The Lifestyle of Prayer

Another Bible Study wrapped up tonight after 6 weeks of talking about what it truly means to live a praying life. We discovered that 6 weeks is entirely too short, but here is a very brief overview of what we discussed. I especially enjoyed hearing from you women each week in sharing your God stories and how He is working in and through you as you seek intimacy with Jesus through a vibrant prayer life. 1. God is sovereign. He will do what He wants, when He wants, with whomever He wants. (Isaiah 31:2, Daniel 4:35; 5:21, Psalm 115:3, Job 2:10; 42:2) He will even use pagan people or nations to bring about His will in the lives of His children. (Romans 9:17-18) 2. He has chosen to use man to accomplish His will and purpose here on Earth. He has chosen to use the prayers of man to unleash the power of His Holy Spirit on the Earth. (Exodus 32/Ezekiel 22, James 5:17-18) Our prayers will not change God’s mind, but they are necessary to bring about God’s perfect will in our lives. 3. The same Holy Spirit that had a part in creating the Universe lives inside each born again believer. (Ephesians 1:13; 3:14-21, Acts 1:8) We have the choice to either “feed” the Spirit or “starve” the Spirit in our own life. (Galatians 6:8, I Thessalonians 5:19) The vast majority of Christians today never tap into this supernatural power of God in their prayer lives and so never experience the extraordinary workings of God in their daily lives. 4. Many people say that they pray and wonder why it doesn't seem God is listening. Sometimes we just don’t acknowledge that He’s working because it’s not the way we wanted Him to work. Other times however, God doesn't hear our prayers. If we are holding on to sin the Bible says God won’t hear our prayers. (Psalm 66:18) Further, He says that if we don’t forgive others, He won’t forgive us! (Matthew 6:15) Many of us miss out on a deeply intimate walk with the savior because we hold a grudge or can’t let go of a sin. The one prayer God always hears is the one of repentance (I John 1:9). Confess your sins often, be sensitive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit to take care of sin quickly, and always forgive others readily. 5. We are told by Christ that our prayers ought to be according to His purposes and not our own concerns or desires. (John 14:14, James 4:3, Matthew 6:25-34) We accomplish this by delighting in the Lord (Psalm 37:4), abiding in Him (John 15:7), and by seeking His face (2 Corinthians 3:16-18). As we draw closer to God through Bible reading, Study, meditation, and memorization as well as through an unceasing daily prayer life, we begin to experience prayer as it was meant to be experienced…. Inspired by God, powered by the Holy Spirit, and according to the name of Jesus Christ. After we understand these truths and allow God to transform our prayer lives, then we can understand how with a tiny bit of faith we can move mountains (Matthew 17:20, I Corinthians 13:2), and how we can ask ANYTHING according to Jesus’ name and He will do it! (John 14:14) Prayer begins with getting to know God, trusting His ways, and living in obedience to Him. It results in the almighty purposes of God being played out through and among the lives of His children. I encourage you to study this further, beginning with the scriptures listed here. Allow God to lead your prayer life as you read His word. Look at everything with an eternal perspective, seeking first the Kingdom of God. Then experience Him as He transforms your life!

Pick a Side

"A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:8 I was awakened around 4 am this morning with this verse and a string of thoughts about it on my mind. Now that I'm wide awake, I decided to get up and do a little studying and writing. So, I started by looking up James 1:8 and reading it's context. Basically, James has just started out his letter and begins by urging his readers to take joy in trials, pray for wisdom, and have unwavering faith. The entire letter is very in your face, a "truth hitting you right between the eyes" kind of message. (my favorite kind!) It seems very important that before looking at this extremely bold letter, you must decide to be all-in. I looked up the words "double-minded" and "unstable" to get a little clearer understanding. "Dipsuchos" is the greek word for "double-minded" and I found that it's derived from two words; Dis, meaning twice and psuche, meaning soul or mind. The literal meaning of this word is two-spirited, vacillating in opinion or purpose, inconstant, wavering.... double-minded. Do you know anyone like that? Have you been someone like that? (I have, it's not pretty!) Do you say one thing and do another? Claim you have faith but live apart from it? One foot in the Word with the other in the world? Trusting God in theory, but not in practice? Revelation 3:15-16 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. The word "unstable" comes from the greek "akatastatos" and also means inconstant, unsettled, unsteady. It's synonyms are "one that cannot be restrained", insubordinate, unruly. Show me a person who is wavering between the Word and the world, and I'll show you a person who is rebellious, finds conflict around every corner, manipulates relationships, justifies every action, blames everyone else for their problems, and can't control their own emotions. (This does not mean she is not emotional. I firmly believe God made our emotions and I love the fact that I am a "feeling" being. I also believe that the unstable person let's their emotions run them instead of letting God run their emotions.... but that's a study for another day). Bottom line: Pick a side! God wants "all-in" Christians, not fence riders. If you are unstable, wavering, inconstant, etc. take a second and confess that to God. Take a good look at your heart and life and make sure you're not trying to keep one foot (or even a toe) in the world or in self-serving. Staying in the mode of instability deeply hurts you and everyone who loves you, so "woman" up and make a choice. Joshua 24:15 - "Choose this day whom you will serve.... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!"