Archive for March, 2010

Great Lessons

March 26th, 2010

There are many men and women of prayer who have prepared for us a storehouse of lessons. They have learn from the Holy Sprit and walked out their prayers and intercessions in His school. Now their example can shows us the way. We dare not copy their specifics, but we must learn from them the general lessons and apply this knowledge to our growth in faith and practice. The Holy Spirit’s prayer lessons are universal in example, but individual in application. What can we learn from this lesson?
    

George Mueller stored up reasons for God’s intervention. As he came upon promises, authorized declarations of God concerning Himself, names and titles He had chosen to express and reveal His true nature and will, injunctions and invitations which gave to the believer a right to pray and boldness in supplication– as he saw all these, fortified and exemplified by the instances of prevailing prayer, he laid these arguments up in memory, and then on occasions of great need brought them out and spread them before a prayer-hearing God. It is pathetically beautiful to follow this humble man of God into the secret place, and there hear him pouring out his soul in these argumentative pleadings, as though he would so order his cause before God as to convince Him that He must interpose to save His own name and word from dishonour! George Mueller stored up reasons for God’s intervention. As he came upon promises, authorized declarations of God concerning Himself, names and titles He had chosen to express and reveal His true nature and will, injunctions and invitations which gave to the believer a right to pray and boldness in supplication– as he saw all these, fortified and exemplified by the instances of prevailing prayer, he laid these arguments up in memory, and then on occasions of great need brought them out and spread them before a prayer-hearing God. It is pathetically beautiful to follow this humble man of God into the secret place, and there hear him pouring out his soul in these argumentative pleadings, as though he would so order his cause before God as to convince Him that He must interpose to save His own name and word from dishonour!                from Pleading With God by A.T. Peirson

Here we see Mueller acting as a lawyer presenting his case. God knows the case and is sympathetic to the case, but He delights to hear our conviction concerning His nature and will as related to the individual situation. Are you prepared to go to the secret place and pour out your soul in argumentative pleadings? Can you so order a cause before God as to convince Him to interpose in event and happenings? Let us learn from Mueller and make these lessons a part of our faith and ability in prayer.

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First (and best) Things First

March 17th, 2010

Prayer succeeds when everything else fails. Often, far too often, people try everything first before prayer. People try help from other people. They try help from the government. They try help from many other sources. They are willing to look for help anywhere, even if there is no assurance of success. However, there is a source that is available to people. It is source of great help, but too often it goes untapped.

The best source of help is prayer. This is where we should be looking for help. God answers prayer. He is and can be our source. He delights to bless His children. He is willing and able to help us in our times of trouble and need.

 

Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
Psalm 50:15 (NKJV)

 

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
Psalm 91:15 (NKJV)

Prayer succeeds when everything else fails. Prayer is the source of great victories and triumphs. In the Bible even in times when it looked as though there was no hope. When things looked the bleakest, people have seen pray turn around the situation.

 

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)

 

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
Luke 18:1 (NKJV)

 

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 he says 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.
Mark 11:22-24 (NKJV)

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The Hedge and Care

March 10th, 2010

The hedge and wall is a good picture of the care that is needed for the protection of the heart. Just like a field that is not protected, so the unprotected heart will have problems. The heart is very important. The Bible, as in the book of Proverbs, has dozens of verses about the heart and its great value. Just like other things of great value, the heart must be protected. One of the keys to success in the Christian life and in prayer is the careful care and feeding of the heart.

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV)

The word translated, keep, in this verse means to guard. The command is to guard our heart; guard is to protect, maintain, and obey.  We are to guard our heart; we are to protect our heart from evil. In addition, guarding is to maintain our relationship with God and to obey God. The reason for the command is also included here, from the heart comes those things we need for life. Guarding our heart is important; the danger comes when the hedge or wall is damaged or inadequate. The Devil is looking for ways to attack Christians and destroy their work and testimony. He is searching for gaps in their hedge.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV)

Many Christians struggle in dealing with attacks of the Devil. They work at walking through life, but too often there are attacks. When Jesus was tempted by the Devil, Jesus over came the Devil by the Word. Matthew’s Gospel mentions that after he had tempted Jesus, the Devil left Him until an opportune time. Christians, with gaps in their hedges, with parts of their walls down, present opportune times to the Devil. He is always finding openings through which to attack them. We need to fill the gaps and build up our walls so this does not happen to us. We must not be like the nation of Israel and fail to deal with our hedge and walls.

