God Bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home.
Great explorers have been men and women of great boldness. They have gone to places no one has gone before. They done things that few would attempt and fewer still would have attempted. Many of these explorers are held in high esteem. They have opened the doors to new areas, but more importantly they have opened the doors to new thinking and activities. Many of the great inventions of man have come from someone willing and bold enough to explore.
We can add to our list of explorers men and women of prayer. They have explored the riches of God’s glory and His willingness to work for good in the heart and life of men. These men and women of prayer are great risk takers. They put their faith to the test; they would boldly proclaim their prayer request and then allow God to work. This boldness of faith takes responsibility and action. This should be the norm for all Christians. If you were to die today, could they write your epitaph, “Bold in Faith and Prayer”? Take responsibility; be bold in prayer, confident in the power and ability of God to do what He has said He will do. It is His power and might that will carry the day. How about you bold in faith and prayer?
Now is our opportunity, there will never be a moment like this, do not pass up this chance, you can pray to our Father. He is willing and able to answer, so pray!
And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
John 14:13-14 (NKJV)
You did not choose Me,
but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit,
and that your fruit should remain,
that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
John 15:16 (NKJV)
And in that day you will ask Me nothing.
Most assuredly, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.
Until now you have asked nothing in My name.
Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.John 16:23-24 (NKJV)
Well there is so much more that could be included, trust, desire, fervency, persistence, and character to name just a few areas, but this gives us a good snap shot inventory of our prayer life. So, how did you do with the test? Well, or not as well as you wish? You can grow and mature in prayer. I recommend using a personal trainer. The best one is the Holy Spirit. He knows you well and knows the standard of perfection. Ask Him to help you improve the areas that need help and he will work with you to make the changes and improvements you long for and need.
We live in an age noted for its desire to do its “own thing”. People chaff at being told what to do. One of the theme songs for this generation could be the song, “I did it my way.” Far too often rules and regulations are cast aside and even mocked. Lawlessness rules the life of many people. In the Christian Church this lawlessness has made inroads. Rules and regulations are cast off; they are viewed as old fashioned. In our desire to be relevant to this generation we have become just like this generation. Now we have no message, our lifestyle canceled out our message, and we still are not relevant because we have no answers, no way of helping this generation. Without the message and without the power of the Gospel what we preach is at best weak and boring to most people, if they listen at all. Most people of this generation, if they pray, pray careless prayers. Careless prayer just goes through the motions. There is no pressure to get answers, they are nice if they come, but not really expected.
Earnest prayer is just the opposite. Earnest prayer desires and requires answers from God. It will not be satisfied with anything less. It is prayer that avails much. It brings God’s power and His answers to bear on the problems and needs of this generation. It draws people because they see the power and are overwhelmed by its relevance to today.
So question number eight in our inventory of prayer, do you pray earnest or careless prayer? Here is the high standard; how do you stack-up?
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.James 5:17 (NKJV)
Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NKJV)
I work with children, well actually young adults, but they still retain some of the traits of children. One of the interesting, often startling characteristics of young adults is the sudden changes. They can be serious dealing with tough concepts and ideas and the next minute act like little children. A conversation can begin with one idea and end with something completely different. They can make you so proud acting maturely and with great care and concern. Then without warning they seem to be cold and uncaring.
Too often people are like young adults. This can be a real problem in prayer. Our prayers can be effective, fervent prayers that avail much. Then in a moment we can pray fluff; with no substance and more importantly with no faith. Our lack of faith limits the effectiveness of our prayers.
So question seven for our inventory is very simple, but important, do you lift up prayers of faith or prayers of fluff? Fluff can be just wasted words thrown into the wind, or they can be words of pride and arrogances. Either of these will result in nothing from God. However, prayer lifted in faith gets God’s attention and God’s results.
that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
Ephes. 4:14 (NKJV)
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
James 1:5-8 (NKJV)
So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.Matthew 21:21 (NKJV)
Where do you like to pray? Is there a special spot you have reserved for your prayer times? A place where God and you can talk about your needs and cares? A place where you can share your concerns and make requests for people and nations? A place where He and you can spend quality time together? That place is what I call your prayer closet. I have a friend who has a prayer closet on deserted country roads. He will go there and walk with God. It is a place he can pray, talk, weep, and rejoice with his God. Susan Wesley, while raising 11 kids, would sit on a stool in the middle of the main room of the house, with a coat over her head and pray. This was her prayer closet. For several years I had a job a long way from home so I would take my lunch and go to a nearby park to eat and that is where I would pray. My prayer closet was in a park in Denver, Colorado. It was a good spot because God would join me there. So wherever you go, that is your special place, your prayer closet. I am assuming you do pray, that you pray regularly, and that you have a special place to meet with God. (I know I can get into trouble assuming, but if you are not doing those things, then shame on you! Start today!)
Having said all of that here is today’s question. Our devotion to God is measured in the prayer-closet. The prayer-closet requires self-denial. There are hundreds of things we could be doing instead of praying. The flesh wants to do its own desires, it needs rest, it needs fun, it needs recreation, it needs primping, it needs extra time in bed, it needs praise, and it needs recognition and so forth. The prayer-closet requires time, effort, frequency of visits, and self-denial. Are you spending time with God in your prayer closet?
And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
1 Cor. 9:25-27 (NKJV)
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,Luke 18:1 (NKJV)
This question concerns your lifestyle of prayer. It is easy to jump into something when we first hear about it. We go to church and hear about prayer and we are ready to go. The first few days go well and then there comes a hindrance. Then something else happened and before we know it we have lost that first excitement. Now prayer becomes difficult and it is easy to stop. Our good intentions are not enough to carry us through the hard times. We have to build and maintain a lifestyle of prayer. This is the only way we can be successful long term in prayer.
So our question for today is very simple, is prayer a key part of your day or just something you do when you have time and inclination to pray? Do you have a set time for prayer? How hard is it for something to interrupt your prayer time schedule? Have you changed the things you do so that they do not interfere with prayer? What do you need to change?
“A desire for God which cannot break the chains of sleep is a weak thing and will do but little good for God after it has indulged itself fully. The desire for God that keeps so far behind the devil and the world at the beginning of the day will never catch up.”
Power Through Prayer by E. M. Bounds
Watch for additional questions in the inventory of our prayer life, coming on Monday.
Do you eat your Oreo cookies with the two sides together? Do you eat the white part first? Do you eat your Oreo cookies dark part first or not at all? For many people what and how we eat is a habit. Habits can be good. It is my habit to brush my teeth just before bed. Other habits can be bad. A prayer life is made of many general habits. We must check to see that we continue in the good habits and eliminate the bad habits.
Jesus had many good habits in prayer. He prayed early in the morning. He prayed often. He prayed in faith. He prayed to His Father and knew that His Father hear His prayers. He prayed when He needed to make a decision. He prayed when He face a difficult time. It is time to check your daily prayer life. What are the habits of your prayer life? A good investigation here is to list your habits, both good and bad. What is missing that should be there and what should be gone from your prayer life.