Power from God

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Hard to hear this but I know it to be true – afflictions, under the direction of God’s providence and the influence of His grace, are often the means of leading me to pray to and acknowledge God. Whatever it was that caused me to push Him away, I am now drawn back.

He saw the slavery of the Israelites and was concerned for them. – Exodus 2:25 GNT

My crying out to God for mercy is at the same level that I am being oppressed or am seeing others oppressed. These afflictions do nothing for my sin or my soul but they are a way of bringing me back to God quickly.

I believe the lepers in Jesus’ day can teach me some things here.

Once Jesus was in a town where there was a man who was suffering from a dreaded skin disease. When he saw Jesus, he threw himself down and begged him, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean!”[a]

Jesus reached out and touched him. “I do want to,” he answered. “Be clean!” At once the disease left the man. Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go straight to the priest and let him examine you; then to prove to everyone that you are cured, offer the sacrifice as Moses ordered.”  – Luke 5:12-14 GNT

The leper did more than cry out, it would seem he implored Jesus for it was more than a request and it was more than a prayer, it was a tearful and ernest beg.

The leper turns to no one else but Jesus. He knows no one else can help.

There is humility in his tone and phrasing of his request. Though he is imploring, begging, pleading, he does not make demands.

When he receives his healing he still obeys the instructions of Jesus. Prayer is usually not the end of the matter. I must wait for instructions to follow.

I can also learn from Jesus on prayer as He looked for a quiet place to pray right after this healing.

But the news about Jesus spread all the more widely, and crowds of people came to hear him and be healed from their diseases.But he would go away to lonely places, where he prayed. – Luke 5:15-16 GNT

Either when exhausted or needing to be in a safe place, Jesus found that withdrawing to pray restored Him. He must have had designated spots that he liked for He did this often.  What I love most is that the needs of the day did not dictate His timetable. When it was time to get away and pray, He did. He revealed His submission to His Father and His need to commune with Him often.

I am pressed to ensure that I am not kept from regular, uninterrupted times of prayer. I know that prayer brings power from God for my life and my ministry. The temptation to rely on my talent or personality is there – arrogance supreme! I need Jesus.

 “The Bible does not present an art of prayer; it presents the God of prayer, the God who calls before we answer and answers before we call.” – Edmund P. Clowney

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodness

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Then the king of Egypt spoke to Shiphrah and Puah, the two midwives who helped the Hebrew women. “When you help the Hebrew women give birth,” he said to them, “kill the baby if it is a boy; but if it is a girl, let it live.”  But the midwives were God-fearing and so did not obey the king; instead, they let the boys live. So the king sent for the midwives and asked them, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the boys live?”

They answered, “The Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they give birth easily, and their babies are born before either of us gets there.” Because the midwives were God-fearing, God was good to them and gave them families of their own. And the Israelites continued to increase and become strong. – Exodus 1:15-21 GNT

I have preached on this and I have said that God blessed them for lying. I use this as part of my critical thinking and apologetic approach to understanding scripture context where there seems to be an opposite truth to an assumed one.

Today, as I focus on prayer, I find myself rethinking this experience. What if God actually delivered a gracious promise where they really did arrive too late? What reason do I have to doubt this? The people of Israel were under an extraordinary blessing of increase with the apparent conclusion that God has His finger in this. Is this why they could have been so bold before Pharaoh?

 Ere the midwife comes to them they pray to their Father in heaven, and he answereth them, and they do bring forth. –  Palestinian Targumim

God is also ready to help me in my distress and I believe He is anticipating the moment when He can bless me with His goodness and deliver me, even against all odds,

“The Holy Ghost goes first and before in what pertains to teaching; but in what concerns hearing, the Word goes first and before, and then the Holy Ghost follows after. For we must first hear the Word, and then afterwards the Holy Ghost works in our hearts; he works in the hearts of whom he will, and how he will, but never without the Word.” – Martin Luther

 

 

Three different views on prayer

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Simeon’s prayer attracts me because it contains so much significance. There are a couple of parts here I would like to look at and the first one is what some have called his prayer for release.

“Now, Lord, you have kept your promise,
    and you may let your servant go in peace.
 With my own eyes I have seen your salvation,
     which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples:
 A light to reveal your will to the Gentiles
    and bring glory to your people Israel.” – Luke 2:29-32 GNT

It was a prayer that came from a place of joy and filled with thanksgiving as he celebrated God fulfilling His word.

Who is Simeon anyway?

At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him and had assured him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s promised Messiah. Led by the Spirit, Simeon went into the Temple. When the parents brought the child Jesus into the Temple to do for him what the Law required. – Luke 2:25-27 GNT

He was a good man – translated that means he was righteous, honest, upright, sincere, reliable, truthful and a man of integrity. He was one well qualified to pray effectively.

He was one who could be led by the Holy Spirit for he was Spirit-filled. Another necessary qualification to pray effectively.

What do I learn from Simeon’s prayer? It starts with worship, with adoration, with thanksgiving.

Simeon took the child in his arms and gave thanks to God. – Luke 2:28 GNT

It acknowledges the Lordship of God recognizing His greatness and authority and that he was only His servant.

It recognized that God was working. It came through His promise and now that what he was waiting for had arrived he was ready to go and there was no fear in that declaration but rather peace.

There was a portion of submission – understanding that our times are in God’s hands. It came with an attitude of humility – one who waited to do the will of His master.

