2021-06-16
Philippians 4:6 TLB
If after praying, your emotions are still in turmoil – pray more. By cultivating the discipline of frequent prayer, you’ll discover the ability to remain calm and quiet. As you wait before the Lord, you’ll find relief from fear’s grip on your spirit. You might be tempted to think your prayer was ineffective, or you somehow failed because your anxiety returned – perhaps as soon as you said “Amen.” Just take persistent anxiety as a signal that you need more time with God; reviewing all the details of your problem, telling Him how much it plagues you, and sometimes even admitting that you’re afraid He won’t handle it soon enough.
Having a deep, persistent concern for a problem isn’t the same as worry. Worry is choosing to fret instead of turning it completely over to God. So if you tend to worry a lot, pray a lot. Pray, “Lord, this is your problem to fix. You take control. Let me know what you want me to do if I’m to be involved in the solution. By leaving it with you, I’ll consider it solved.” At that point discipline your mind not to worry, and not to continue seeking answers or trying to find the solution. You have solved the problem by giving it to God, and your major responsibility now is to wait for His leading.
When He wants you to act, He will make it clear. As you wait before Him, He will direct your thoughts to the next step you should take. And if there’s nothing He leads you to do – do nothing more. He will take it from there.
Soul food: 2 Ki 24-25; Luke 1:11-25; Ps 73:17-28; Prov 13:20
2021-06-15
Matthew 6:7 NAS
Knowing our tendency to complicate things, Jesus said, “When you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition…for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (vv. 7-8). By using the words “meaningless repetition,” He’s teaching us that prayer doesn’t have to be long, loud, or labored. And because He said “your Father knows what you need before you ask Him,” He’s inviting you to find a scriptural promise that corresponds to your need and stand on it.
Charles Swindoll, who uses his driving time to pray, writes this: “Often I speak to God out loud. Sometimes I sing to Him. Occasionally the entire prayer will be in my mind. Each time I commit myself to prayer, I notice that God becomes my focus rather than some personal struggle. I’m relieved of worry. I’m able to release anything concerning me so that I can become altogether lost in the majesty of His presence and the joy of ministry. When I arrive, I’m excited to do as God pleases. I find myself refreshed, relieved, and ready. My mind is focused. My heart is prepared. My emotions are clear, and whatever was troubling me when I began that drive no longer concerns me. Prayer has made that possible. Now I wish I could say I use every commute every day for time in prayer. But like many people, I often forget. My mind will be spinning from one problem to the next and rather than pray, I churn. At times I’ll be so anxious it doesn’t occur to me that I should quit worrying and commence praying.”
Prayer: make it simple, and frequent.
Soul food: 2 Ki 21-23; Luke 1:1-10; Ps 73:1-16; Prov 13:17-19
2021-06-14
1 Timothy 2:1 NIV
Prayer is simply communicating with God. And communication can be spoken or silent. It can even be expressed in song. Many of the Psalms are just prayers set to music. Prayer is connecting with God. Whether it’s confessing a sin, praising His name, pursuing His will, interceding for a friend, or petitioning for your own needs, your prayer must be God-centered, never self-centered. Sincere prayer comes from a heart that longs for God to reveal what He desires. So you must allow adequate time for listening and waiting intently before your heavenly Father. And prayer must be your first priority.
Paul instructs Timothy: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made” (v. 1 NIV). Note the words, “First of all.” Before you slide out of bed, before you take a shower, before you make your way to work, and before your first appointment, pray, pray, pray! Every afternoon at three o’clock, Peter and John went to the temple to pray. In the middle of the day, they interrupted their schedule to gather for one purpose: prayer.
So when your day is rolling along at its own pace and in its own direction, interrupt it with prayer. As your day builds toward a crisis, deliberately stop to pray. When your morning begins to go south, pull away for a few moments of solitude to seek God’s mind and ask for His instruction. When your attitude starts to sour, pause for an attitude adjustment prompted by prayer. Don’t wait – pray immediately.
Make prayer your first priority in all things and at all times. If you do, you’ll find that prayer changes your life for the better.
Soul food: 2 Ki 18:17-20:21; Mark 16:1-20; Ps 80:12-19; Prov 13:13-16
2021-06-13
Galatians 5:17 CEV
The Bible says: “If you are guided by the Spirit, you won’t obey your selfish desires. The Spirit and your desires are enemies…always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should” (vv. 16-17 CEV). Sound familiar? Here are four keys to winning the daily battle between your old and new natures.
(1) Be honest. Acknowledge that your flesh will always crave satisfaction in the wrong things – and it never takes a day off.
(2) Be humble. Acknowledge that you’re powerless to win the battle without God’s help. By committing yourself to God, you draw on His strength in those first crucial moments of each test. And your ability to do that will grow as you practice this spiritual discipline. The closer you draw to God, the stronger you become when faced with temptation and trouble.
(3) Be disciplined. This is a personal matter; no one else can do it for you. Paul writes, “You must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives” (Romans 6:12 MSG). If someone else has to restrain you, it doesn’t work!
(4) Be alert. As a soldier David should have known better, but Satan caught him off guard with his defenses down. As a result he ended up committing adultery with Bathsheba, then having her husband put to death in an attempt to cover it up. Maybe you think it couldn’t happen to you. Paul, the greatest of the apostles, wrote, “I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:27 NIV).
Soul food: Gen 11:1-9; Phil 2:1-11
2021-06-12
Philippians 3:8 CEV
The secret to surviving hard times doesn’t lie in what you know, but who you know. You say, “Right now I’ve got more troubles than Job.” Well, when the bottom dropped out of Job’s world, he said: “He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread” (Job 23:10-12 NIV).
And Paul’s life wasn’t a picnic either: “I have been in danger from rivers…from bandits…from my fellow Jews…from Gentiles; in danger in the city…in the country…at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and…often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and…often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:26-28 NIV).
Reading that list makes us ask the question, “How did he do it?” Paul knew the secret to surviving hard times. What was it? He allowed his troubles to drive him closer to the Lord: “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV). Do you want what Job and Paul had? Then draw closer to the Lord – that’s the secret!
Soul food: 2 Ki 16:1-18:16; Mark 15:33-47; Ps 80:1-11; Prov 13:11-12
2021-06-11
Proverbs 14:29 CEV
It’s never okay to explode at those God has entrusted to your care. The Bible says, “Don’t get so angry that you sin. Don’t go to bed angry and don’t give the devil a chance” (Ephesians 4:26-27 CEV). Satan would like nothing better than to gain entry to your home and turn it into a living hell, and every time you fly into a rage, you lose ground to him. That’s why the Scriptures say, “It’s smart to be patient, but it’s stupid to lose your temper.”
The key to managing your anger lies in finding healthy ways to express it so that it doesn’t end up hurting more than helping. It’s important to share your feelings, but you must always do it in the right way. Ultimately it’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong, or who can yell the loudest. It’s about finding the solution that’s best for everyone.
Understand this: Nobody can be everything you want them to be all the time. It’s impossible to have a long-term, loving relationship without learning to accept human weakness. So instead of dwelling on one another’s shortcomings, focus on your collective strengths as a family. Clinical neuropsychologist Paul Pearsall says, “Most of us would give our own life for…a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family for granted.”
Learn to control your temper; your family is worth it. After all, who else loves you regardless of what you do? And where else can you go to find the comfort and strength that comes from that kind of support system?
Soul food: 2 Ki 13-15; Mark 15:21-32; Ps 143; Prov 13:9-10
