Tag Archives: prayer

The Importance of Prayer with Bible Study

Bible General, Church Bulletin,

Prayer is a vital moment in the life of every Christian. The importance of prayer cannot be overstated. It is just too important. Christians who do not prayer fervently do not receive the full measure of God’s power in their lives. Jesus, God himself, prayed often and set an example for us.

Despite its importance we deprive ourselves of the privilege of prayer. I fear that this loss is nowhere as evident as in Bible study and meditation.

God’s word is true because God is the source of truth (2 Samuel 7:28; John 3:33; Romans 3:4; Psalm 119:43; Psalm 119:160; John 17:17). The words of Scripture are true because they were literally breathed out by God himself (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Contained within Scripture is the solution to the great problem of mankind: sin. We conclude that Bible study is necessary to understand both our foe and our own salvation.

If we pray over the temporal things of this life, should we not also prayer fervently over the eternal things (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33)? To pray over the eternal words of Scripture is a practice needed today.

Bible study can be challenging. Ancient languages and culture are often difficult to understand and comprehend by 21st century people. Spot knowledge, that is, familiarity with just a few verses or passages can lead to errant ideas and teachings. Even the most devoted students find themselves in a constant state of learning and never learn everything about every verse. Add to these difficulties the staggering weight of preconceived ideas that we all must sort though and you find a real challenge in searching for truth. Prayer will help us through those struggles.

Jacob wrestled with a man in Genesis 32:22 ff. His opponent was man-like form of God. The two wrestled throughout the night and finally, Jacob was able to gain a blessing from his struggles. Sometimes, we wrestle with God through prayer and beg for wisdom to understand a passage or subject of Holy Writ. Such struggling is good and produces within the student a dependency upon the wisdom of God and the wisdom of men.

The student does not seek divine, miraculous intervention. Instead he makes use of what God has promised: wisdom. James declares, If any man lacks wisdom let me ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given him” (James 1:5). I cannot answer for the reader, but this author needs the wisdom of God on every subject.

When one humbles himself before God and admits his own shortcomings, that sense of humility will follow him into his studies. Such humility will make us better students of the word. No longer will we be the source of knowledge and wisdom, but God will become our study partner and will supplies us with the ability to grow in our understanding of his truth.

The next time a passage seems troubling or difficult and before you reach for that favorite commentary or surf to that popular website, pray. Pray as Jesus did with the full expectation of God’s wisdom. Do not doubt, but expect him to fulfill his promise. As James said in the very next verse, “let him ask in faith without doubting” (James 1:6).

Bryant Evans may be reached at bryant at bryantevans.com. You can follow Bryant on Twitter @jbevans.

 

 

Hatred Is Easy, Prayer is Hard

Church Bulletin, Culture, Daily living, Government, Islam, , ,

I confess. I am pretty angry at the way things are going in the world. People who reject Jesus as the Son of God are violently attacking people and places in the name of a false prophet. Representatives of the country that assures my (and their) freedom to worship are brutalized and murdered. Yes, I am angry. The challenge for me is to avoid stepping downward from anger to madness and hatred. It is not easy.

God filled man with emotions which run from ecstasy to melancholy to despair and grief and then to hatred and rage. Joy and ecstasy come only when a life is brought under the full control and submission to Jesus. It requires effort to purge the old life out and bring in the new. Part of the process, according to Paul is the mortification of sin in our lives (Colossians 3:5). That is hard but required if we are to find complete and pure joy.

Conversely, hatred is easy. All that is required to hate is to release the restraint on ourselves and allow nature to take its course. Suspend righteous judgment (Matthew 7:1-5), ignore the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) and swirl deeper into rage. It really is not hard at all. For me, a few minutes watching videos from the Middle East is all it would take. But there is something better.

A Way Better Than Hatred

The Bible instructs us to pray for those in authority so that we might have a peaceable life. But the same text includes a broad admonition to make prayers for “all people.”  The reason? So that  “we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (2 Timothy 2:1-4). To pray for our enemies is hard but we are so instructed (Matthew 5:44). Likewise, we are instructed to leave vengeance to God (Deuteronomy 32:35; Psalm 149:4-9).

