 "Give us this day our daily bread."
Matthew 6:11 (NASB) If you're anything like me (be thankful if you're not) then you can sometimes focus too much on not what's happening today but what's coming down the road. As a planner, I enjoy mapping things out, getting stuff scheduled on my calendar and thinking through what's needed to make those things a reality. As a result, I can pinpoint a future date on my calendar and live with a sense of dread as the date approaches if that date, event, appointment, etc. is something I'm nervous or anxious about. I'm reminded this morning that what's coming down the road shouldn't be looming in my mind. What I should be focused on is how God has provided for me today, and if He's provided for me today then why wouldn't He provide for me on that day as well. Thankfully God's mercies are new every morning. Be encouraged and keep moving forward.
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“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:9-10 (NASB) This of course is the beginning of what's commonly known as the Lord's prayer. In its' simplest form it's really Jesus' teaching and reminding us that we should value what God values. "Our Father" = "Dear God," "Hallowed be Your name" = "You're awesome" "Your kingdom come" = "I want to want what you want" "Your will be done" = "In every area and in every way" "On earth as it is in heaven" = "Rule in my life like you rule in Heaven" It's about value. Do you value God, not just with your lips but with your lifestyle, your choices, your attitude, your responses? Be encouraged and keep moving forward. "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:16 (NASB)
Confession to God in the name of Jesus brings forgiveness but according to James 5:16 confession to one another can help bring about healing. James says that there is power in the prayer of a righteous man. We need to learn to become comfortable in sharing our short-comings with one another. Women: find other sisters in Christ to confide in (not gossip) and share your struggles. Men: secure some other brothers whom you can confess to (not just shoot the breeze) and receive encouragement from. We are not alone. God hears our prayers but perhaps others should as well. Be encouraged and keep moving forward. "O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion." Daniel 9:18 (NASB)
There was too much to unpack in just one day from this verse so we're back at it again today. Today's focus is all about God's compassion for us. His response to our prayers has nothing to do with us. Of course our part of the equation would include bringing our requests to God but He doesn't respond based on our merit. Daniel makes this clear, "...for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion." It's God's compassion towards you that brings His ear in your direction. It's not something you've earned. It's His compassion for us that causes Him to not only hear our prayers and respond but it's that same compassion that motivates Him to grant us forgiveness. When we buy into the "merit based" prayer model or the "merit based" forgiveness model we are in essence trying to cheat God out of who He is. We're making a play to shift the focus away from Him and back on to us. It's not about you and I, it's about Him. Be encouraged and keep moving forward. "O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion." Daniel 9:18 (NASB)
The first 19 verses of Daniel chapter 9 paints a crazy accurate picture of what prayer should look like for those who are serious about getting the ear of God. Take a minute to read those verses and compare that prayer to your prayers. As I compared it to my prayers I realized that far too often I come up short in the area of confession. I'm usually quick to come to God asking for help but it's not too often that I confess my shortcomings that have caused this now great need for help. Daniel repeatedly confesses Israel's transgressions, their lack of obedience and their rebellion. The point here isn't to regularly drag ourselves through the spiritual mud but rather to own up to our shortcomings and acknowledge those areas where God might be challenging us to step it up. God will always hear our prayers when we come to Him with a sincere heart regardless of how often we come and regardless of the reason. However Daniel's model should challenge us to take some steps towards conquering some of those old foes. Own it, confess it, give it to God and conquer it. Be encouraged and keep moving forward. 30 Days of Prayer - Day #16
"It is because of the hasty and superficial conversation with God that the sense of sin is so weak and that no motives have power to help you to hate and flee from sin as you should." ~ A.W. Tozer It's a simple truth: We commit time to things we find valuable. The same principle applies to prayer. Prayer provides us with an opportunity to have an increased sensitivity to sin and things not of God. Prayer provides us with an increased motivation, desire and discipline to then flee from those very things. The deeper and more heart-felt the conversation the greater connection, the greater the connection, the greater the potential for life change. Commit to putting in the work. Carve out time. Stop doing those things that prevent you from putting in the time. Do what matters instead of what naturally presents itself. "And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." Mark 11:22-24 (NASB)
When we pray we should believe that what we're praying for is truly in God's hands and that if our prayers line up with His will - it's in the bag. Too often we pray half-hearted prayers not really believing that our prayers are being heard or if they are that God isn't able to really do anything about them. Mark makes clear that faith is critical to our answered prayer and doubt has no place in our hearts. Let's pivot away from doubt and towards confidence. Be encouraged and keep moving forward. "In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there." Mark 1:35 (NASB)
You often hear people talk of "praying as you go". Prayer of course doesn't have to be something that we do in the traditional fashion of kneeling by the bed or sitting cross-legged with hands folded, heads bowed and eyes closed. Because the Spirit of God is always with us we can just as easily pray as we go. As we're driving to work, exercising, cleaning, resting, running errands, etc. I've long been a proponent of this model largely because it fits well into my personality of restlessness and need for constant movement. As I read Mark 1:35 this morning I was reminded of the model that Jesus Himself gave us as He carved out specific time for communication with His father. One could never argue that Jesus wasn't constantly connected to the Father but even still He made special time, alone time, intentional time to pray. It can certainly be said that this special time that Jesus set aside paid huge dividends in His life and ministry. The same could be true for us. If our conversation with God is casual and sparse we can expect results on the same level. However, if we long for an intense white hot relationship with God then we must set aside time to cultivate that level of intimacy through prayer. There is nothing wrong with "praying as you go" but I would suggest that we are unable to sustain lasting and growing intimacy if this is all that we practice in our prayer lives. Learn to set aside extended times of prayer, perhaps just a few minutes of uninterrupted prayer is all you can currently manage currently, but that's certainly a start towards our goal of deeper intimacy. Be encouraged and keep moving forward. "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8 (NASB)
I spent last night teaching students about the need to wake up and realize that we are the prey that the devil is seeking to devour. We have to fight. Thinking that you don't have to fight means you're already losing the fight. Spend some time today in prayer asking God to reveal to you where the attack is coming from and asking for the strength to fight back. Be encouraged and keep moving forward. "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness..." 2 Timothy 3:16 (NASB)
So much our prayer life is wrapped up in our longing for God to reveal Himself to us in a specific way. In our prayers we search for God to reveal an answer to our specific situation; we want to know how to deal with this problem at work, we're unsure how to deal with our kids, we're unclear on how to move forward in our future plans. We spend our entire time with God asking for clarity and direction. It feels like the correct way to handle life, ask God for answers to our problems and then wait on God. But what happens when we feel like we don't hear a response? Likely we get discouraged and start to question whether or not this approach is the correct approach. Allow me to suggest today that perhaps God is sometimes silent because He's already spoken the answer to our problems through His Word. Perhaps His silence isn't silence at all, perhaps it's a quiet reminder to look to His Word. God's Word is packed full of answers, truth, direction, clarity and insight for our everyday lives and relationships. We spend so much time begging God for His specific revelation while we ignore His general revelation that we've already been given. Let's make a commitment today to get into His Word and shift our prayer focus from "God what should I do?" to "God now that I know what to do, help me do it." Be encouraged and keep moving forward. |