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A new weekly rhythm

January 4, 2024 / / 1 Comment

This year I’m trying to be more intentional about my writing. Some have said they enjoy having a place to disconnect from the stuff of life, so enjoy. Part of this new rhythm of writing intentionality will hopefully include a weekly devotion. We’ll cover all sorts of devotion-y topics. Things like prayer and bible study and transformation and who knows what. It’s still early in the year! Today though we talk prayer.

We’ll call this devotional thought Unleashing the power of prayer. Wow the title just sounds cool doesn’t it!?

I have a quilt in my house that my grandma started to make for my wife and I before we got married. Since she died before I got married, my wife’s grandma finished it. It’s a pretty cool gift that we don’t really use because I don’t want it to get ruined.

If you’ve ever looked at a quilt, you know there are patches of fabric sewn together to form a cool tapestry of shapes and colors. If we were to imagine our lives to be a tapestry like this, we would see that prayer is the thread that holds it all together. Weaving into this piece and out of that one, the prayers of our lives tie all the sorted and disjointed pieces into one beautiful whole. Often though the prayers go unseen and forgotten.

The power of our prayers isn’t in the cool words we use or the big theological terms. We don’t need to quote a bunch of bible verses or shout really loud. God’s actually close than you think and he does not have a hearing problem.

The power of prayer is found in the little pieces of our lives that we bring and the one to whom we bring them. Prayer is a sacred conversation with the God of the universe. (no not a conversation with the universe but the one who made the universe – big distinction!)

Matthew 21:21-22 in a paraphrased way say If you have faith and do not doubt, whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive. This is huge! First of all it’s not saying you’ll get a new car if you just pray hard enough. It’s saying that if you have faith in God and don’t doubt the power found in Jesus, then you’ll pray for the right things and you’ll see those things come about.

The power of prayer is a pretty cool thing that we often overlook. We tuck prayer away as that thing we do when we have a big test coming up, or before we go in for surgery. We have no problem praying when the car is sliding out of control on icy roads. We don’t even mind saying a quick “atta boy Jesus” when we score the game winning touchdown.

But the power of prayer isn’t found as much in the touchdown Jesus moments, good scores on test or everything going perfect days. The power of prayer is best experienced in the regularity of the everyday. We find it in the ugh it’s Monday again moments in life.

So grab the quilt of your life, all the little pieces, no matter how torn or tattered. Bring them to God in prayer. Let him be the golden thread that binds your patchwork life together into a beautiful tapestry of faith. That’s how we can experience the power of prayer.

A Pastor’s Prayer

November 8, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Have you ever wondered what was on your pastor’s heart? Like what got him excited in the morning? What keeps him up at night? What breaks his heart or brings a smile to his face?

There are three short verses in a small letter in the Bible that really drive at what’s on a pastor’s heart. Here’s the set of verses – Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you,  and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. There are a few things here that really stand out.

May God our Father and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you.

The first part of this prayer has two really important pieces almost hidden in plain site. You may have noticed that I re-ordered the wording of this line. Most bibles will read “our God and Father and our Lord Jesus” but I think this misses a really cool thing that’s happening here.

Paul wrote this in a specific way to highlight that God is Father and Son simultaneously and yet there aren’t two of them but one God. He shows how God is Father and Sovereign Lord all at the same time. There are two subject (Father and Lord) but the verbs in Greek are singular. So many but one, one but many all at the same time.

Now the prayer is that we would come together. This is a theme everywhere in the Bible – the coming together of the people of God for the worship of God. The prayer of this pastor’s heart is that they would be enabled to continue to meet together.

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love

All too often we get tunnel visioned on what we don’t like and the things with which we don’t agree. We get vocal about our opposition to the newest bill that was passed or the lifestyle choices of those who live differently than we live. Here the prayer turns to enhancing and nurturing what we’re for instead of what we’re against.

The two words used here – increase and abound – are kind of two sides of the same coin. It’s like he’s praying that love would abound abundantly in us. A bit repetitive I know! But the point is that this concept is vital to who we are as Christians. Yet it’s so easy to leave this one by the wayside when we’re upset or don’t get our way.

Establish your hearts blameless in holiness…at the coming of Jesus.

There is a ton packed in this little section but we’ll focus on just one part of it. This is all about God’s acting for us. Have you noticed that every single verb here has the same subject. The same actor. The same person making it happen. In each of these God is the actor. Jesus is the one who’s bringing these things to be.

