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Prayer 4 – PRAYER another method

16 Apr

It is Wednesday of Holy Week for most Western Christians, prayer during this week is common. I would like to encourage you again to increase your prayer by considering another acrostic method for prayer.   Psalms5_3 It is the very word PRAYER itself.  What could be easier?

P – Praise God, be thankful for all the blessings in our lives, even praise God for the trials and circumstances that can be tough in our lives.  Think of all God has done to reconcile us to Him. So much grace and mercy simply cannot be ignored.

R – Repent and be made whole again. This is telling God about our mess-ups, short-falls of omission (not doing what we should have) and errors made – sins of commission (doing what we should not have done)

A – Adore God, When  love. Plain and simple. Do you love God? He loves you. He loves me.  He is love, so he cannot love anyone.  His love is so complete, He died to give us each a future and a hope; to give us a path of reconciliation to God the Father.

Y – Your needs. We all have personal requests we pray for or want to pray for. Often, but not always,  they are related to the very same items we repented and confessed above. Keep us from temptation, help me to be more faithful, loving, kind, gentle, humble, wise, frugal, bring me healing. I urge you to examine your motives again. (If the reason for these requests — i.e. bring me a winning lotto ticket — is greed, go ahead and pray it, but be willing to hear God say, no, not this week).

E – Everyone else’s needs. We all have people in our circle of life. Some are people we would prefer be in another circle. Jesus commanded we pray for those people. Some are people we like, or have heard of their needs via a prayer chain, or posting request, or email, or conversation where one’s ear picked up a need. Some requests will most certainly be for those we love here on earth. Sometimes the needs of others are unspoken to us, but if we ask the Holy Spirit, how can I pray for my child, my husband today – What do they need? God will answer.

R – Rejoice in the coming answers, and recognize God hears and loves to hear from you. Ask in faith, and thank God for the answers – even if you do not yet see them in fruition. As of now, I have only known God to answer 3 ways. Yes, No, Wait in the hallway until the door opens. Personally, I prefer either of the first two over the Wait. But God has His plan, and our best interest at heart *always*. I would love to hear from you. I am a lover of prayer and spending time with my Lord. If you find these PRAYER blogs helpful let me know. If you have a specific PRAYER question, let me know.

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Prayer 3 – A.C.T.S.

