Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Effective prayer”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “You are always righteous, O Lord, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?” Jeremiah 12:1 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Go ahead and ask God the hard questions, bring Him your complaints, He can handle it.”

 

Many times we come to God in prayer with the mistaken assumption that we have to be prim and proper, like well-behaved kids in Sunday school. We have to mind our “P’s” and “Q’s” and be careful not to voice any complaints or ask any questions that could come across as being in the least bit challenging.

 

That thinking is cute, it’s just not Biblical. Oh to be sure, we do need to approach God with the respect He deserves. But we’re also free to express our frustrations and our lack of understanding. It’s ok to ask hard questions and to complain – not just about the things of this life, but even about God Himself and about His ways.

 

King David did it. Take a trip through the Psalms. Many of them are “Psalms of Worship”, but many others are what we call “Psalms of Lament”. They’re filled with wailing and even whining, and lots of questions.

 

Job did it too. “I will say to God: Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me. Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?” Job 10:3

 

“Does it please you to oppress me … while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?” Wow! That’s heavy sarcasm. And Job got away with that?

 

In Jeremiah’s case God was in the process of bringing severe punishment as a form of discipline against the Jews for their idolatry and long-term unfaithfulness. While Jeremiah didn’t question the fact that the Jews clearly deserved the punishment, what did confuse him was that God was using the pagan nations (who were much worse in their sinfulness), as His instruments to punish and discipline the Jews.

 

Jeremiah’s complaint / accusation (which he expressed several times in the book of Jeremiah), was that it seemed pretty unfair of God to use the more sinful pagans to punish the less sinful people of God, and so Jeremiah asked God to do a little explaining. “Yet I would speak with you about your justice …”

 

The lesson here is that you can speak freely to God. He knows what you’re thinking and feeling anyway so it’s not as if you’re hiding anything from Him by being prim and proper, saying cute little Sunday school prayers, when in reality you’re raging inside and you want to shake your fist at Him. So be honest with Him. Tell Him what you think and what you feel. Question Him. Ask Him for explanations. He can handle it. He might not give you the answers you’re looking for, but He can handle your questions. And again, He already knows how you’re feeling anyway.

 

So go ahead and get it off your chest. Tell Him all about it. It’ll probably make you feel better and who knows, you may even get some answers.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Effective prayer”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for the next three and a half years! Then he prayed for rain, and down it poured. The grass turned green, and the crops began to grow again.” James 5:16-18 (NLT)

 

Our thought for today: “Our prayers for each other are powerful and effective.”

 

In his book “Moving Mountains”, John Eldredge tells the story of Agnes Sanford, a woman who was a great prayer warrior and who seemed to be especially effective when it came to praying about other people’s health issues. Agnes seemed to be more effective at praying for their healing than the people themselves were.

 

The reason Agnes’ prayers for the healing of others tended to be so effective is that the sick person invariably, and naturally, focused their prayers on the sickness, but Agnes focused her prayers on the Healer. When the sick person prayed, they would focus almost exclusively on how they were feeling and what they were experiencing in their lives as a result of the sickness. When Agnes prayed she looked right past the sickness (might not even mention it at all), and she focused her prayers instead on the power, and majesty, and awesomeness, and mercy of Jesus.

 

The sick person focused on the sickness. Agnes focused on the Healer.

 

When we’re suffering or struggling in some way, it’s perfectly natural for our thoughts and prayers to focus on the pain and the suffering. But the trial we’re going through is the problem not the solution. As long as we’re focused on the problem, we often can’t see the solution. Jesus is the solution. Whatever the problem, Jesus is the answer. So we need to be focused on Him rather than on the issue we’re wrestling with.

 

That’s one of the big reasons we ask other people to pray for us. Other people aren’t so personally wrapped up in our problem and therefore they can view it from a distance. That being the case other people are often better able to focus on the Solution (Jesus) rather than on the problem itself.

 

This is why James calls us to pray for each other. He reminds us of the power and effectiveness of our prayers and he does so by citing Elijah’s great example from 1 Kings Chapter 18. James reminds us that Elijah was no different from us, he was just a man. But he was a man of great faith and he was a man of powerful and effective prayers.

 

As I mentioned in an earlier devotional this month, Elijah was a man who worked long and hard at his prayers and his prayers focused on the power of God as the solution, rather than on the problem itself, which was a limitation. So I want Elijah or Agnes Sanford (or someone who knows how to pray like them) praying for me!

 

We need to have others praying for us, especially those who really know how to pray.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Effective prayer”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “There’s nothing you’re facing that Christ cannot and will not empower you to handle.”

 

As is true for all of us, I have some things going on in my life that I wish weren’t there. And some of them seem to drag on endlessly and defy resolution. I know, I know, welcome to the club. It’s just life and we all have issues.

