Prayer is one of the foundational disciplines of a disciple. In John 15:4 Jesus tells his disciples “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” When the disciples said to Jesus, “Lord teach us how to pray,” it was because they knew that he was a man of profound devotion and prayer. They walked with him and talked with him. But perhaps more importantly for our study, they saw that he was a true man of prayer.
Pray like Jesus
Jesus is the primary example for prayer to his disciples. The Gospels tell us Jesus prayed at every major event in his life: his baptism (Luke 3:21); the choice of apostles (6:12-12); his transfiguration (9:29); before the cross at Gethsemane (22:39-40); and on the cross (23:46). And he continues in prayer for us. Hebrews 7:27 says, “He always lives to make intercessions for them.” He sets the example for us to follow.
Disciples are to follow Jesus’ example of prayer. Prayer is personal communion with the living God. It refers to the greatest privilege a Christian can have—access to God himself. Through prayer, disciples become intimate with the Lord.
It's personal
There are several keys to personal prayer. First, seek God with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:10-14). Second, schedule a daily prayer time. The important thing is to be consistent. Third, choose a private place to pray. A prayer closet could be anywhere, as long as it is private. Limit distractions. Last, the best way to learn how to pray is to do it!
A disciple is devoted to fellowship
When reading the book of Acts, we can see that the life of the early church revolved around fellowship. Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Fellowship is an intimate union in which Christians share. This is not just friendship, but also the deep bond that only Christians can know as the family of God. At the heart of the word for fellowship is the idea of participation together. The Christian life is living together in community with Christ and one another. The cultivation of fellowship is very important in living the Christian life.
Two are better than one
The Bible says that it is not good to be alone, and that two are better than one (Ecclesiastes 4:9). God made us for community and right relationship with others. Martin Luther said, "God has created man for fellowship, and not for solitariness." Disciples of Christ need one another to live for God in the world.
“Fellowship is one of the main ways disciples grow in the Lord.
”God has given believers the blessing of fellowship to provide a place for spiritual growth, intimacy, accountability, and protection. The church is a place where fellowship happens. It is not a building; it is the family of God and the body of Christ. The church is a spiritual family that supports and encourages believers. Through true fellowship, disciples experience and share the love of God with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Disciples also take part in discipling others through the blessing of fellowship. (The article by Winfield Bevins was taken from the Resurgence blog.) www.theresurgence.com
12/31/2010
11/24/2010
How To Pray Better In Public And In Private, Too by Tim Keller
The post was copied from the Redeemer Presbyterian Church website. www.redeemer.com
Years ago when I wanted to become more skillful in public prayer, I was fortunate to come across the collects of Thomas Cranmer, the writer of the original Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. The “collects” (the stress is on the first syllable)that Cranmer wrote were brief but extremely ‘packed’ little prayers that tied together the doctrine of the day to a particular way of living. They were prayed by the minister on behalf of the people, or prayed in unison by the whole congregation.
As I have read them over the years they have brought me two great benefits. First, they have given me a basic structure by which I can compose good public prayers, either ahead of time, or spontaneously. Cranmer’s collects consist of 5 parts:
1. The address - a name of God
2. The doctrine - a truth about God’s nature that is the basis for the prayer
3. The petition - what is being asked for
4. The aspiration - what good result will come if the request is granted
5. In Jesus’ name - this remembers the mediatorial role of Jesus
See this structure in Cranmer’s famous collect for the service of Holy Communion:
1.Almighty God
2.unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid,
3.cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit,
4.that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy name,
5.through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
See how the prayer moves from a doctrinal basis (why we can ask for it) to the petition (what we want) to the aspiration (what we will do with it if we get it.) It is remarkable how this combines solid theology with deep aspirations of the heart and concrete goals for our daily life.
As time has gone on I have come to use Cranmer’s collects in my personal devotional time (this is the second benefit.) I take up one collect at the beginning of each new week. I read Paul Zahl’s volume The Collects of Thomas Cranmer (Eerdmans, 1999) that provides a very short explanation and meditation on the prayer. Then I pray that prayer to God reflectively every morning for the rest of the week as I begin my personal time with God. I commend this practice to you. Here are a couple of my favorites:
Blessed Lord, who has caused all holy Scripture to be written for our learning; grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them; that by patience and comfort of thy holy word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of eternal life, which thou hast given us in our savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Almighty God, who dost make the minds of all faithful men to be of one will; grant unto thy people, that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise, that among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may be surely fixed where true joys are to be found, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God, which hast prepared to them that love thee such good things as pass all man’s understanding; Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we loving thee in all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy, forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid and giving unto us that which our prayer dare not presume to ask; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity, that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love that which thou does command; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Years ago when I wanted to become more skillful in public prayer, I was fortunate to come across the collects of Thomas Cranmer, the writer of the original Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. The “collects” (the stress is on the first syllable)that Cranmer wrote were brief but extremely ‘packed’ little prayers that tied together the doctrine of the day to a particular way of living. They were prayed by the minister on behalf of the people, or prayed in unison by the whole congregation.