13 Apr
How do we learn to pray? Get close to our Source

How do we learn to pray? Get close to our Source

Have you ever wondered where to start if you are unfamiliar with prayer? One way is to use a standard prayer-book, or a compendium of historical prayers. Another method is to use scripture and pray a Bible verse or two. Some people like praying with a pattern to help them stay on track. I’ve used a few of these forms in the past, and sometimes still do. One is called A.C.T.S. The acronym stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. It contains all the topical elements of the Prayer Jesus taught his disciples. (BTW, I have no idea who first came up with this idea.) Adoration is the noun version of the verb Adore. I think for the purposes of prayer, though the acronym was taught to me as Adoration, I think of it as the verb form.  Actively speaking my love and worship to God my divine creator. For me it is showing God my reverence. It is knowing my position as the Beloved humbly in front of the Great I AM God.  I am in a heavenly throne room, and want to recognize God and His position.  His “otherness”. Confession is next. To me it is a logical transition.  This is the part that makes all of us uncomfortable. It means that we acknowledge and own our wrong doings, our sins, and then confess them each to God — agree with him that we have sinned — and turn away from those actions and thoughts. For me this is part of “wiping my slate clean” with God by telling Him all my mistakes and mess-ups. BONUS:   We have the joy of knowing scripture 1 John 1:9 promises us that when we confess the sins we know of, and ask God humbly to reveal any of which we are unaware, then ALL our sins are covered – even the ones we don’t know about – and therefore cannot confess.   God is so gracious to us and so incrediably merciful. He gives us what we do NOT deserve and does NOT give us what we do deserve.  Grace and Mercy is where confession becomes powerful to call us back into God’s love.  He never leaves us, but in reality, each one honestly looking at ourselves – we know we leave Him.  He is ever faithful and loving, we are not. Next is Thanksgiving. Have an attitude of gratitude. Think of and really tell God about people and things you are happy are in your life.  Thank God for anything that give you joy or peace:  People you love, People you need to love, Enemies who teach us love, Blessings of home, job, family, nature’s wonders, beauty. Appreciate the blessings God has given you and thank Him for these. This section can be very long if you practice gratitude on a daily basis. This is an ideal place to thank God for all that He IS to you personally, as well as for all He has done for and with and to you.  It can be short if you are new to the concept of gratitude and thanksgiving for the daily blessings of all that God provides.  That’s ok.  Just do what you can. After adoring worship and confession, and thanksgiving,  it is the ideal time to tell God what concerns you and to make your supplications for intervention on your behalf or on behalf of others. Tell God the situation, be specific, and ask God for what you need.   God already knows our heart, so you may as well put all your cards on the table.  He knows your prayers before words form on your tongue, and yet, scripture commands us to pray.  To humbly kneel before the throne of our God and King and make our requests. Scripture also tells us to pray in alignment with the Spirit, and it cautions us that sometimes we do not have because we ask with impure motives. (Refer to Lent Reflection2014)  So before you give God your list of “wants”, as if He is just a Santa in the Sky, consider with due reverence what your motives are for making the requests. Is it a need, a want, an intercession on behalf of another, or yourself (which by the way – is perfectly fine). THINK – Is it true, is it honest, is it needful, is it helpful, is it kind?  There is no space for pretense in such an intimate relationship as we have with God in prayer.  Prayers are answered. Most people may close by asking “in the name of Jesus Christ” or something of that sort.  Do you know why?   Not as a habit I hope, but sincerely obeying the commands found in the gospels that Jesus tells his disciples to petition God in His (Jesus’) name. Again an act of humility before a mighty God in acknowledging the ONLY reason we can come to Him with our requests is because Jesus’ death and resurrection made a bridge whereby we can do so. I’d be happy to hear your thoughts on A.C.T.S. Have you ever tried this method? Are you willing to give it a try out even for a few days?  Let me know. If you have other methods, please feel free to share.  I would be encouraged by your feedback, and if you like this reflection, be sure to share it with others.  

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PRAYER 2

25 Mar
     Prayer is relationship driven.  If you love someone don’t you want to speak with them regularly?  You want to learn as much about them as you can do.  You want to know what gives them joy.  Do you?   I do.  Knowing God is critical to my relationship with Him.  Both in my speaking to God through prayer and in listening for His reply, (most often through reading and studying His Word, the Bible), and also through fellowship within a body of like fellow believers in Christ.
     Continuing the series on prayer, I want to share with you one of my favorite Bible prayers.  It is found in the book of Ephesians, one of my favorite books.  It is written by the apostle Paul.  To give a very brief synopsis of Ephesians, the first 3 chapters tell us who we are in Christ.  If you ever struggle with your self-image, studying this book is a great place to start to see yourself as God sees you.  The last 3 chapters tells us, now that we are in Christ, how we want to live to show off God’s glory and keep His reputation spotless.
     The prayer for today’s reflection is one of Paul’s prayers for the Ephesians.  I don’t know about you, but I think he was well practiced in prayer.  Scripture does not tell us how Paul learned to pray, but it is clear from his writings, that not only did he know how to pray, he believed in the power of prayer.
     I’m no theologian, but I dare say all of Paul’s letters contain at least one prayer.  I don’t believe he did this as a mere formality of letter writing in his day.  I believe this was done to encourage other believers –  then and now.  I believe it was his enthusiasm and love for Christ that made Paul love to pray.
     In speaking about this passage, the Asbury Commentary says: “Paul hopes that the Ephesians will know God not only as the Father who legally adopted them but also as the Father who loves them. More than legal heirs, they are also children; …. they are members of God’s household”    As such, I believe Paul hopes they will want to know God more intimately.  As such, hopefully WE also want to know God more intimately.
     One reason I love this particular prayer in Ephesians is because reminds me, not only that God cares about my personal and detailed concerns, but with this prayer it brings in an understanding that we need to take seriously the call to pray for the spiritual needs of others.
     This is a big responsibility, particularly when I often feel inadequate about living my own spiritual life with consistency.  (*Tip: Go back and read Eph. chapters 1-3)  I chose to emphasize that it is also an incredible privilege to pray for other’s growth along their spiritual journey.  There are few things more satisfying than seeing spiritual growth in a person you pray for and care about.  This is what Paul asks for the people of Ephesus:

 

*********     Ephesians 1:17-20  (NIV)     ***********

17 “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.  That power is the same as the mighty strength,20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…”

      As I look at this prayer, the first observation is Paul saying:  “I keep asking”.  He perseveres even if he does not hear an immediate answer, he continues to pray for the believers in Ephesians.  News traveled slow, but He did not stop because the need was always present.  It is still a need today.  Are we consistent in praying for the spiritual needs of others?
     Second observation is that Paul recognizes and hallows to whom he is praying.  He first asks God, (as God Almighty), then he further mentions God in Trinitarian context, as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ (a title I love), and his next mention and first request is that the Holy Spirit would take particular action to benefit the Ephesian believers.
     Third, I notice what action Paul requests.  He specifically asks the Spirit to provide wisdom and revelation to the believers.  Without the revelation of the Holy Spirit, we are unable to know God.  Without the assistance of the Holy Spirit we are unable to understand anything God wants to communicate with us.  It is only through the leading of the Holy Spirit we are even able to want to know God.
     Fourth observation – Paul includes the reasons for the requests within the prayer, “so that” and “in order to”…I love that.  Do we carefully craft our prayers to know what and why we are praying for a need?   Or do we just blurt out something without understanding the reason?  I encourage you to go deeper in prayer as Paul did, and think about the reason for your request.  Why are you asking for God’s assistance in the matter?  Be specific, what is the outcome you are hoping for?  What is the “so that” and the “in order to” for your requests?  In other words, if God grants your prayer, what result would you see?
      The first reason Paul gives is for the people to know God better.  “If Paul’s prayer is answered, God will show himself to the Gentiles in particular and give them insight to understand the divine mystery of grace.” (ibit)

