Prayer

Why pray? Well, we talk to God because we have a relationship with Him, and relationships include

sharing. God wants to pursue a relationship with us, and we should desire to pursue a relationship with Him too.

 Let me ask you this, have you ever had someone who was a friend but then only called when they needed something? What kind of friend is that? What happened to your relationship with that person?

Just think about what the bible says here:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Pretty big stuff eh? Well maybe not at first but if you stop, and I mean full. on. stop. Consider the words. Think about the implications. Follow through with it. This is life changing.

You don't need to be anxious, nervous, afraid, uneasy, restless, stressed, concerned, apprehensive, distressed or anything like that. Ever. Why do you think that is? I know this may be hard for some to hear and there will be those of you who don't agree or understand where I am coming from here. I am going to tell you though it is because God cares about you. He loves you and yes wants the best for you. God knows your every need, and even more so He knows your every desire. God wants only good things for you. And He wants to talk to you!

(I think someone just read that and felt really angry. I know shitty crappy things happen everyday and suffering seems to abound more than anything. We have all been tremendously hurt, and while that was not God's will for your life I promise He can make beauty from ashes. send me a message and I will be happy to talk it out with you)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Did you see that? You are more valuable. God sees you, and He knows. He knows everything about you, including what you need, and guess what He still loves you. (Even if you aren't perfect! He loves you where you are today, right now in this moment) God loves you so much that He wants to give you what you need and even more... He wants to give you what you desire.

(Here is where I throw in my thoughts about how as parents we know our kids desire candy for dinner, and while we want to give our kids things they want we also give them what they need, like veggies)

If God knows what we need and desire, why pray? What's up with that whole part of it?

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.' "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

 I apologize for all my tangents here but it strikes me that someone is sitting there asking how I could possibly know that God loves them so to pause for a second I just need to share this first.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

I know God loves you because God is love. Love is sacrificial and beautiful, and there is nothing that could ever prevent God from loving you. God wants nothing more than to be reconciled to you, to be in relationship with you...

Really that brings us back to the initial thing I was writing about! By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

It seems to me God wants to hear from you. We live in this crazy instant gratification society where if things don't happen with a snap of our fingers we tend to give up. Here's the thing, in the waiting we get to build character. More over in the suffering, we get to build character.

Let me say that again so you don't miss that. In the waiting, and in the suffering, you build character.

It is often in times of distress, such as was the case of the widow we read about, that we have the opportunity to draw close to God and for faith to be built up. We learn to trust in God, and in His faithfulness.

God loves you and He is pursuing you. That being said He is a gentleman and has given you the gift of free will. God loves you so much that He won't force you to come to Him, but rather just extends an invitation and waits for you to respond. Why not send up a prayer, I know He wants to hear from you.



Want to know more? If you have any questions about what I wrote today or are curious about how to respond to God's invitation to you please feel free to message me and I will get back to you as soon as I can.  All quotes were from the New Living Translation of the bible and included Philippians 4:6, Mathew 6 :25-34, 1 John 3:16, John 10:11, John 3:16, John 13:34-35.

Prayer, Gifts, and Focus

This past week three things have been laid heavily on my heart. I had

considered writing about each separately; however I believe that it is important for all of them to remain together. Please be\are with me as I go through them. I pray the Holy Spirit will help me to convey this to you and that you will have ears to hear.

The first is prayer. While I hope that any reader knows the importance of prayer in their own lives, and that daily you remember to spend time with God, in this instance I am talking about with others. I found God placing on my heart the need for a prayer circle. A group of Christians who can stand together and remember one another before the throne. We are called to be in community, our God is a relational God and we are to follow His great example. Spiritual battles are won and lost on our knees, I think of Exodus 17:11 as an example. 

So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.

Remember your brothers and sisters in prayer. Lift them before the throne room of heaven. Come together for prayer, be encouraged and strengthened. 

I think at the end of our lives when we come to realize how much power there really is in prayer that one big regret will be that we didn't pray enough.

Second, it was impressed upon me the story of the talents, and how it relates to our spiritual gifts.

Matthew 25:14-30New American Standard Bible (NASB)Parable of the Talents14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five [a]talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.18 But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his[b]master’s money.19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your [c]master.’22 “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered noseed. 25 And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 Then you ought to have put my money [d]in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

We who believe have been given great and extraordinary gifts by the Holy Spirit. Yet when I look around in the church I don't see them being used. I grieve this, so I can only imagine how our Creator must feel knowing He gave us such special talents that we don't recognize or know how to use. We fail to see how our gifts fit in, or where we belong. Yet we are told in 1 Cor 12:12 that we are all one body made of different parts (paraphrased) So wouldn't it stand to reason we all have a part to play with our specific gifts? Should we not stand up and use those gifts? 

No longer hide your gifting church! Stand up, help on another to first recognize their gifting for it is apparent many do not even know what gift they have, and then work together to develop your gifting! God has called each and every one of you to something great. Stand now in the power of the Lamb as you were intended to do from the beginning. Speak boldly! Allow your prophets to speak and your healers to heal. For too long these gifts have been viewed with such skepticism and fear, but I say to you no longer. God is moving through His church and we need to not get in His way but welcome Him. Stand in faith.

1 Corinthians 12New American Standard Bible (NASB)The Use of Spiritual Gifts12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking [a]by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is[b]accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except [c]by the Holy Spirit.4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith [d]by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of [e]healing [f]by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the [g]effecting of[h]miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the [i]distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For [j]by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason [k]any the less a part of the body.16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason [l]any the less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now there are many members, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, [m]it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23 and those members of the body which we [n]deem less honorable, [o]on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, 24 whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25 so that there may be no [p]division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is [q]honored, all the members rejoice with it.27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. 28 And God has [r]appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then [s]miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of[t]miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts.

Third, It was impressed upon me to focus solely on Jesus. Lets take a look at Mathew 14 for this. So imagine Jesus and the apostles have had a pretty long day. So Jesus sent his apostles in a boat ahead of him to get some r&r. Only there is this huge storm, so big in fact that these apostles who have spent their lives as fisher men and on the water are afraid they are going to die. Those have got to be some pretty big waves to scare this crew. Then all of a sudden along comes Jesus walking on the water!

Matthew 14:22-33
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Jesus Walks on the Water22 Immediately He [a]made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. 24 But the boat was already [b]a long distance from the land, [c]battered by the waves; for the wind was[d]contrary. 25 And in the [e]fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out [f]in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”28 Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”

So Peter essentially gets to do something no other person gets to do. He is out there walking on water. Until that is, reality sets in and he focuses on his circumstances instead of Jesus.

Jesus wants you to focus on Him. Stop looking around and trying to control your world, this isn't real. Real is eternity, it's spiritual. This physical life is just for a moment. We are told time and time again anything is possible through Christ. We can move mountains and send them crumbling to the sea if we believe and have faith like that of a child. We are told 366 times through scripture to not fear. We don't have to fear because God loves each of us and He knows our needs. 

Just focus on Christ. Through Him you will do great things.