As I have read them over the years they have brought me two great benefits. First, they have given me a basic structure by which I can compose good public prayers, either ahead of time, or spontaneously. Cranmer’s collects consist of 5 parts:
1. The address - a name of God
2. The doctrine - a truth about God’s nature that is the basis for the prayer
3. The petition - what is being asked for
4. The aspiration - what good result will come if the request is granted
5. In Jesus’ name - this remembers the mediatorial role of Jesus
See this structure in Cranmer’s famous collect for the service of Holy Communion:
1.Almighty God
2.unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid,
3.cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit,
4.that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy name,
5.through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
See how the prayer moves from a doctrinal basis (why we can ask for it) to the petition (what we want) to the aspiration (what we will do with it if we get it.) It is remarkable how this combines solid theology with deep aspirations of the heart and concrete goals for our daily life.
As time has gone on I have come to use Cranmer’s collects in my personal devotional time (this is the second benefit.) I take up one collect at the beginning of each new week. I read Paul Zahl’s volume The Collects of Thomas Cranmer (Eerdmans, 1999) that provides a very short explanation and meditation on the prayer. Then I pray that prayer to God reflectively every morning for the rest of the week as I begin my personal time with God. I commend this practice to you. Here are a couple of my favorites:
Blessed Lord, who has caused all holy Scripture to be written for our learning; grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them; that by patience and comfort of thy holy word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of eternal life, which thou hast given us in our savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Almighty God, who dost make the minds of all faithful men to be of one will; grant unto thy people, that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise, that among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may be surely fixed where true joys are to be found, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God, which hast prepared to them that love thee such good things as pass all man’s understanding; Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we loving thee in all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy, forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid and giving unto us that which our prayer dare not presume to ask; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity, that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love that which thou does command; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
9/15/2010
A Prayer Life That Nourishes Your Relationship To God by Tim Keller
This post was copied from the Redeemer Presbyterian Church website www.redeemer.com
"Every year I look forward to the slower pace of the summer months because of the opportunity it gives me to re-invigorate my prayer life. It's not that I don't pray during the year, but rarely, in the press of hectic scheduling, am I able to consistently devote the hours necessary to reawaken the intimacy with God that not only I crave, but which is my only defense against burnout.
Just as the old discussion of quality time versus quantity time with your family is a red herring (there IS no quality time, except that which occurs in the midst of a large quantity of time), so with God. The richness of my experience of God in prayer only occurs in the midst of much time set aside to be with him. That said, there are several other things I do which might be helpful to some of you who also will have increased flexibility of time in the coming months, and who want to connect with God in a deeper way.
The main way I do this is to seek an increase in the amount of my meditation. It is no accident that the first two Psalms in the Psalter are not prayers per se, but rather meditations. In fact the very first Psalm, the doorway into the prayer book of the Bible, is a meditation on meditation. Why? We are being taught that while it is certainly possible for deep experiences of the presence and power of God to hap pen in innumerable ways, the ordinary way for 'going deeper' spiritually is through meditation. It is in meditation that we get into deeper self-surrender, then into higher, clearer faith-sights of his beauty, and finally into powerful, dynamic prayer for the world.
What is meditation?
In most Protestant traditions, the 'personal devotional' life consists of two parts: Bible study and prayer. But meditation is neither and both. The Puritan Richard Baxter wrote: "Solemn or stated meditation is distinguished from the study of the word, wherein our principle aim is to learn the truth; and also from prayer, whereof God himself is the immediate object. But meditation is the affecting of our own hearts and minds with love, delight, and humility toward the things contained [in the Word]."
An example of meditation is found in Psalm 103:1-2: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Notice that this is not the same thing as prayer. He is not speaking directly to God, though it is clear that David is extremely aware of being in the presence of God. The object of the meditation is his own heart. David is 'talking to himself' - to his soul. But the subject of the meditation is truth about God - "forget not all his benefits."
