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Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts

How Do You Pray for Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ?

Posted in , By Patty Kennedy 0 comments


Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere (Ephesians 6:18).
In the verses immediately preceding this one, Paul admonishes the church at Ephesus to be strong in the Lord, and to be clothed with the full armor of God. Then he asks two simple things: that they pray for each other, and that they pray for Paul to fearlessly proclaim the gospel.

If you have ever wondered how to pray for other believers, you need look no further than the Bible for your inspiration. Consider the following:
  • Fill us with the knowledge of Your will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding (Colossians 1:9).
  • Help us to live lives worthy of You, pleasing You in every way and bearing fruit in every good work (Colossians 1:10).
  • May we grow in the knowledge of God, and be strengthened with all power according to His glorious might (Colossians 1:11).
  • Help us have great endurance and patience, and joyfully give thanks to the Father (Colossians 1:12).
  • Grant us the spirit of wisdom and revelation so we may know You better (Ephesians 1:17).
  • Enlighten the eyes of our hearts (Ephesians 1:18).
  • Help us to know the hope to which You have called us, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in the saints, and Your incomparably great power for us who believe (Ephesians 1:19).
  • Strengthen us with power through Your Spirit in our inner being (Ephesians 3:16).
  • May Christ dwell in our hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17)
  • Grant us the power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:18).
  • Help us to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19).
  • May our love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight (Philippians 1:9).
  • May we be able to discern what is best, and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ (Philippians 1:10).
  • Fill us with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus (Philippians 1:11).
These are very powerful prayers that Paul employed for the believers in Colossae, Ephesus and Philippi. I encourage you to utilize them as you pray for others in the family of faith.

Why Couldn't We Cast It Out?

Posted in , , , By Patty Kennedy 0 comments

A lot of us are familiar with this story in chapter 9 of Mark's gospel. A frantic father asks the disciples to cast an "impure spirit" out of his son, but they fail.

Jesus, having just returned from the mount of transfiguration, hears people arguing, and walks over to find out what the fuss is about.

The boy's father responds: "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."

Jesus plainly expresses exasperation, as if He can't believe the disciples could have failed at such a simple task. Upon merely SEEING Jesus, the spirit convulses the boy.  When Jesus commands it to leave, it does. Period.

By now the disciples are flummoxed, and I would imagine a bit embarrassed. After Jesus goes indoors, they follow Him and ask Him privately why they couldn't drive out the unclean spirit. Jesus responds simply, "This kind can come out only by prayer" (later manuscripts add "and fasting").

 This seems like a straightforward answer, but what does it mean for us as followers of Jesus?

 I think this passage points to the critical truth that we must constantly abide in Christ if we hope to be productive children in the kingdom of God. Maybe the disciples thought that since they simply walked with Jesus, they could touch whomever they wanted, and healing or deliverance would come instantly. I imagine when they first started out, this gave them a bit of a rush. 

 What Jesus seems to be stressing to His disciples here is their responsibility to maintain constant communication with the Father. Jesus himself on more than one occasion rose in the middle of the night to pray. He knew He must be prepared for whatever God might ask Him to do. He knew that the business of healing and casting out demons required gaining a certain POSITION with God. Even though He was God's Son, He zealously guarded this time of communion with His Father. 

If our Savior needed protracted times of prayer in order to live and move in His Father's will, can you imagine how much greater OUR need is to do the same? It is not enough to simply say you are a Christ follower. The question is, do you produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8)? That's what John the Baptist asked the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to the place John was baptizing. He knew their hearts; he knew they were only coming to check him out to see if he was adhering to all their rules. Never known for his social skills, John began the conversation by calling them a brood of vipers.

 Are we like the Pharisees and Sadducees? Are appearances more important to us than the condition of our hearts? We can pretend all day long that we're great Christians who do and say all the "right things," but we mustn't be deceived -- our Father in heaven knows the condition of our hearts. We may as well come clean with Him in genuine repentance, and "do the things that show you have really changed your hearts and lives" (that's how the New Century Version translates it).

 Dear brothers and sisters, it is not enough to attend church regularly and teach kids' church or play in the worship band. Our entire lives are to be living sacrifices unto God every day. We must deny our flesh daily. We must stop entertaining ourselves to death with television and video games and Facebook and sports, and instead cry out to God on behalf of the people in this world who desperately need Him, and desperately need us to be the followers He wants us to be. 

 Jesus commissioned us to not only preach the gospel, but to heal the sick and cast out demons and raise the dead. The time is now.

Does Your Face Glow?

Posted in , , By Patty Kennedy 1 comments


"When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD" (Exodus 34:29).
This passage of Scripture was highlighted in an Andrew Murray devotional that I read last week. It was about unbroken fellowship with God through prayer, and how people should be able to sense God's presence in us.

Moses, of course, didn't know his face was "ablaze with light" (International Standard Version) when he came down from the mountain. We, too, will be unaware that God's light is shining from us. But to others, it should be evident.

The question, then, is this: Does YOUR face glow with the presence of God? Or does your countenance reflect a sourness and negativity?

Recently my husband and I went into a Christian bookstore where we trade in books we no longer want, and sometimes purchase others. This particular time, we bought some great used DVDs for our granddaughters.