Jesus taught that we are to seek better and higher motives. Paul encouraged disciples then, and now, to focus on good thoughts:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

When one considers that Paul wrote those words while facing execution it becomes all the more remarkable that he could even suggest such a focus. Paul had every reason to be angry with Rome and with the Jews for putting him in chains. Paul struggled with hatred just like the rest of us.

The people assaulting our national interests are to be pitied. They are hopelessly lost and condemned to face the wrath of a God they barely know. They have been deceived by their spiritual leaders, robbed and impoverished by their secular leaders and enraged by their own uncontrolled madness. While I hope they will be punished in this life,  I cannot bring myself to cheer for their eternal damnation. Such is a penalty too horrible to consider.

Pray people, pray! Pray often and continuously for the salvation of all men, even the maddened protesters. Jesus rules and God will hear our prayers.

Prayer: The Missing Element

Daily living

prayingPrayer promises are big. They are so big that they may seem unbelievable. for example, Jesus said,”… if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). A similar quote is found in Luke 17:6, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

Elijah demonstrates the power of prayer. “…the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit” (James 16-18)

And then there is this well known passage, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8)

We read such magnificent proclamations and grow excited over the power of prayer. Yet we often do not see the results we would have expected. We then become depressed and struggle with a loss of faith because we didn’t get what we asked for.

A sad, but very true case illustrates the point. A homeless woman came into my office some years ago seeking help with food and housing. The particulars of her case are unimportant but she was struggle with more than physical problems. Her spirit was near broken. She said, “I have been praying for help but God hasn’t answered. Maybe I am wrong but I really thought that if I asked God for a million dollars he would give it to me.”

Her case may seem a little extreme but all of us have asked God for something and then walked away empty handed. Haven’t you? I know I have.

Maybe we are missing something. Is there something about prayer we misunderstand? Is there some great cosmic point we are missing? Maybe so.

Prayer: The Missing Element

Let’s go back to Matthew and read the entire passage:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

There it is. It’s  the missing element! The missing element is the Fatherhood of God. The picture painted by Matthew is of a father who gives gifts to his children. God is our Father and he provides for us. Not just the essentials (Matthew 6:25-33) but gifts on top of the essentials!

But now, let’s go one step further. Does any father give his child anything and everything he wants when he wants it? Of course not. We do not give children things which are bad for them. For example, when my sons were very young they wanted pocket knives. They assured me they would be careful and only use them wisely. But I did not given them knives. At their age it would have been foolish.

Growing up I wanted a Corvette for my first car. My father sold new Chevrolets and probably could have helped me get one. He did not. When I asked him why he said succinctly: “Because you’d kill yourself.”

A father must carefully consider what he gives his child. God is no different. Sometimes the things we ask for are, frankly, too dangerous for us.

Too dangerous? What could be too dangerous about a new job or qualifying for a loan? Remember, God’s knowledge is complete and includes the spiritual. A new job might take you away from home and your family. That loan might prove to be too much to handle when unexpected bills come your way. God knows what is best. Sometimes, like a child, what we think is good may not be.

The missing element is the complete knowledge of God which gives us what is best while withholding that which is dangerous. God is so good.

Prayer: A Test

Here’s a test for your life. Go back at least 10 years and write down the prayers that were not answered they way you wanted. Look carefully at every one of those prayers. What would have happened if the prayer was answered your way? What happened instead? I can only speak for me but in every case my answer turned out to be the wrong answer. I’m glad God said “no.”

Our wisdom doesn’t compare to God’s. Many have learned that faith calls us to accept God’s way even when we don’t understand.

Temper your prayers by understanding that God’s will is always best. When God says “no” we ought be happy because it means he cares and wants something better for us.

Trust the Lord.