     What a wonderful request each of us can make for ourselves, our families, our friends, and our communities.  If we, as believers, want to grow, we need to hunger to know God better.  We need to dive deep into God’s grace.  Go all in.  When I can’t think of any other prayer, I ask God to give me deeper understanding of His grace, and an unending hunger for His word.  What I want most is to know Him better.  I ask the same for my family, my friends, my pastors, and my community.
     Fifth,  I notice in His second sentence Paul moves straight to the heart of the matter.  “Heart” in this passages is considered the very center and core of life.  Prayer is a matter of the heart.  Loving God is a matter of the heart.  Knowing God is a matter of the heart.  Having Hope is a matter of the heart.  So, when Paul asks God to open the eyes of their hearts, that they may be enlightened, Paul is asking the best thing he can think of for his friends in Ephesus.  Again, Paul tells us why:  “in order” that you (the Ephesians) may know the hope to which God has called you (the Ephesians).
     Today, is it just as important to know the hope to which God has called us.  Knowing Whom our hope is, in Whom our hope is placed, knowing to Whom we belong, is a matter of the heart.  It is in our heart that we experience God’s light and life.  Through His Holy Spirit dwelling in us, that enlightenment comes from God.
     Sixth, Knowing hope and knowing our calling from God is absolutely essential in living a Christian life.  As I reflect upon this, I realize knowing the hope of our inheritance is part of a deepening appreciation of God’s plan for our lives as we journey with Him.  I also think of the many times in my journey past, when I did not have a clear vision of what God called me to do, nor why he called me.  Now days, I always come back to the same answer,  He called me because He loves me.
     God loves all His children.  He offers reconciliation to all His children, but not all people are willing.  We have free choice.  God is a gentleman and will never force himself upon us.  We and we alone are responsible for our choices and the consequences of those choices.  Let me say this a different way – I don’t want to offend anyone – but man are you missing out if you pass up God’s offer of reconciliation in Jesus Christ.
     Seventh observation, Here in the prayer for the Ephesians, Paul expands not only are we called of God, but Paul’s desire is that they realize the extent of the riches to be found in His glorious inheritance in His holy people.  Wow.  Can we ever wrap our head around that concept?  Can we ever exhaust God’s glorious riches?  Can we even take in that He is our inheritance and we are part of His?  Us?  Really?   Doesn’t that just blow your mind?  It does mine.  It calls me further into prayer, it calls me deeper, it calls me to ask the Spirit to again further enlighten my heart so I may know God better, and to be holy, even as God is holy.
      Eighth:  This prayer calls me to realize that I can’t be holy,  without God’s provision and power.  Paul continues with the request for the enlightened heart to understand God’s incomparably great power for the Ephesians who believe.  (Some translations say “toward us that believe”.)   Then he explains in vs 20, that the same power, is what God used when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him (Christ) at His (the Father’s) right hand in the heavenly realms.
     Now I admit, I’m not a theological scholar, but it certainly seems to me that Paul is saying we have access through prayer, to the same power of God used when Christ was raised from the dead.  That is incredible power.  Simply by praying.  Again Wow.  There is no need for us to fail when we have such power available to help us along our spiritual journey.
Think on this, reflect on exactly what Paul is asking God.  Said another way, God is for us.  The surprassing greatness of God’s power is toward us who believe.  Again, Wow.
     When I’m discouraged or wondering what to pray, I know I can count on the Holy Spirit to intercede for us because the Bible says so, (Rom 8:26-27) yet I also know that when I can’t think of how to pray or what to pray for myself or others, I often turn to a prayer such as this one which shows me a practical way to prioritize prayer needs.  It is another model prayer,  one way to pray for others on their spiritual journey.  To me, that is one of the greatest privileges of all.  To intercede on behalf of others.  To ask God to work in their life.  And it is rare that I can think of something better to pray than that the eyes of someone’s heart be opened to all that God has in store for them:  All the Good, all the richness of God, all  the power to in faith ask and believe.  Have expectant hope, the knowledge of a sure thing God has promised for us.
     So I ask you, when you can’t think how to pray, where do you start?
Please let me know your thoughts about prayer and about this prayer and this reflection in particular.
*******       For further reflection or diving deeper study try looking up these verses and
                     consider what they have to say in relation to the prayer above…..                              ***********
Surrounding context:  Start at Ephesians (Eph.) 1: 15-16
     Also see
Eph. 1:3, 1:7+8, 1:11+12, Eph. 3:14-20, Eph. 4:4+5
John 14:16+17; 23-26, John 20:17
Acts 2:24, 7:2, 9:13, 26:14-18
Rom. 1:8+9, Rom 15:6, Rom. 11:29
I Cor. 2:5-10, 14:6
2 Cor. 4:6+7
Heb. 6:4
Phil. 3:21
Col. 1:9-14, 1:29

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Prayer Part1

12 Mar

This was originally drafted in May 2013 – Interrupted and forgot to post. Too funny, but OK. Means, it was meant for now. So I will update before posting. For most of last year (2013), I used a different form of study than in prior years. I try to pick a format for Bible study early in the year and follow that same format for most of the year. In 2013, I most of my study was topical. Most days, my Bible study revolved around prayer. This included reading multiple books on prayer, as well as experimenting using different forms of prayer. It meant also working to clarify my prayers, my prayer motives, and taking my prayer life into different forms. I needed to includes more Bible study, prior to praying through my prayer lists of needs. I needed to let God speak to me through His Word, the Bible, before I felt I could speak to Him. I needed to place the needs of others, before my own. Yet, I felt that laying my heart bare to God was critical to a vibrant prayer life. For me, prayer is getting to know God more intimately in a wider array of being.  Prayer for me is not just a habit. It is not a “discipline”, something I *have* to do. It is not merely like breathing out and breathing in – a necessity for life. It is a way of life. Prayer is so ingrained in my being that I cannot live without it. I think prayer is “addicting” in a good way; because as you see prayers answered, you want to pray more and more. You see God working in your life and in the life of others, and in situations in our world, and you want to take Him all that concerns you. A sensitivity to the needs of others increases. Vision for the world grows, and includes big needs as well as small personal needs. Prayer is an unbelievable privilege. The Bible tells us that we enter into the very presence of God. Wow. This continues to blow me away. To think that the God of the universe invites me to bring Him my cares and concerns of daily living. Words fail to express my heart. Watch for more blogs on Prayer in the future. Let me know if this is something useful to you. Let me know if you would like to learn more about prayer. How to do it, different forms, resources,etc. Example: Thank_You_Prayer

