PRAYERS

Prayers appear in the Bible in both prose and poetry. What makes "prayer "a unique category of literature is that it expresses direct communication between people and their God.
 

Psalms contains many prayers that are written in poetic form. Some psalm prayers were written for group worship when all the people came together to ask for God's help (Ps 79; 80), to give thanks to God at the time of harvest (Ps 126), or to celebrate the crowning of a new king (Ps 21).

Other psalm prayers are more personal. They were used as individual prayers expressing sadness, asking for help, giving thanks, or asking for forgiveness, (see Ps 12; 51; 120; 138).

Prayers can be found throughout the Bible. (Some examples are Gen 18:27,28; Exd 17:4; Judg 5:2-31; 1 Sam 2:1-10; 1 King 3:6-9; John 2:2-9; Luke 11:2-4; 22:42;John 17:1-26; Rom 16:25-27; and Heb 13:21.

Perhaps the most famous prayer in the  Bible is the one Jesus taught his disciples (Matthew 6:9-13).

Acts 9:4-5

“He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. — 

When Paul teaches that the Church is the Body of Christ, he isn't being theoretical. The Church is Jesus' presence, his Body in this world. What is done to the Church as a collective group of people is done to Jesus. 

What is done to individual Christians is done to their Savior. Jesus is present in the world through us! The saying is true: the only Jesus many will see today is the Jesus they see through you and me.

Faith Quotes

Smith Wigglesworth - “There is a place where God, through the power of the Holy Ghost, reigns supreme in our lives.”

Smith Wigglesworth - “I never get out of bed in the morning without having communion with God in the Spirit.”

Ways of Waiting on God - 2

Expectantly:

 

Psalm 62:5-6 -  My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.

Psalm 123:3 - Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

Micah 7:7 - Therefore I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.

Continually:

Hosea 12:6 - So you, by the help of your God, return; Observe mercy and justice, and wait on your God continually

Longingly:

Psalm 130:5-6 - I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in His word, I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning— Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

Quietly:

Lamentations 3:26 – It is good that one should hope and wait quietly

For the salvation of the Lord.

Faith

Faith is often a waiting journey.

Faith is not a walk of knowing.

Faith is not a knowing journey.

Faith is knowing Him,

Not knowing what the future holds,

But knowing the One who holds the future,

Knowing He is God,

Knowing He is Sovereign.

Think it over…

~ There's no such thing as a successful marriage.  There are marriages that give up, and marriages that keep on trying; that's the only difference. - Garrison Keillor

~ Confusion and impotence are the inevitable results when the wisdom and resources of the world are substituted for the presence and power of the Spirit. - Samuel Chadwick

Philemon

 Introduction

 

Philemon is about reconciliation and relationships between Christians. Onesimus (which means “useful”) was a slave of a believer named Philemon in Colossae. Apparently Onesimus had stolen from Philemon and fled. At some time while Paul was under arrest, Onesimus met him and became a Christian. 

Paul apparently wrote this letter at the same time as Colossians and gave it to Onesimus to carry back to Philemon (see Col. 4:9). Paul appealed to Philemon to accept Onesimus back into his household, but as a brother in the Lord rather than a slave. In Paul’s estimation, Onesimus was far more “useful” (v. 11) now that he was a Christian. Paul even promised to pay whatever debt Onesimus might owe Philemon.

Thought

As a mother, my job is to take care of the possible and trust God with the impossible. - Ruth Bell Graham

God's Word

“And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it, and then, finally, the end will come.” - Matthew 24:14

Ecclesiastes 9:18

“Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.”

Just a little leaven and the whole lump is changed. A sinful person can have the same effect on a whole group of people committed to God. So let's be wise and reverence God by obeying him and his Word. Let's be insightful in the way we deal with sin and temptation in our lives. 

Also, let's be sure to remember that we are at war with the evil one. Then let's praise God, because our Savior has already defeated our enemy and the Holy Spirit empowers us to stand up to Satan's attacks and resist his temptation.