He’s the one who will make us holy and blameless. This is such a great part of the prayer. We don’t make ourselves good enough or holy or blameless. No matter how hard we try, it just doesn’t work. But God in His Son Jesus, has already made us blameless. Now the prayer is that we are kept in that blameless and holy way of life until Jesus returns.

The prayer of the pastor’s heart is one of togetherness, love for one another and submission to who Jesus is. We pray other things too but this is the heart and soul of all we pray for the people God entrusted to us. And this is my prayer for you even if I don’t know you personally just yet.

Why Are They Fighting

October 12, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve heard that there is yet another conflict in the Middle East. However, this one isn’t your normal everyone is angry with everyone kind of conflict. This one has elevated to a horrific state of war. And I’ll be the first to admit that no one benefits from war. I’m not saying that as a knock on military or country by any means. As a matter of fact I’m a huge advocate and supporter of our military! It’s just the sad reality that war brings death and destruction. These aren’t part of God’s design for us but sometimes are necessary to fulfill an overall end goal.

Now why does this war matter? What is it about? What is it not?

There are a ton of war mongers out there who are spewing all sorts of things about this being the end the world. Or this has to happen for Jesus to come back. Or it was all staged. Or any number of things. But I’m not sure we really get the gravity of this whole situation until we step back a bit.

Now I’m not going to get all political with you. This isn’t about who’s right or who’s wrong. Although I do have my own very strong personal opinions about that. My purpose here is why do they fight, and why does it matter.

Ok so who are these two groups: Israel and Hamas. Strictly speaking Hamas is a Palestinian group that has taken their beliefs to an extreme position. Every country, every political party even has some who are extreme in their beliefs and often in their actions. Some call them extremists others radicals but we can see from the manner in which they operate that they function much like what we have come to know as a terror cell. Striking in civilian rich places with no warning and an intent to cripple, harm, and kill anyone and everyone who is not like them. Add to it the women and children that have been tortured and things get really disgusting really quickly. It’s terror on many levels.

Now not all Palestinians are part of Hamas. Like I said it’s an extreme group of them. However there is a pretty decent amount of sympathy toward even the most extreme parts by the rest of the group. It’s what’s meant by the statement the enemy of my enemy is my friend. While they don’t agree with the actions of the extreme group, they dislike the other side even more. But who are the other side?

Have you ever heard the biblical story of Jacob and Esau and the bowl of stew and the birthright and the promise and the legacy? It’s a story in the Old Testament book of Genesis. Esau was the older twin who was hungry. Jacob, the younger brother, was a great cook. Short version of the story is that Jacob made some delicious lunch and Esau was so hungry he was willing to trade his birthright for that bowl of soup. Yikes! That must have been some hunger! Later Jacob would deceive their father and outright steal a blessing that was intended for Esau. So there’s been some hatred and animosity between them pretty much since their birth.

Jacob would later be come to known as Israel. And from Esau would be a lineage that would forever be angry with his brother. Remember the soup? This group is what we have in large part as the Palestinian people. Please know I’m painting with large brush strokes here because there is more to the history but I’m giving a simple overview here.

All this to say, the fighting isn’t new. Actually it’s been going on for thousands of years. Some years it’s full blown atrocity like we’re seeing now. Other days it’s angry yelling across a border wall. But even in times of peace it isn’t the whole shake hands and be best friends kind of peace we want. It’s mind your own business and I’ll mind mine kind of peace. We’ll disagree and the only agreement is that we hate each other kind of peace.

Now that we have a quick biblical framework for who these people are and some idea of why they’re fighting, why does this matter today? Well some are taking this conflict and saying that since this is a biblical fight then it must be explained later in the bible as a sign of the end of the world. Caution – let’s not get ahead of ourselves!

Remember how I said this was a conflict lasting thousands of years? Yeah then why would today be the golden moment that indicates it’s all over? The Gaza region has been a point of contention for them for as long as they both had land. This is not new! There’s talk about a third temple being built but that isn’t happening this weekend. Actually, it’s been talked about since shortly after the last temple fell, which was over 1900 years ago! They’ve planned, prayed for, and talked about this happening for nearly every one of those 1900 years. And here we are with no foundation poured. The land hasn’t been graded down. The lumber hasn’t been gathered. The supplies have not been calculated and purchased.