When we took our sacks of books to the man (I'll call him Bruce) who decides what they're worth, he was pitifully morose. But this is "normal" for him, unfortunately. He works in a Christian bookstore, and he exudes not joy but a spirit of sullen dissatisfaction. He hardly makes eye contact, and can be snippy and unpleasant. I was saddened last year when a friend of mine who is not yet a Christian went in there to look for a Bible. She said the staff there didn't seem to care if they helped her or not, and she turned around and walked out.

This particular visit, I was determined to make Bruce smile. I ducked into the restroom to pray. I asked God to help me view Bruce with compassion, and to put words in  my mouth that would put a smile on Bruce's face.

It took Bruce a while to sort through all our books, during which time we found our DVDs and some other books we wanted to purchase. When we were checking out, I joked with Bruce that he deliberately takes a long time so that we'll buy more of his merchandise. And he DID it! He smiled and even chuckled!

Friends, please don't profess to be followers of Jesus if your countenance says otherwise. How can we hope to attract non-believers and share the hope of the gospel with them if they see nothing attractive about us? I can count on one hand the number of people I know who genuinely exude the joy of the Lord. People are drawn to them like a moth to a flame, because they sense something extraordinary and are curious to find out what that "something" is.

So how do we GET this glowing exterior? It's simple, yet requires a great deal of discipline. It's called 24/7 communion with our Father. Murray explains it like this:
Close and continued prayer fellowship with God will in due time leave its mark and be evident to those around us. When the abiding presence of God's presence has become the aim of the morning hour, then with deep humility and in loving conversation with those around us, we will pass on into the day's duties with the continuity of unbroken fellowship. This continuance of the morning watch can be maintained by quiet self-restraint, by not giving the reins of our lives over to our natural impulses.
It is vital that we begin each day in His presence, brothers and sisters. Remember that in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28), and that without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you afresh and anew each morning, so you will be empowered to do whatever God asks of you. Pray for divine appointments, and opportunities to share the hope of the gospel with others. Take time to quiet yourself before God, and pray for your ears to be attuned to hear His voice throughout the day.


The Unity of the Spirit

Posted in , , By Patty Kennedy 0 comments



"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3).

If you have been part of a body of believers for any length of time, you are well aware of the fact that sometimes unity seems hard to come by. We seem to forget that we are not our own, that we were purchased with the precious blood of Jesus. We push and shove and gossip and try to cause dissension when we don't get our own way.

First Peter 2:9 says we are "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a  holy nation." Our mission is to "declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness." The knowledge of who we are in Christ Jesus should bond us together in holy, brotherly love. What can be done to foster unity of the Spirit?

Nothing is more vital in this endeavor than to commit ourselves to lives of prayer. Remember the Upper Room? Christ's followers stayed there for ten days and "joined together constantly in prayer" (Acts 1:14). Jesus had exhorted them to not leave Jerusalem, but to "wait for the gift My Father promised" (Acts 1:4). I sense that in those ten days of united prayer, the disciples' hearts were knit together as one.

Unity to some people seems to be a distasteful thing; they are not happy unless they are churning things up. Perhaps they don't understand how vital unity is. Or maybe they think it means they will lose their identity as they join with other believers. On the contrary, unity is indispensable if we hope to live Christ-centered lives that "bear fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matthew 3:8).

I recently read an Andrew Murray devotional that painted a vivid picture of the importance of unity:
Because of the many mountains in Natal (a region in South Africa), the streams often flow down with great force. The Zulus join hands when they want to pass through a stream. The leader has a strong stick in the right hand, and gives his left hand to some strong man who comes behind him. And so they form a chain and help each other cross the current. When God's people reach out their hands to each other in the spirit of prayer, there will be power to resist the terrible influence that the world can exert. In that unity, God's children will have power to triumph with God.
Are you forming a chain today in your relationships with other believers? Or are you yanking and pulling and stubbornly trying to go your own way? My friends, the world will not know we are believers in Jesus when all they see is bickering and jockeying for position. John 13:35 says, "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples."

Let's try to do what the disciples did as they waited for the Holy Spirit. In the communion of loving, believing, faithful prayer, our hearts can be united for the one purpose of living for and glorifying God.

Blind Side Revisited

Posted in , , By Patty Kennedy 1 comments

Last week I was driving home from the store and flipped on the radio. I shouldn't have been surprised at what I heard, given that it was CCM (contemporary Christian music), but occasionally I am fortunate enough to turn it on and hear Matt Redman or Gungor.

This was not one of those occasions, though. It was an advertisement of an upcoming interview with the woman Sandra Bullock portrayed in "The Blind Side." This woman said, and I kid you not, "The Bible says to pray about everything, and I want a good parking space!" My heart sank, and I said aloud, "God, forgive us."

