14-16: "Therefore since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need"
What a great promise this is for those who believe in the full name of Christ. This is a promise to claim. Most people seem to think that God is far-off and removed from their experiences or unreliable with their feelings. That is so untrue. Jesus was the very son of God and as He was fully divine He was also fully human. In prayer we seek the One who will sympathize with our weakness but yet the One who triumphed over them. Our great High Priest not only is perfectly merciful but also powerful to walk us through it. The one who understand us perfectly will also provide for us perfectly. And we can come confidently to Throne of Grace and wait on His answer...knowing that He hears and understands. God's Throne of Judgement is now a Throne of Grace because we enter in the name of Jesus...the one who has saved us and the one who carries us.
John MacArthur puts it this way... "The Bible speaks so much of God's justice. But how terrible for us if He were only just and not also gracious. Sinful man deserves death, the sentence of justice; but he needs salvation, the gift of grace...How can anyone reject such a high priest, such a Savior--who not only permits us to come before His throne for grace and help, but pleads with us to come in confidence? His Spirit says "Come boldly all the way to God's throne that has been turned into a throne of grace because of Jesus." Come all the way up, receive grace and mercy when you need it--before it is to late and your heart is hard and God's 'today' is over"
Mr Chapell goes on in Chapter 1: "Thus prayer in Jesus name is not an incantation to make US worthy of divine attention; it is a confession that we are unworthy of even approaching God apart from the mercy and merits of our Savior. We pray in the name of Jesus to profess our need of Him and to proclaim our trust in the provision of righteousness He made for us."
Today is the day of grace...a day to believe in the fullness of Jesus Christ. The Savior...the Anointed one who can to save His people from their sin. Can you boldly and confidently approach the Throne? Has God's throne of judgement become the God's throne of grace for you? If not...the today is the day. Call on the Savior...He will save.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
BOOK CLUB BEGINS...
Short post today...
Today the "Naples Girls" met and we chatted about our new selection "Praying Backwards".
Some of the questions we answered were:
"What is your greatest hindrance to pray?"
"If you could ask God anything, what would you ask?"
I ask you the same questions...
"What hinders you from praying"
and
"What would you ask God if you could ask Him anything?"
Let me know...
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Assignment for those that are doing the Book Club:
Read the first two Chapters in the next two weeks...
There will be some thought provoking questions in the days to come...
Please feel free to join the discussion
through e-mail or by posting.
Next "Naples Girls" get together
Thursday March 20th
to discuss Chapter 1 and 2
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Praying Backwards?
Bryan Chapell's book "Praying Backwards" caught my attention a few weeks ago for reasons I still can't explain. The title is a bit intriguing. The subtitle-- "Transform your prayer life by beginning in Jesus' name" That expresses it a bit better so it keeps my attention further.
Once I opened the book his introduction begins...
"How would your prayer change if you began where you normally end?
We habitually end our prayers with the phrase "In Jesus' name, amen."
The amen means "truly" or even "I really mean this".
But what are we actually saying?
We are supposed to be saying that everything we prayed for was offered "in Jesus name"---for His honor and purposes.
When we pray "in Jesus name" we pray for His sake more than ours"....
Yikes! he has me now. "We pray for His sake more than ours" Is that really how I am supposed to pray? Let me see...I ask..I ask again...and most of what I ask is for relief, for comfort, for direction. Is that for His sake or mine? I think when I really began to let these words settle in my heart, I realized how much of what I pray is for me and how little is for Him.
When we looked at the prayers in the Bible ( Feb 4-21 posts) I think it was clear that these prayers were focused on God's purposes, God's riches, God's merit, God's full authority to judge our sins and His faithfulness to His promises. Quite different prayer life than most of us can claim.
Mr. Chapell goes on to say ...
"Often we focus on asking God to ease our worries and satisfy our wants before adding "in Jesus' name" as an obligatory seasoning to make our petitions palatable to God. Some of us may even have been taught to use the name of Jesus to "claim the desires of our heart". Such teachings encourages to end our prayer "in the name of Jesus" to get whatever we want."
I am so thrilled to begin this book. Already it has challenged my prayer life.
He finishes his introduction with...
