blessing

Sincere prayer because I do not pray in vain

earnest prayer so we do not pray in vain

Deuteronomy 13 opens up with some very strong words about being a loyal follower of Jesus. Temptations can come from all arenas and they can come all at once and we are expected to remain in our relationship with Him – unmoved, unwavering and without a hint of feigned neutrality. It describes that it would be a very serious matter to find myself seduced. That is why I am called to sincerely pray so that my heart is kept faithful.

Moses and Aaron were his priests,
    and Samuel was one who prayed to him;
    they called to the Lord, and he answered them. – Psalm 99:6  GNT

Moses, Aaron and Samuel made it their life’s business to call on God in prayer and in so doing they not only found themselves in a place of blessing, but others were blessed too. Am I not called to go up the mountain with Moses – to enter into the most holy place with Aaron – to hear God call my name as He did with Samuel? If so, then my prayers are not in vain because my holy God is true to His promises and He hears me from a place of mercy. This testimony is here for my joy and for His glory. Holy men of old did not pray in vain.

One day, in the city of New York—oh, what a day!—I cannot describe it, I seldom refer to it; it is almost too sacred an experience to name…. I can only say that God revealed himself to me, and I had such an experience of his love that I had to ask him to stay his hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were not different; I did not present any new truths, and yet hundreds were converted. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you should give me all the world—it would be small dust in the balance. (W. R. Moody, The Life of D. L. Moody, New York: 1900, p. 149)

 

 

Prayer and action in coming to the Father

prayer and action

How many times did Jesus mention the Father as He prayed in John chapter fourteen?

Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me.” – John 14:6 GNT

I love the invitation that we can come to the Father through Jesus.

And I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son. If you ask me[d] for anything in my name, I will do it. – John 14:13-14 GNT

And I love the promise that He will answer and will respond to our ask.

My mind today is on the work of God in my town and how I am called to respond.

A city becomes great when the righteous give it their blessing; but a city is brought to ruin by the words of the wicked. – Proverbs 11:11 GNT

Can I imagine how I can benefit my town through my prayers rather than my debates? Prayer changes things. I believe my town is preserved and prospered because of those who are praying for it. Prosperity depends on my prayers. and my actions as I serve my community.

The same is in my own life. I always fight sin and temptation. It is a spiritual battle.

So get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to—the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires. Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God’s likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy. – Ephesians 4:22-24 GNT

The idea of getting rid of my old self is not a passive undertaking. I cannot just pray about it and walk away thinking my job is done. Prayer without the pursuit of holiness puts me in a bad place. I am called by God through the power of the Holy Spirit and able to obey God through the same Spirit. I can grow in my holiness as the Spirit of God works in me and the more I have Him dwell in me the more I can war against the sin that wants to set up camp within me. I am not only called to salvation, put to a pursuit of holiness and wholeness.

I repeat here what I previously said in reference to the Lord’s Prayer: if in the midst of such thoughts the Holy Spirit begins to preach in your heart with rich, enlightening thoughts, honor him by letting go of this written scheme; be still and listen to him who can do better than you can. Remember what he says and note it well and you will behold wondrous things in the law of God, as David says. – Luther