So I’d like to caution us to go a little slower with the whole end of the world motif. There are numerous people who’ve calculated the end of the world based on earthly happenings. Y2K anyone? And how has that worked out for us…Since we’re still here it hasn’t happened. The Bible tells us that no one knows the day or hour of the end. But we should be ready all the time.

Look what’s happening over there and in various places around the world is not good. Killing innocent people is not good. War in and of itself is not what God intended for us. I don’t want to say it’s a necessary evil of the world but we do know that the sword has been given to keep peace and order. That means, as ugly as war is there are times when the muscle of power has to be flexed to keep evil at bay.

So the long and short is this is a territorial war over land that is built on hardships and disagreements for centuries! There’s a lot of hatred that can mount up in that length of time. What are we to do about it? Pray! Really it’s the one thing we need right now. For those of us who have family moving into that region to try to restore peace and to help innocent people get to safety, pray! For the men and women defending the innocent and rooting out evils, pray! For your loved ones near and far, pray! For you family and friends, pray! For you enemies and people you’ve never met, pray!

When evil rears its ugly head, all it desires is to turn us against one another. You can’t be against people if you’re praying for them. So get to it people! Pray for peace not just in Israel and Gaza but around the world and even in your own heart.

Don’t You Like Us?

July 14, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Over the past week or so I’ve given you a peak in the window of my heart. I’ve shared with you about receiving a call to a new church and what that means for me and for my family. I’ve talked about determining if I’ve taken my current congregation as far as I am capable.

Today we look at one more question that I have received in one form or another.

Why did you even agree to interview if you’re happy here? Don’t you like us anymore?

Ok so let’s dispel some rumors or hit them off as quickly as possible. We’ll do that by answering a question or two that I’ve heard.

How did the other church get your name? Are you looking for a new place to go? Ah, that’s a fantastic question that is easily explained but hard to understand. Think of it this way. To most of the world I’m fairly invisible, and that’s perfectly fine! But to the church body to which I belong carrying the title pastor all of a sudden makes me visible to every church out there. Having the title pastor is like covering the invisible man with a sheet. Now you know he exists, but you still don’t know anything about him.

The next step is to see if the man under the sheet is even worth looking at. This is where I kind of have a little bit of control. I am allowed to mark myself as closed to interviews, not interested at all, and don’t want to talk to anyone. Some guys do that and that’s ok for them. But I personally don’t feel that’s the most God honoring way to handle things. So my position is that I am really not interested in moving and personally feel there are things left to do here but I am open to the realization that God knows things I don’t know. So I’m willing to prayerfully consider something if it’s of God. And this is what I told the churches who have asked for interviews…all 18 of them.

The church then takes the names of the, now visible, pastors and combs through a fun little document that tells all the details of the pastor. Family stuff. Where he’s been up til now. What size town does this guy want to live in? Are there special interests, hobbies, needs that he and his family have currently? And how does he function in different settings with regard to how he does church work?

If the church thinks, after going through this paperwork, that I am someone worth pursuing and getting to know more, then they ask for an interview. It’s really that simple. And since my philosophy has been that God is way smarter than I am, it’s important that I take the due time to really make sure I go where God wants me to go. Not sure if you know this or not but if you don’t go where God wants you to go you could end up in some fishy scenarios. Just ask Jonah!

So to answer the question don’t you like us anymore, the answer is an absolute yes. I love the people I serve. I have friends and family here. I love the community and the house I live in right now. I love the facility we have for church and the property on which it sits. I value each and every relationship that has been part of this journey up to this point. Yeah I even love the people who aren’t here anymore.

This whole journey isn’t about whether or not I like or even love you all. That goes without question. If you ask around a little bit you’ll hopefully hear stories of how I’ve dropped my own needs to meet yours. And I would do it again today if needed. The journey is about God. Not you or me or them. It’s about God. All these other things are parts of the bigger picture, but at the end of the day where does God need me to be.

If it was about my wants, this would have been a nonissue a long time ago. If it was about my needs, I’m doing pretty good right where I am. This prayer and discernment time is about making sure my wants and God’s plan align. If they don’t, then we both know God isn’t going to change his plan which means my wants need to shift. But if my wants align with God’s plan, then a whole new fire is breathed into ministry because now we all know God is in this and what God brings together man can’t separate.

