with devotion: PRAYER

Showing posts with label PRAYER. Show all posts

the miracle maker

“My daughter has just died; but come and place your hands on her, and she will live.” ... Then Jesus went into the official's house. When he saw the musicians for the funeral and the people all stirred up, he said, “Get out, everybody! The little girl is not dead—she is only sleeping!” Then they all started making fun of him. But as soon as the people had been put out, Jesus went into the girl's room and took hold of her hand, and she got up. [Matthew 9:18,23-25 GNT]

Desperation has taken hold of a Jewish official causing him to come to Jesus.
He kneels in front of Jesus begging him to restore life to his young daughter.
It is hard to read, his cry for help and not be moved deeply by his sorrow.

While the man is kneeling, a funeral service is beginning at the man's home.
People are grieving, expressing their sorrow and comforting each other.
This seem to be a very normal reaction to such a great loss.

I can relate to both of these reactions to the death of a loved one.
My young children and I stood by and watched Ellen die right in front of us.
I stood alone in that room after she passed and asked God to bring her back to life.

Ellen died, we gathered with friends and celebrated her life and legacy.
Folks might have reacted badly if I brought in a man saying she was just asleep.
Wonder what would it be like if someone chased away grieving people today?

In reality, I think that we can all relate to the official and his grieving friends.
We pray. We kneel. We plead. We do all we can do to help and heal the ones we love.
We want miracles. We want answers. Often these things do not come.

Because of the rarity of miracles, it is so hard to believe in them.
So often we become fixated on our problems and see no way out.
This passage points us not to the miracles but to the miracle maker.

The man in this story had no ability to invoke the miraculous raising of his child.
His only recourse was to bow, physically and spiritually, to the miracle maker.
The miracle required him to let go of his daughter and trust Jesus with her.

Lord, help me to let go and trust you when miracles do not come.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.

the heart of intercession

As Jesus entered the village of Capernaum, a Roman captain came up in a panic and said, “Master, my servant is sick. He can’t walk. He’s in terrible pain.” Jesus said, “I’ll come and heal him.” “Oh, no,” said the captain. “I don’t want to put you to all that trouble. Just give the order and my servant will be fine. ... Jesus turned to the captain and said, “Go. What you believed could happen has happened.” At that moment his servant became well. [Matthew 8:5-8,13 MSG]

I love this passage and the demeanor of this military officer.
This soldier comes to Jesus not for himself but for his servant who is suffering.
I can feel him tearing up as he speaks to Jesus of his friend.

Compassion drips from this man's mouth as he enters into the pain of his servant.
Jesus witnesses his compassion and immediately responds with compassion.
He says that he will come and heal. Compassion is at the heart of what is happening.

The next statement the officer makes floors me.
Instead of agreeing with Jesus he tells him that he is unworthy of a visit.
Do you sense the humility in this man?

In humility he acknowledges Jesus authority over sickness.
He invites Jesus to simply speak a word of healing.
Jesus then gives us a peek into the source of this man's compassion and humility.

Christ regales the officer's faith and trust in God's ability.
This military officer gives us a great example of what it means to be an intercessor.
He inspires us to allow faith, humility and compassion to rise up in us as we pray.

I need humility and compassion Lord. Author faith in me. Help me to be an intercessor.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.

he only gives us good things

Would any of you give your hungry child a stone, if the child asked for some bread?
Would you give your child a snake if the child asked for a fish?
As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children.
Your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask. [Matthew 7:9-11 CEV]

I wonder if James was thinking about these verses when he wrote:

My Christian brothers, do not be fooled about this. Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God. ... We are the first children in His family. [James 1:16,18 NLV]

There is a deception that many embrace when bad things happen.
When cancer or some other horrible disease strikes, some call it God's will.
When an earthquake or tsunami kills thousands, ignorant people call it an act of God.

Folks often give up, thinking that it is really not God's desire to give good things.
It is important that we understand God's role correctly when bad things happen.
Our view of God will affect our relationship to God and how we interact with him in prayer.

Jesus communicates here that the Father's will is to give good things his children.
He indicates that it our role to trust the character of our Father with our requests.
And to know that it is His desire to give us good things that we need and not simply crave.

This is where it gets a bit dicey - when we do not receive what we think we need.
In times like those, it is best to simply lean into the character of God as our Father.
We need this most when life is hard and our prayers are unanswered.

Lord, you are good. Whatever happens, I choose to trust your goodness and your love for me.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.

transforming prayer

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. [Matthew 7:7-8 GNT]

In absentia of other verses on prayer, this passage paints a binary image of prayer.
One can read a cause and effect principle in these sentences.
We pray and God gives us what we want.

Like most things that are seen in black and white, that explanation comes up short.
It imagines God to be a benevolent Santa Clause and we as greedy children.
I think that the passage better understood in light of the Lord's prayer.

In that model prayer Jesus teaches us to ask for God's will to be done.
There Jesus teaches us that the focus of prayer is asking for His kingdom to come.
In this paradigm there is no room for selfish and greedy requests.

In contrast, Jesus teach us to pray simply, asking God to meet our needs.
He speaks to us of our need to forgive and to be forgiven.
In that short model prayer, the Lord is helping us to see the purpose of prayer.

In that light, perhaps our prayers should be more about:

asking to receive understanding;
seeking to discover the will of God;
knocking that the eyes of our hearts might be opened.

The purpose of prayer is not about getting things from God.
Prayer is all about getting to know God better.
In doing so we are transformed into the image of his Son.

Lord, help me to pray in a way that I might be transformed.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.

his kingdom. eternal. amen.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. [Matthew 6:13 NKJV]

Some translations leave these words out but I never do when I pray the Lord's prayer.
There seems to be such a worshipful acknowledgement in these words.
When I pray these words I remember that the kingdom, the power and the glory are all his.

Prayer is real when there must be an understanding that these things belong to our Father.
Things like power and glory simply do not belong to created beings.
We pray these words with a sense of humility knowing that we are but servants in His kingdom.

Forever. Amen. What great words to end this prayer.
Life is but a vapor and and experience that passes so quickly.
I can hardly believe that so much of my life has passed already.

When I pray 'forever' I remember that I am speaking to One who has always existed outside of time.
This word instills such hope in my soul. I am, and will be, forever His.
That is something to say amen to - with my whole heart and with everything that is in me.

You are God. The kingdom, the power and glory is yours. Forever. Amen.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.

praying for deliverance

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [Matthew 6:13 ESV]

I have heard that this verse changes a bit when the comma is moved to follow 'lead us'.
Either way you read this there seems to be two aspects to what Jesus is saying.

He speaks first to our need for God to lead us in life.
Left to ourselves, I have found that we usually give in to temptation.
Yet through His indwelling presence, we have the power to resist and overcome temptation.

The second part of the verse is sometimes translated 'deliver us from the evil one'.
It reminds me of this verse in the book of Jude:

Not even the chief angel Michael did this. In his quarrel with the Devil, when they argued about who would have the body of Moses, Michael did not dare condemn the Devil with insulting words, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

This obscure verse tells us that even archangels need the Lord to fight the evil one.
Often when I sense an evil presence I will do what Michael did.
In prayer, I simply ask the Lord to rebuke the evil.

The Lord shows us in these verses that we are to pray for such deliverance.
Life is a spiritual battle and we need God to fight the evil in our lives.
Praying in the name of Jesus defeats the evil that wants to lead us astray.

Lead me today Lord. I need your presence. I need your deliverance from evil.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.

food and forgiveness

Give us the food we need for each day. Forgive us for our sins, just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us. [Matthew 6:11-12 NCV]

Food and forgiveness are separated into two verses.
So we tend to think of them as two different things.
We also get hung up about whether debts or sins should be forgiven.

The truth is that we need both physical and spiritual bread to live.
We need to both receive and give forgiveness to be healthy.
I think that this is our greatest need.

Reconciliation comes from giving and receiving of forgiveness.
This is not to say that God does not want to hear about our physical needs.
Jesus is simply emphasizing our greatest need - giving and receiving forgiveness.

When I think about debt versus sin I think of our need to forgive and be forgiven.
We have a debt of love to each other and when we do not love our neighbor we sin against them.
The definition of sin encapsulates the idea of missing the mark.

In a sense this involves an expectation to hit the mark or pay off a debt.
And the fact is that we can neither hit the mark nor pay off the debt.
It is why we need to give and receive forgiveness.

