Devotional Pondering – A Hard Truth: His will isn’t always our will!

“May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” -Matthew 6:10

Many times, if we’re honest, our prayers contain a very personal aspect – our will. There are certain things that we pray for that we want to happen, outcomes and accomplishments, dreams and aspirations. Often times we want God to answer our prayers in the manner that suits us. Sometimes He answers the way that “we hope” He would answer, while other times His answer isn’t what we expected.

When we submit ourselves to Him, we are making a conscious attempt of complete surrender – come what may. Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. We call it “the Lord’s prayer”, and yet we should understand that Jesus was modeling how prayer should be. Sure the words are important but so is the attitude in which we say those words. The Lord’s prayer isn’t a “magic” saying either, it is not the only way to pray, but it models for us the type of prayers that should leave our lips and hearts.

The Danger
Taking our will out of our prayers might cause us some anxiety. Our will is sometimes (in my case very, very, very) stubborn. Our will is probably the last ounce of our old selves that remains within the face of complete surrender. The will of God, however, can be dangerous to our personal dreams and aspirations because He might call us elsewhere…but...if we chose to accept His will over ours, He provides us with something far better than we could have ever hoped and dreamed of.

We serve a dangerous God.
That doesn’t mean that He sets out to cause us pain or discomfort, but God calls us and prompts us to this attitude of complete surrender. Faith is blind sometimes. When we utter the words “Your Will be done” we have released our self-chosen pathways, our wants and our often selfish wishlists in life, which we have clutched tight-fisted and unwavering in resolve. His will is not always our will, but can we face a simple truth that releases us to see this dangerous God? That truth – He knows better than we do. He can and will guide us. He wants to lead us. He is prepared to help us on this journey of Holiness, but we must utter those four, sometimes frightening, words – YOUR. WILL. BE. DONE.

Confessions:
I still struggle with those words…do you?

Sometimes I find myself fighting against His will. I think that I know better and so I pray my will into things, people and aspirations once again. I take back that which I had surrendered to Him. I take back my trust in His leading. I take back my faith and choose my will over His..do you find yourself here as well? I believe God wants us to honestly inventory our lives. I believe He desires an honest relationship with us and we must actively decide whether or not those four words are true of us. Are they true of you today?

-Prayer: Dear Lord, I confess that I have not always prayed and surrendered to Your will. Forgive me when I have taken You for granted and that of Your love. Teach me to trust you more deeply. Show me how I can live within Your will more fully. I know that You long for a deeper relationship with me, guide me, break me, melt me, mold me again. -Amen.

June 23, 2014 0

Devotional Pondering: Death, Lions, Stinky Dark Pits & Prayer.

“Don’t mess with nature.” This phrase is so true. Many people have gone out into nature, whether on the plains of the Serengeti or in the vast expanse of the ocean or else where, without respect for the elements and the wildness of nature and have paid for it. Nature is wild. Nature is fierce. Nature is hungry.

…so are lions.

We all know the story of “Daniel and the Lion’s den’. We’ve heard it in Sunday School or at a Vacation Bible School some where (maybe long ago) in our childhood. I want to re-examine that story today. I’ve been pondering something in my heart, and I feel the Lord has led me to this passage once more.

The narrative is found in Daniel chapter 6. Perhaps you would like to take some time and read it again for yourself.

Here’s the context: Daniel (a prophet and servant of God) is an official in the Persian empire under King Darius. In those days Kings of Persia were considered gods. No one would dare defy an edict of the king, for to do so would mean that they defied the very gods the Persians worshiped.

But…Daniel served God, the only God, the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. Despite the tricks of others who had been appointed to serve under the king to trap Daniel, Daniel never wavered or faltered. Daniel chapter six describes what kind of man Daniel was –

“¹⁰Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. ¹¹Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. ¹²So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

Did you catch that?
Despite outward pressure to conform, Daniel did what he always did – He prayed. He went upstairs, faced Jerusalem and prayed to God.

How Serious Is Prayer to Us?