I hope this has helped you see this a little from a pastor’s perspective. It’s not an easy thing at all. Just because I don’t have a ton of emotion oozing out of me over it doesn’t mean that my sleep and diet and health aren’t messed up a bit during this time of prayer. Look Jesus sweat blood when he prayed because it was a hard thing in front of him. And while I’m not sweating blood or anything, I am taking this whole process very seriously because I love you all tremendously and I love the kingdom of God.

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers!

Kid that drawing sucks

May 31, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Ok so the title is a little harsh but it’s there for a reason. I remember when my kids were younger and would draw pictures or color something. They would do their best to stay in the lines but the younger they were the messier it looked. But not once did I look at my sons or daughter and tell them kid that drawing sucks!

I mean who would do that? I don’t know a parent out there who would look at a picture their child made for them and tell them how awful it looked. Ok to be fair after the oooh and ahhh would wear off, there were times when I’d tell them how thankful I was for the picture and then point out where the lines were on the paper. But more in a building up sort of way and not a you suck kind of way.

I use this quick analogy that many of us can relate to, in an effort to pull us into a different situation. Prayer. Sometimes I think we approach prayer like we’re afraid God is going to tell us our drawing sucks!

We complain about not having the right words or not really thinking we’re good enough. We make excuses that we aren’t sure how it all works or what if we say something wrong. But just like a loving parent would never tell their child that their drawing sucked, so also God won’t pick apart your prayer either!

Look, I get it. Talking to someone you can’t see or hear directly is kind of an odd thing. But that should actually make it a bit easier. We don’t have to worry about body language or getting some weird judgmental thing in return. We just talk. Talk about anything really. Talk about our hopes or dream. Talk about our fears or things that really just burn us up inside. Talk about things we want or need. Pretty much if you can think of it, he really wants to hear from you about it.

Prayer, like a child’s drawing, isn’t going to always sound perfect. We will flub up a word or two. We’ll say things that don’t really make sense. But there’s a verse in the Bible that reminds us that even when we can’t figure out what to pray, God fills in the gaps. That’s the joy of prayer. We don’t even have to be good at it for God to hang it on his refrigerator.

So what’s on your mind? What are you wrestling with in your heart? Unload it on God. Just in one of those alone moments in the car or shower either out loud or silently in your mind. Lob those concerns, questions, ideas, fears, joy filled moments back at God. He’ll do the rest. He’ll fill in the gap in your words. He’ll address the issue in the way that’s the most appropriate and beneficial to you and the scenario around you. He’s got it. Just pray and sit back as he shows how grateful he is to hear from you. Watch as he hangs your prayer on his fridge like a parent hangs that special picture from their loving little child on theirs.

Pray For Your Pastor

April 6, 2023 / / 1 Comment

I was recently driving home from a small group bible study when something hit me. No it wasn’t a deer! It was a startling reality. Something I knew but kind of washed over me like a brand new feeling. As a pastor of a church, I am called to preach, teach, visit, pray with and for, serve communion, disciple, train, raise up leaders, and provide care for all of the people in the congregation.

That night I received a call that one of our members wasn’t feeling well. It was an older member who was struggling and I was alerted because the situation was very concerning to several people who had been with this member. I left the group and headed out so I could make some calls to better assess the situation and be prepared should an in person immediate visit be needed.

That’s when it hit me. In addition to all of the things on the list for a pastor to do, we truly care for the people around us. The men, women and children. The old ones and the babies. They all are people for whom we care deeply. We care for you by doing the things we’re called to do. We care for you by preaching and all that stuff. But we also care for you by calling out wrong behavior we see. We care for you by getting up in the middle of the night and making our way to the bedside of your dying loved one. We care for you by sitting quietly and listening as your world crumbles and reassure you that even though you feel alone – someone is there.

Pray for your pastor. He needs it. I can guarantee it.

There are so many highs in ministry that it’s hard to explain. The highs of baptisms and weddings. The highs of anniversary celebrations, ministry parties, block parties, fellowship events, game nights, movie nights, hanging out with friends. But there are also some really gut wrenching moments as well.

You know the funeral that we did for your mom or dad? That day we were there for you. That’s not the only funeral we did. And while your parent or spouse that we buried wasn’t our parent or spouse they were someone for whom we cared deeply. And it wasn’t just that person we had to bury either. It was your loved one and the loved ones of several others as well.

