The devotional message I read this morning spoke of faith and prayer. It reminded me of how often I have read or quoted Mark 12:23 and asked that God answer my own prayers. Our faith is prone to fading away without prayer, and our prayer life deteriorates without a healthy dose of faith. There is no substitute for either.
We seek out our salvation but not always in the way we really should. Too often we read scripture and confuse doing things ourselves with having just asked the Lord to lead us. Does this sound like you? Well for the longest time it certainly sounded like me. I would pray for forgiveness, redemption, provision, healing, and so many other things, but rather than trusting in God to take charge of what I had just asked of Him I would act as though I had merely invited Him to watch over me as I did it all myself. I considered the fear and trembling of seeking my salvation to mean that I should be afraid that I might fail, but that is not what this passage means at all. The very next verse tells us something quite different; listen: “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
This morning our devotional message deals with fervent prayer, and the strength it takes to pray in this way. Children pray with an amazing degree of faithfulness, innocence, and trust which seems to flow so easily from them, but adults strain and groan in their prayer closets as they bring the challenges of their lives before the Lord, and wrestle with fear and trembling over their faith and salvation.
Our study of prayer continues this morning with the theme of praying with our entire being. Are we totally engaged when we kneel to pray in the battle against evil, dark forces, and to win lost souls? When our prayers are asking that God’s will be advanced is our whole heart in them? E.M. Bounds wrote that "Just as it involves every part of a person's being to pray successfully, so in turn the person receives the benefit of such praying." In making this case Bounds uses Romans 15:30; which I have expanded to include verse 31 as well. Are we benefiting the Kingdom of God when we pray, and thus increasing in faith as we do?
The title of the devotional message I read this morning was "Today's Manna" and in it E.M. Bounds spoke of praying for today's needs and trusting in God to provide for tomorrow. Bounds makes the statement that "The present is ours; the future belongs to God" It is so easy to say, and pray, words such as these but they are very hard to live out. For our opening bible verse today let’s turn to Isaiah 26:3 and read.
Where should our prayer originate when we enter our chosen place of prayer and seek God’s presence? Is it our intellect, our spirit, our soul? Is it our posture, our language, or a certain phrase that bring us close to Him? God tells us the answer to this Himself in the book of Jerimiah when he says that we should reach out to Him with all of our heart. So if our prayers should emanate from or hearts then we must also ask ourselves a simple question… “What is the condition of my heart and relationship towards God?” To describe this we use words like lovingly, sincerely, persistently, and in purity.
Today's message is one of those intangible truths... the calling... the anointing that consecrates a man and his mission. How many earnest men have we known that lacked being anointed? Seriousness and purpose in our human lives does not insure that we are doing God's will. An anointing is that spark which reveals the fire of God; it is the flame in the bush that doesn't consume it. The anointing is the finger of God that writes upon the fleshiness of our hearts those things that He would have us do and say. It is the divine aspect of our lives.
Bumper stickers, and sometimes bumper snickers, we see them everywhere. Some make us think, others make us laugh, occasionally they fill us with introspection, but there are those that disappoint us too. I have heard Pastors comment on them in sermons by warning us not to have Christian bumper stickers on our cars and then lean out the car window shaking our fist (or worse) when someone cuts us off on the interstate. What are we telling the world around us about Jesus, and His impact on our life when we don’t offer them prayer when they are hurting? We are meant to live our faith as Jesus did His, and be representative of it. What are we showing the world through our lives?
Scripture says we should be further transformed in our thinking each day through studying the Word and redirecting our thoughts towards godly pursuits. As we draw closer to Jesus and The Father, we will be able to discern God's will and display to the world the image of Jesus. Our prayers will likewise be transformed, and the less mature or selfish prayers we once prayed will be transformed into prayers of intercession, or to those of deeper spiritual construction.
Today as I read my morning devotional, E.M. Bounds went on to speak deeper about the peace of God and the effect prayer has on worry and stress. So I am contemplating two of his thoughts as I read Philippians 4 once again.
Do you have someone that you read the bible with each day? Do you have someone who you pray with every day? Is there a daily devotional that you read and share with a special friend who reads it too? Is there a Christian brother or sister with whom you can share the things that bring you joy or those you lament in your life? Do you talk, write, text, email, or send a letter to someone regarding matters of faith and Christian friendship? If the answer is no then you are missing one of Christianity's greatest joys.
While reading my daily devotional this morning I paused on a passage of scripture taken from Psalms 91 in which God speaks! Here is what I read, and I have included the prior and trailing verses to add context:
“Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”
Psalms 91:14-16 KJV
I awoke on this New Year's Day to what felt like a fresh new beginning, but as I prepared to read my morning devotional and reach out to God in Prayer I had a revelation... Today is not unlike any other day in Christ. I was thrilled and blessed by this realization and His presence. God is indeed with us in His fullness, and remains the same each moment of every day. Whether this day is our first, or our last, He is without change.
Today is the last day of the year, and typically one in which we take stock of our accomplishments and failures over the past twelve months. This is also a time when we make plans for the coming year, and determine the condition of our present life. As we do so, do we have regrets that haunt us, and fears that give us tribulation as we look towards the coming New Year? Well, fear not, because our Lord uses what is past to prepare us for what lies ahead, and He helps us face today with a firm belief in His goodness and mercy.
When we come to know Jesus Christ, and accept Him as our Lord and Savior, something amazing begins to happen in and to us. We are most certainly relieved of the sin which began in Adam, but the knowledge of good and evil remains... so what is God to do with that?