You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the Lord.

Ezekiel 13:5 (NKJV)

Success in the Christian life requires our dealing with the hedge and wall around our heart. A productive prayer life also requires protecting our heart. A strong and effect hedge around our heart, protects our heart and gives us opportunities to pray effectively.

Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 (NKJV)

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:6 (NKJV)

Part of a prayer ministry is to stand in the gap for the land. This is a ministry that is so important and necessary today. Unfortunately few are able to stand in the gap. Like the man without a belt, who can do nothing else, having to hold up his pants, it is hard to stand in the gap for the land, if we are constantly attacked through the gaps in our personal life. Until we deal with the gaps in our hedges and walls, we limit our effectiveness in prayer.

So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.

Ezekiel 22:30 (NKJV)

God continues to seek men and women who will make a wall and stand in the gap on the behalf of the land; that is for nations and peoples. However, to be effective workmen standing in the gap for nations, we must be careful to maintain the hedge around our personal heart. Then we can effectively stand in prayer for others. God is seeking, will He find someone? Will He find you? Today is the day to check your hedge. Is it solid? Are there gaps that need repair? Let the Holy Spirit show you areas where you need to do repair work. Let Him show you areas where you need to build up the hedge. Let Him show you areas that need improvement. Let Him show you what to do to make the repairs. Do what you must do to make them and make your hedge secure and strong.

How is your Hedge?

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Dig Deep

March 2nd, 2010

Prayer is the easiest thing to do in the world, but it is hard work to dig deep into prayer. We want to have it be easy, but the riches in prayer come from hard work. Like the early California seekers looking for gold, we want prayer to yield great results, but to be easy. When it became hard to find gold most people gave up their dreams of riches and got jobs. When prayer is more that just a quick and easy source of answers, most people give up and do other things.

Mining for gold is hard work, prayer is hard work. Unlike grubbing around looking for nuggets on the surface, mining requires heavy equipment, structure, machines, workers and a lot of money. Prayer requires hard work as well. Those who are not satisfies with just a few nuggets they find laying around, must work hard, they must learn to pray. The request from His disciples was Lord teach us to pray.

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
Luke 11:1 (NKJV)
 

Mining is expensive. It takes a huge outlay of money to get to the point where there is a return on the initial investment. Prayer is expensive as well, no not in money; it costs a great to abide in His presence. Every day events seek to draw you away from Him. Answer delayed is expense for faith to abide, but the man who would dig deep in prayer will pay the price.
 

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
John 15:7 (NKJV)
 

Mining is dangerous. Cave-ins, explosions and gasses are but a few of the dangers miners faced everyday. Prayer is dangerous as well. There is a constant danger of lure of sin, doubt, fear, and unbelief. There is a danger of forgetting prayer and relying on our own strength. It is hard to wait on God.
 

Wait on the Lord, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
Psalm 37:34 (NKJV)
  

Mining is time consuming. Prayer is time consuming. The question in the garden was, “What? Could you not watch with Me one hour?” Jesus ever lives to make intersession for us. Will you join with Him? How long will you pray?
  

Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, “What? Could you not watch with Me one hour?
Matthew 26:40 (NKJV)
 

Mining became incredibly profitable to the men who developed companies in California and later other mining areas. They poured money and effort into their work and millions of dollars were drawn from the ground. Prayer is incredibly profitable as well, not as a get-rich- scheme, but in relationship with the Father and His answers.
 
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7 (NKJV)

Are you satisfied with looking for a few nuggets, with prayer that is grubbing along with whatever happens to come along?

Or will you be like the miners who dig deep, worked hard?

Nuggets or mining what will it be for you in prayer?

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