Prayer is an amazing privilege to me, and I take it very seriously. How does something so sacred, something so powerful, get skewed to be an instrument to satisfy our lazy, sinful flesh? James 4:3 clearly states, "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, Jesus gave them what we now call The Lord's Prayer as an example to follow. In it, it is clear that first we are to worship God in our prayer, acknowledging that He is holy, and praying for His will to be done, and His purposes accomplished. Then we are to ask for "our daily bread," which simply means trusting God to provide your basic needs (food, money to pay your bills, etc.). We are to ask forgiveness for our sins, and be sure that we are not holding anyone else hostage by not forgiving them. Finally, we are to pray that we are not led into temptation, and ask God to deliver us from evil.

We live in a sad, tired world full of people who need God's redeeming grace. How can you pray about a good parking space when brothers and sisters in Christ are being tortured and persecuted for their faith? According to Christian Alliance for Orphans, some 153 million children are without homes and loving families. Some 27 million people are enslaved by human trafficking. The divorce rate is astronomical, even in the church. More than a million abortions are performed yearly in our country, and many post-abortive women are desperate and hurting, yet feel like they couldn't possibly come to the church for help.

We should be drawn to crisis situations like a moth to a flame, bringing the compassion and love and peace of Christ to the suffering. When Jesus sent the disciples out, He commissioned them not only to bring the good news of the gospel. He said, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons" (Matt. 10:8). James 1:27 exhorts us to care for widows and orphans.

Are you beginning to see the picture here? We are to be God's hands and feet in this hurting world, and if our focus is on our own comfort, we have missed the boat big-time. Timothy tells us to "pray for all people, asking God for what they need and being thankful to Him. Pray for rulers and for all who have authority so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God" (1 Tim. 2:1-2, New Century Version). Paul exhorts us in Colossians 4:2 to "continue steadfastly" in prayer. The Greek word for "continue" in this verse means to be constantly diligent and to persevere.

If your prayers are rather self-centered and the net you cast isn't very large, I encourage you today to ask God to expand your vision. We serve a big God, and if your prayers are mainly geared toward your own family and friends, your God is too small. He cares about every person on the face of this earth. Pray for the millions who are perishing without hearing about Jesus. Pray for those who go to bed hungry every night. Pray for those in prison, and those who take the gospel inside those dark walls. Pray for the persecuted church.

It may sound like a daunting task, but the Holy Spirit is ready to help you. Romans 8:26 says, "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." He will bring to your mind who and what to pray for. Sometimes it helps to make a list of prayer needs, and you could start by including some of the things I have mentioned in this blog.

I believe when we begin to pray as God intends us to pray, we will never utter lame prayers for good parking spaces. We will be so caught up in the wonder of partnering with God in bringing His purposes to pass in the world that self-serving prayers will no longer be in our vocabulary.

You Can't Prepare for a Marathon in a Day

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Lately I've been running again. I absolutely enjoy running.

Once you get passed the achy body, being out of breath, knee injuries, people almost hitting your with their cars, heat exhaustion, freezing your lungs when it's cold out, or fighting the urge to throw up, it's really not so bad.

I encounter a problem when I start running again though. You see, in high school, I ran cross country and track. My best mile times were sub 5 mins and my best 5Ks were 17:13. I was 2 years all state and one of the best on our team. I don't say that to brag, I say that to say when I start back up now, that's what I expect.

I haven't run super consistently since high school. But when I start each time I expect myself to go out and run 6 or 7 miles at a 7 minute mile pace. I expect to have no injuries and to immediately slim down. Then I get frustrated when that is not the case.

So often, I stop for another couple months and try at it again, just to "fail" all over.

I think a lot of us treat our walk with Christ that way. We look at others and see how much time they spend in prayer or how much Bible reading they do and we get really excited. We think "Wow I can do that!" Then we jump right in and it's not as easy as we thought.

We fall asleep while praying.

We have trouble focusing on 6 chapters of Leviticus.

We miss a day here or there.

Then we think "I must not be cut out for this!" and we just stop doing it all together.

But just like exercise, we need to start out slowly. We can't go from eating potato chips every day while sitting in the office chair to running a marathon in a week. Neither can we go from not practicing spiritual disciplines to doing them all diligently right away.

Find an area of your life. Maybe it's Bible reading. Perhaps it's prayer. Maybe you feel you need to work on some of the Fruit of the Spirit. Whatever it may be, start out slow. Work on one fruit for a while til you get it down.

If we start out to quickly or expect too much, we will get frustrated and "fail." Don't do that to yourself. Growing in Christ is going to take practice and "exercise." So start working those muscles little by little.

What I Though About During the Oscars

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I watched the Oscars. There, I said it. Not only did I watch it, but I had been looking forward to watching it.

I enjoy these award shows. I'm not sure why. My wife and I DVR it, lay the boys down and we sit down to watch and fast forward through the commercials.

I was a little excited even to see what Seth MacFarlane did. Now, after it's all said and done, I'm glad I watched.

MacFarlane made a lot of jokes throughout the night. Some funny, some a little more colorful, and others that were down right mean or inappropriate. But one really stuck with me.

At one point in the night he said "It's [the Oscars] a lot like church, only there are more people praying."

When I heard him say that I went from sitting to laying down and I held my stomach. I actually felt the jab in that comment. It hurts when it's true.

We really do not pray enough. We don't pray like the early church prayed. When someone was imprisoned, they gathered to pray.

While waiting on the "gift" that Jesus would send, they gathered to pray.

