prayer Posts

And the Angels were Silent – Saturday in the tomb

07 Apr , 2012 No Comments

“He put Jesus’ body in a new tomb that he had cut out of rock, and he rolled a very large stone to block the entrance of the tomb.” Matthew 27:60

How quiet it is on Saturday before Easter. How sad it is. How despairing it must have been for those who had seen their teacher, their friend, and their hope die right before them. All of creation held its breath to see what would happen next. All of heaven peered toward earth to see how we would respond. And God didn’t move. Not one word; not even a sign. Have you ever been there? You had great expectations that God was up to something big, something life changing, and then…nothing. Have you ever put all of your hopes in a person or in yourself, only to see them come crashing down before you? Then you know how the disciples must have felt.

They had all run away scared. They couldn’t believe it. Their leader, their master was dead. He was really dead! It was all over. No hope, nowhere to turn, no plans. On Saturday all they could do was run for their lives and hide out hoping no one would find them. Do you ever think God is silent? Do you ever pray thinking it doesn’t get past the ceiling? Let Easter Saturday serve as a lesson for every day of the year. God may seem to be silent, but in reality, He’s about to bring about His greatest work! If you ever wonder if He’s at work on your behalf, ponder the difference between Saturday and Sunday. Remember, God may seem slow, but He’s never late.

Pray: Lord, I confess I have not trusted You in Your silence. I want You to work in my time and in ways that don’t require a lot of waiting and wondering. I realize that when You are silent is when You will soon show your greatest work. And when You are silent, I can show my greatest faith and trust in You.

Praying the Seven Last Words of Christ

04 Apr , 2012 No Comments

I love this. In keeping with a series of messages I’ve been preaching at PCBC, I want you to see this post by Mark Wilson. Meditate on it. What a way to pray. Beautiful.

It is significant that Jesus prayed from the cross. Here he was, experiencing the worst torture a human being can endure, and through it all – he prayed.
Most of us, in that moment of anguish, would succumb to the suffering, and our prayers would be diminished to one word: “Help!” Looking back upon the worst moments of my life, I’d have to say “Help!” is the most sincere prayer I’ve ever uttered. Yet, Jesus went beyond a prayer for help at Golgotha. His prayers from the cross reveal the intensity of his pain – yet, a deep love pouring from his heart. Instead of being consumed with himself, he turned his focus to God and others. The old adage states, “We all have our cross to bear.” In our moments of anguish, we can look to Jesus, and see how he responded in his darkest valley. A review of Good Friday events shows that Jesus did three things:

1) He pressed into prayer.
2) He poured out love.
3) He surrendered all to God.

What an example for us! In deep sorrow and suffering, we, too, can press into prayer, pour out love, and surrender all to God.

The prayers of Christ from the cross serve as an excellent model for our praying during this Holy Week:

1) Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)
Are you holding bitterness and resentment in your heart? Who has wronged you? Are you struggling to forgive? If you can’t bring yourself to forgive them, ask God to do the forgiving for you. Forgiveness is for our own benefit. Carrying resentment is like swallowing poison and hoping the other person will die.

2) Today you will be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43)
Who is lost, broken and hurting? Pray for those who are suffering from their own decisions. Rather than judge them, love them. Remember we all need grace, and our past mistakes do not necessarily dictate our future. Focus on the life beyond this life, and how God’s love draws us to where we need to be. Trust those who are wandering to God’s care.

3) Behold your mother. (John 19:26-27)
Are you so consumed with your own pain that you are neglecting those closest you? What do your dearest loved ones need from you? Do you know how they’re doing? Pray for them. Love them deeply. Show them your concern.

4) My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mat. 27:46, Mark 15:34)
Admit your deep despair and loneliness. Where and when do you feel rejected and forsaken? This prayer comes from Psalm 22. Remind yourself that Psalm 23 follows immediately. We are never alone. In the darkest valley, God is with us.

5) I thirst. (John 19:28)
What is your deep seated thirst? What do you think you need to survive? Thirst for praise? Thirst for acceptance? Thirst for significance? Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

6) It is finished. (John 19:30)
What needs finishing in your life? What have you begun, but not completed? What is God’s calling for you – his unique mission? Are you following it? If not, what stands in the way? What parts of you are still “under construction?” Be patient with others, they are still under construction too. “Be patient with me. God is not finished with me yet.”

7) Into your hands I commit my spirit. (Luke 23:46)
What do you need to release into God’s hands? Have you been trying to control outcomes and other people? Let them go. Release them into the hands of your loving father. Are you concerned about your future? Your past? Are you confused about your present situation? Are you struggling emotionally? Spiritually? Relationally? Physically? Surrender all to God.