It was a prayer that declared the true nature of salvation. It was not a creed, system or denomination – it is a Person. It was a prepared salvation, in the plan from a long time ago that was meant for everyone to receive.

I love the part of the prayer where he understood and discerned that it was the Jewish nation that was called to impart light to the Gentiles and in so doing they would be glorified.

Compare this great prayer to Eliphaz, Job’s friend and decide who would you rather have on your prayer team.

Empty words, Job! Empty words!
 No one who is wise would talk the way you do
    or defend himself with such meaningless words.
 If you had your way, no one would fear God;
    no one would pray to him.
 Your wickedness is evident by what you say;
    you are trying to hide behind clever words.
 There is no need for me to condemn you;
    you are condemned by every word you speak. – Job 15:1-6 GNT

Eliphaz really missed the mark when he wrongly judged Job. He could not see Job’s secret prayer life or that Job was a man of piety and prayer to which we had been given insight.

Really, “no one would pray to him.”

If we want to talk about why people do not pray, think about these points that Spurgeon shared.

  • they do not pray often or regularly
  • they do not prepare their hearts properly to pray.
  • they do not consider who they are praying to, the way their prayer should be made, that they are a sinner, what they should be presenting to God, asking for and thankful for
  • they pray with so much formality that they never pour out their heart to God
  • they pray with little faith and too much unbelief

The Psalms were not prayed by people trying to understand themselves. They are not the record of people searching for the meaning of life. They were prayed by people who understood that God had everything to do with them. God, not their feelings, was the center. God, not their souls, was the issue. God, not the meaning of life, was critical. Feelings, souls, and meanings were not excluded — they are very much in evidence — but they are not the reason for the prayers. Human experiences might provoke the prayers, but they do not condition them . . . It is not simply a belief in [God] that conditions these prayers . . . but a doctrine of God. . . . We would rather pray by exploring our own deep spiritual capacities, with God as background music . . . without bothering with the tedium and complexity of the Scriptures . . . [But] if we elect the Psalms to train us in prayer, these are the conditions in which we will be working. – Eugene Peterson

 

Applying blessings

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Jacob takes some time to bless Joseph’s two boys.

Jacob’s eyesight was failing because of his age, and he could not see very well. Joseph brought the boys to him, and he hugged them and kissed them. Jacob said to Joseph, “I never expected to see you again, and now God has even let me see your children.” – Genesis 48:10-11 GNT

It was his attitude that caught my attention. He gave all the credit to God for allowing him to have this wonderful time with Joseph and his family. Throughout all the losses and heartbreaks Jacob complained and to see him come full circle and to realize the hand of God had never left him must have been an incredible spiritual moment. He learn, as Joseph had, every difficult situation was meant for good to bring them to this very place.

Unfortunately I have been one who has prayed that I may not go through hardship. I am learning to pray with the understanding that God will use every hardship to make me more like Jesus. I am sensing that God is walking with me in all of them and is making me more like Jesus as I pass through them. I also have the privilege of glorifying God with me testimony.

We know who we are praying to only if we first learn it in the Bible. And we know how we should be praying only by getting our vocabulary from the Bible….It is therefore essential to the practice of prayer to recognize what [Eugene] Peterson calls the “overwhelming previousness of God’s speech to our prayers
”…. We should “plunge ourselves into the sea” of God’s language, the Bible. We should listen, study, think, reflect, and ponder the Scriptures until there is an answering response in our hearts and minds. It may be one of shame or of joy or of confusion or of appeal—but that response to God’s speech is then truly prayer and should be given to God. – Timothy Keller

 

Application of prayer from those with experience

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The life of leadership from Joseph is extraordinary. I find myself praying for discernment regarding the future so that I can make wise plans.

I love the gospel of Luke because he seemed to be the one more interested in prayer.

Zacharias was a priest of prayer. What a surprise to have an angel tell you that your prayer has been heard. It makes me wonder which one. Was it his official prayer as a priest, representing the people of Israel and that God’s kingdom would come or would it have been a heart felt prayer not even uttered that he might have a son?

Mary too had a visit from an angel and given the honour Jewish mothers have so long desired. I love Mary’s response as she used the language of faith and humble adoration. She reminds me to guide my heart by the word of God. I leave the story knowing that with God nothing is impossible. I am encouraged to take the promises that I hear and read and turn them into prayers.

Job leads me to pray what is really on my mind and heart.

Let me ask for two things; agree to them,
    and I will not try to hide from you:
     stop punishing me, and don’t crush me with terror.– Job 13:20-21 GNT

He did not hold back and he did not spout platitudes. I am encouraged to pray my true thoughts and feelings. God sees and knows those things anyway.

We must lay before him what is in us; not what ought to be in us. – C.S. Lewis

I love the fact that Job wanted God to speak.

Speak first, O God, and I will answer.
    Or let me speak, and you answer me.
What are my sins? What wrongs have I done?
    What crimes am I charged with? – Job 13:22-23 GNT

Dangerous prayers indeed but that is a whole lot better than me doing all the talking.

More mystically minded people sometimes suppose that words by their very nature are an obstruction to the goal of a deep communion with God, but that is just not so. Instead words are necessary medium of a relationship with God. To put your trust in the words of the covenant promise God makes to you is itself to put your trust in God: the two are the same thing. Communication from God is therefore communion with God, when met with a response of trust from us. – Timothy Ward