Paul often wrote to the churches asking them to pray because he knew they would. He knew it would be more than a "ok we will." and then right before seeing Paul again they hurry and say a prayer so they could say they've been praying.

We do a lot of talking about praying. We send out emails or make phone calls to make sure everyone knows what is happening, but when we get those do we stop what we are doing and pray?

Do we pray before a Bible study? during? afterward?

Do we pray with our families before meals? before bed? before leaving for work?

Do we pray for missionaries that we know on a daily basis?

Our church just had a ladies prayer night on Monday which I thought was awesome! Then I thought about how long it had been since I heard about one. Then I thought about why I never hear about a men's prayer night. Or a all church prayer night.

Prayer is our connection with God. It actually makes a difference. We need to stop talking about prayer and really start doing it. For our families, friends, missionaries, those who don't know Christ, our enemies, and for everyone and everything. Our world would be a much different place if God's people actually talked with God and it is way passed time we start.

God cannot be removed.

Posted in , , By Hannah 0 comments


Deuteronomy 31:8 proclaims, "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

God was not removed. 

You do not need a teacher to lead you in prayer. You do not need a pat on the back from your government about your choice to practice your faith. It's your faith. It's your choice. You pray.

God doesn't want enforced prayers, friends. He wants people who were called and want to seek Him to pray.

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

Yes, things look bad, but we serve a God who already provided a way out of this horrible mess. 

"Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light." Micah 7:8

I've tinkered with this tangent for days. I wanted to go off on my usual indignant cause about all that I see wrong in this world ... but then it hit me. The world does not need my opinion right now. This country needs my prayers. So go already. Go, pray. 

Prayer: The Pulse of the Christian Life

Posted in , By Patty Kennedy 0 comments

"Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you" (1 Samuel 12:23).
This story of Samuel amazes and humbles me. He boldly brought the word of the Lord to the Israelites, and usually it addressed their sin and idolatry. This particular time, they sinned against God by demanding a king to rule over them.

Samuel lets them know this sin is grievous, and they beg him to pray and ask God to spare them (again). Rather than lecturing them about how much they deserved God's wrath, Samuel encourages them to forsake their sin and truly follow God. Then he says, "Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you."

Wow. Prayerlessness is sinning against the Lord. It's not merely an admission of, "Gee whiz, my week was busy and I just couldn't fit everything in." Samuel knew his prayers for the Israelites were vital, and did not neglect to intercede for them.

According to blueletterbible.org, the word "prays" occurs 117 times in the Bible, "praying" occurs 36 times, and "prayer" 106 times. That doesn't include other ways prayer is talked about, like "seeking God" or "asking God." Suffice it to say that prayer is high on God's "to-do" list. The Early Church "joined together constantly in prayer" (Acts 1:14). Paul exhorts believers to be "faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12) and "devote" themselves to prayer (1 Corinthians 7:5; Colossians 4:2). James says "the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (5:16). In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable illustrating that we should always pray and not lose heart.

The depth of our love for Jesus is revealed in our prayer life. Superficial relationship reasons that we have fulfilled our obligation if we pray brief prayers at the beginning and end of the day, and at mealtimes. If our relationship with Jesus is intimate, however, prayer is the pulse of our lives. We are entirely given to God and His purposes, and He is free to wake us in the middle of the night to pray if He chooses. We pray little for ourselves, because God has enabled us to see the "big picture." We intercede for ministers of the gospel and for all our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we cry out to God to save the lost. We don't necessarily have set times for prayer, because we genuinely "pray without ceasing." Lifting our voice in prayer is as natural to us as breathing.

Neglect of prayer, then, is symptomatic of a seriously deficient spiritual life, and one of the major reasons that many Christians walk according to the flesh instead of according to the Spirit. A casual relationship with God is one in which we have never really encountered His holiness, and therefore have never come to grips with the depths of our own sinfulness. But when we encounter God and get a glimpse of His glory, everything changes. His holiness illuminates our sinfulness, and we cry out as Isaiah did, "Woe to me! I am ruined!" (Isaiah 6:5). When we reach this point of desperation, we realize we need not only the salvation that God offers, but constant communion with Him.

It is interesting to note that in Ephesians 6, after Paul describes in great detail the armor of God, he says, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions" (6:18). Though prayer is not listed among the pieces of armor, it seems to be how Paul wraps up this section on spiritual warfare. If we hope to be effective soldiers for God, we must not be guilty of the sin of prayerlessness.




Sacrificing Because Christ Sacrificed Himself.

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Depending on when you get up, either something great will be happening this morning or it has already happened. If you have kids in school, chances are, you were up before. If you are a college student and do not have classes til this afternoon, then you may have missed it. What is it I am talking about?

See You at the Pole.

This event has been happening on the fourth Wednesday of September since 1990. It started with just 10 students meeting at their school to pray and has grown to be nationally recognized. 

It is a time for students to gather at their school flag pole and pray for family, friends, teachers, classmates, or anything else. Honestly, it is quite amazing that so many students get involved all around the country. Last year was my first in this town and I got to witness the gathering. There were 50+ students gathered at the flagpole, praying for others!

As I write this, the event has not yet happened but I am excited to witness it once again. It challenges me to change my habits. If students can get up a little earlier (and believe me they do. I have heard "but I don't get up til 7:30!" so many times this week) to pray for one another and make this stand at their school, what is it I can change?

Is there an area of my life where I need to be making a sacrifice to further the Kingdom? Am I missing opportunities to take a stand for my faith on a weekly, or even daily basis? 

If young people can make this sacrifice once a year, what should I be doing? As a Youth Minister, husband, father, friend, son, brother, cousin, employee, and citizen (and so much more) there are constantly people around who I could be leading closer to Jesus. What do I need to be doing differently? What do I need to sacrifice for the sake of the Kingdom?

Jesus did not consider it too burdensome to make the sacrifice He made on the cross. He did it out of love. The prophets and Apostles did not wallow in self-pity because of the sacrifices they needed to make for the Kingdom. What sacrifices can I have the pleasure of making for Christ out of love for Him?

I know much of this post was just questions, but they are questions I am wrestling with. Hopefully they will help you find an area in your life where God is tugging you. Because, I think we all have room to be stretched. I mean if high school students can do it once a year, I think its not too much to find how we can do that, and maybe more.

What would you ask for?

Posted in , , , By Mike Johns 0 comments

God really opened up a passage for me this week and I want to share with you the insight.

The disciples make a request of Jesus in Luke 11:1. Lord, teach us to pray...
These men had walked with Jesus and saw all sorts of miraculous things.
-they saw Him walk on water.
-they saw Him heal.
-they saw Him raise the dead.
-they saw Him feed thousands with very little.
-they saw Him forgive sins.
-they saw Him interact with people.
The disciples walked with Jesus and saw all of this and more... but this one thing they ask for... to learn to pray.

Why? I mean woulldn't you ask for something better? He did all these awesome things... I must confess, I'd probably ask Him to teach me the walking-on-water trick. Maybe I would ask how to feed thousands with a few tortillas and couple sardines. I would want some cool trick that would be a popular party favorite.

The disciples asked to learn how to pray. Why? I think there are several possible reasons.
First, they saw the power in prayer.
Second, they saw that Jesus made it a priority.
Third, they saw that it was more awesome than the miracles... I mean, given the choice, we always pick the best thing, right?
Fourth, I believe they experienced some frustration in self-powered living/ministry.
Lastly, they saw a difference in Jesus' life.

What would you ask for?
Lord, teach me to pray.

Expect the Unexpected

Posted in , , By Nick Smith 2 comments

Today I wanted to take an opportunity to share one way that God has been working in my life over the past few months. I’ve posted a few times in the past about prayer and how we need to be mindful of how we pray (see this post and this post), but today I want to share one specific aspect of my personal life where I have recently seen God at work.
First, some background. For the past five years, I was a high school teacher. I loved it and I put my heart and soul into it. And then this past summer, I got married, so I gave up my teaching job so I could move to Springfield, MO to be with my amazing wife Sesha. I’m not a wealthy guy and neither is my wife, so we both were praying for God to provide a teaching job for me. We asked others to pray for us as well. But ultimately, I wasn’t able to find a teaching job.
On one level, this was very disappointing and discouraging. I mean, c’mon, we prayed. It’s one thing to know on an intellectual level that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28), but it’s something else entirely to live it and even embrace it when bad things happen. When these things happen, I think our default is usually to feel as if God has forgotten us or left us behind for some reason. But regardless of whatever feelings we have in any particular moment, God is always there for us.
As a result of not finding a teaching job, I reconsidered my future. I mean, I could certainly return to teaching the next year, but maybe God had something better in mind for me. Before I decided to become a teacher, I wanted to be a commercial airline pilot, so I looked into that as an option. I love, love to fly and my wife and I love, love to travel (pilots and their families get free standby tickets!). There were loads of other things I considered in terms of pros and cons, but then I thought about it, prayed about it, and ultimately decided to pursue it. I start flight school next Monday (super excited!).
Over the several months that this has transpired, Sesha and I have seen several affirmations from God. Firstly, Sesha is a photographer and for the past several years (before she even met me) she has been praying for more money so that she can afford to fly overseas to photograph for non-profits. This was another prayer that God turned for his own purpose. After I start flying for an airline, Sesha will get free standby tickets and can photograph for non-profits all over the world!
Secondly, God really came through for the financing. I won’t get into all the gory details, but suffice it to say that flight school is EXPENSIVE and we could not afford it. Finding out how we would pay for it was a roller coaster with highs of excitement and lows of utter discouragement. There were a few times when I wondered if God was trying to steer me in a different direction by closing doors for financing. Ultimately though, God came through here too.
A third way that we have seen God’s blessing has been through work for Sesha. The flight school is in Dallas, so we wanted Sesha to be able to spend as much time as possible down there with me. This meant that she needed to find some work in Dallas. She had also been wanted to learn more about commercial photography. Long story short, God has opened up some amazing doors where she will be able to learn more about commercial photography, will be able to make more money than what we were hoping for, and she’ll be able to spend quite a bit of time in Dallas. She never would’ve pursued this as an option if I wasn’t starting flight school in Dallas.
Another affirmation from God also came through money. For three years, Sesha and her mom have been working very hard to pay off a bill that is $450 monthly. They wanted very much to get this bill paid in full and so they almost always paid much more than the minimum. It was a large balance, so they weren’t sure how long it would take. Well, just last week, we all went out to celebrate finally paying this bill in full. I mentioned before that I start flight school in Dallas next Monday. We found a very decently priced apartment in Dallas. Can you guess how much it costs? About $450 a month.
Wow, God is awesome.
Just some quick recap. I prayed for a teaching job and I’m now going to be a pilot. Sesha prayed for more money so she could purchase flights to be able to photograph for non-profits and now she is going to get free flights around the world.
Romans 8:28 is always true, we just have to be patient enough to let God accomplish things in His way and in His timing. :)

The Lord's Prayer

Posted in , By Hammer on Anvil 1 comments

  • This week's guest blogger is Camden Pulliam.  Thanks Camden!

    I want you to read something with me.
    “Pray, then, in this way:
    “Our Father in heaven,
    hallowed be your name.
    Your kingdom come,
    your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
    Give us this day our daily bread,
    and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
    And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.” – Matthew 6:9-13

    This is the ‘Lord’s Prayer.’ It is one of, if not the best known passage in all of Scripture. Since Jesus’ ascension, Christians have been rehearsing this prayer and encouraged by its profound, yet simple, truths. But I’m afraid that often, when we read it today, we miss the bigger picture to which it points.
    Does anyone else find it rather perplexing that the requests in this prayer are completely fulfilled and answered by the individual praying?

    - Jesus is the one who hallows (or treats with the highest honor) the name of the Lord: “O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known” (John 17:25-26)

    - Jesus is the reigning king with the coming kingdom, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17)

    - Jesus is the one who does the will of the Father, “not my will but yours be done” (Matt. 26:39)

    - Jesus is the one who is the daily bread, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:48).

    - Jesus is the one who proclaims forgiveness, “Take heart, my son. Your sins are forgiven” (Matt. 9:2)

    - Jesus is the one who delivers and has been delivered from the temptations of the evil one, “Be gone Satan! . . . and the devil left him” (Matt. 4:10-11).

    This prayer from Jesus is one massive announcement of the prayer’s incarnate answer in him. Jesus is the answer to Jesus’ prayer! Jesus is the answer to every true prayer, so that when we ‘pray in this way,’ we will not have to look far for the answer. This passage might be the ‘Lord’s Prayer,’ but the one speaking is the ‘Lord’s Answer.’

    So what’s the point?

    When we follow Jesus, we must (must!) remember that we are not paving our own paths of obedience. We are following the pattern of obedience already laid out. So often, when we talk about following Jesus, we put quite a bit of emphasis on our attempts to do what he did (and rightfully so). But just for a moment, let us recline in our seat and ponder that everything we are trying to do has already been accomplished. Isn’t that astonishing? There was a real man, just like you and me, who never once wanted to waste his time. There was a man who could honestly say, “I pray all the time.” There was a man, believe it or not, who never once disrespected his parents. He never was a coward and ‘chickened out.’ He never lusted. He never gossiped. He never valued one person more than another. He always cared for his enemies. He always loved people enough to tell them the truth, and the whole truth. He always witnessed. I mean – my goodness (literally)!

    We are called to follow and live righteously just like Jesus. But we are also called to believe that there was already someone who lived righteously on our behalf, someone who is ‘my goodness.’ We are called to believe that Jesus’ perfection is ours, and our sins are no more. Let that sink in. We are considered perfect, and our sins are taken care of. Jesus lived the life we should have lived. But what does he get for it? He died the death we should have died. Our places were switched so that God punished Jesus at the cross and treats us as if we are perfect. How?

    When we believe in the gospel, another reversal happens. Scripture says that we die and live anew with the resurrected Christ. Our bodies are the ones hanging on the cross, and now we are walking around as the body of the resurrected Jesus (kinda gruesome, I know). Colossians 3:3 – “You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

    (If you trust in the gospel) When God sees you, he doesn’t even see you. All he sees is his son Jesus. You are hidden behind the ‘invisibility cloak.’ This is the best news of your life. Receive it, follow, and ‘pray in this way.’

    - Camden Pulliam

Football, Prayer, and What Really Matters

Posted in , , , , By Nick Smith 0 comments

This post is not about a guy that the media has caused many people to grow tired of hearing about (Tim Tebow), but the idea for this post did originate with him. Ever since the media started hyping his devotion to Jesus Christ, I’ve seen stuff all over Facebook and elsewhere on the net that can be boiled down to, “Why should God care about football?” And it’s true (to an extent). There are so many pressing matters in the world that the outcome of a football game seems pretty trivial.

But then I started thinking about that more in depth. If the outcome of a football game is too trivial for prayer, then at what point is something important enough to pray about?

If my car has been breaking down, should I pray for it to work? What if it’s my xbox that is broken? Or what if my health takes a turn for the worst? Certainly that is worthy of prayer, right? And, you know what, the political candidates that I support need to win the upcoming election. Should I pray for that? The outcome of a football game doesn’t affect much, but whoever wins the election will be leading our country, so that means it’s worthy of prayer, right? And c’mon, my xbox is important.

The more I thought about this, the more I realized that the answer is complicated. On the one hand, God definitely wants us to come to Him for all of our concerns, no matter how trivial. We see at least a couple of examples in the New Testament when Jesus shows us that God wants us to pray about our concerns: Matthew 6:11 (“Give us today our daily bread.”) and part of Matthew 26:39 when Jesus knows he is going to be crucified (“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.”).

But on the other hand, the Bible is rich with the sentiments of Colossians 3:2, “Set your minds on things above, not on Earthly things.” I frequently say that we all need to have an eternal perspective. There are loads of things that are here today and gone tomorrow, but very little that will last into eternity. We should be investing in those things that will last, and our prayers should reflect our devotion to that investment. And in both of those examples in Matthew, Jesus goes on to demonstrate that we should ask for God’s Will above all else.

In the end, I think that both perspectives are true. God wants us to come to him with all of our concerns, and as we mature as Christians, he wants our prayers to reflect our growing investment in eternity.

With that in mind, please join me in this short prayer. Dear God, please let the 49ers win the Super Bowl. Amen. ;)

Flipping verses

Posted in , , By Red Beard 0 comments

...er rather Philippians verses.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6

What is my focus in prayer? I'm sure I as well as everyone else have more than enough prayer requests and perplexing situations that I'd like the Lord's help on in my own life that I could spend every moment that I pray just on my own supplications and pleas. If I have made my supplication made known to the Lord does he forget? Should I persist with my; oh please, please please please Lord? Perseverance in prayer and being honest with the Lord about what you're struggling with is a good thing. But when does it cross the line of expressing anguish to dwelling on it? Is it healthy for us to persist, especially on topics of prayer that are particularly painful at that moment? Situations where just even in the speaking of the request it tends to be accompanied by a certain amount of worry and fear. Maybe because you truly don't know what to expect the outcome to be or even possibly because you think it might be opposite of what you're hoping for? How do we make these pleas without allowing them to drag us under because they do hurt so much? Man, of that I'm not entirely sure and I think that any churchy answer only diminishes the legitimacy of the real pain that a person feels about their situation. I know it does go on to say in the same chapter though that, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." Maybe that's part of the clue to help us cope. Is he saying present your prayer and supplication, but don't be blinded by the details of your current situation and that we need to look beyond your own troubles. To dwell on areas that would be uplifting or might remind us of the nature of who we serve. That even if the answer isn't quickly coming or could even be opposite to what we might hope that we should weigh these perplexing matters out against what we know to be true and good about God? Paul goes on later to say that he's learned to be content in all situations. Is this because he's learned a level of surrender in prayer, that allows him to put his supplication to Christ's and then he's able to release the concern from his thoughts because he chooses instead of dwelling on what he doesn't know to dwell on the pure, true and lovely things. When he says, " The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." v9. Is it not allowing ourselves to dwell on our worries and perplexing bewilderments that which what allows us to know peace and experience the presence of the God of peace?

CS Lewis put it like this, "By ceasing for a moment to consider my own wants I have begun to learn better what I really wanted."

For me this whole post really raises more questions then it answers because there's also the whole concept of how to practice and live this out in the midst of your trial the whole idea of not focusing on the trial that so broadly sits directly in front of you and which is just about the only thing one can see.

Psalm Schfifty Five, schwiggity wha

Posted in , , By Red Beard 0 comments

Break through, break out, deliver us Oh God
Speak that we might live again
Draw nearer and shatter our bonds
We look to the dawn, we wait for you
Come and illuminate our hearts
Redeem us from death

What is your psalm today if you had to write one? Be open, be truthful and speak your heart. Psalms are about as close to and intermingled with prayer as any words can possibly be. Write them down, speak them out, and present them as your prayer for a week and then see how God will respond in the next month or months. I'd be interested to hear what your results are.

SYATP

Posted in , By Misti Runyan 0 comments

This week of prayer comes at a time when the subject is already on my mind. See You At The Pole is coming up, and it's an event that is close to my heart. It gives us an opportunity to look at the leaders of our schools and government in a different way-the way Jesus sees them.



Lord, we thank You for Your leadership in our lives. Even though we don't always recognize it, we take the time today to remember that You have placed our teachers, principals, and superintendents in positions of power over us. Our president and congressmen have been chosen by Your hand for this time in history. Help us to move past the prejudices of our human eyes and see them from Your perspective--as people whom You love. We pray for strength, courage and wisdom for them to seek the right course of action and move forward into it. We pray for them to seek You in all they do. We ask You to give us the courage to stand up for the truth of Jesus Christ, and to live in Your will. Help us to be humble in our relationship to You and to our leaders. Remind us to submit to their authority; that which You have given to them. Most importantly, give them peace and rest in this time of turmoil. As we remember those who died on September 11, 2001, help us also to remember those who lived, those who made the tough decisions in the days following the tragedy, and who have been making tough choices ever since.



Lead us, Lord, into peace and grace. Even when things seem hopeless, help us to remember Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God."

An Instrument of Peace

Posted in , , , By Brett T Kelley 0 comments

In the movie "Miss Congeniality" there is a running joke about what is needed: "world peace" answered by every contestant. I always laugh at this, but why? Am I laughing at the desire for world peace? No, I laugh because it seems that those who say this offer no way on how to achieve it.
Below is a prayer by Francis of Assisi. Notice that he does not pray for world peace; rather, he prays to be an instrument of peace. Let this prayer be ours as well.

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
it is in dying that we awake to eternal life."

Cheers,
Brett
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."

When offense takes root

Posted in , , , By Red Beard 0 comments

This week I had the chance to offend someone more thoroughly and irreconcilably than I ever thought possible before. Unintentional though was the offense and sincere the apology there was no turning around the situation and the more apologetic the more entrenched was the un-forgiveness and belligerent the attitude. For a person like myself so eager to be on good terms with everyone around me this ends up being a harder thing to deal with than I could have imagined. Everyone who witnessed the event saw that there was no malice in my actions or ill intent in my words, but that could not help them from being received differently than intended and twisted to incur an offense where none should have been. This is an area of attack I had not seen Satan work in in my life, but can tell you it came down harder on my countenance and has been more consistently upon my thoughts and heart than anything of recent memory. There are a few things I'm trying to learn through all of this. First no matter how innocent or obvious you think a joke may come across, that it probably isn't the best lead in for a first meeting with someone's parents. Additionally that assuming someone will be similar to their parents isn't always necessarily the case. That some people are predisposed to be disagreeable and honestly no matter how you try and interact with them it is destined for offense and for rejection. But this brings it all back to how I've had to deal with it. I mean this has really bothered me and kept me awake, no matter how much I try to forget and move on Satan keeps attempting to throw it back in my face. So the idea of constant prayer has been particularly important to me this week. That anytime the thought or situation comes upon my mind that immediately I reach out to God in prayer and pass it on to him to handle. I know it is out of my control, I know it is not something that God is bring conviction about, but is rather satan trying to work in condemnation on me, and I know the only way through this is to consistently and repeatedly release it back to the Lord. I mean if there isn't room for forgiveness from the Lord for the stupid naive words of a thirty something bearded goofball like myself then there is no hope for mankind. Fortunately though there is and these offenses against one another, these ignorant decisions we make can all be washed away and if they're remembered no more by the Lord then eventually through constant renewing of the mind then we'll learn how to do the same and move on with our lives in him and for him. I'm unwilling to sit back and take this deceit and discouragement from the author of lies, but I'm unable at the same time to get past it myself. Fortunately I have an avenue to reach the only person capable of the impossible and that my friend is prayer. Simple, but comprehensive.

If there's something of this nature bothering you that is outside of your means to resolve and it keeps eating away at you consider offering it up in prayer. As cheesy as it sounds to say just give it to the Lord that is also the best actual and genuine advice I could give to you. Every moment of every second hand those burdens over to the Lord. For his yoke is easy and his burden is light. It won't necessarily result in instant victory or freedom of thought, but by establishing a clear path to the Lord then you can begin to see him work and redeem your thoughts. He's still working and redeeming mine.

A Simple Prayer

Posted in , By Nick Smith 0 comments

Today starts a week of prayer by the Hammer on Anvil bloggers. Each of us is going to share a prayer about whatever we like and in whatever form we like. My prayer is just a simple prayer with a handful of concerns that have recently been on my heart. I ask that you join me in lifting these up to God.

Dear Lord,

Thank you so much for all of the countless blessings you continually bestow. I know that I often take many of them for granted: mine and Sesha’s health, that I have a comfortable home with air conditioning and heat, that I am never without options for food, and so much more. I thank you for all of these things and especially for the sacrifice of the cross.

Lord, with the 10th anniversary of 9/11 coming up, I want to lift up all of the families who lost a loved one. A lot of old wounds will likely be re-opened, so I pray that you will be with them to help with the healing process. I pray, too, that you bring good from this horrible situation by helping it be a reminder to others of their own mortality and how much they need you.

As you know, one of my old neighbors recently passed away after a battle with cancer. I pray for her family too Lord. I think she was a Christian, so I pray that you will help comfort her family with the knowledge that she is now in a much better place than any of us.

I’d also like to lift up some people close to me. Lord, you know their situation better than anyone. I pray that you break down the barriers keeping them from getting closer to you and open their hearts. Help them to see that you’re not looking for lukewarm belief, but for red hot devotion.

I pray too for anyone reading this who knows deep down that the situation those people are in also describes them. I pray that you help them to realize that whatever barriers they are facing are not nearly so big as they think – that you are so much bigger than any barrier and that their very life is what is at stake. I pray that they realize that you’re not looking for people to believe in you; you’re looking for people to follow you and following requires effort.

I also lift up Sesha’s friends who have recently moved to other countries. I pray that you keep them safe and that you help them to adapt to their new homes.

Lastly, I want to pray for this blog. I ask that you use it as the ministry it is intended as and that you continue to speak through the posts and comments. I pray that you open the hearts of all who read it and give them a spirit of openness to refinement. We are all sinners who need you and who need to daily lift up our crosses and follow you.

Let your will be done in all things.

I pray these things in Jesus’ name.

Amen

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