 

This morning in my personal Bible study I was reading the book of Philippians and I came to that great passage in Philippians chapter four where Paul wrote,

 

“… I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13

 

I would like to claim that I, like Paul, have learned to be content in all circumstances but in truth, I’m still working on it. Not there yet. Not even close, but working on it.

 

Although I have read that passage countless times over the years, and have been inspired by it every time, this time, with respect to the subject of effective prayer, verse 13 seemed to leap off the page at me. There’s nothing I’m facing that Christ cannot and will not empower me to handle. That’s true for you too.

 

Your circumstances could be tough, maybe very tough. There could be sickness (yours or a loved one’s); there could be financial pressures; you may have frustrations on the job and difficulties with co-workers; you may be suffering the agony of a wayward child; your neighbors could be the Adam’s Family on one side and Freddy Krueger on the other; you could be faced with multiple problems that seem to defy explanation or solution and which drag on endlessly; but one thing we know for sure is that Christ can and will empower you to deal with those issues and any others you are facing.

 

So take that understanding with you into your time of prayer. Claim Philippians 4:13 as a promise from God to you and ask Jesus to make it real in your life now. You may not suddenly receive magical insights which will lead to quick resolutions of all your most vexing problems, but you will receive the strength and hope you need in order to deal with them today. Then go back to Him tomorrow and claim that promise all over again.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Effective prayer”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But the father told his slaves, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a feast, because this son of my mind was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! So they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:22-24 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “You bring God great joy.”

 

I want to return again this morning to the subject of how we think about God and about prayer, because our understanding of God and of prayer is such a crucial element when it comes to effective praying.

 

Have you ever read the parable of the Prodigal Son as told by Jesus and recorded by Luke in Luke 15:14-24? If you’re not familiar with the story then I encourage you to stop reading this for a moment and take a few minutes to read that passage.

 

In the story a wealthy father had two sons. The youngest one came to him and asked for his share of the family inheritance to be given to him so he could go exploring in foreign lands. In that culture his request would have been an unthinkable insult to his father. Normally the inheritance would not go to the son until the father was dead. The son should not even have been thinking of such a thing.

 

But rather than being insulted, the father complied with the request and gave the boy the money. The son then went off into distant lands and squandered his riches on wine, women, and song. Before long he found himself destitute, filthy, hungry, and living among another man’s pigs. Finally he came to his senses and decided to return to his father, fall at his feet and begging for mercy, and then offer to become one of his father’s slaves.

 

Do you remember from yesterday’s devotional when I cited John Eldredge’s lesson that when we come to God in prayer He does not see us as orphans begging for help, or even slaves bowing before a stern master? Instead we are dearly loved children coming to a kind and benevolent Father who takes great delight in us.

 

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son the returning son was acting like a begging orphan, or a disobedient slave seeking his master’s forgiveness. But the father in the story (intended by Jesus to be a picture of our Heavenly Father) acts just like a good, loving, compassionate, and merciful human father would if his wayward child suddenly returned to him contrite and asking for forgiveness. He was overflowing with joy, weeping in thanksgiving that His child had come back to Him, and ready to accept the boy back into the fold as the much-loved son that he is.

 

That’s your position before God the Father. Even if you have messed up; even if you have sinned greatly; He wants you back and He is overjoyed when you return to Him.

 

As you come to God in prayer don’t ever forget that it brings Him great joy to see you coming to Him and it brings Him even more joy to treat you like the much-loved child you are.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Effective prayer”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?” Isaiah 55:1-2 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Your Father in heaven cares deeply about you and He wants you to come to Him with your requests.”

 

As I noted yesterday, in my current reading of the book of Isaiah I’m discovering it to be a rich treasure trove of insights regarding effective prayer. How we think about God, and how we think about the ministry of prayer, determines how we will pray. Isaiah helps us to gain a clearer and more accurate understanding of who God is, what He is like, and who we are to Him.

 

In Isaiah 55:1-2 we read an invitation issued by God to us through Isaiah. Essentially He is inviting us to come to Him to talk about our needs and concerns and requests, and to have them met. We are to come to Him with the understanding that He cares, that He has what we need, and that He is eager and willing to help us.

 

Jesus spoke of this great truth also, as did the Apostle Paul. Here are just three examples from the New Testament.

 

Jesus said: “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:11

 

Paul wrote: “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

 

And of course, in case you are tired and suffering and struggling, there is always that great invitation from Jesus in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

 

The point is that when we come to God in prayer we are welcome. He wants us there and He is happy we have come to Him. To paraphrase a lesson John Eldredge teaches in his book “Moving Mountains”, we don’t come to our Father in heaven as orphans, sitting outside the city gates begging and pleading for His help. Nor to we come to Him as servants, tentatively making a request of the Master and hoping we’re not annoying Him.

