God Speaks About Prayer

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Have you ever wondered if God really pays attention to our prayers?  Do you wonder what is the point in praying?  The second question in particular is one that I often think about.  Why should Christians pray?  God already knows how things are going to turn out, so what good does it do for us to pray? This is a personal struggle of mine. I feel like my meager petitions do little to sway God and His plan. But consider this, even Jesus prayed when He was about to be captured by the Romans and He knew that He would not sway God's plan of salvation that had been in place since the beginning of time. So why would He pray if He knew there would be no change? The Bible tells us a lot about prayer. It tells us how to pray, what to pray for and why to pray.  Prayer is the simple act of speaking with God. Sharing your heart with God; your concerns, your joys, your needs, and even your desires.  Here is what God has to say about prayer. 

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First, we must establish a routine. Jesus prayed in the morning, as described in Mark 1:35, "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed." We each should decide when and where to pray where we won't be distracted and we will be able to focus on the message God wants to give us through our prayers. Furthermore, we are told to "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Moreover, Ephesians 6:18 tells us to "Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints." We know from this that we have a continuous open-line of communication with God and can present to Him our joys and concerns as we go through the day. 

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Second, we are told in several places to pray with thanksgiving and to be thankful.  This holds true, not just in our prayers with pleasing outcomes, but also those with less pleasing outcomes. Philippians 4:6 tells us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." In Colossians 4:2 we are further told, "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." Additionally 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;" Notice this last verse says, "in all circumstances". No matter whether a good or bad situation, we should give our thanks to God for what He will do to bring us through it.

Third, the Bible shares about our intentions for prayer. What is our personal reason for a particular prayer?  Matthew 6:6-7 explains how our prayer is to be heartfelt and personal, not for the ears of others, but for the ears of God.  "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words."  This in no way reflects the idea that we can't pray for others or in front of others, but it reflects the attitude of our heart.  Are we praying sincerely to God or are we praying so that others will hear US and not God?  

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Fourth, who should we pray for? Surely we pray for our family and friends, but is that all? James 5:16 tells us to "pray for one another".  1 Timothy 2:1-2 says, "I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions..."  All who are in high positions...this is often a troublesome phrase as we don't often care for or disagree with those who are in the high positions, but God's word is clear.  We are still to pray for them.  It doesn't say, pray for them if you agree with them, but just pray for them. James 5:13-14 adds, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him." Finally comes the toughest of all of the "who" we should pray for. Luke 6:27-28 declares, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." This is a hard thing to do. We don't often want to pray for those who do us wrong, but God tells us to pray for them.  After all, it is God's desire that none should perish. He desires that everyone will come to know Him; He made each one!

Last, we come to the personal reasons that we should pray. These reasons are not necessarily to gain an answer to our personal requests, but they do benefit us in ways we may not realize.  Praying can provide peace for us as described in Philippians 4:6, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Remember our lesson on the word "but",  we have a choice to make in a different direction.  We are anxious, BUT pray, we will gain peace!  James 5:16 states, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed." Prayer can bring healing, not specifically physical healing, but spiritual healing. If we place our life and circumstances in God's hand, we can obtain spiritual healing. Earlier in his book, James reminds us that God can give us wisdom if we ask, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." Even further, Romans 8:26 gives us encouragement for those times where we just can't find the words to pray. Sometimes we may be too worried or distraught to even mentally come up with the right prayer.  It is at these times, we can rely on the Holy Spirit.  "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."  I don't know how many times I have just said, "God, I just don't even know what to pray for right now in this situation, so please take care of it." I can take comfort knowing that at those times the Holy Spirit delivers that message to God for me. 

God desires prayer from us. He desires communication with us. God knows what we go through; He already knows our joys, concerns, worries, and problems, and how the issues will turn out, but He wants us to call out to Him in prayer and communication.  God is waiting to give us spiritual healing, give us peace and assurance and grow our faith through prayers to Him. If you feel you aren't able to pray, remember that the Spirit will intercede for you when you can't come up with the words! Also remember that God created each one of us and desires a relationship with each one of us!

God Speaks Now and Then

In the last post, I alluded to more words that God uses, including a four-letter word. This time, we will focus on the words "now" and "then" (the 4-letter word 😉).  The last post talked about two small words "but" and "yet" and how they were used often to re-write or change and contrast the entire meaning of a sentence or thought.  The words THEN and NOW cause similar changes in sentences.  Then and now can be thought of as words of action and words that propel the situation along. Let's take a look at some Scripture to see just how they are used by God. THEN often signifies a change in behavior or follows an action.