Quotes 

.. Every Christian family ought to be, as it were, a little church, consecrated to Christ, and wholly influenced and governed by His rules. - Jonathan Edwards

.. All too often, the church holds up a mirror reflecting back the society around it, rather than a window revealing a different way. - Philip Yancey

..The world does not understand theology or dogma, but it does understand love and sympathy. - D. L. Moody

The Cross Means That I Can Enjoy Forgiveness.

Can a holy God overlook sin and pretend it is not there? Can a righteous God ignore sin and fail to deal with it? Can the Judge of all the universe "close His eyes" and not punish those who have sinned and done wrong? What would you think of an earthly judge who let a criminal go free without any punishment? Would his judgment be fair? Would his judgment be right? Even if the judge’s own son were to stand before him as a guilty criminal, would justice still need to be carried out? Would the guilty one still need to be punished even though he were the son of the judge?

How can God remain righteous and holy and completely forgive and pardon the guilty sinner? How is this possible? The cross made this possible. God provided a SAVIOUR for me (Luke 2:10-11). This SAVIOUR became my SUBSTITUTE and took my place. My SUBSTITUTE became a SACRIFICE when He died on the cross for me. Because of the SAVIOUR, the SUBSTITUTE, and the SACRIFICE, I can become a SAINT (a set apart and saved person)! Instead of judging me, God can forgive me because He already judged His Son when Christ died on the cross for my sins. The cross makes it possible for God to judge sin and at the same time justify the sinner.

Spiritual Thoughts 

"Our faith and our friendships are not shattered by one big act, but by many small neglects." — J. Gustav White

Christ is Better Than

From the books of Hebrew

The prophets (1:1-4)

Angels (1:4--2:18)

Moses (3:1-18)

Jousha (4:1-13)

The High Priest (4:14--6:12)

Melchisedec (7:1-10)

Abraham (6:13--7:10)

Aaron and other earthly priests (7:11--8:6)

The old covenant sacrifices (8:7--19:39)

The old covenant faith worthies (11:1--12:2)

Parents and others (11:3--13:25)

You’ve got to start somewhere

-Mother Teresa

It was the initial stage of Mother Teresa having stepped into Calcutta’s Motihil slum to teach. She was happy to see several children waiting for her on the steps of a railway bridge that led down into the slum. In trying to find a spot where they could meet, she noticed that the only open area was a tree near the slum.

With no blackboard, chalk, books or desks, Mother Teresa took a stick and used it to write in the mud. As the children squatted and watched, she traced the letters of the Bengali alphabet with stick. She made a start, and the rest is history.
Are you one of those persons who want to begin something, but wait for the perfect time and resources? This sort of mentality only serves as fuel to your excuses, and allow you to justify your inaction. If you want things to happen, then it’s up to you to make them happen. Make a start, and the rest will follow.

Why we doubt our Salvation? – John 10:28

If you have trusted in Jesus Christ and yet continually doubt your salvation, then your whole life is thrown off balance. Key areas of faith begin to crumble, and you limit the work of the Holy Spirit in and through you. It is impossible to live an effective, empowered, Spirit-filled life if you are always wondering whether you are saved. Why, then, do believers so often doubt? Let’s consider five key reasons:

1. Sin. When disobedience is present in a person’s life, his prayers will be hindered, as will his grasp of spiritual ideas. 2. False Teaching. If you’ve been taught that salvation is dependent upon good works, then you have been misled. 3. Overemphasis on Emotions. Too often, the experience of being saved is tied to an emotional high.  4. Disbelief. Acts 16:31 clearly states, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” 5. Satanic Attack. The enemy’s goal is to alienate us from God. One of his most effective tactics is to cause us to question our standing with the Lord.

Quotes about Christianity

 “A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is... A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

..  “In truth, there was only one Christian and he died on the cross.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

..  “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now...Come further up, come further in!” - C.S. Lewis

Trinity Working Together

Trinity in creation

God the Father spoke – Hebrews 11:3

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

God the Son sustains – Hebrews 1:3

who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

God the Holy Spirit was moving – Genesis 1:2

The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Trinity in Incarnation

God the Father sent the Son – John 5:37

And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.