 

Instead, we come as much loved children who are heirs of our Father’s kingdom and entitled to a share of the blessings contained within the household. And our Father is more than happy to share them with us.

 

That understanding should shape the way we pray. God is happy you have come to Him; He is deeply concerned about every aspect of your life and wants to be involved in it; and He is eager to meet your needs in the way that is best and at the time that is right. So go ahead and talk to Him about everything that is going on. He wants you to.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Effective prayer”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Don’t forget who God is, and who you are to Him.”

 

To pray effectively it’s essential that we come to God remembering who He is, and who we are to Him.

 

In my personal Bible study I’m currently reading through the Old Testament book of Isaiah. As I always do, each month I go through my days with our devotional theme for the month held lightly in the back of my mind. That way as I read the Bible and other Christian books, as I write sermons and Bible studies, as I pay attention to news reports and as I listen to conversations, I’m constantly picking up thoughts and ideas for the devotional messages.

 

As I’ve been reading through Isaiah in recent days I’ve been shocked to discover how many of the verses and passages apply to the subject of effective praying. For instance, consider this passage from Isaiah 41:9-13:

 

“I took you from the ends of the earth, from the farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.”

 

God spoke those words specifically to His chosen people, the nation of Israel, but they are true for you and me too. He called you to be His own. You are His servant and He has a plan and a purpose for you. So do not fear, for He is with you. Do not be dismayed, for He is your God. He will help you and strengthen you. He will uphold you with His powerful right hand. The enemies who come against you are also coming against Him, and that’s bad for them. The problems you’re facing, He intends to help you with, and that’s good for you. So do not fear, for He is committed to helping you.

 

That’s the God you have come to in prayer. He is powerful, He loves you, He is committed to your best interests, and He is determined to help you. Got it? Now you’re ready to pray.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Effective prayer”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord.” Isaiah 31:1 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Our help comes from the Lord.”

 

In Isaiah 31:1 the prophet was warning his readers to avoid the mistake so many other Jews had made down throughout the history of God’s people and that is, looking to the world for solutions to their problems. As a nation, the leaders and the people had often turned to powerful allies for protection. At other times we read of individuals such as King Saul who did things like going to the witch of Endor for wisdom and advice rather than seeking it from God.

 

In the case we’re reading about here in Isaiah, Isaiah was warning the people not to look to their powerful neighbor Egypt for physical protection instead of trusting in the protection and provision of God.

 

As we read this it seems like a no-brainer. Of course those people in the Bible should have been looking to God for protection, provision, and counsel rather than to powerful neighbors, or to worldly wealth, or to military arms, or to the wisdom of the world. They knew better than to rely on such things rather than on God. But aren’t we guilty of doing the same thing?

 

Granted, often God will use other people or the resources of this world to achieve His purposes in our lives, but do we look directly to them or to God? Sometimes our deliverance from a dangerous situation will come from a Police Officer responding to an emergency call; or the healing will come through the skilled care of a medical doctor; or the financial relief will come from a generous friend; but who is the true source of those blessings and who do we look to first, to them or to God?

 

If we are going to be truly effective pray-ers, we must come to God in prayer with the understanding that He is our Protector, our Provider, and our Counselor. He is the source of every good blessing. It all comes from Him and it all begins with Him.

 

In the rest of Isaiah chapter 31 the prophet goes on to assure his readers that anything the world could do for them, God can do better. God’s protection is more complete, His provisions are more abundant, His blessings more amazing, and His victory more certain.

 

That was true for them and it’s equally true for us. Anything the world can do for you, God can do better.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Effective prayer”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4 (NLT)

 

Our thought for today: “In the midst of the storm stay focused on Jesus.”

 

When it comes to dealing with difficult situations, especially difficult situations that seem to go on for a long time, Isaiah 26:3 is some of the best advice the Bible gives us. Fix your thoughts on Him (that’s prayer), and He will help you to remain calm and peaceful. Why is that? Because He is the Rock upon which we can take our stand when the storms of life are raging. He is the One we can trust in when everyone else and everything else seems to be uncertain.

 

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews echoed this great spiritual truth in Hebrews 12:1-2 when he wrote, “Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.”

 

Commenting on Isaiah 26:3-4 the editors of “The Leadership Bible” observed: “This is the ultimate advice for stress management. Regardless of the storm swirling around the leader’s head, this internal conviction (of keeping our thoughts fixed on Jesus) becomes a haven for those who hold firmly to it.”

