Prayer

Why pray? 

      That’s a key question on know many people have asked me throughout the years.  In fact, its a question I have even asked myself. How we answer it will inform our entire prayer life.  Most people would say that we pray to make things happen. One theologian says, “Prayer is God granting man the dignity of causality.” I think that means prayer gets things done. People pray; God moves; things happen. It makes sense.

     

        But other people say that prayer isn’t so much about making things happen as getting in touch with God. It’s not to change God or change the world, but to change us. The ultimate purpose of prayer is to bring our hearts into line with God’s, so that we think his thoughts and feel his feelings.

      

       Is prayer for the personal man or the community of faith? Is prayer a way of doing or a way of being? Or is it both? The Bible doesn’t seem to see this as an “either/or” dilemma but a “both/and” reality. Sure, prayer gets things done, but it works because the hearts of the pray-ers are synchronized with the heart of God. Prayer gets things done when it’s practiced “in the name of Jesus.” To pray in Jesus’ name is not to use a magical potion, but to pray with the vision and values of the Son of God. It’s to pray what Jesus would pray if he were in your shoes and on your knees.

      

      A great example of praying with God’s heart took place 2,000 years before Christ. In Genesis 18:17-21, God told Abraham what he intended to do to Sodom and Gomorrah, which was burn them to the ground. This revelation moved Abraham to intercede on their behalf. In one of the most famous bargaining session of all time, Abraham haggles for the lives of the entire population. He finally gets God down to ten righteous people—if just ten good people can be found in Sodom and Gomorrah, God will spare both cities. 

       Of course, the ten righteous people don’t exist. So God executes his judgment, although he does spare four righteous people, Lot and his family. So prayer got something done as Abraham aligned his heart with God’s. Moved by God to prayer in the first place, Abraham appealed to God’s justice, entreating him not to punish the righteous along with the wicked. God responded by sparing the lives of those who were still faithful to him. That’s godly, effective prayer in a nutshell.

       Lord help me to be a man of prayer.  Don't ever let my life get so busy that I forget that time with you is the most important thing.  I pray for our lives now, and ask for your guidance, direction, and will to be done.  Bless my family, our church, and help us bless those around us.  Thank you for hearing us when we pray! 

 

Reaching out

It seems pretty obvious that God’s main plan for the church is to connect them with one another. The is the model of the church that we read about in Acts 2.  One sign of a healthy church or in my case student ministry is when many different groups (groups of students who normally wouldn’t hang out together at school) connect.  The church is designed to bring people together and to get the word of God out to the lost.   We see Jesus reaching out to people that others would not even associate with. 

As Easter approaches, I have a feeling of overwhelming responsibility to get the gospel to all generations and regardless of race, background, financial status, or any other thing the world may choose to label people with.  We know that we have to become more like Him, in order to make this plan work, but how can we do just that?  

It is by no surprise that none of us are perfect.  No one has it all together.  Everyone has disappointments, bad attitudes, and imperfections.  The good news is that we can have a new beginning when we accept God, and our relationships can become more important to us than they were before.  Jesus knew about the power of love, and showed it throughout His ministry.  He went about His Father's business often times against the grain of the norm. He didn't care what others thought, just as long as he could show love to those that needed it.  

We see in 1 John 4:7-12 that John has acquired this attitude of becoming more like Christ with his intentions and wants to share the love of God with everyone he meets.  Take a look:

 7-10My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.

 11-12My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love! 

I do know that I still have a lot of imperfections, and I can hear Christina saying Amen, but I know I am trying to live the life that God has created me for.   

It is my prayer that we don't run through this important season, and forget the reason that Christ died for us, we must remember that the reason He died was because he LOVED us.  We must in turn share this love with everyone we meet.  

God, help me to be love to those that need it most.  Open the doors of opportunity that I may share your love with all.  Never let me back down from the challenge of sharing your perfect love with others.  Thank you for saving me and giving me hope for tomorrow.  Amen.