The Day God Got Mad

02 Apr , 2012 No Comments

Holy Week- Monday

“My Temple will be called a house of prayer but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” Matthew 21:13

Most of us have the mental picture of Jesus as the Good Shepherd with a baby lamb on His shoulders, carrying it to safety. We think of the soft images of Jesus in the manger as a baby or as a grown up with children sitting in His lap. But there’s one picture few of us ponder very often. It’s the picture of Jesus on the Monday before His death storming through the temple like a wild man yelling at people to leave! In one of the most dramatic acts of His ministry, Jesus said more about the priority of prayer than in a hundred sermons on the subject. He actually did this twice in His ministry and the first time He made a whip out of cords and was thrashing people out of the temple.

Why was He so mad? As Jim Cymbala states in Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, “His house was being prostituted for purposes other than what was intended.” The Bible never says, “My house shall be called a house of preaching, or programs that suit me perfectly, or lots of great music.” No, He says His shall be a house of prayer. Cymbala says, “I’ve seen God do more in people’s lives in ten minutes of real prayer than in ten of my sermons.” Then he asks, “What does it say about our churches today that God birthed the church in a prayer meeting, and prayer meetings today are almost extinct?” What about you? Is prayer your first priority? Is your house a house of prayer? Is your life a life of prayer? Determine that it will be. Let’s let our first priority of the church be prayer!

“The prayers of an upright person accomplishes much.” Proverbs 15:8

Pray: Lord, I want prayer to be the first priority of my church and of my life. I don’t want to grieve Your heart because of prayerlessness in my life. I will devote time to pray to You every day. I will be in constant conversation with You today.

Why Forgive?

27 Feb , 2012 No Comments

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34  The first of seven phrases from Jesus on the cross is a prayer, not for Himself, but for His executioners.

Now, you think of someone you need to forgive.  But remember, we forgive people, persons, (individuals) not institutions or groups of people.  You forgive what they have done, not what they are.  And you can only forgive someone who has done something to you directly that has wounded you.

1. It breaks the chain of “ungrace”  Only grace breaks the cycle of retribution.  If Jesus had prayed, “Father, give them what they deserve” there would be no forgiveness- no grace.  Do you forgive others who are “executing/crucifying” you?  You see forgiveness has that maddening quality of being undeserved, unmerited, unfair.  But as I forgive, as you forgive, we break the law of retribution- the chain of ungrace is broken.     

2. It sets us free from anger  Often we think, “I have justifiable pain!”  This is simply another way of saying, “I will not forgive.” 

3. It sets the offender free  Forgiving does not remove our scars any more than a funeral takes away all of our grief.  We often carry a scar even after the wound has been healed.  But if we continue to have resentment over time, we are “feeling again” the pain caused and our response in hatred.  “Forgiveness” in the Greek means, literally, “to release, to hurl away, to free yourself”.  You know you have forgiven the person when you release the person to God- and even hope for good.

4. It heals the relationship  Forgiveness brings life to the relationship again.  But, not always- Jesus forgave but not every one was reconciled.  Forgiveness doesn’t always mean reunion or reconciliation.  Sometimes we pay for our sin by being shunned, let go- we are left to our desires and pay the consequences.  

5. It sets us free to love again  One of the best books I’ve read on forgiveness is Lewis Smedes’, “The Art of Forgiveness”. In it he writes, “When we genuinely forgive, we set a prisoner free and then discover that the prisoner we set free was us.”

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”- Colossians 3:13   

Theologically, the Gospels give a straightforward answer as to why God asks us to forgive: because that is what God is like.  We are never more like Christ than when we forgive.  Why?  Because Christ has forgiven you.  We are to forgive “AS” HE has forgiven us.  How has He forgiven you?  Completely. Unconditionally. You cannot fully forgive until you’ve been forgiven.  Was Jesus’ prayer answered? Every prayer He ever prayed was answered.  You have been forgiven so that you might be one with God.

You and I cannot muster up forgiveness on our own.  We must allow Christ to transform us from selfish, prideful, unforgiving people into those who extend grace to others. But it begins when we embrace the One who is Perfect, the Giver of grace.

“The object of my faith is not personal change. It is the unchanging perfection of another Person.” Byron Yawn

 

Forgive.

Why Lent?

24 Feb , 2012 1 Comment

Growing up I didn’t know anything about Lent.  I only knew Lent as a strange “Catholic” practice. I’ve gained a broader picture of the Body of Christ through the study of Church history and I’ve been able to experience a deeper expression of prayer and worship as a result.  I want to help you do the same.  Most Protestants think of Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season as a “Catholic thing” while, in reality it was part of the early church’s consistent pattern of worship.  Our earliest known reference is that of Ireneus (who died in 202 A.D.).  What I’ve sought to do is strip the Lenten season of anything that is not biblical but maintain a simple and clear focus of prayer, repentance, and personal sacrifice.  I’ve heard many sermons on Christ’s instructions to pray when He says, “When you pray…” pray like this…  But He also says, “When you fast…” fast like this…  He didn’t say “if” you fast, but “when”.  Jesus expected His followers to pray, and at times, fast as a regular part of our spiritual pattern of worship.  Could it be that we (in the U.S. in particular) could learn a few things about giving up so much of what we want and dying to our selfish needs for more?  I am certain that prayer and fasting is greatly needed among believers- particularly in the affluent West.