Obviously, David has not intellectually forgotten that God has forgiven his sins, redeemed his life, and so on (Ps.103:2ff.) Rather, he is taking Biblical truths and driving them into his own heart until it is affected, delighted, and changed by them. Peter Toon has written that meditation is the descent of the mind with Biblical truth into the inmost heart until the whole being yearns for God.
The kind of meditation we see in the Psalms is neither the anti-rational 'spirituality' of New Age religion, nor is it the over-rational 'spirituality' of much modern evangelical religion. On the one hand, New Age religion takes its cues from Eastern philosophy and thinks of meditation as a calm, serene emptying of the mind of all rational thought. David's meditation, however, is furiously rational. "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?" he says in Psalm 42, literally arguing and reasoning with his heart. On the other hand, much evangelical religion is afraid of any mystical, experiential element. It conceives of a 'devotional life' as only the study of the Bible and then prayer for the strength to practice it. David's meditation, however, is deeply mystical. "One thing I seek - to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord" (Ps.27:4). He is looking for a transformation of the affections of his heart as he prays.
Jonathan Edwards speaks of this very thing in his own practice of meditation. "In reading [the Scripture] I seemed often to see so much light, that I could not get along in reading - almost every sentence seemed to be full of wonders....I...found, from time to time, an inward sweetness, that used, as it were, to carry me away in my contemplations. I felt alone... sweetly conversing with Christ, and wrapped and swallowed up in God. The sense I had of divine things, would often of a sudden as it were, kindle up a sweet burning in my heart; an ardor of my soul, that I know not how to express..." Notice how his meditation ("contemplations") on the Word led into a deep sense of intimacy in prayer. That is why a Psalm on meditation begins the Biblical book on prayer.
How to meditate
Of course, the best way to learn to do anything is to watch a "master" at work. If you read Psalms 1, 42, 77, 103, and 119 you get this very thing. However, we all need to begin as beginners. There is no better 'Beginner's Guide to Meditation' than the model that Martin Luther gave in his letter "A Simple Way to Pray" written to his barber, Peter Beskendorf, in 1535. Luther directed that we should "warm the heart up" through meditation before we prayed. Based on Luther's insights, I use the following outline for a short (30 minutes or less) time of Bible reading, meditation, and prayer. After reading a portion of the Bible slowly, and choosing one or two things or insights that especially helped me, I take each insight and ask the following questions:
1.Adoration - How can I love and praise God on the basis of this? What do I see here that I can praise him for?
2.Repentance - How do I fail to realize this in my life? What wrong behavior, harmful emotions or attitudes result when I forget this?
3.Gospel Thanks - How can I thank Jesus as the ultimate revelation of this attribute of God (#1) and the ultimate answer to this sin or need of mine (#2)?
4.Aspiration- How does this show me what I should or can be and do? How would I be different if this truth were powerfully real to me?
After I have thought out and at least sketchily written out answers to each question, then I proceed to pray my praises, confessions, and supplications to God directly. Often, as you are meditating, or as you are praying, you may feel your heart warm or even melt with a spiritual sense of the reality of God. Sometimes, of course, nothing happens at all! And very rarely, you can have life-changing experiences of the presence of God that you never forget. The number and power of these encounters are completely out of your control. The Spirit blows wherever he pleases (Jn 3:8). But it has only been with the practice of meditation that my own experience of God's reality has become at all regular and progressively deeper.
"Blessed is the man [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." (Psalm 1:1,3)"
"Every year I look forward to the slower pace of the summer months because of the opportunity it gives me to re-invigorate my prayer life. It's not that I don't pray during the year, but rarely, in the press of hectic scheduling, am I able to consistently devote the hours necessary to reawaken the intimacy with God that not only I crave, but which is my only defense against burnout.
Just as the old discussion of quality time versus quantity time with your family is a red herring (there IS no quality time, except that which occurs in the midst of a large quantity of time), so with God. The richness of my experience of God in prayer only occurs in the midst of much time set aside to be with him. That said, there are several other things I do which might be helpful to some of you who also will have increased flexibility of time in the coming months, and who want to connect with God in a deeper way.
The main way I do this is to seek an increase in the amount of my meditation. It is no accident that the first two Psalms in the Psalter are not prayers per se, but rather meditations. In fact the very first Psalm, the doorway into the prayer book of the Bible, is a meditation on meditation. Why? We are being taught that while it is certainly possible for deep experiences of the presence and power of God to hap pen in innumerable ways, the ordinary way for 'going deeper' spiritually is through meditation. It is in meditation that we get into deeper self-surrender, then into higher, clearer faith-sights of his beauty, and finally into powerful, dynamic prayer for the world.
What is meditation?