I don’t write this for pity or thanks or recognition. That’s not why we do it. If you’re a pastor reading this and you do these things for recognition, then get out of the ministry now. That’s not a pastor’s heart you possess. I write this because we are weak and often weary. We get tired. We carry burdens we don’t and often can’t share with anyone. We put on a smile when our hearts are torn open. When we are broken, we still have to stand by your side to provide comfort and care in your moment of grief, sorrow, or fear.

If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to ask you to just take a few minutes out of your week and pray for your pastor. Whoever he is. Whether you really like him or don’t quite understand his little character quirks. Pray for your pastor. He’s a human. He hurts. He fails. He struggles. But he loves you and would gladly and willingly rearrange his schedule to be by your side in a moment’s notice if the need arose. We aren’t heroes by any means. Just pastors trying to be the shepherds God calls us to be, and we’d truly be honored if you prayed for us.

In Jesus Name

February 6, 2023 / / 0 Comments

So for people who say they follow Jesus, this should be a given. Should is the operative word in that phrase. But how often is prayer one of the last things on the list? I know for myself it’s not the first thing I run to when I know it should be! It’s disheartening that I can’t seem to get that part of my Christian walk right.

This week we focus on putting Jesus’ name on everything. We do this primarily through prayer. I don’t want to clutter this thing up with too many words so we’ll keep it short and to the point.

Who will you pray for in Jesus’ name today?

What is going on in your life that needs to be given over to Jesus to take care of for you?

Who in your life is hurting and needs to know the Jesus who cares and loves them?

These are just a few things that need Jesus’ name spoken over them. Buying a car? Put the car in Jesus’ name for a day or two before you get it. Changing jobs? Leave it in Jesus’ name for a night or two and see what he says. Having trouble with illness, loneliness, anxiety? Put Jesus’ name on it tonight and sleep knowing he has it.

Look I get it prayer isn’t some magic potion that as soon as we say AMEN everything goes perfect. But something happens inside of us when we place our concerns, loved ones, troubles in Jesus’ name. It’s a faith thing. It’s a trust moment.

So what in your life needs to have Jesus’ name attached to it today? Praying you today friend.

An Ongoing Conversation

November 10, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Over the past several posts we’ve tackled the topic of prayer. We looked at reasons we don’t pray. Why those reasons don’t really hold water as a legitimate argument. And why prayer is so important. The point of this post will be to hopefully show how simple prayer really is when we get right down to it.

We’ve dabbled in this a little in previous topics but here the goal is to get into some practical ways that prayer can be part of the everyday life of a follower of Jesus. So let’s jump right in!

The Obvious

So the most obvious times for prayer are before meals and at bedtime. And to be totally honest most of these prayers are pretty canned. We love to use the ones that everyone says all the time. The most popular are the Come Lord Jesus prayer before meals and at night time we gravitate toward the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep prayer. These are the most widely used prayers by so many people. But are they too easy?

Some people have a problem with these simple prayers. Some say they demean the power of prayer or lessen its value. But I love the power of an oversimplified prayer! It makes prayer super accessible to children. When we gravitate toward these prayers, that I call canned prayers, we allow our minds to have something to fall back on as we age. I’ve had the honor of being near people in some of their darkest moments. I’ve sat by the bedside of faithful men and women as they’ve moved into their final moments. It’s wonderful to see how in these moments, it is the simplest of prayers that fall out of our mouths. It’s these easy phrases and commonly echoed thoughts that our minds recall in these hard times.

The Big Prayer

There’s a prayer that almost everyone knows. We might not say it daily but we pretty much all know it and could likely repeat it if needed. We call it the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father. It’s the prayer in which Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. But contrary to popular belief it’s not a prayer we necessarily have to pray.

The purpose of the Lord’s Prayer is that Jesus gave his followers a simple model or formula for prayer. In this daddy of all prayers, we see some pretty simple things we can put into our prayer lives as well. From the relational starting point (Our Father) to the recognition of his power and position (who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name) this prayer stands as a wonderful example of keeping God where he deserves to be kept and being mindful of his love and care for us (give us this day our daily bread).

I strongly encourage everyone to know the Lord’s Prayer. You should even be able to recite it. But I don’t think that this should necessarily be your go to prayer. I think you should take this prayer for what it was intended: a caution for those making prayer a show and a model for the simplicity of prayer.