What many have written off as “weird” (ashes on the forehead, giving up certain foods, etc.) I’ve sought to recapture in its purest biblical sense.  It is true that Ash Wednesday or “Lent” are not in the Bible (of course, neither are Christmas Eve services, Good Friday services, Advent, and so much of what others of us would call “normal”).  You don’t see “Easter Sunday” in the Bible either (because every Sunday is Easter Sunday- or better, Resurrection Sunday for the believer.

“Lent” may not be in the Bible but focused seasons of sacrifice, confession, and repentance clearly are.  In the church I grew up in we rushed to Easter Sunday without any preparation of the heart before God.  I’ve learned much from the larger Body of Christ as it relates to the spiritual disciplines solitude, prayer, and fasting. “Lent” of comes from the Middle English word “Lenten” which means “Spring”.  The Lenten or Easter Season is a focused time of confession and repentance from “Ash Wednesday” to Easter Sunday.  Forty Days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday (minus the Sundays leading up to Easter- because the early believers would not fast on Sundays).  Later many would go from Ash Wednesday to Maundy Thursday (forty days later).  Maundy comes from “mandatum”, meaning “mandate” or “command”.  Jesus said, “A new commandment” (mandatum nuevum) I give to you.”   So the Lenten season is a period of focused prayer and fasting (with a focus on confession, sacrifice, and repentance). Why forty Days?  Forty days shows up throughout the Bible.  Moses, Elijah, and Jesus (Luke 4:1-2) all fasted for forty days.

 “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19

The ashes are to remind you of your mortality and of the need to repent of sin in your life.  It was common for Jews and early believers to mourn the loss of a loved one with “sackcloth and ashes”.  Ashes were also a sign of brokenness and repentance of sin.  Confession of sin is a private thing between you and God.  It is not something to be paraded around and seen by everyone but a private moment between you and your Savior.

Fasting is the act of the will through which the follower of Jesus puts forth spiritual control over the flesh (through sacrifice- i.e. not eating, or some other form of self-denial) with a view to a more personal and powerful experience with God in prayer.  Fasting involves giving up but is much more about receiving.  You give up in order to receive.  You die in order to live.

 Types of fasts:

  • Total fast  (be careful and receive guidance)
  • Water only Prepare your body for it.  Hunger pangs will go away- first 2 days hardest.
  • Liquid only Juices- not milkshakes! (When you don’t eat, more time for prayer)
  • Eliminate certain foods No deserts, no caffeine, no junk food- “Daniel fast”- healthy
  • Media fast NO television, NO movies, NO paper, NO internet, NO video games, etc.
  • Multiple possibilities Be creative and specific-but a sacrifice- must cost you something.

During a fast, when your earthly desires kick in, you turn to the Lord and you are reminded that He is more than enough to meet your every need.  It is a wonderful way to be drawn to the Lord and to overcome the desires of the flesh in many areas of your life.

 “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.”  Psalm 66:18-19 What is David saying here?  I cannot harbor unconfessed sin or unresolved sin in my life.  Any Christian who desires to fully serve God and follow Him must attack sin from all fronts.  We cannot hold on to sin but release it and the first step is to confess it- to God first and then, to others.

 “For me, to live is Christ and die is gain.” Philippians 1:21 

To be alive to Christ and to live for Him means I must die to myself, my needs, my wants- continually.  “In the body” is where dying of Jesus is seen through my life and revealed to others.  It is, at the same time, the place where this life (the resurrection life) of Jesus is seen.  In the same passage he says, “so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in my body.”  My life then becomes a presentation of a Story- the Story of the passion of Christ.  I die to myself in order to reveal His life in my.  You see, you are called not only to tell the story of the Passion, but to LIVE it, experience it.  How?  By dying to self.

But the language used by Paul is a continual dying- the process of dying- you are continually dying.  To remind you of your mortality- your body is dying and to get you focused and busy on the eternal that does not die.  You see, death for Jesus was not the end- He lives. So, how can we position ourselves to move to this dying of self?  How can I be touched by God to go to deeper levels?  By confessing my sin to Him, by showing Him that He is all I want- all I need.  Fasting is that spiritual discipline that helps us live that out in unique ways.  It’s why Jesus says, “When you fast…” (Matthew 6:16)- it was an expected practice of the believer.  It’s a way to deny yourself of earthly things in order to focus on heavenly things.

 “My food” Jesus said, “is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.”  John 4:34  During a fast He is your food.  The will of God becomes your sustenance.

 May you walk to the cross with the Lord Jesus this Easter season as never before.

 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)