Daniel, despite a death sentence, continued to talk to his heavenly Father. Our conversations with God ought to be like breathing to us. It is vital. It is imperative. It connects us to the only certain, consistent, true power in the universe. God loves it when we talk to Him. In fact in the very beginning of time scripture records that He would physically come down and walk with Adam and Eve in the evenings…He wants to fellowship with us. Prayer connects us to His fellowship and His love. Prayer is serious business. It ought not be taken lightly. God doesn’t need a lot of “religious jargon” or flowery words to accompany our prayers. They can be simple. They should be honest. They should be sincere. Our prayers to Him are not prayers to a Genie in a bottle, or a litany of wish lists that we want from God. He wants us to share with Him our lives, our concerns – both the large and small concerns…even the lions prowling around us ready to consume us.

What are your Lions?

Daniel was thrown into a dark, smelly pit that contained wild, blood thirsty lions. He was all alone in that frightening situation. All around him, in the inky darkness, prowled a fierce predator of nature. Scripture doesn’t record Daniel screaming for his life. The bible doesn’t record Daniel confessing his regret for defying King Darius’ edict – no! Daniel was thrown into a pit of lions (a death sentence) and despite all odds, he continued to pray to God.

What kind of lions are you facing today in your life? What kind of pressures are you under? Many within our world want Christians to buckle under these pressures, the father of lies Satan himself would love nothing more than for people of God to disobey and turn away from God. The easy path in the midst of our lions is to conform to the world around us. The easy path is to look, dress and act like everyone else around us…to fit in, to party it up, to do whatever pleases us. But if we do, we will be consumed by the lions and we will be lost.

That night, in the blood thirsty lion pit, a miracle happened. God closed the mouths of the lions because a faithful servant of His needed saving.

“My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.” The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” -Daniel 6:22-23

Whatever lions you may be facing right now in your life, God says to us – “have faith in Me and have no fear!”
1 Corinthians 16:13 says, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
Are you facing wild, fierce pressures around you today? Be bold, be strong and stand firm! God will always be with you!

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me today to face my lions. Forgive me when I have wavered and have given into the pressures of the world. Strength and equip me for today and help me to be Your faithful servant despite the prowling lions and looming pressures. I long to be Yours and Yours alone! -Amen.

Something else to ponder today!

June 17, 2014 0

Devotional Thought – “Lord Humble me, and Cleanse me”

“Create in me a clean heart, O God” Psalm 51:10

This is a psalm of David. He wrote these words after his sins were found out and the prophet Nathan had confronted him. When someone else knows about your sin, let alone God, the devastation can be total. David doesn’t try to go “on the record” and defend his actions. He doesn’t move away or run from his mistakes. He confronts his sins. He was a murderer, a liar and an adulterer. He had been caught, found out, and left wanting. Yet, David returned to the only place one can return to when humbled by crippling sin – God. Scripture records this sinner to be “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22) but what made David fulfill this kind of criteria in life? How can we also be men and women after God’s own heart?

Humility

It should be noted that David was identified as such a man before his downfall; but this psalm and his actions following his downfall should also give us a clue into His humble character. David was a shepherd as a young person. He worked a lowly job which, at times, was considered one of the dirtiest and most undesirable jobs. While working as a shepherd he wrote songs of praise to his God. He understood where his joy came from and also his blessings.

Following His downfall into sin, his reaction to being caught was not one of indignation but rather humility and grief. He had broken God’s heart, and David pens these words of regret, remorse and was in search of God’s forgiveness. Right relationship with His Salvation was his desire. Sure he had messed up royally (no pun intended), but he longed to recover that which had been tarnished and nearly destroyed. Scripture records David tearing his cloak, putting on sack cloth and pouring ashes on his head. This is a sign of grief and mourning but is also a very humbling picture for us to see of a king.