In most Protestant traditions, the 'personal devotional' life consists of two parts: Bible study and prayer. But meditation is neither and both. The Puritan Richard Baxter wrote: "Solemn or stated meditation is distinguished from the study of the word, wherein our principle aim is to learn the truth; and also from prayer, whereof God himself is the immediate object. But meditation is the affecting of our own hearts and minds with love, delight, and humility toward the things contained [in the Word]."
An example of meditation is found in Psalm 103:1-2: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Notice that this is not the same thing as prayer. He is not speaking directly to God, though it is clear that David is extremely aware of being in the presence of God. The object of the meditation is his own heart. David is 'talking to himself' - to his soul. But the subject of the meditation is truth about God - "forget not all his benefits."
Obviously, David has not intellectually forgotten that God has forgiven his sins, redeemed his life, and so on (Ps.103:2ff.) Rather, he is taking Biblical truths and driving them into his own heart until it is affected, delighted, and changed by them. Peter Toon has written that meditation is the descent of the mind with Biblical truth into the inmost heart until the whole being yearns for God.
The kind of meditation we see in the Psalms is neither the anti-rational 'spirituality' of New Age religion, nor is it the over-rational 'spirituality' of much modern evangelical religion. On the one hand, New Age religion takes its cues from Eastern philosophy and thinks of meditation as a calm, serene emptying of the mind of all rational thought. David's meditation, however, is furiously rational. "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?" he says in Psalm 42, literally arguing and reasoning with his heart. On the other hand, much evangelical religion is afraid of any mystical, experiential element. It conceives of a 'devotional life' as only the study of the Bible and then prayer for the strength to practice it. David's meditation, however, is deeply mystical. "One thing I seek - to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord" (Ps.27:4). He is looking for a transformation of the affections of his heart as he prays.
Jonathan Edwards speaks of this very thing in his own practice of meditation. "In reading [the Scripture] I seemed often to see so much light, that I could not get along in reading - almost every sentence seemed to be full of wonders....I...found, from time to time, an inward sweetness, that used, as it were, to carry me away in my contemplations. I felt alone... sweetly conversing with Christ, and wrapped and swallowed up in God. The sense I had of divine things, would often of a sudden as it were, kindle up a sweet burning in my heart; an ardor of my soul, that I know not how to express..." Notice how his meditation ("contemplations") on the Word led into a deep sense of intimacy in prayer. That is why a Psalm on meditation begins the Biblical book on prayer.
How to meditate
Of course, the best way to learn to do anything is to watch a "master" at work. If you read Psalms 1, 42, 77, 103, and 119 you get this very thing. However, we all need to begin as beginners. There is no better 'Beginner's Guide to Meditation' than the model that Martin Luther gave in his letter "A Simple Way to Pray" written to his barber, Peter Beskendorf, in 1535. Luther directed that we should "warm the heart up" through meditation before we prayed. Based on Luther's insights, I use the following outline for a short (30 minutes or less) time of Bible reading, meditation, and prayer. After reading a portion of the Bible slowly, and choosing one or two things or insights that especially helped me, I take each insight and ask the following questions:
1.Adoration - How can I love and praise God on the basis of this? What do I see here that I can praise him for?
2.Repentance - How do I fail to realize this in my life? What wrong behavior, harmful emotions or attitudes result when I forget this?
3.Gospel Thanks - How can I thank Jesus as the ultimate revelation of this attribute of God (#1) and the ultimate answer to this sin or need of mine (#2)?
4.Aspiration- How does this show me what I should or can be and do? How would I be different if this truth were powerfully real to me?
After I have thought out and at least sketchily written out answers to each question, then I proceed to pray my praises, confessions, and supplications to God directly. Often, as you are meditating, or as you are praying, you may feel your heart warm or even melt with a spiritual sense of the reality of God. Sometimes, of course, nothing happens at all! And very rarely, you can have life-changing experiences of the presence of God that you never forget. The number and power of these encounters are completely out of your control. The Spirit blows wherever he pleases (Jn 3:8). But it has only been with the practice of meditation that my own experience of God's reality has become at all regular and progressively deeper.
"Blessed is the man [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." (Psalm 1:1,3)"
8/15/2010
Mathew Henry: Give Honor to the Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
I must give honor to the three persons in the Godhead distinctly, to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that great and sacred Name into which I was baptized and in which I assemble for religious worship, in communion with the universal church.