Maybe You Are Not Listening

Zechariah, ,

God hears prayers. Do we hear God? When God speaks He speaks loudly. But sometimes He seems so far away. We have real and immediate problems and we pray for his guidance yet it never seems to come. If God really cares then he shouldn’t seem so far away.

God loves us deeply and cares immensely for us. Could it be that we are not really listening? Or maybe God is not saying the things we want to hear so we filter Him out. Communication requires both a sender and a receiver. The person receiving the message must be in tune to the sender or else no message arrives. I suspect we are often on the wrong frequency. We’ve tuned to the wrong station and we are missing His message.

But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts.  “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 7:11-13)

Continue reading Maybe You Are Not Listening →

The Confidence of David

Psalms, , ,

David is one of the best known Bible characters. He was a young shepherd boy, a noble warrior and the King over God’s people. Today David is still honored by Christians and Jews alike. We forget that David was also a sinner. He was an adulterer, a murderer and the head of a horribly dysfunctional family. (2 Samuel 11; 2 Samuel 13; 2 Samuel 15).

David was also known as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22).

I was reading in Psalms this morning and carefully read through Psalm 17. Here David calls upon God to deliver him from his troubles. That’s common in Psalms. But what struck me was the confidence David had before God. To be accurate, this particular Psalm was probably penned before David committed the sins I listed above. Nevertheless, the man David likely struggled with sin all of his life just like you and I. But notice his confidence in prayer:

“Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit” (vs. 1).

“…you have tested me and you will find nothing” (vs. 3).

“My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped” (vs.5).

David wasn’t afraid to call upon God. His sins, although very real, were forgiven by God. But it is also clear that David strove to be obedient to God. To serve God was his purpose and mission. His son Solomon reached that conclusion after years of seeking happiness in the things of the world (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

I’m just wondering about our prayers. First, do we fail to pray because we are embarrassed to appear before the throne of God? Do we allow our sins to stand between us and God?

Second, do our prayers fail because of that sin? Isaiah said our sins have separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2).

I guess it really doesn’t matter why or how it happens. But sin must be eliminated and righteousness gained. Only in Christ can sin be removed and in Christ we share in  his own righteousness.

What do you think?

Talk to God Every Day

Church Bulletin,

We have been challenged to speak to God every day. Prayer is essential to the Christian and each of us should spend time daily in prayer to God. While prayers over a meal, a blessing, is good and should continue, our prayer life must become more intense and deeper. Like phone calls to a dear friend, our prayer time should be a moment we look forward to with fondness and anticipation.

Prayer is a Privilege

Anyone can say a prayer. A corrupt, immoral, impenitent man can call on God just like a devoted, humble man. Are their prayers equal before God? No. James says it is the prayer of a righteous man that brings results (James 5:16). It is the prayer of faith that works (James 5:15).

Conversely, the wicked have no such effective tool. Solomon said it clearly, “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous (Proverbs 15:29). Continue reading Talk to God Every Day →

Prayer is Always Answered | 20 Reasons

Bible General,

One of the greatest gifts God gives his people is the privilege of prayer. Like a beneficent father bending his ear toward his child, God listens to our prayers and responds appropriately. I am a Christian because I believe in the power of prayer in my life.

When we worry that God is not answering our prayers we really mean that he did not say “yes” to our request. It is often true that we are better off when God says no than when he says yes. God answers prayer – it’s just not always the answer we want.

God Hears the Righteous

The Bible is clear that God hears the pleas of his people. In Exodus 3:9 God told Moses that he had heard the cries of his people in Egypt who were in slavery. He sent deliverance in the form of plagues that caused Pharoah to release them. Later Moses would often be found praying to God on behalf of the Israelites (c.f. Numbers 11:2).

Near the end of Job’s travails God instructs Job’s friends to turn to Job and to ask him to pray for them for, God says, “I will accept his prayer…” (Job 42:8, see also Genesis 20:7). This demonstrates that there are some people God will not hear Continue reading Prayer is Always Answered | 20 Reasons →