2024-04-05
Matthew 6:32 NLT
Jesus said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (v. 33 NLT). You ask, “When I think about God, is that the same as praying?” It can be. We’re all familiar with the power of unspoken communication. Many of us grew up with parents who didn’t have to say a thing to make their will known. It may have been a certain look in their eye or some other unspoken signal. But we knew exactly what was being communicated and how we were expected to respond.
Prayer works that way too. When you think about God, it’s prayer; and when God communicates His thoughts back to you, it’s a form of answered prayer. A little boy wanted a bicycle for Christmas, and one night he was praying at the top of his voice telling God exactly what kind and color of bike he wanted. His mother said, “Son, you don’t need to shout for God to hear you.” He replied, “I know Mama, but I need to shout if Grandpa is going to hear me and buy me that bike!”
The truth is, you don’t need to shout for God to hear you, and you don’t need to try and conjure up answers to your prayers. Jesus said, “Your heavenly Father knows what you need before you even ask.” So, why even take the time to pray? Because God wants you to approach Him with confidence, trust Him with all your needs, and build a relationship with Him. That’s what it’s all about!
Soul food: Jer 25-27; Mark 1:9-15; Ps 31; Prov 8:34-36
2023-01-31
Philippians 4:7 NKJV
Wise people never make important decisions in a wrong emotional state. When Elijah found out that Queen Jezebel was after him, he was ready to give up his role as a prophet and die. So God gave him forty days of rest, prayer and recovery, before he decided what his next steps would be. He was now ready to decide on the basis of his faith in God, and not his fear of Jezebel. And his decision was very different at the end of forty days of rest, than it would have been before he rested.
You’ve probably seen people make terrible decisions when they were drained, tired, discouraged, and afraid, that they would never have made otherwise. Generally speaking, you won’t choose the right course of action when you’re in the wrong frame of mind.
When you have an important decision to make, sometimes the wisest thing you can do is – wait until you’re rested. An anxious mind in an exhausted body can lead to a terrible decision. The Bible says: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (vv. 6-7 NKJV).
Notice what “the peace of God” does for you. It will “guard” your mind. From what? Acting impulsively, acting selfishly, or acting maliciously. Acting in any way that will result in loss rather than gain – and regret rather than joy.
Soul food: Gen 17-19; Luke 7:1-10; Ps 107:17-22; Prov 3:21-24
2022-06-19
Joshua 24:15 NKJV
The beloved radio commentator, Paul Harvey, wrote: “At a time when being a buddy to one’s son is popular, I am going to stay a Father… If a gap exists between my sons and daughters and myself, I am going to work hard to understand, but I am also going to work hard to be understood… when they tell it like it is, I will listen, even if I like it better the way it was. If old fashioned things such as prayer, Bible study, worship and faith in God ever seem to my children to be out of date, square, or whatever – I trust God’s help to have faith enough to yet pray for them, and I pledge with the patriarch Job to offer additional sacrifices for them.
With love in our home, I will answer their questions about the facts of life, but at nudeness and lewdness I refuse to wink… If experimentation with drugs or Marijuana is ever a problem, it will be in violation of my every prayer and request… I want my children to know that I make mistakes, that I am foolish, proud and often inconsistent. But I will not tolerate that as an excuse for my hypocrisy. I will ask them to help me change… and to expect me to help them change…
Others may look to the under-thirty crowd for the wisdom to throw away the past, and to say what will remain for future generations; others may let the offspring in the house determine the foods, the music, and the spending of the household, but I am going to stay a Father.”
Soul food: Est 4:9-5:3; Heb 4:7-16
2022-06-12
2 Timothy 2:13 NIV
Here is something you should be very glad about: God’s faithfulness to you doesn’t depend on your faithfulness to Him. The Bible says, “If we are faithless, he remains faithful.” Your mistakes may take you out of God’s will, but they will never place you beyond His reach.
Catherine Marshall tells of a great personal struggle she experienced after writing a novel titled Gloria. She began the book in 1969 and abandoned the project two-and-a-half years later. To her, the shelved manuscript was like “a death in the family.” Attempting to reconcile her conflicting thoughts and feelings, she spent time at a retreat house. And while there, she reread the Bible story from Numbers about a time when poisonous snakes filled the Israelite camp. The people recognized the snakes as punishment for their sin, and cried out in repentance. The Lord told Moses, “Make a [bronze] snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live” (Numbers 21:8 NIV).
Catherine realized that just as the Israelites took that which had hurt them, lifted it up to God, and were healed, we can take our mistakes and sins, lift them up to God in prayer, and trust Him to heal us. She writes, “When any one of us has made a wrong (or even doubtful) turning in our lives through arrogance, lack of trust, impatience, or fear – God will show us a way out.” Even when you stray, God loves you so much that He will draw you back to Himself again. “If we are faithless, he remains faithful.”
Soul food: Ezek 37:1-14; Matt 27:50-53; 1 Thes 4:13-18; Eph 1:19-20
2022-05-22
1 Timothy 2:1 NIV
Paul wrote: ‘I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth’ (v.1-4 NIV).
Intercession means ‘to mediate between parties with a view to reconciling those who differ or contend’. It happens every day in the court system when lawyers intercede on behalf of their clients. It also happened in Scripture. When Israel made a golden calf and worshipped it, Moses interceded with God on their behalf, saying: ‘Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! …But now, please forgive their sin – but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written’ (Exodus 32:31-32 NIV).
And it worked. God told Moses, ‘Go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you’ (v.34 NIV). Later when Israel turned again to worship false gods, Samuel said, ‘Assemble all Israel to Mizpah, and I will intercede with the LORD for you’ (1 Samuel 7:5 NKJV). So that day, God sent a loud thunder over the Philistines and confused them so much, they were defeated (see 1 Samuel 7:10).
Interceding for others can be lonely, and it’s also hard work. Epaphras was described as ‘wrestling in prayer’ for the people of the Colossian church (see Colossians 4:12 NIV). But there’s so much value in intercessory prayer. Could you be an intercessor for someone today?
Gen 24:1-51; 2 Cor 6:14-7:1