I pay my homage to three that testify in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; for these three are one. 1 John 5:7(KJV)
I adore you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, Matthew 11:25(ESV) and the eternal Word, who was in the beginning with God and was God, through him all things were made, and without him was not any thing made that was made; John 1:1-3(ESV) and who in the fullness of time, Galatians 4:4(ESV) became flesh and dwelt among us and showed his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14(ESV)
And since it is the will of God that all men should honor the Son, just as they honor the Father, John 5:23(ESV) I adore him as the radiance of his Father’s glory and the exact imprint of his nature; Hebrews 1:3(ESV) herein joining with the angels of God, who were all bidden to worship him. Hebrews 1:6(ESV)
I pay homage to the exalted Redeemer, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth, Revelation 1:5(ESV) confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:11(ESV)
I also worship the Holy Spirit, the Helper, whom the Son has sent from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, John 15:26(ESV) and who is sent to teach me all things and to bring all things to my remembrance; John 14:26(ESV) who indited the Scriptures, holy men of God writing them as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:21(ESV)
I pay my homage to three that testify in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; for these three are one. 1 John 5:7(KJV)
I adore you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, Matthew 11:25(ESV) and the eternal Word, who was in the beginning with God and was God, through him all things were made, and without him was not any thing made that was made; John 1:1-3(ESV) and who in the fullness of time, Galatians 4:4(ESV) became flesh and dwelt among us and showed his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14(ESV)
And since it is the will of God that all men should honor the Son, just as they honor the Father, John 5:23(ESV) I adore him as the radiance of his Father’s glory and the exact imprint of his nature; Hebrews 1:3(ESV) herein joining with the angels of God, who were all bidden to worship him. Hebrews 1:6(ESV)
I pay homage to the exalted Redeemer, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth, Revelation 1:5(ESV) confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:11(ESV)
I also worship the Holy Spirit, the Helper, whom the Son has sent from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, John 15:26(ESV) and who is sent to teach me all things and to bring all things to my remembrance; John 14:26(ESV) who indited the Scriptures, holy men of God writing them as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:21(ESV)
8/08/2010
Parying The Six D's by Jon Bloom
A few years back I wrote about the 5 "D's" I pray for daily. Recently, I added a sixth: desperation. I need to feel continually my desperate need for God.
Whatever it takes, Lord, give me...
Delight in you as the greatest treasure of my heart.
Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
Desire to know you, be with you, and seek your kingdom above all else.
Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
Discernment that comes from a renewed mind that I might know your will.
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14)
Desperation because when I stop feeling my need for you I tend to wander.
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. (Psalm 119:67)
Discipline to plan for what I discern as your will.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)
Diligence to do your will with all my heart.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
Whatever it takes, Lord, give me...
Delight in you as the greatest treasure of my heart.
Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
Desire to know you, be with you, and seek your kingdom above all else.
Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
Discernment that comes from a renewed mind that I might know your will.
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14)
Desperation because when I stop feeling my need for you I tend to wander.
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. (Psalm 119:67)
Discipline to plan for what I discern as your will.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)
Diligence to do your will with all my heart.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
7/30/2010
Dudley Hall on Kingdom Prayer
This post is an excerpt from Dudley Hall's monthly message entitled, Praying As Sons, June 2010. You can get read this message in it's entirety by going to Dudley's website. Dudley has been a tremendous help to me on my spiritual journey since 1983. www.sclm.org - Bobby
"Prayer is talking and listening and waiting in the presence of the Father. What could be more satisfying than visiting with the person who knows everything and is essentially good? The more we know him, the more we will love him, and that love is the highest form of life. Prayer then is not primarily a duty. It is the high privilege that sons have because of Jesus’ work.
Prayer is a partnership. One day the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. This is interesting because they probably already knew how to go to the temple and pray. They knew the posture and the words, but when they watched Jesus pray, they knew something was different. They wanted to be able to fellowship with the Father like Jesus did. He granted their request with the model prayer.
“When you pray, say, ‘Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven….’” Jesus was telling them that they would participate in the expression of the kingdom of God, which had come to earth in him.
Remember, the first man was given partnership with God. Now the last Adam was restoring the dignity destroyed by sin. The followers of Jesus would work with God by praying his kingdom into the earth.
So how would praying the kingdom to come look?
For government, we can pray that God will lead the leaders to make clear and simple laws that will protect the citizens from internal and external oppression, and free them to manage their own lives with opportunity to trade with each other. That is the purpose of government in society.
For the church, we can pray that it will awaken to its societal responsibilities of defining and declaring truth while equipping its members to demonstrate the kingdom of God in every sphere of influence. If it gets distracted from this role, all of society will suffer.
