April 28, 2009
Praying Through
What do you think about prayer? Does God answer our prayers? Let me know what you think.
My wife and I pray each morning and sometimes it is hard to pray. We read a verse of scripture and review a list of prayer requests and add them to our prayer journal. It becomes a routine and we feel that we have done our praying for the day. However, when we search the scriptures, sing a hymn or worship song that takes away all the outside distractions and gets us tuned into God. We are now ready to pray through.
Why is prayer the hardest thing we will ever be called upon to do and, being human, why is this one act that we are tempted to do less frequently than any other? Let me know what you think.
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. –Colossians 4:2
Dr. Moody Stuart, a great praying man of a past generation, once drew up a set of rules to guide him in his prayers. Among these rules is this one: “Pray till you pray.”…
The habit of breaking off our prayers before we have truly prayed is as common as it is unfortunate. Often the last 10 minutes may mean more to us than the first half hour, because we must spend a long time getting into the proper mood to pray effectively. We may need to struggle with our thoughts to draw them in from where they have been scattered through the multitude of distractions that result from the task of living in a disordered world…
If when we come to prayer our hearts feel dull and unspiritual, we should not try to argue ourselves out of it. Rather, we should admit it frankly and pray our way through. We cannot afford to stop praying till we have actually prayed.
“Oh Lord, what an important and needed challenge! It’s so easy to rush into Your presence and ‘check off’ our Bible reading and prayer for the day—and so hard to wait in Your presence in unhurried meditation. I’ll wait today and ‘pray through.’ Amen
Tozer Daily Devotional
Prayer is an incredible transformer that takes the unlimited power of God and brings it down to what you're facing and where you are today. God is calling us to a new level of experiencing and unleashing His power. Decide to make prayer your first resort instead of your last. Experience God's unlimited power where prayers are answered and failures are turned into new beginnings! Ron Hutchcraft Ministries
Let me know what you think about prayer and how it has transformed your life.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Confession and Reconciliation
Prayer without confrontation and confession will affect the prayers of the people. God wants us to cry for forgiveness and we need to have true confession that we are 100% wrong, “wretched and blind”. Read Psalm 51:1-2 to see a model for confession.
True confession has to start with the leadership of the church. Times of confession are defining moments in our lives and the lives of the body of Christ. Confession needs to be public before God will hear the prayers of the people. We tend to dig in our heels, not just ourselves but everyone around us. We are not fooling God. Confession needs to start with the leaders but all of us need to confess our sins that may include, untruthfulness, bitterness, anger and gossip.
“But unconfessed sin that makes a disconnect, that stops the power from coming down and getting to where it needs to be” Jim Cymbala, Pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle
Forgiveness has to do with the past. Forgiveness is not holding something someone has done against him or her. It is letting it go. It only takes one to offer forgiveness And just as God has offered forgiveness to everyone, we are expected to do the same. (Matt 6:12; 18:35)
Reconciliation needs to take place and has to do with the present. This occurs when the other person apologizes and accepts forgiveness. It takes two to reconcile.
Trust has to do with the future. It deals with both what you will risk happening again and what you will open yourself up to. A person must show through his or her actions that he or she is trustworthy before you trust again. (Matt. 3:8; Prov. 4:23)
True confession has to start with the leadership of the church. Times of confession are defining moments in our lives and the lives of the body of Christ. Confession needs to be public before God will hear the prayers of the people. We tend to dig in our heels, not just ourselves but everyone around us. We are not fooling God. Confession needs to start with the leaders but all of us need to confess our sins that may include, untruthfulness, bitterness, anger and gossip.
“But unconfessed sin that makes a disconnect, that stops the power from coming down and getting to where it needs to be” Jim Cymbala, Pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle
Forgiveness has to do with the past. Forgiveness is not holding something someone has done against him or her. It is letting it go. It only takes one to offer forgiveness And just as God has offered forgiveness to everyone, we are expected to do the same. (Matt 6:12; 18:35)
Reconciliation needs to take place and has to do with the present. This occurs when the other person apologizes and accepts forgiveness. It takes two to reconcile.
Trust has to do with the future. It deals with both what you will risk happening again and what you will open yourself up to. A person must show through his or her actions that he or she is trustworthy before you trust again. (Matt. 3:8; Prov. 4:23)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)