Lord I forgive. Please forgive me.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.

divine will

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. [Matthew 6:10 NIV]

This prayer begs the question about what is the will of God.
I suggest that the phrase "as it is in heaven" might give us part of the answer.
God's will is done in heaven and heaven is not really a place but a dimension.

Consider how Jesus describes this dimension, or kingdom, of heaven in Matthew 13.
He uses parables to illustrate that this kingdom is about things that are:

small. He speaks of seed and leaven and their ability to grow into larger things. I think that God's will is all about being faithful in small things.
priceless. The merchant in the parable sells all he has to obtain a single pearl. Jesus is that pearl and the Father's will is all about us becoming like His son.
hidden. He compares this heavenly kingdom to hidden treasure. This speaks to me about our need to seek God to discover His will.
eternal. The last parable speaks of how angels will one day separate the evil from the righteous. Areminder that God's will is about things that last. Like faith, hope and love.

When we ask for God's will to be done we are asking for things that are small, priceless, hidden and eternal to be manifested in our lives. On earth as it is in heaven.

Lord help me to understand your will. Let your kingdom come in me.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.

familiar prayers

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. [Matthew 6:9 NIV]

When I think about heaven I think about a dimension rather than a place.
I think of God reigning over a kingdom that is not visible to our eyes.
I know that God hears me because heaven is as close as the air I breathe.
In a sense, we pray asking for the dimension of heaven to break into our dimension.

This verse flashes me back to Moses' first encounter with God at the burning bush.
In that passage we see a picture of what it means to hallow God and His name.
Moses bowed in reverence and awe at the voice of his Creator.
This sense of awe is often missing from my prayers.

Too often I forget who God is and who I am.
Sometimes the familiarity of my life with him gets in the way.
When I pray familiar prayers I am not honoring his name.
In a sense, I might as well be calling him Steve.

I worship you Heavenly Father. Open my eyes today that I might see you.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.

the how, not what, of prayer

This, then, is how you should pray [Matthew 6:9 NIV]

Jesus has just instructed his disciples to not pray publicly like the Pharisees.
And not to chant prayers repetitiously like the pagans.
Odd that so many seem to embrace these no-nos when they pray in church.

The operative word for me in this verse is 'how'.
Most of our focus when we pray the Lord's prayer is 'what' not 'how'.
I think that the emphasis is, and should be, how we pray.

The example prayer that Jesus gives is one that begins and ends with God.
It includes petitions for our needs as well as our desire to forgive.
The prayer asks God to forgive us, deliver us and lead us.

The how of this prayer should include humility and meekness before God.
Our attitude should be one of submission to his kingdom and his will.
The words should not be a recitation of Jesus words but a personalization of them.

I think the words that Christ offers is an invitation to divine intimacy.
They are meant to break us and bring us to our spiritual knees.
When spoken with vulnerability they have the power to change our lives.

Lord, I want to repeat these memorized words with my friends.
Help me to remember that your heart is not what I pray but how I pray.
Teach me to personalize the words of your son when I pray.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.

empty prayers

And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. [Matthew 6:7-8 CEV]

Two phrases pop out at me: "empty phrases" and "many words".

Several times a week I pray the Lord's prayer in a group setting.
I have to consciously slow my self down so that I can think about the words that I am praying.
It is so easy to pray and not think about the words that you are praying.

Jesus helps us by telling us that it is not really about the great words that we speak.
He indicates that prayer is simply sharing our hearts with the Father.
Not really the effective communication of our prayers but simply the actual act of prayer.

He tells us that God already knows what we need when we are not.
God is waiting for us to simply pray and invite Him to help us.
The Father longs for us to simply share our hearts with him.

Lord help me to be real when I pray.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.

praying like a hypocrite

When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They like to stand in synagogues and on street corners to pray so that everyone can see them. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. When you pray, go to your room and close the door. Pray privately to your Father who is with you. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you. [Matthew 6:5-6 GW]

Again Jesus presses in and lay bare our desire to be seen by others.
Praying to be seen and heard by others who we are wanting to impress.
I have witnessed and participated in this kind of religious seduction.