For the home, we can pray that families will model the family of God with mutual submission and clear division of labor, that the members will be nurtured and empowered to discover their destiny in relation to God’s purpose.
For individuals, we can pray for unbelievers to have their eyes opened to see the gospel in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:3-5). We can pray for believers to have eyes opened to see their inheritance in Christ and to walk in it. Both have a “seeing” problem we can address in prayer. Remember, when we pray, God sends lightening and thunder. They can see and hear the truth that will set them free.
This is a day when God is calling his people to take seriously their privilege in prayer. We are partners with him."
"Prayer is talking and listening and waiting in the presence of the Father. What could be more satisfying than visiting with the person who knows everything and is essentially good? The more we know him, the more we will love him, and that love is the highest form of life. Prayer then is not primarily a duty. It is the high privilege that sons have because of Jesus’ work.
Prayer is a partnership. One day the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. This is interesting because they probably already knew how to go to the temple and pray. They knew the posture and the words, but when they watched Jesus pray, they knew something was different. They wanted to be able to fellowship with the Father like Jesus did. He granted their request with the model prayer.
“When you pray, say, ‘Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven….’” Jesus was telling them that they would participate in the expression of the kingdom of God, which had come to earth in him.
Remember, the first man was given partnership with God. Now the last Adam was restoring the dignity destroyed by sin. The followers of Jesus would work with God by praying his kingdom into the earth.
So how would praying the kingdom to come look?
For government, we can pray that God will lead the leaders to make clear and simple laws that will protect the citizens from internal and external oppression, and free them to manage their own lives with opportunity to trade with each other. That is the purpose of government in society.
For the church, we can pray that it will awaken to its societal responsibilities of defining and declaring truth while equipping its members to demonstrate the kingdom of God in every sphere of influence. If it gets distracted from this role, all of society will suffer.
For the home, we can pray that families will model the family of God with mutual submission and clear division of labor, that the members will be nurtured and empowered to discover their destiny in relation to God’s purpose.
For individuals, we can pray for unbelievers to have their eyes opened to see the gospel in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:3-5). We can pray for believers to have eyes opened to see their inheritance in Christ and to walk in it. Both have a “seeing” problem we can address in prayer. Remember, when we pray, God sends lightening and thunder. They can see and hear the truth that will set them free.
This is a day when God is calling his people to take seriously their privilege in prayer. We are partners with him."
7/25/2010
First, You Listen
First, You Listen
Discover the key to seeking what's on God's heart
by Lee Brase
Several years ago, God urged me to develop a deeper prayer life. I chose as my mentors the praying people of the Bible. Their words gave me a language for my own prayers. They also taught me other valuable lessons. One of them was the need to listen to God–to wait on Him–before and as I pray.
This attitude of listening was a challenge to my activist tendencies. But as I studied my mentors from Scripture. I became convinced that the habit of waiting on God was key to a transformed prayer life.
Waiting in Silence
"My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation. . . . My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him" (Ps. 62:1, 5, NASB). There are different ways to wait on God, but perhaps the most intense is the one described here by David: waiting in silence. When we wait in silence, we give God an opportunity to communicate His thoughts to us. David closes Psalm 62 with two thoughts that God spoke to him during his silence: "Power belongs to God" and "Lovingkindness is Thine, O Lord" (vv. 11-12, NASB). Though distressed by his circumstances and the wickedness of men, David found assurance in the character of God because he took time to listen to God.
A group of us were trying to learn to pray from God's heart rather than from our own thoughts and emotions. One person described a very difficult home environment. Our first inclination was to rush into prayer to ask God to rescue our friend from her painful circumstances. Instead, however, we spent several minutes in silence to do what David did in Ps. 131:2: "I have stilled and quieted my soul." In that silence, we asked God to prompt our hearts and minds to know what He wanted us to pray.
It was amazing how united we were in our asking. For about 15 minutes we built upon each others' prayers. When we finished praying, I turned to our friend and asked: "Did you notice what God did not lead us to pray?" Her immediate response was, "I certainly did. I think God must want to change me rather than my circumstances." We had entered the silence expecting God to use our prayers to change her circumstances, but God had something more important in mind for her. To accomplish His purpose, God changed what we asked of Him.
A Listening Attitude
Asking is the easy part of prayer; knowing what to ask is the difficult part. That's why waiting on God is so critical when we intercede for one another.
How can you learn to listen to God before you rush into asking? Begin by placing yourself in a listening attitude. Think of a time when you were listening intently to someone. You focused your attention on them, you were quiet, and you absorbed their thoughts. That's what you can do with God.