How humble are we? Do we recognize how in need of a Savior we are daily? We are all far from perfect people. We all struggle with sin and temptation. Do we seek after God with great passion just as David did, or do we merely think about Him on Sundays or special holidays? Our lives were given to us as a gift. Each one of us comes with struggles and concerns, but we don’t have to carry them alone. Connecting with The Father connects us with the Divine and unburdens us, but we must first become humble.

Psalm 51:10-12

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, I confess my sins to you today. Forgive me when I have stumbled along this path. Help me to be who You have called me to be. Restore me, renew me and cleanse me. I long to be a person after Your own heart, show me how I ought to live. Instruct me in Your ways, and walk beside me every moment of every day. -Amen

June 16, 2014 0

Reasons why I dislike waiting on God…but…

“Wait on the Lord…and He shall strengthen your heart.” (Psalm 27:14)

The Reasons I dislike waiting on God:

1. I am impatient.

I am not the most patient man. My children know this. I must temper this very often when things are not done now. We live in a fast paced society, it is “fast-food” driven. We even have slogans from these “fast-food” establishments that back that claim up like “have it your way”.

When it comes to waiting on God I am not patient. I often want Him to answer me now. I want instant responses and yet I know He doesn’t work like that.

2. Waiting on God reminds me of how powerless I truly am.
Besides impatience, this waiting reminds me that I live in a temporal body and ultimately I can do nothing in this body to save my self from some certainties in life. Death, sickness (in some regards), Taxes, laws of our world. I am powerless and yet I must wait with that knowledge in mind. Perhaps you can relate to me when I say that I am stubborn…are you? In my stubbornness I, at times, refuse to admit that I cannot do something. I must do the impossible. I must becomes Superman and superdad, and superpastor…but when I am forced to slow down; when I am forced to wait on God I am reminded of just how powerless I truly am.

3. Waiting on God humbles me…it’s a matter of pride.
I just mentioned how stubborn I can be. To ask for help from God and then having to wait for an answer can be a serious blow to my pride. I’m just putting it out there…I can admit that pride is ~~sometimes~~ often a bane of mine. I am proud of what I can do. Proud of what I can accomplish. I am proud that I am self-sufficient…and then BAM, I am knocked to my knees again. Circumstances sometimes do not go my way, things I had planned don’t pan out, and I am humbled by the outcome. Can you relate? I sure hope so. Please tell me I’m not alone in this human failing. I dislike this waiting, at times, because it means I have much more to surrender in terms of my pride to God.

BUT…

This isn’t a bad thing.
When I have to discipline my children, it’s not because I hate them or want to harm them, it is because I love them deeply and I want them to grow and make better decisions next time.

This is sometimes why I find God will at times take His time in answering me. He wants me to make better decisions. He wants me to depend more on Him. He wants me to tear down the fortresses of pride that I have erected and are now keeping me from Him. The waiting isn’t because He is withholding His love from me…no, the waiting is because He loves me so much He wants me to be willing to surrender completely. I dislike it severely at times (honestly It’s sometimes a “hate” thing), yet I know He loves me so much that He will not forget me. He will not forsake me.

FOR YOU AND FOR ME:

Truth: waiting sucks! There I said it.
But in the waiting on God the discipline of surrender and humility can further shape us. In the waiting we can also learn to trust Him more. In this waiting we can learn to love Him and discover how much He loves us.

-Just another thing for us to ponder.

April 23, 2014 1

A Prayer of Supplication (Poem)

You are MY Hiding place!

Lord, teach me to number our days
inspire me to walk in your ways
help me to do what you say…

You are MY everything!

In my pride, tear down my walls
help me to hear when you call
and prod me when I stall…

You are MY Fortress of strength!

Lord, cleanse my lips when I speak
grant me passion for the weak
may You be the source that I seek…

You are MY Salvation and Rock!

April 16, 2014 0

Prayer for Intimacy (Poem & Prayer)

Lord, you know how distracted I can be.
How I can hide my heart from you.
Break down these walls in which I hide.
Make me vulnerable and pliable to You.
I do not desire a divided heart…
and yet I often find myself there.
I thirst for You, Dear Lord;
I long for Your holy presence.
Create in me this clean heart
so that I can love and serve You sincerely,
clearly…
articulated
authentic and pure…
complete…and whole.
Lord you know how distracted I can be…
become my full focus…
become my everything…
Consume my heart and mind,
make me wholly Yours.