A Simple Approach

The memorized prayers that we’ve mentioned already are great and they each have their place, but if this is our sole focus in prayer we miss the spontaneity and conversational nature of prayer. Is prayer an event in which we participate or a lifestyle that we live? The simple answer should be yes!

Prayer needs to be more than just a set of words for special occasions. It needs to be more than an emergency response to a bad day. Prayer should be a conversation that leads us through life. Here’s the approach I recommend in prayer. Again this is not a legalistic, must do it this way kind of thing. It’s just a suggestion for how it works best for me.

Start with a simple thank you. A friend of mine starts his morning prayer with the phrase Good morning Father. How cool is that! Get things started with a simple reminder that it’s good to be alive!

What do you need today? Then at some point in your day make sure to express your concerns or needs. The Lord today I need prayer is my go to for this one. I like to start my day with this kind of prayer so I have the rest of the day to watch for the answer to show up.

Random thoughts as they come to you. This is the best part of the simple approach. And honestly this is what brings prayer to life for me. It removes the structure and fear of prayer. When we just throw random thoughts and concerns at God throughout our day, it lowers our guard to the point where we can see God as the one who’s with us all the time.

This simple approach to prayer is designed to show that anyone can pray at anytime. You can do it while you’re driving down the freeway or stopped in traffic. You can pray this way at work or at home. You can have eloquent words or just random thoughts that make no coherent sense. You can have something specific you’re asking for or you can just talk about what’s on your mind. This is the heart and soul of prayer. It’s what makes prayer such an amazing and integral part of the life of the believer. If we could pray more like this, we’d quickly realize just how accessible God is and just how easy it is to do this thing we call praying.

So whether you pray the canned prayers or use the big daddy of prayer or just throw random thoughts at God, the point is to keep the connection alive.

Don’t Give Me Excuses

November 9, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Ok so that’s a little harsh and not very compassionate I get it. But to be fair, no one has ever accused me of being overly compassionate either. In all honesty many of the reasons we give for not doing something are less legitimate reasons and more excuses. I’m too tired. I’m too busy. I’m too this or that. Just about all of these things are simple excuses for not doing whatever is in front of us.

This post is about the reasons we give for not praying. Or to follow my less compassionate side – the lame excuses we give for not praying. Again the point is not to offend you but to open our collective eyes to the way we’ve tried to dumb down what it means to follow Jesus.

Here are some of the key reasons I hear for people not praying: it’s too personal, doesn’t he already know, I don’t even know what to say, and does it really even work? Ok so let’s look at these one at a time.

It’s too personal. I guess? Maybe? But if you’re talking to God, who knows everything about you anyway, can it really be too personal? Admittedly, this reason is mostly heard in response to someone not being willing to pray in public. For a person who thinks prayer is too personal to pray out loud I really want you to think about that for a minute. If your prayers are that personal, then why wouldn’t you want someone else to experience the closeness of that kind of relationship. So I understand the personal nature of prayer. I really do! I’ve had some prayers that I have prayed that I don’t include other people on. But in general prayer is a conversation with God about things God cares about! It doesn’t have to be overly personal all the time. Make it conversational.

Doesn’t he already know? Yep sure does! But I know much of what happens in my children’s lives and I still talk to them. I know that my wife probably emailed people about vacations and talked to a lot of people on social media through the day but we still find things to talk about regarding how our days went. Just because he knows doesn’t mean he doesn’t want you to tell him. Not praying because God already knows is a pretty weak excuse for not praying. I’m not even going to apologize for that one.

I don’t know what to say. Well, that’s a bunch of crap too! You can talk to the barista about the kind of coffee you like, your buddy about the score of the game, your friend about your favorite show you just binge watched. You can find something to talk to God about. Likely, you’re making it a bit too formal. Just have a conversation. Tell him what’s going on. What are you excited about? Afraid of? Looking forward to? Anxious about? All the things you would tell a friend or coworker, he wants to hear these things from you!

Does it even work? Well this is where things get fun. I love to have this conversation with people about prayer. Does prayer work? Well give it a try and find out. You won’t believe me regardless of what I tell you anyway! 😉 So try this little exercise. When you get up in the morning try to pray. A friend of mine introduced me to a way of praying that’s a lot like ordering at the drive-thru. You tell the little speaker thing what you want. Then you drive around and expect it to be there. Well, pray this way. Tell God what you need that day. Then get up and go on with your day just expecting it to be there. Caveat – don’t pray for anything you can touch. So no praying for a new car or a million dollars!