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Lent Reflection 2014

12 Mar

Lent this year for me is a call to self-examination and reevaluation of my relationship with God. Today I tried the DIVE method (Jenifer Jernigan – Define, Investigate, Visualize, Embrace – From “Diving Deeper Ministries”)

Proverbs 11:3 NASB says “He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his way will be found out.” Or NIV says “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” ESV says it like this: “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.” ERV: “Good people are guided by their honesty, but crooks who lie and cheat will ruin themselves.”
Cross Ref: Proverbs 10:9, Psalm 15. (only 5 verses) The one word focus – Integrity.

Define:
Complete moral innocence, being real, being sincere, wholeness, authentic, complete unity, soundness – no division, no compartmentalization, no posing, no being a chameleon, no being a people pleaser.

Investigate: Reasons why it is worth it to strive to have integrity: (partial revisit & adaptation from my notes of an old Chip Ingram podcast)
1. Relationship with God is impossible without it. I cannot have a relationship with God until I am honest with Him. There is no conning God. He will meet me right where I am – warts, discouragement & all. (X-Ref – Ps 145:18, I John 1:9, Hebrews 7:25) Do not pose to be more ___ than I am. When I sin, I want to immediately confess and restore relationship with God. God accepts the humble in heart – He loves those who know we can’t do life on our own.
2. Not possible to have healthy relationship within yourself. I’ve been working on this one for a while. (Ps. 51, Ps 139) Taking a turn away from what I know is right brings me pain. Even when the thought is “no one knows – fact is *I* know. It is not hidden; there is no conning God. I’ve heard it said that dishonesty with self is the core cause of self-hatred, lack of peace, denial, & strife within one’s self. Peer into avoidance behaviors: noise, food, company, distractions, restlessness, inability to “Be still”. Internal turmoil and dissonance from lacking integrity between the person I want others to think I am versus who I currently am, who I want to be within my true inner self & heart knowledge of who I really am now. Ps. 46: 10, Romans 12: 3-6 – Take an honest self assessment: I’m not perfect, I’m making progress. I am accepted and beloved in Christ. Yes, I’m going to mess up from time to time. More often than I want. But no, I don’t want to live life with that mess on my heart. (refer back to #1) I’m working to align what are untrue thoughts with God’s truth about me. I’ve started a true/false list to help me believe how God sees me. (Good and bad)
3. Impossible to have good relationships with others. I cannot be honest with others until I am honest with God and with myself. It requires humility and a self-image true to God’s image of me. (Ref: Eph 4:15) Relationships that give me the greatest satisfaction are those which are based in honesty and based in speaking the truth in love; both of which lead to trust.

Visualize: On a consistent basis my life and my words need to say the same thing. Not perfectly, but consistently. I give my word and I keep it. I do not hide my faults. I am quick to forgive. I am quick to ask forgiveness. I want to see myself and more importantly, see others, as God sees. No minimizing the positive for me, I want to seek God’s truth. “Integrity is when what you think, what you say, and what you do, how you live are all in alignment.” Source unknown – but that is where I am aiming this lent.

Embrace:
Lord, Move me out of the place of guilt and performance based acceptance and into a place of the truth of your acceptance and love. Lead me into a true self-image in you. Not thinking too highly of myself, or too lowly. Maybe not thinking of myself at all, but of others first. Help me today to be your love in the place you have provided for me today.Don'tBeHardonYourself

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