Solomon urged, "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God" (Eccl. 5:2). Instead of blurting out your list of requests, enter into this silence and stillness with one question: "Lord, what do You want me to ask of You concerning the need before me?" Expect God to remind you of a Scripture passage or to put a thought in your mind. If you have already decided what you think God wants to say, you will close your heart to any other thoughts from Him, so give Him the opportunity to say anything He wants to you.
There is great safety when a group takes the time and effort to work toward finding God's will in prayer. From time to time, my wife and I do this with Mt. 18:19 in mind: "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven." After a time of silence, we make a list of prayer requests that we agree we need to see God act on. By listening to God and coming to agreement, we enter prayer with greater faith and fervor.
Where's your focus?
Another key to listening to God is to focus your attention on Him. The most powerful prayer meetings I have experienced have been the ones where we focused first on God. The longer a group stays focused on God, the more united it is in prayer. Dwelling on God causes us to become absorbed in Him and His desires. This is a form of listening because our hearts are drawn into His heart and our wills are lost in His will.
David's prayer when he was running from Saul is recorded in Psalm 63. David was in great danger, and we'd expect his prayer to begin with cries for deliverance. But David was so absorbed in focusing on God that he didn't mention his distressing situation until the end of the psalm.
One way to focus on God is to look at how He has acted in biblical history. In Acts 4, Jesus' followers faced great danger. Their lives were threatened by the same people who had condemned and crucified Jesus a few months earlier. The disciples were told "not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus" (Acts 4:18).
What would you pray in these circumstances? I can imagine asking God, "Protect us from these evil people. Give us a more acceptable method to preach Jesus. Do away with those on the council. Don't let us get caught proclaiming Your name." But listen to what the disciples prayed (vv. 24-30).
Sovereign Lord . . . you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One." Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
These threatened believers probably didn't know what to ask when they first approached God. So they recalled a time in biblical history when people made threats against God. Then they traced God's response in history. The disciples saw that Jesus' suffering and death in the hands of rulers was something that God "decided beforehand should happen."
After reviewing how God's victorious plan had involved suffering, the disciples did not ask God for safety, comfort, or an easy way out. They gained the courage to ask for those things that would best advance God's kingdom during their time on earth. They made two requests: one for boldness and one for miraculous works to give their bold words credibility. God answered their prayer.
Reviewing God's work in history can be a form of listening when it is done to discern His plan and purpose. It helps us look beyond immediate needs to see how God might be using the present difficulties for eternal good.
From God's Heart to Yours
If we are to colabor with God through intercession, we need to learn to listen before we ask. Silence and waiting will not come easily at first, but as you practice this discipline, you will grow in it. Begin this week. During your time of intercession, wait silently before God before you speak. Begin with short segments of silence: They will expand as you become more comfortable with waiting. In time, you will discover that your prayers are coming right from the heart of God. You will be part of the magnificent process described by S. D. Gordon in his book Quiet Talks on Prayer:
It begins in the heart of God, sweeps down into a human heart upon the earth, so intersecting the circle of the earth, which is the battlefield of prayer, and then it goes back again to its starting point, having accomplished its purpose.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the author:
Lee Brase is the director of The Navigators' Prayer Ministry, a member of the National Prayer Committee, and member of the facilitating team for Pastors' Prayer Summits.
Lee coauthored, with Henry Helsabeck, the Bible study guide Praying from God's Heart (NavPress). He likes being with people who "know how to live a relaxed lifestyle among the lost."
Discover the key to seeking what's on God's heart
by Lee Brase
Several years ago, God urged me to develop a deeper prayer life. I chose as my mentors the praying people of the Bible. Their words gave me a language for my own prayers. They also taught me other valuable lessons. One of them was the need to listen to God–to wait on Him–before and as I pray.
This attitude of listening was a challenge to my activist tendencies. But as I studied my mentors from Scripture. I became convinced that the habit of waiting on God was key to a transformed prayer life.
Waiting in Silence
"My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation. . . . My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him" (Ps. 62:1, 5, NASB). There are different ways to wait on God, but perhaps the most intense is the one described here by David: waiting in silence. When we wait in silence, we give God an opportunity to communicate His thoughts to us. David closes Psalm 62 with two thoughts that God spoke to him during his silence: "Power belongs to God" and "Lovingkindness is Thine, O Lord" (vv. 11-12, NASB). Though distressed by his circumstances and the wickedness of men, David found assurance in the character of God because he took time to listen to God.