The desire to be seen is an insidious one.
We are duped into thinking that we are being "spiritual" when we are just being Pharisaical.
Jesus says don't do it.

I once heard that the measure of a person is what they do when no one is looking.
I think that we will pray in secret only if we really believe that God hears us.
Secret prayers bring a reality to bear where it is just us and God - face to face.

Lastly, Jesus said "when you pray".
I think that it is good to be reminded that believers pray - it is in our spiritual DNA.
Praying from our heart, when no one is looking, to an audience of One.

Lord give me a heart to pray when no one is looking.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.

knock

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. [Luke 11:9-10 NIV]

There is a crescendo of sorts in these verses. It begins with asking. A verbal request. Proceeds to seeking. A heart expression. And ends with knocking. A physical action. These three words are linked together. Words. Thoughts. Action. Each related. All necessary.

This passage is preceded by a parable. In it Jesus speaks of a man who went to neighbor at midnight to ask for three loaves of bread. He knocked and his neighbor eventually and begrudgingly accommodated him. In the verses following Jesus contrasts the annoyed neighbor to God.

I love how Jesus compares the earthly with the heavenly. One speaks of coming as a beggar. The other, coming as a son. I think that this is important for us to remember. When we come to God. When we ask, seek and knock. We come to discern his will. Not to demand something of him.

We ask to receive understanding. We seek to discover. We knock that the eyes of our hearts might be opened. In this sense, I am comfortable to say that prayer is not about getting things from God. Prayer is about getting to know God better. In doing so we are made like his Son.

Lord. We knock. Open the eyes of our hearts that we might see you clearly.

... this devotion is part of the z2a bible words series.

the importance of prayer

The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God along with the prayers of God’s people. The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth. Then there was thunder, noise, lightning, and an earthquake. [Revelation 8:4-5 GW]

Isn't it interesting to see how activities in heaven affect things on earth. It reminds me that God is always working. I think that the noisy thunder and earthquakes indicates that sometimes God's workings are more obvious than other times. Sometimes visible and other times invisible.

Also noteworthy is the effect that our prayers have on these things. As I said in my previous post, our prayers are factored into God's decisions. It is why prayer is it is important to involve God and invite him to act. In some sense, generally speaking, God only acts if he is asked to intervene.

Help us Lord to believe that our prayers matter.

... this devotion is part of a series from the book of Revelation

more than incense

Another angel came and stood before the altar. He was holding a golden censer, and he was given a large quantity of incense so that he could offer it, along with the prayers of all God’s holy people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. [Revelation 8:3 NTE]

The symbolism is rich in this verse. In ancient times the Jews offered fragrant incense twice daily in the tabernacle. In the psalms David likened his prayers to incense rising to God. There is something about prayer that is like incense rising and filling a room with a sweet fragrance.

In Exodus incense is likened to perfume. I love that imagery. In prayer we create a beautiful scent that sweetens a noxious situation. As our prayers arise they create a divine atmosphere of hope. Despair is turned inside out and vision is imparted. Prayer can change the bouquet of life's trials.

Yet this verse indicates that prayer is much more than incense. More than just a sweet heavenly aroma. Prayers appear before the throne - the place of divine rule. It encourages me that our prayers are factored into God's decisions. It motivates me offer prayers of intercession.

Let our prayers be a fragrant incense to you Lord. Help us to know how to intercede.

... this devotion is part of a series from the book of Revelation

when prayers look like grace

People now come to God through him. And he is able to save them completely and for all time. Jesus lives forever. He prays for them. [Hebrews 7:25 NIRV]

One on the roles of a Jewish priest was to pray for people in his flock. This pastoral role is somewhat carried forward in the church. It is a vital role but certainly not limited to the clergy. I sometimes think that we are most like Jesus when we are carrying our friends to God in prayer.

I wonder if grace could be described as the prayers of Jesus. Priestly prayers like the one that Jesus prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail when he was tested. Perhaps grace and the prayers of Christ are one in the same? Maybe our own prayers are meant to be a form of grace?

Breath on us Holy Spirit that our prayers would be a means of grace.

... this devotion is part of a series from the book of Hebrews.

while we wait

We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. [Hebrews 6:12 NIV]

Several words jumped out to me as I read this verse:

lazy - I have found that my relationship with God requires diligence;
imitate - often we can learn from the mistakes and successes of others;
faith and patience - we really cannot have one without the other;
inherit - there are things we do not earn but are simply given;
promised - speaks to me of a future filled with hope.

