Old-Fashioned Prayer

I came across a story that I would like to share with you. It gives us a good little reminder on the importance of prayer. Here is how it goes…

A farmer was entertaining one of his sophisticated relatives from the city. Before the meal, the farmer gave thanks for the food. When he finished, the visitor jeered, “This is old-fashioned; nobody with an education prays at the table anymore.”

The famer admitted that the practice was old and even allowed that there were some on his farm that did not prayer before their meals.

Justified, the relative remarked, “So enlightenment has finally come to the farm. Who are these wise ones?”

To which the farmer replied, “My pigs.”

Prayer is something that we should never outgrow. Prayer is a willingness to acknowledge God. It is a reflection of our dependence upon our creator. Prayer really works. It changes situations and it changes us. Never allow pride, self-reliance, or worldly wisdom to change you in a way that keeps you from prayer.

When we fail to pray, whether we verbalize it or not, we are in a way saying to God, “I don’t need you that much today.” We should not live a life disconnected from God. I need God. You need God. We all need God. Prayer is that ongoing conversation that creates space for God to work and meet our needs.

How is your prayer life? Do you talk to the Lord often? When was the last time you had a sacred little moment talking with Jesus? Have you let things get in the way? Do you feel like you just do not need God quite as much right now?

Let’s all have a little more wisdom than the pigs and spend some special time in prayer today. Thank your heavenly Father for your many blessings. Intercede for those who need help. Take a moment of silence to be refreshed. Receive forgiveness if you have fallen short.

Prayer definitely is old-fashioned but trust me when I say it will never get old.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
-Colossians 4:2

Hungry for the Things of God

For the person that is truly hungry, even the simplest and smallest piece of bread is satisfying. As Christians who live in a context where biblical content is so pervasive and accessible, our nourishment and satisfaction has much more to do with our appetite and much less to do with what's on the menu. When you're truly hungry it's hard to get hung up on what's being served.

            We don't face the challenge of being hungry and not having enough, rather the challenge we face is tied up in our abundance. In seasons and places of prosperity it's all too easy to take what's precious for granted or treat something sacred as if it were common. One of the marks of a deepening Christian maturity is that, while in seasons of blessing, you can maintain your hunger for the things of God and the realization of your own spiritual need. The Bible is replete with examples of how prosperity can potentially be just as damaging to a person's faith as persecution. If we allow the blessings of God to produce feelings of self-righteousness or self-sufficiency in our life, then those blessings have become a curse.

            This is the work of the enemy, to take what God has made good and twist it for evil in order to subvert the work of God. The devil's tactics aren't always so straight-forward. If he can't tempt you to jump into obvious sins, then he tries a more subtle approach. He will attack your schedule and appetite. The enemy is quite glad when people are too busy to give God the time of day or their appetite is so out of sorts that they don't even desire the things of God anymore.

            Maybe now more than ever, we have extra time on our hands. What are we doing with it? Perhaps our next step for spiritual growth is not finding the newest, coolest thing, but rather asking and allowing Jesus to produce a deeper hunger for the things of God in our souls. Instead of being caught up by all the external things, maybe today's the day you pick up your Bible and ask God to start changing you from the inside-out.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
-Matthew 5:6

You Just Gotta Have Faith

Faith is an important part of life. It is the ability to trust someone or something because you believe they are reliable, honest, or competent. When a person has genuine faith, it will show up in their actions. It is at work each day, not only in our spiritual life, but also in our everyday activities.

For example, you go to a doctor whose name you cannot pronounce and whose degrees you have never verified. He gives you a prescription you cannot read. You take it to a pharmacist you have never seen before. He gives you a chemical compound you do not understand. Then you go home and take the pill according to the instructions on the bottle. All in trusting, sincere faith.

What God requires of us is that we would simply apply the same trust to Him that we often give to our doctors without a passing thought. When God gives us a prognosis or diagnosis for our life, He wants to obey His instructions with a simple, sincere faith.

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
-Proverbs 3:5-6

What areas of your life are you needing to trust God with? Are you listening to His prognosis? What would it look like today if you trusted God with a simple and sincere faith?

Sometimes what God wants you to do will not always make sense at first. However, your faith is not in a situation, it’s in a savior. Even though your circumstances may be fuzzy, God’s character is quite clear. That is what your faith is in, the personal character of God. He does not lie. He keeps His promises. He loves you.

So, when God tells you what to do, “you just gotta have faith”.

Even when you don’t see how it will all work out, “you just gotta have faith”.

When God shows you a plan that’s different than your picture of life, “you just gotta have faith”.

Why is this so? Because He is faithful.

Answered Prayer in Your Time of Need

Here’s a short story that I came across and wanted to share with you.

An elderly woman hurried to the pharmacy to get medication, got back to her car, and found that she had locked her keys inside.  She found an old rusty coat hanger left on the ground. She looked at it and said, “I don’t know how to use this.” She bowed her head and asked God to send her some help.

Within 5 minutes a beat-up old motorcycle pulled up, driven by a bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag. He got off of his cycle and asked if he could help. She said, “Yes, my daughter is sick, and I’ve locked my keys in my car.  I must get home.  Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?”

He said, “Sure.”  He walked over to the car, and in less than a minute, the car door was open.

She hugged the man and through tears, softly said, “Thank you, God, for sending me such a very nice man.”

The biker heard her little prayer and replied, “Lady, I am not a nice man.  I just got out of prison yesterday; I was in prison for car theft.”

The woman hugged the man again, sobbing, “Oh, thank you, God! You even sent me a professional.”

As Christians we have the amazing privilege of taking our requests straight to God. Not only that, we have a high priest in Jesus Christ that can empathize with us because He was tempted and tried in every way just like us. Even more yet, we can have confidence when we approach God that we will find help in our time of need. Do you have a need today? Take it to God in prayer. When you pray do not doubt God’s ability to send help when you need it most. And hey…He may even send a professional.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
-Hebrews 4:16, NIV