 

That reference to “the storm swirling” made me think of Peter in Matthew chapter 14. Peter and the other disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. A storm was raging around them and they were scared. Suddenly Peter sees Jesus walking on the water towards them. Peter was so eager to be with Jesus that he called out and asked Jesus to empower him to walk on the water to get to Him faster. Jesus said ok and invited Peter to do it. When Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water towards Jesus he was fine – as long as he had his eyes on Jesus he walked on the water and didn’t sink. But as soon as he shifted his focus off of the Lord and onto the storm, he began to sink.
The storm was the problem, Jesus was the solution. As long as Peter was focused on the solution rather than the problem he was ok. It was when he shifted his attention to the problem that he lost sight of the solution.

 

That’s true for us too and it’s exactly the point both Isaiah and the writer of Hebrews was making. In the midst of the storm it’s important to keep our eyes and our thoughts fixed on Jesus. Jesus is not only our source of strength and stability and peace, but He is the solution to whatever problem we’re dealing with. It’s essential that we stay focused on the solution rather than on the problem.

 

When it comes to effective praying one of the most helpful things we can do is to just stay focused on Jesus.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Effective prayer”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.” Psalm 143:1 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Sometimes the best prayer is a simple cry from the heart.”

 

Not all prayer needs to be structured and strategic. Sometimes the best prayer can be a simple spontaneous cry from the heart. It just pops out without much thought or preparation and comes from some deep place within us. As John Eldredge notes in his book “Moving Mountains”, “Some prayers just happen; they are a cry from the heart … It’s a beautiful expression of prayer, rising from the deep places in us, often unbidden, always welcome to His loving ears.”

 

A cry from the heart can take many forms. As an accident is in the process of unfolding, without even thinking, you cry out “Jesus save me.”  Or you have just received bad news about a loved one with a life-threatening illness and with no thought or preparation you’re on your knees pouring your heart out to the Lord about it.

 

But not all cries of the heart are cries of despair. A cry of the heart can also be joyful. I was hiking on the Appalachian Trail in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee just last week when I came around a bend and saw a view that took my breath away. My first thought was “Lord, you are awesome! What a beautiful world you have created.” It was a simple and spontaneous prayer of joy and worship that just popped out.

 

Another form of spontaneous prayer was made famous almost 75 years ago by that great prayer warrior and author Frank Laubauch. Frank developed the habit of “shooting” prayers at people as he walked down the street. As someone was approaching him from the other direction Frank would glance at them, attempt to quickly get a sense of a need they might have based upon their appearance and probable situation, and then he would “shoot” a prayer at them. He reported occasion after occasion when the recipient of the prayer would have an observable physical reaction, as if they actually felt the impact of the prayer.

 

A simple, spontaneous, “cry of the heart” prayer can be a very effective means of praying because it comes from your heart instead of your head. And the more your heart is in-tune with God, the more “cry of the heart” prayers that will be popping out of you. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”

 

So cultivate a heart that is in-tune with God; then let those prayers come popping out.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Effective prayer”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.” Psalm 139:23-24 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Effective prayer must include confession of sin.”

 

Nothing will hinder our prayers more than unconfessed sin. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah explained this truth to the Jews in blunt, stark terms in Isaiah 59:2, “But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you so that He does not listen.”

 

Wow! Unconfessed sin creates a barrier, a wall, between us and God. Unconfessed sin causes God to turn His face from us and refuse to listen. That’s what Isaiah teaches here, and this is not an isolated verse. It’s a truth that’s taught numerous times in the Bible.

 

The good news is that God wants to hear our prayers and answer them, and He is prepared to forgive our sins if we will just confess them, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, “We don’t have any sin” we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” 1 John 1:9-10

 

Confession of sin is an essential starting place for effective prayer. The sin issue has to be dealt with first, or there is no effective communication with God because those unconfessed sins create a barrier between us and God. That’s why the Psalms are filled with cries of confession and repentance. In Psalm 139:23-24 David actually invited God to search him in the deepest part of his heart, “Search me, God, and know my heart …”

 

I sometimes use the acronym “ACTS” to help guide my own times of prayer:

 

A = Adoration. I begin by thinking about who God is and what He is like. I acknowledge His majesty and His sovereignty, but I also worship Him for his goodness, His mercy, and His grace.

 

C = Confession. Then I pray David’s prayer from Psalm 139:23-24. I ask the Holy Spirit to search me and reveal to me any unconfessed sin so that I can confess it and be done with it.

 

T = Thanksgiving. Once I have reestablished in my own mind who God is and I have settled into a spirit of worship, and once I have confessed my sins, I then proceed into a time of thanking God for all He has already done in my life.

 

S = Supplication. It’s only then that I’m ready to present new requests to Him. But none of this would be possible, or at least not effective, without confession.

 

Confession clears away the barriers that hinder our relationship with God and it’s only then that we are prepared to engage in effective praying.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim