Tag: prayer

Prayer Mentoring: Elections

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We should pray and keep the Gospel first. The success of the church is not determined by who wins elections. It’s success is determined by the work of God in the people of God. It starts with, held up with and ended with prayer.

1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying ) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.

~ 1 Timothy 2:1-8 NASB

Voting process

  1. Pray
  2. Be informed of things voting on
  3. Pray and search the Scriptures
  4. Vote your conscience
  5. Pray

Prayer Mentoring: Reach

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…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. ~Ephesians 6:18-20 ESV

Pray
The key to a successful prayer life is to pray. Paul instructs us to pray at all times. This means we need to be in continual contact with God. Communication is important to any relationship. Paul gives this instruction in the context of spiritual warfare

In the spirit
The Holy Spirit is critical. Paul states in Galatians and Romans how those in Christ are lead by the Spirit. This is also a reflection of the filling of the Spirit within us. There is a real and mysterious interplay between the Spirit and ourselves when it comes to prayer.

Ask and ask a lot
Prayer means to ask, supplication means to beg. It’s the idea of a child jumping up and down asking for something. Paul tells us we need to go before God and plead our case.

 Be alert
The Bible frequently discusses the need to be alert. Christians must be aware of those around them. Specifically, Christians should be aware of the ministry of their church family. We have a responsibility to uphold one another’s ministry in prayer.

The Gospel
The point is the Gospel. Our care and prayer for one another is the foundation and platform to share the Gospel. Caring and praying for one another isn’t the point, it’s the platform. The point is to engage and engage boldly with a lost and dying world.

The First Step
The first step to REACH people is to be praying and have others praying for you! There is a spiritual battle going on. Prayer is key and it’s the platform to point people to Jesus.

Prayer Mentoring: The unexpected

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This is a guest post. Lee Wise ran the internship program and taught evangelism at BBS when I attended there.

A Prayer For Today…

Joy In The Unexpected

“Lord, I thank you for the honor of knowing Someone who blesses me in so many ways, in so many unexpected places, during so many unexpected times in my life.    And today, Father, should I not so naturally discover ‘a joy piece’ within, I ask that You in your faithfulness would turn my heart your way to see You as I should. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!”

Joy In The Unexpected — An Inspirational Quote

Joy

Enjoying God in the most unexpected places
during the most unexpected times
©Lee Wise

Joy In The Unexpected – Reflections 

Sometimes it just happens:

In the most unexpected ways,
At entirely unexpected moments,
We take joy in the moment…

And acknowledge within the amazing part God has played in the process.

We realize more of his working,
Appreciate his graciousness to us,
And rejoice when we do.

The “size” doesn’t matter.  It’s not the size: it’s the fact.  The fact that it does happen and we recognize the reality of the Lord in one more unique way.

A Prayer For The Day…

 Reflecting On Scripture

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. (Psalm 27:7)**

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**Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. http://www.zondervan.com.

The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

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© Lee Wise All rights reserved. You may freely distribute this inspirational note. The copyright and this resource box must be included.

My Believer’s Guide To Achieving Success On Purpose — a highly personalized tool for dynamic growth in Christ.  Begin your  journey here: http://mybelieversguide.com

Prayer Mentoring: God says yes

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Too often we forget that God does say yes to prayers. He sometimes says wait, no, I have something better, etc. Sometimes he just says yes. People criticized the move “Facing the Giants” because in the ends all the prayers were answered with a yes. Sometimes life does happen that way.

Word of Life Island
I loved hearing the story of how Harry Bollback and Jack Wyrtzen took a rowboat to see an island and then said they’d take it. They had no clue how it was going to be paid for. God said yes, and the Gospel impacted thousands to this day. Sometimes God says yes.

Partly cloudy
At a camping event when I was a kid rain was in order. A leader simply went to his knees and asked God for dry weather so we could go through the day’s events. Immediately the clouds parted around the camp and returned after the day was done and we headed home. Sometimes God says yes.

I can talk
At a national missions conference a speaker couldn’t talk. His voice got worse and worse until he was unable to speak. So, people stopped him, they prayed and his voice came back with a vengeance. He was talking about suffering in ministry. It was one of the most impactful meetings of the night. Sometimes God says yes.

Lights on
One summer the easter seaboard lost power. The phone rang off the hook asking if there would be VBS that night. Of course there would! The lights were on. We prayed that God would do some neat things, and a couple of kids accepted Jesus as their savior that night. When we said amen to close out the evening, the lights went off. The church was the only place with power that night until VBS was done. Sometimes God says yes.

All heart
One Christmas when things were really tight it was time to find a present for my wife. I told God whatever he provides, that’ll be Kelly’s gift. If a quarter, then I’d wrap up a 25 cent ring. God told a friend to turn his car around and drop of a Christmas card early. When shopping a heart necklace caught my eye that perfectly summed up the year, but it was too much. The store keeper grabbed me as I walked away and mention that a sale had just started. Sometimes God says yes.

I’m yours
The most important yes God says is when we ask Jesus to save us. There God says yes. In all reality, it’s the one yes that matters most. Jesus said yes to God even when he didn’t want to. Jesus died and rose for us so God could say yes to every person who goes to him and says ‘I’m yours.’ When it comes to asking Jesus to be a part of your life, the answer is always yes.

The bottom line:
Sometimes God does say yes. We need to record and remember those moments. God planned to the detail our lives. Sometimes his plans are different and the way he answers prayer is different, no or wait. But, don’t forget there are those times that God says yes.

Prayer Mentoring: Speak Normal

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Jesus said you are on Earth and your Father is in heaven, so let your words be few. Too often we measure a successful prayer life on length of time and not quality of what is said. Don’t be super spiritual when you pray. Be simple, real and authentic. Sometimes this will cause short prayers, other times your prayers will last a long time. Here are some tips on speaking normal.

Drop the King James talk
First, most people don’t understand the grammatical rules of the King James english to being with. While similar to our English, it’s not the same. If you don’t talk to your friend or spouse that way, there is no passage in Scripture that says we need a special language for prayer. God communicated his words in plain understandable language of the day.

Lordly Lordly prayers
It’s ok to use pronouns. Here is what I mean, talk to your friend or spouse and use their full name and titles before and after each sentence. If that seems really strange do you, you’re not alone. I often see people get uncomfortable or even think they don’t know how to pray because they don’t say all of God’s names in just about every sentence. Address God, and then use pronouns. Again, talk as you would to any friend.

Repetition
Prayer is a conversation. Prayer is not repeating a mantra. There are times we may repeat a phrase like the Psalmist did. ‘His love endures for ever.’ Again, this is something often over done. Is it ok to ask God about one thing in multiple prayers? YES! There’s even a word for that- it’s called petition, and Jesus encourages it.

Clarity of speech, humility of heart
The goal of praying should be clarity of what you say and humility of your heart. Often verbose prayers are about outward appearances and not a heartfelt talks with a living God. Speak plainly. If you don’t know how or what to say, talk through it as you would any friend. Prayer isn’t impressing God, it’s living life deeply with God.

The bottom line:
Talk to God like you would a friend. Prayer is not a religious game. Prayer is a conversation between you and a living God.

Prayer Mentoring: Lord’s Prayer Pattern

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Prayer mentoring
Following prayer patterns we see in Scripture helps us in our prayer life. Here is the way to work through the Lord’s prayer:

Praise: Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Helpful passage: Psalm 100. Jesus instructs to understand who God is as we start our prayers.

Purpose: Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.

Helpful passage: 1 Thes 5:16-22. Jesus wants us to focus on God’s will before our needs. Key prayer insight: How do I honor God in the circumstances I’m in?

Provision: Give us this day our daily bread.

Helpful passage: Phil 4:13. God give us the power to use what we have for his glory.

Problems: Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Helpful passage: 1 Jn 1:8-10. Until we see Jesus face to face we’ll struggle with sin. The issue isn’t failure but constantly going back to the Cross.

Protection: Lead us not into temptation.

Helpful passage: Psalm 119:9. The Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. Job sent Satan to tempt & test Job. Jesus knows this is hard, so ask God to skip it! If in temptation, God’s equipped you for it!

Preservation: Deliver us from Evil.

Helpful passage: Rom. 8:38-39. Nothing can separate us from God. Our salvation is secure. Still, we need God’s redeem us from evil. Evil is a present and very real aspect of life.

Prayer Mentoring: Praying through challenging times

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Life in a fallen world means we’ll be facing hard times. Often these hard times are a means God uses to draw us to Himself.

Pray
We say prayer should be a first response not a last result. Prayer is really both. The challenge of hard times comes when all we can do is wait.

Pray Scripture
The Bible gives us many patterns for prayer. Paul particularly records prayer thoughts for our benefit. The Bible says that if we ask according to the will of God we know we have that what we ask. Praying through Scriptures is helpful in this regard.

Psalms
When going through a challenging time the best word of advice I received was to find a Psalm, grab hold of it, and pray through it regularly. So, step one- search the Psalms and find one that speaks to your situation.

Meditate
Biblical meditation is filling our mind with Scripture. It’s an act of focus on God’s Word. This is different from Eastern meditation that focuses on emptying one’s mind. Choosing a Psalm helps in filling our minds with Scripture. So, step two- read and focus on this Psalm regularly.

Journal
This can take on many forms, but one thing you want to do is to record God’s faithfulness. By choosing a Psalm it can guide you about what to write. Step three- write what Gods is doing.

The bottom line:
Prayer is key to navigating hard times. Often we don’t know what to pray as we wait for God to show up. Pick a Psalm and grab hold of it. It will guide and sustain you through challenging times.

Prayer Mentoring: Your role in church

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Praying through your ministry at a church is an important aspect of prayer. I read this poem my senior year in college and it always stood out in how I pray over my service at a church. Use it in your own prayer life as you fulfill your ministry.

“This is my church…”
It is composed of people just like me.
It will be friendly if I am.
It will do a great work if I work.
It will make generous gifts to many causes if I am generous.
It will bring others into its fellowship if I bring them.
Its seats will be filled if I fill them.
It will be a church of loyalty and love, of faith and service.
If I who make it what it is, am filled with these.
Therefore, with God’s help,
I dedicate myself to the task of being all these things
I want my church to be.

Prayer Mentoring: God in your day

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The Bottom line:
We need God in our day, not God as a part of our day. Here’s the difference. Paul tells the Thessalonian believers to rejoice, pray without ceasing, and to give thanks- all a part of God’s will.

Rejoice!
A spirit of worship keeps our focus on God. A heart of worship is critical to being in God’s will. In your prayers, how are you worshiping God?

Pray without ceasing
Prayer is life long conversation with God. Some prayers are long, some are like texting, others a quick phone call. The idea here is we consistently talk to God throughout our day. After all, God is with us. How often do you pray?

Give thanks
Thanking God is trusting God. When we thank God in all things it does two things: 1) it focuses us in on God 2) it shows we trust in God’s plan for our life. How are you thanking God?

God’s Will
God wants to grow us and bless us. By fulfilling these three things we’re saying that we trust God to accomplish His will in our life. Don’t fall in the tyranny of God’s blessing where we think if we make the slightest mistake God won’t bless us. That’s not Gospel. Jesus died for all sins. All challenges we face are to conform and sharpen us more and more into the image of Jesus.

One more time:
Rejoicing, praying and thanking are three critical things to our prayer life. Doing these three things puts God in our day and not just a part of it.