God the Son came in the flesh – John 1:14

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

God the Holy Spirit came upon … Luke 1:35

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

Think it over…

~ Live near to God, and all things will appear little to you in comparison with eternal realities. - Robert Murray M'Cheyne

~ You will find, as you look back upon your life, that the moments that stand out, the moments when you have really lived, are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of Love. - Henry Drummond

Selfishness

The more spiritually you grow, the more you realize just how much your thoughts are actually focused on yourself. Even the thoughts that formerly seemed good and acceptable all of the sudden look selfish. Only then do the words "look to Jesus" finally take on real meaning.

 

Doctrine 

You can have all of your doctrines right yet still not have the presence of God.

The Book of Hosea

 

Steps to knowing God:

Hosea, perhaps more than any other prophet, reveals the loving heart of God. God desires to bless, not to chastise His people. The Lord puts a premium value on His relationship with us.

Guidelines for Growing in Godliness:

Paul caught the essence of godliness when he wrote, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children" (Eph 5:1). 

Just as God called Hosea to live out His undying, eternal love for His people by instructing him to marry an unfaithful woman, He callus to illustrate His Word and His very character in the way we live.

Meditation

When you think about a problem over and over in your mind that is called worry. When you think about God’s word over and over again in your mind that is meditation. So, if you know how to worry then you already know how to meditate.

Evangelism

.. The men and women whom God uses … have moved out of religious routine into the winds of the Holy Spirit.

.. The essential thing is the anointing of God. Until you do have that, all else is presumption. When you have His orders, it is presumption not to obey.

2 Chronicles 7:14

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 

While this is a passage often emphasized when talking about the problems with nations and governments, let's remember that the truest application of this must find its home in us and in our churches. We can begin revival in our land if we will commit to daily prayer, weekly fasting, and hearts yearning for God to enter our world and transform it.

Where is God?

It is important to recognize that God dwells in a different realm. He occupies another dimension. “My thoughts are not like your thoughts. Your ways are not like my ways. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9).
 

Our thoughts are not like God’s thoughts. Our ways are not like his ways. He has a different agenda. He dwells in a different dimension. He lives on another plane.

What controls you doesn’t control him. What troubles you doesn’t trouble him. What fatigues you doesn’t fatigue him. Is an eagle disturbed by traffic? No, he rises above it. Is the whale perturbed by a hurricane? Of course not; he plunges beneath it. Is the lion flustered by the mouse standing directly in his way? No, he steps over it.

How much more is God able to soar above, plunge beneath, and step over the troubles of the earth! “What is impossible with man is possible with God” (see Matthew 19:26). Our questions betray our lack of understanding:

This knowledge gives us confidence as we face the uncertain future. We know that he is in control of the universe, and so we can rest secure. But important also is the knowledge that this God in heaven has chosen to bend near toward earth to see our sorrow and hear our prayers. He is not so far above us that he is not touched by our tears.

Though we may not be able to see his purpose or his plan, the Lord of heaven is on his throne and in firm control of the universe and our lives. So we entrust him with our future. We entrust him with our very lives.

His Forgetful Nature

“As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 
Psalm 103:12”

Recently I was thanking the Father for his mercy.  And I began listing the sins he’d forgiven.  “Remember the time I…” But I stopped.  Something was wrong.  It didn’t fit.  

Does he remember? 

Then I remembered.  I remembered his words in Hebrews 8:12: “And I will remember their sins no more.”  Wow!

God doesn’t just forgive, he forgets.  He erases the board.  He destroys the evidence.

He burns the microfilm.  He clears the computer.  He doesn’t remember!

No, he doesn’t, but I do, you do.  That horrid lie.  The time you exploded in anger.  That date.  That jealousy.  That habit.  Spiteful specters that slyly suggest, “Are you really forgiven?”

Do you think God was teasing when he said, “I will remember your sins no more?”  Of course you don’t.  You and I just need an occasional reminder of God’s nature.  His forgetful nature!