Just pray this simple prayer. Lord, today I need…

That’s it. It’s that simple. Lord acknowledges you’re not in control. Today sets the time frame on when you need this answered. I is what makes it personal. And need expresses the thing going on in your life that needs addressed. Then what you ask for is the thing you actually would benefit most from that day. Remember nothing tangible! So pray for peace, focus, productivity, joy filled heart, compassion, etc. These are the things you’ll benefit from most so pray for them. Then sit back and watch to see what God does in your life as a result of this kind of prayer. Then you can tell me if prayer works.

If you pray for things like this and watch as your day unfolds, I’m pretty sure you’ll quickly see how well prayer actually does work. Go ahead. Give it a try. I dare you.

Importance of Prayer

November 8, 2022 / / 0 Comments

In the last post, we discussed the idea of prayer. We looked at what it is and why some people who call themselves Jesus’ followers, don’t do the whole prayer thing. I’m not sure if any of the reasons I gave in that post resonate with you or if you have your own reason for not praying, but I think prayer is the most vital part of our lives as Christians that we can’t go without it.

So why is prayer so important? I mean I believe in Jesus and I read my Bible. Is prayer really necessary? Short answer is yes, without a doubt, for sure, unequivocally yes!

Prayer is the ongoing conversation we have with God. It happens at the dinner table or the bed side. It happens when we’re driving and when we’re struggling. We pray when we need something or when we have an unexpected celebration and don’t know where else to turn. Prayer is everywhere.

The wide receiver who scores the touchdown involuntarily points to the sky almost like he’s saying thank you. Sounds like a bit of a prayer to me. The young mom can’t get her child to stop crying so she just quietly whispers what am I supposed to do? Sure sounds like you’re talking to someone. Or the man who stumbles to the bathroom in the middle of the night only to have his little toe make contact with the bed post. His reply…well you know what that is and it sure sounds like he believes in a being that is able to send his bed post to hell. Like it or not that’s kind of a prayer.

Now I didn’t say that any of these are good, right or proper prayers – whatever that really means. I’m not saying that these prayers convey any level of saving faith. They’re just the basic format for communicating with someone outside yourself who you believe is able to address the situation you’re in at that very moment.

But if God already knows what’s on my heart and that I stubbed my toe or my child won’t stop crying, then why do I need to tell him? Am I going to change the outcome? Yes and no.

You’re not going to change God’s mind by wearing him down or anything. Prayer isn’t nagging God til he gives in. But it actually will change the scenario for you. Prayer will at a minimum change your perspective of the situation and allow you to see other options. Prayer is so very important. It’s found all over the place in the Bible. All of the key players in the Bible spend time in prayer, even Jesus does it! And if Jesus feels it important to pray, then it’s probably a good idea, right?

One of my favorite reasons to show why prayer is so important is to use the passage from Ephesians where Paul talks about the armor of God. You have the belt, breastplate, shield, sword, helmet and all the parts of the armor. Each of them correlate to an aspect of the life of the follower of Jesus from the Bible to faith to righteousness. But prayer is embedded in that almost as a throw away phrase that is easily missed. It’s right near the end of the section where Paul says to include prayer. I like to view prayer in this illustration like the chain mail that holds the whole armor set on the body. The breastplate has to have a place to hang as does the belt and sword. It’s like prayer is the webbing onto which all of our other spiritual practices have to fasten. If we don’t have prayer, then the rest of our spiritual lives are in danger of falling apart.

We don’t pray to change God’s mind but to shift our thinking. We don’t pray because God needs to know what’s going on, but because he wants us to know we can come to him. We don’t pray just for the big things or the key events that need special attention. We pray for the little things and for the seemingly insignificant moments in our lives because he’s in those as well.

Next week we’ll address the reasons we don’t pray and poke a few holes in them. Not in a mean or derogatory way but in a way that shows they don’t hold water. And hopefully get us to a place where we feel more comfortable praying and realize its necessity!

For now try seeing prayer as an ongoing conversation you have with God. Start before your feet hit the floor in the morning with something simple – Hey God, thanks for a good night sleep! Then go about your day popping little one liners back at God throughout your day. End with a quick Good night God. And you’ve done it. Pretty simple! Then watch how your perspective shifts throughout the day as you give little and big things back to God realizing how much he cares for you.

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