Ezekiel 18:30b says "Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall."
Once we choose (there's that word again) to turn away, then sin will not be the downfall.

Proverbs 1:23--"Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make known to you my teachings."  

Once we choose to repent, then God acts.....

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Amos 5:14 is another example--"Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is."

We choose to seek good, then the Lord.....

2 Chronicles 7:14--"If my own people will humbly pray and turn back to me and stop sinning, then I will answer them from heaven. I will forgive them and make their land fertile once again."

Choose to follow the commands at the start of this verse, then God answers....

After God speaks or moves, or acts, we then have a response. The word NOW often denotes that action has taken place and this is the result of our action. 

Romans 8:1--"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." God's action/reaction to our choice to follow Him is that NOW there is no eternal condemnation.

2 Timothy 4:7-8--"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day." Again, God's action/reaction to our finishing the race He has prepared for us is the reward of Heaven if we believe and follow Him.

I must give credit where credit is due for these last two blog posts. My husband brought up the verse I am going to list below.  It was a verse he had used and expounded upon in a sermon before and he was sharing it again with someone the other day. 

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Daniel 1:8-9--"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and  wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this  way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel".  This verse uses a couple of our new little words. In this verse we see a couple  things. We see action on the part of both Daniel and God. 

But Daniel chooses to not eat the King's food. He chooses to obey the commands of God. Now God acts upon that decision to obey.  But Daniel...Now God....

 Hopefully as you search the Scriptures on your own, you will notice these small   words and what an impact they have on the context of the verses. Above all, it seems we must make decisions and it is on those decisions that God acts or doesn't act. Yes, God created us and loves us and desires nothing but good for us, BUT (contrast coming) He may not choose to bless us until we choose to obey Him.

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God Speaks 3-Letter Words

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  Are you a linguist? Do you enjoy language? Language has never been my top   subject.  I've always enjoyed reading and was decent at grammar, but never really   understood the whole system of language and identifying parts of speech and how   it  worked together.  Recently, I have discovered a couple small 3-letter words that really pack a punch. These simple words are: YET and BUT.  I did a post a while   back on these little words here, but this post will hopefully provide a deeper   understanding. 

 The words YET and BUT are both conjunctions. Conjunctions are used in language to link two parts together. These parts may be similar or different.  Both of these words generally introduce a contrast in ideas, giving a more powerful contradiction.   I was surprised at the number of verses in the Bible using these small, but intense, words. A few of them will be highlighted.  One of my all-time favorite verses is Habakkuk 3:17-18. I included it in the previous post linked above, but will again include it here.  Verse 17 sets up the story and verse 18 packs the punch.

Habakkuk 3:17-18--"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stall, YET I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior."

Mark 8:36--"What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, YET forfeit their soul?"

1 John 1:6--"If we claim to have fellowship with him and YET walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth."

John 1:12--"YET some people accepted him and put their faith in him. So he gave them the right to be the children of God."

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The use of yet in all of these verses, besides showing some contrast in thoughts or actions, implies a choice that was made.  Habakkuk: things are going bad, "yet" I choose to rejoice. Mark: gain the whole word, "yet" I choose to lose my soul. I John: Claim to love God, "yet" I choose to walk in darkness.  John: "Yet" some people choose to accept Him.  Most of these verses also include a consequence. Let's look at a few more verses with the word "but". These same verses, besides showing contrast, imply choices.

Galatians 2:20a--"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, BUT Christ lives in me." 

Matthew 24:13--"BUT the one who stands firm to the end will be saved."

Romans 6:23--"For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

2 Thessalonians 3:3--"BUT the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one."

Galatians: "But" Christ chooses to live in us. Matthew: "But" we choose to stand firm. Romans: "But" God chooses to give us eternal life. 2 Thessalonians: "But" God chooses to be faithful. These small words mean so much.  

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We have choices to make in our relationship with God. God then has responses that He chooses to give.  God does not simply put us into existence with a pre-determined will to obey Him.  Once Adam and Eve made their choice and brought sin into the world, God could have stopped it right there. God could have said, "That's it! Humans make bad choices. I'm done!" In Noah's generation, God could have chosen again to destroy everything and everyone!  He chose to save Noah and his family because they chose Him. Had God, at any point, chosen to wipe out the entire earth, you and I would not be here today, but God knew we were coming to the world and He chose to keep the world going so that He could choose to fellowship with us!  Just remember:  God chose you, He is just waiting for you to choose Him!

Next time we will look at another 3-letter word and maybe one with 4-letters as well! Stay tuned to read more about choices and the rewards or consequences that go with them. 

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