"Praying backwards simply ensures that He (Jesus) comes first in our thoughts so that we are prompted to make Him first in our priorities. Such Christ-centered prayer is no great sacrifice; for when He is first in our priorities, our needs are first in His heart...When we pray "all for Jesus", He makes our life a candle that lights this present darkness and burns for His glory forever."
I hope you will find this book heart-changing and prayer-stimulating. Prayer is our dialogue with God. It is how we elevate our minds and hearts so that when we look at our earthly circumstances we say "it is all for His glory". Does your prayer life need such a change?
If so, it is not too late to join us.
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A couple of questions to think about...
Who is the focus of my prayer?
Do I seek God's glory as I pray?
Am I challenged by this thought..."Praying Backwards"?
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Further clarification...
Hey my precious friend,
Kim
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Hi Kim...
This is hard stuff but I think Biblically speaking is never right to initiate divorce unless there has been marital infidelity. I think that because of the covenant relationship , whether one is wayward and rebellious, who is to say that the wayward spouse is beyond reconciliation? I believe here, it becomes a matter of conscience and heart search. It is hard to say when a relationship is beyond God's intervention. I look at my own life...how rebellious and wayward was I towards Him? Many would have given up on me but He never did.
Again, I think while the spouse is still unmarried and alive, reconciliation is still Biblically possible. As I have heard it said "It is hard to now when to condone a step that decisively cuts "asunder" what God meant to be permanent and still can be made permanent (1 Corinthians 7:10-11). "
That being said, there are some who do permit abandonment as a reason for divorce. Many believe that 1 Corinthians 7:15 ("If the unbelieving partner desires to separate, let it be so, in such a case the brother or sister is not bound.") gives freedom to a Christian to remarry if abandoned. Also, denying remarriage can put a strain on the chastity of the divorced person who may not believe he or she has the gift of celibacy ( Matthew 19, 1 Corinthians 7:7).
Many sound Biblical churches believe divorce may be permitted when a spouse deserts the relationship, commits adultery, or is dangerously abusive (1 Cor. 7:15; Matthew 19:9; 1 Cor. 7:11).
I think we have to go back to what Jesus says why Moses granted divorce... "the hardness of heart" (Matthew 19:8; Mark 10:5). So, as we seek Biblical counseling there is room to move about...always checking our conscience and motive. If a spouse has done all he or she can do to be reconciled and has prayed much and even struggled with this hard decision and God gives release...then I think it is OK. So I don't know if I answered your question or not...I think divorce should always be the last resource.
Our response should always be gracious and loving. God has forgiven us all much...I remember that "God hates Divorce" (Mal. 2:16 )but He does not hate the divorcee.
Monday, March 3, 2008
God's Word directs in tough situations...
Last week we talked about "knowing God's will and our conscience" Scripture reveals God's will for us...sometimes it is hard to hear Him speak because of confused hearts and minds. This past week there have been a lot of questions regarding "marriage...divorce and re-marriage" I myself continue to learn what Jesus is telling us in Matthew 19. Here is a part of a Q&A session John Piper had at his Church. I am just sharing it with those who are struggling with this. My prayer is that it provides clarity and direction. As always, we can ask God for His grace to walk through such times humbly and obediently. For those who are not in such times, we need to love and offer grace just as God freely gives it. But we must start with God's Word...
"If a divorced person has already married again, should he or she leave the later marriage?
The reason this question comes with such force is that Jesus speaks of the second marriage as committing adultery. Luke 16:18, “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
My answer is that remarriage, while a divorced spouse is still living, is an act of unfaithfulness to the marriage covenant. In that sense, to remarry is adultery. We promised, “till death do us part” because that is what God says marriage is, and even if our spouse breaks his or her covenant vows, we will not break ours.
ButI do not think that a person who remarries against God’s will, and thus commits adultery in this way, should later break the second marriage. The marriage should not have been done, but now that it is done, it should not be undone by man. It is a real marriage. Real vows have been made and sexual union has happened. And that real covenant of marriage may be purified by the blood of Jesus and set apart for God. In other words, I don’t think that a couple who repents and seeks God’s forgiveness, and receives his cleansing, should think of their lives as ongoing adultery
There are several reasons for why I believe this:
1) First, back in Deuteronomy 24:1-4, where the permission for divorce was given in the law of Moses, it speaks of the divorced woman being “defiled” in the second marriage so that it would be an abomination for her to return to her first husband, even if her second husband died. This language of defilement is similar to Jesus’ language of adultery. And yet the second marriage stood. It was defiling in some sense, yet it was valid.