A group of us were trying to learn to pray from God's heart rather than from our own thoughts and emotions. One person described a very difficult home environment. Our first inclination was to rush into prayer to ask God to rescue our friend from her painful circumstances. Instead, however, we spent several minutes in silence to do what David did in Ps. 131:2: "I have stilled and quieted my soul." In that silence, we asked God to prompt our hearts and minds to know what He wanted us to pray.
It was amazing how united we were in our asking. For about 15 minutes we built upon each others' prayers. When we finished praying, I turned to our friend and asked: "Did you notice what God did not lead us to pray?" Her immediate response was, "I certainly did. I think God must want to change me rather than my circumstances." We had entered the silence expecting God to use our prayers to change her circumstances, but God had something more important in mind for her. To accomplish His purpose, God changed what we asked of Him.
A Listening Attitude
Asking is the easy part of prayer; knowing what to ask is the difficult part. That's why waiting on God is so critical when we intercede for one another.
How can you learn to listen to God before you rush into asking? Begin by placing yourself in a listening attitude. Think of a time when you were listening intently to someone. You focused your attention on them, you were quiet, and you absorbed their thoughts. That's what you can do with God.
Solomon urged, "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God" (Eccl. 5:2). Instead of blurting out your list of requests, enter into this silence and stillness with one question: "Lord, what do You want me to ask of You concerning the need before me?" Expect God to remind you of a Scripture passage or to put a thought in your mind. If you have already decided what you think God wants to say, you will close your heart to any other thoughts from Him, so give Him the opportunity to say anything He wants to you.
There is great safety when a group takes the time and effort to work toward finding God's will in prayer. From time to time, my wife and I do this with Mt. 18:19 in mind: "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven." After a time of silence, we make a list of prayer requests that we agree we need to see God act on. By listening to God and coming to agreement, we enter prayer with greater faith and fervor.
Where's your focus?
Another key to listening to God is to focus your attention on Him. The most powerful prayer meetings I have experienced have been the ones where we focused first on God. The longer a group stays focused on God, the more united it is in prayer. Dwelling on God causes us to become absorbed in Him and His desires. This is a form of listening because our hearts are drawn into His heart and our wills are lost in His will.
David's prayer when he was running from Saul is recorded in Psalm 63. David was in great danger, and we'd expect his prayer to begin with cries for deliverance. But David was so absorbed in focusing on God that he didn't mention his distressing situation until the end of the psalm.
One way to focus on God is to look at how He has acted in biblical history. In Acts 4, Jesus' followers faced great danger. Their lives were threatened by the same people who had condemned and crucified Jesus a few months earlier. The disciples were told "not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus" (Acts 4:18).
What would you pray in these circumstances? I can imagine asking God, "Protect us from these evil people. Give us a more acceptable method to preach Jesus. Do away with those on the council. Don't let us get caught proclaiming Your name." But listen to what the disciples prayed (vv. 24-30).
Sovereign Lord . . . you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One." Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
These threatened believers probably didn't know what to ask when they first approached God. So they recalled a time in biblical history when people made threats against God. Then they traced God's response in history. The disciples saw that Jesus' suffering and death in the hands of rulers was something that God "decided beforehand should happen."
After reviewing how God's victorious plan had involved suffering, the disciples did not ask God for safety, comfort, or an easy way out. They gained the courage to ask for those things that would best advance God's kingdom during their time on earth. They made two requests: one for boldness and one for miraculous works to give their bold words credibility. God answered their prayer.
Reviewing God's work in history can be a form of listening when it is done to discern His plan and purpose. It helps us look beyond immediate needs to see how God might be using the present difficulties for eternal good.
From God's Heart to Yours
If we are to colabor with God through intercession, we need to learn to listen before we ask. Silence and waiting will not come easily at first, but as you practice this discipline, you will grow in it. Begin this week. During your time of intercession, wait silently before God before you speak. Begin with short segments of silence: They will expand as you become more comfortable with waiting. In time, you will discover that your prayers are coming right from the heart of God. You will be part of the magnificent process described by S. D. Gordon in his book Quiet Talks on Prayer:
It begins in the heart of God, sweeps down into a human heart upon the earth, so intersecting the circle of the earth, which is the battlefield of prayer, and then it goes back again to its starting point, having accomplished its purpose.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the author:
Lee Brase is the director of The Navigators' Prayer Ministry, a member of the National Prayer Committee, and member of the facilitating team for Pastors' Prayer Summits.
Lee coauthored, with Henry Helsabeck, the Bible study guide Praying from God's Heart (NavPress). He likes being with people who "know how to live a relaxed lifestyle among the lost."
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