-Amen.

April 9, 2014 0

Dear Lord, this heart…

2 Timothy 1:6-14 (NIV)
⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
⁷For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
⁸So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
⁹who has saved us and called us to a holy life–not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
¹⁰but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
¹¹And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.
¹²That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
¹³What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.
¹⁴Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

March 12, 2014 0

God Doesn’t Fit in a Box…

March 3, 2014 0

Kicking in the front door

“Knock and it shall be opened.’ But does knocking mean hammering and kicking the door like a maniac?”
― C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

We pray and pray at times for God to answer our prayers the way that we want them answered. We yearn and we groan, and at times we call God cruel secretly in our hearts because of the lack of answered prayers. Could it be that it isn’t so much about His answer but about our asking? I cannot be calloused here to say to a dying person that it was God’s will for you to die…of course it wasn’t. I am not saying either that God is harsh and wishes some to perish from physical afflictions, this is not the God I serve. We do live in a fallen and temporal world in which diseases like cancer and AIDS prevail. God weeps with those who mourn and comforts those who hurt…it was never His doing that would create such a sad predicament of man.

But in terms of our every day prayers, we can become like a SWAT team attempting to kick in the front door of an assailant instead of humbling petitioning before God the needs of our lives. It isn’t about our wants, but our needs that He will provide (which are according to His riches). But sometimes in our asking (prayer) we become more like Veruca Salt. Do you remember the spoiled character in Roald Dahl’s book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”? Veruca Salt was a salty, spoiled brat who was given anything her heart desired. This led to her downfall within the Chocolate factory, because her father could not give her something which didn’t belong to him. Sometimes our asking prayers can seem like a spoiled little brat, I don’t mean to sound condescending because I too have asked like this. Then when the answer doesn’t come to us the way that we wanted it, we flail on the floor and cry like a child desperately in need of some discipline.

How is your prayer life? Are you approaching the throne of God with reverence and fear or are you Veruca Salt, intent on kicking down the front door if you have to? Take an inventory of your prayer life, be mindful that God does listen to us and He will provide to those who ask in faith and that which brings glory and honor to Him.

December 3, 2013 0

Just how important is Intercessory Prayer?

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” -Romans 8:26

Just how important is praying for one another? It is vital! Each of us have needs that must to be brought into the very throne room of heaven and placed at Jesus’ feet. Sometimes though we have difficulty in articulating these concerns. Have you ever been to the place of sheer and utter weakness? Have you been to that dark place of loneliness and fear? Brothers and sisters in Christ, our love and care for one another isn’t solely meant for Sundays in the pews alone! No! We have been given this vital task of praying for each other daily. We, are to exercise these prayers of intercession for one another daily!

Perhaps you may say to yourself, “Well I’m not much of a pray-er, there are much better Christians out there who could do a better job!” This may be true, but God has called YOU to pray today for someone in need. You don’t have to be “good” at it. You just have to be diligent and faithful. We are all called to this task and we need to be in prayer for the body of Christ. There will be times when you need prayer and others will surround you. It will be in those moments when this vital intercessory prayer circle will make complete sense to a doubting heart of the vitality and power of such a discipline.

Brothers and sisters, say a prayer for each other today. The Holy Spirit can help you articulate it for you. He guides us in our prayer discoveries and in those dry moments when nothing comes forth. You don’t have to have all the elegant and “right” words, you just have to show up. Say to the Lord, “Here I am, send me!” in an attitude of prayer and He will allow your mind to be “sent” upon those people and situations in which need crucial intercessors.

Commit to it today. Prayer for one another, give thanks for your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and pray through intercessory prayer.

-Just a thought for today.

November 26, 2013 6

Tag: prayer