2) Another reason I think remarried couples should stay together is that when Jesus met the woman of Samaria, he said to her, “You have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband” (John 4:18). When Jesus says, “The one you have now is not your husband,” he seems to imply that the other five were. Not that it’s right to divorce and marry five times. But the way Jesus speaks of it, it sounds as though he saw them as real marriages. Illicit. Adulterous to enter into, but real. Valid.
3) And the third reason I think remarried couples should stay together is that even vows that should not be made, once they are made, should generally be kept. I don’t want to make that absolute, but there are passages in the Bible that speak of vows being made that should not have been made, but were right to keep (like Joshua’s vow to the Gibeonites in Joshua 9). God puts a very high value on keeping our word, even where it gets us in trouble (“The godly man] swears to his own hurt and does not change,” Psalm 15:4). In other words, it would have been more in keeping with God’s revealed will not to remarry, but adding the sin of another covenant breaking does not please God more.
There are marriages in this church that are second marriages for one or both partners which, in my view should not have happened, and are today godly marriages—marriages which are clean and holy, and in which forgiven, justified husbands and wives please God by the way they relate to each other. As forgiven, cleansed, Spirit-led followers of Jesus, they are not committing adultery in their marriage. It began as it should not have, and has become holy.
If an unbelieving spouse insists on leaving a believing spouse, what should the believing spouse do?
Paul’s answer in 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 goes like this:
"To the rest I say (I, not the Lord which I think means, I don’t have a specific command from the historical teachings of Jesus, but I am led by his Spirit) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. "
Which I take to mean that marriage is such a holy union in God’s eyes that a believer, a child of God, is not defiled by having sexual relations with an enemy of the cross; and the children are not born with any kind of special contamination because the father or mother is an enemy of Christ. They’re not saved by being married to a believer or born to a believer, but they are set apart for proper and holy use in the marriage.
But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? "
So the answer of this passage is that if divorce is forced on a believer by an unbeliever, the believer should not make war on the unbeliever to make the unbeliever stay. The reason Paul gives for this is in verse 15b, “God has called you to peace.” I do not believe this text teaches that we are free to remarry when this happens. Some take the words, “In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved,” to mean: “is free to remarry.”
There are several reasons why I don’t think it means that:
1) When Paul says in verse 15, “In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved (or bound),” I think he means, “not enslaved to stay married when the unbeliever over time insists on leaving and sues for divorce.” He’s not saying, “The brother or sister is not enslaved to stay single—and thus free to remarry,” because Paul, the lover of singleness, would not have spoken of singleness as a state of slavery or bondage. It is very unlikely Paul would talk like that.
2) The second reason I don’t think he is saying the abandoned spouse is free to remarry is that he just pointed us in the opposite direction in verses 10-11, “To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.” With a statement like that in front of me (“if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband”), I am not inclined to think Paul is supporting remarriage four verses later.
3) The third reason I don’t think he is supporting remarriage when he says, “the brother or sister is not bound,” is that Paul’s argument in the next verse (v. 16) doesn’t support that. It supports freedom to accept divorce peacefully, not freedom to remarry. Verse 16 says, “For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?” In other words, you don’t know, and therefore you can’t use that as an argument to create an ugly fight to stay married. So the words in verse 15, “In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved,” mean you are not enslaved to this marriage when your unbelieving spouse demands out, because you have no assurance that fighting to stay in will save him.
4) And a fourth reason for believing Paul upholds Jesus’ ideal of no remarriage after divorce while the estranged spouse is alive is verse 39: “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.” So it seems to me that Paul and Jesus are of one mind that followers of Jesus are radically devoted to one husband and one wife as long as they both shall live. This ideal tells the gospel truth most clearly: Christ died for his bride and never forsakes her. "
Today there is so much "brokenness" within the Church.
I believe today is a day of grace and if we "confess our sins He is faithful to forgive us".
Today is also a day of promises...God's mercies are new everyday.
For those that are struggling and suffering, my prayer is that you find joy and peace in the love of the Savior. Live today in the full forgiveness and restoration God provides us in His Son.
God will never leave you or abandon you...
Those who are struggling with past decisions...come to rest in the forgiveness of Christ and find joy today.
