Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Effective prayer”
Our Bible verse for today: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Prayer helps to adjust our perspective and attitude.”
This morning I was re-reading Solomon’s long, sad lament which we have come to know as the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. Whenever I read Ecclesiastes I’m always struck by the fact that this was written by the wealthiest and most powerful man in the world in his day.
Ecclesiastes was written towards the end of his life and in it Solomon records that he had everything a man could hope for in this world. He was fabulously wealthy, he was widely admired, he was a powerful leader, and he had thousands of beautiful women who literally belonged to him (wives and concubines) and whose sole purpose in life was to please him.
Any yet Solomon writes that those decades of wine, women, wealth, and song ended up being painfully empty and totally unsatisfying. His story reminds me of the sad final years of Elvis Presley. Shortly before his death he made an entry in his diary which was later published and became famous. It was late at night after a show, he was in a penthouse suite of a Casino in Las Vegas, and Elvis wrote about how lonely he was and how unhappy his life had turned out to be. Despite all his fame and fortune Elvis was a sad and lonely man.
I could fill pages with similar stories about Howard Hughes, Kurt Cobain, Robin Williams and so many others who, by the standards of the world seemed to have it all, but in reality were sad and empty and lonely, to the point of despondency and even suicide.
A thousand years after the time of Solomon the Apostle Paul wrote, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6). That’s also the conclusion Solomon finally arrived at by the end of his life. It’s the very point he was making in Ecclesiastes 12:13. It’s also the point Spanky from the Little Rascals was making when he told his friend Buster, “Buddy, if you ain’t got Jesus you ain’t got nuthin.”
What does all of this have to do with our theme of effective prayer? Well, in prayer God helps us to get our heads screwed on straight regarding the things that really matter – and about those that don’t. In effective prayer He helps to clarify our thinking, change our perspective, and adjust our attitudes.
Effective prayer involves sincerely asking God to help you see things from His perspective and then inviting Him to adjust your thinking accordingly. It’s a matter of bringing your worldly concerns before Him, laying them down at His feet, and asking Him to help you see it all clearly. “Lord, help me to see how important this thing I’m so worried about at the moment really is, or isn’t.” “Jesus, in Matthew 6:25-33 you taught me to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and to trust the concerns of life to my heavenly Father. So to the best of my ability I do that now and I ask You to give me a sense of peace about it.”
Effective prayer has a wonderful way of clarifying our thinking and adjusting our attitudes about the cares of life. I encourage you to bring it all to Him in prayer – and then leave it there.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 