These words speak to me about what it means to wait on the Lord. We do not idly wait as for a bus. Our waiting is all about being diligent in faith and patient in prayer as we look forward with hope.

You are worthy Lord Jesus of our faith, diligence and patience. We praise you.

... this devotion is part of a series from the book of Hebrews.

prayers heard but unanswered

During the time Jesus lived on earth, He prayed and asked God with loud cries and tears.
Jesus’ prayer was to God Who was able to save Him from death.
God heard Christ because Christ honored God. [Hebrews 5:7 NLV]

Jesus was fully human. He cried. He wept. On the eve of his crucifixion he prayed in a garden with much sorrow and a heavy heart. He asked the Father to rescue him from the fate that was before him. As he prayed, he surrendered his life to God saying not what I want but what You want.

As I read about Jesus' prayers in the garden I am better able to understand that God hears our prayers even when he does not answer them. It helps me to know that Jesus struggled as he prayed. And in the end he honored God by releasing his desires and asking for God's will to be done.

We bend our knees and our hearts afresh to the One who hears us. Thy will be done.

... this devotion is part of a series about the book of Hebrews.

the last high priest

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. [Hebrews 4:14 ESV]

What comes to mind when your hear the title High Priest? I think of the person who was designated to enter the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctuary of the Jewish Tabernacle where God dwelt. To get there the priest had to pass through other rooms. This seems to be what is referenced here.

The High Priest was the one who interceded, before God, on behalf of the Jews. He made offerings and prayers for himself and for them. In that sense Jesus is presented as a great high priest. One who has, metaphorically, passed through the outer rooms and entered God's presence.

The metaphor breaks down, all of them do, if one tries to read it literally. The central point is that Jesus, one not qualified by Mosaic law to be a priest (he was not a Levite), became the last High Priest. This is what we confess. We no longer need a human priest. Our priest is in heaven.

Heaven, the holiest of holies, is accessible because of you Jesus. We give you thanks.

... this devotion is part of a series about the book of Hebrews.

Grace Comes By Prayer

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

I love this passage of scripture in the book of Hebrews. It says that we can present our prayers with confidence. What you may ask is what can we be confident of? The answer is simple. When we pray we can be confident that we will receive mercy and find grace to help us. Notice that it did not say that our prayers would always be answered the way we prayed them.. just that mercy and grace would be given.

I think that there is so little in life to be confident about.. people fail us.. our health fails.. and sometimes it feels that God has failed us. But this verse promises that we will receive mercy and grace when we pray - so what does this look like? It is a great question! It reminds me of Job and how different grace might have looked to him.

For some time Job and his friends were sitting around arguing about the calamities that had beset Job.. he lost all of his children.. he lost his health.. people were laughing at him.. and it seemed that grace was nowhere to be found. Then.. and this is an important then.. something happened.. God manifested Himself to Job and let him know that He had been listening in on the conversation with his friends.

God then proceeded to ask Job some very difficult questions.. to which Job confessed that he was ignorant and then proceeded to repent. After this God healed Job as he prayed for his friends. So.. I am wondering.. what did grace look like in this situation and when did mercy come? It reminds me of this passage:

So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? (Romans 2:3-4)

I love how this speaks to what grace is all about.. how it says that because of God's mercy we are not judged.. how God is patient with us.. tolerant of our sins.. and kind to us even when we are unkind and judgmental. Perhaps this is the grace that we can be confident in? Perhaps this is the flavor of grace that will eventually help us.. and lead us to repentance

Perhaps.. for Job anyway.. grace came before he was healed and restored to health.. before his riches were replenished. Perhaps grace looked more like God sustaining Job and helping him to endure.. maybe grace came when he first prayed.. maybe Job just didn't understand the purpose of grace?

Very often we are oblivious to the presence of the grace that comes when we pray because we do not understand that a primary reason that grace is given is to help us to endure - we need grace to endure.. and grace comes by way of prayer. I know that in my own life I feel that I am caused to endure because of prayer.. my prayers and the prayers of others.

...originally posted December 2008

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