Do you ever think about who you would call if you had a crisis in the middle of the night or while traveling in the middle of nowhere?  I was once in a vehicle in the wilderness of a west Africa nation, when someone asked where we were, to which the missionary replied, “We’re fifteen miles beyond the Great Commission.”  We laughed, but it set us to thinking.  Is the one on whom you call, the one to whom you pray, available at all hours, odd hours, from wherever you may be?  The Psalmist says, “The goodness of God endures continually” (Psalm 52:1).  The communication link between man and God is always open.  We are never far from His presence, nor is He far from us.  Through God’s Holy Spirit, He is available to us always and everywhere. Max Lucado said, “We (Christians) are always in the presence of God. There is never a non-sacred moment! His presence never diminishes. Our awareness of His presence may falter, but the reality of His presence never changes.” The Message paraphrases Psalm 52:1 as, “God's mercy carries the day.” All day. Every day. I’m thankful today that we have a 24/7/52 God with whom I can communicate, and on whom I can depend.

I was asked to take the lead at a Prayer Breakfast for Dr. Adam Greenway, the 9th President of Southwestern Baptist Seminary. Having served on the faculty of this institution for more than two decades, Dr. Greenway is one of my former students. So I gladly accepted the invitation to lead. However the date of the Prayer Breakfast was changed to a day when I was to be out of the state. Thus, I never led the Prayer Breakfast. But why let preparation go to waste? I will share my thoughts with my friends, and ask you to pray for leaders that you know. So, have another cup of coffee and consider this a virtual prayer breakfast. In preparation, I faced the question - what do you say when asked to lead such an important meeting – for the President of a large, influential, global-impacting, institution? One of my favorite Old Testament passages is Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” There are so many applications that can be made with this passage, but time was short, so I had planned to focus on “in all your ways.” Many are the “ways” of a leader. Varied are the needs for prayer support. Each person present was to select a “way” and pray accordingly. Think about it this week. If you could pray for a “way” of an influential leader, what would you choose? How about selecting a leader that you know, and pray that for them. Then my Prayer Breakfast preparation will not go for naught. Pass the coffee please.

I remember once making a request of my parents that was so out of sync with the plans for the family, that they just stared at me, no verbal response, just a glare. Some may say that my request was unanswered. It took me years to learn that my request was answered. The answer was in their glare – a silent “no.” The more I studied prayer, the more I discovered that Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer in his teaching on the subject. In spite of both secular and church pressure to admit to unanswered prayer, I concluded that there was no such thing as unanswered prayer. One such secular pressure was in a song by Garth Brooks, in which he returned to his High School reunion only to see the girl he had prayed to marry. Her condition was such that he sang, “Thank God for Unanswered Prayers.” Even in church, I grew up singing the hymn, “Have Faith in God” in which the second verse begins with “Have faith in God when you pray’rs are unanswered.” However, that which we often label unanswered is in actuality, a silent response, that answers without words. The response is so out of sync with the plans of God, that no answer is necessary, just silence. If God appears to be silent, the fault may be yours, not His. So, what does one do when God appears to be silent? Do not assume that He is uninterested. Listen more intently. Walk more closely. Consider God’s silent “no” may be a re-direction, rather than a rejection. Re-think the request. It is possible to “ask and . . . not receive, because you ask amiss” (James 4:3).

Is it possible that Thanksgiving is more than a holiday – more than turkey, football, family, etc? For many years, people of faith have used the acronym, ACTS as a guide for prayer – “A” being for adoration; “C” being for confession; and “S” being for supplication. The “T” in that acronym stands for Thanksgiving – as demonstrated in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” and in 1 Timothy 2:1 “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.” Thanksgiving is expressing gratitude for what God has done, is doing, and will do. Thus, we should thank God for what has been done – God saved us, sustained us, provided for us, and brought us to this place. We should thank God for what is presently being done – God is teaching us, strengthening us, and equipping us. And we should thank God for what will be done – God will direct us, protect us, and take us to heaven. Thanksgiving grows by expressing it. One of the marks of Christian growth is the decrease in prayer petitions for self and the increase in thankfulness for what God has done, is doing, and will do. Enjoy Thanksgiving turkey, football and family this week, but don’t forget thankfulness to God.

I took my pastor to lunch recently, celebrating Pastor Appreciation Month. In the course of the conversation, I asked him how he felt the specific call of God to be a pastor, since he had previously been a Student Minister and a Church Starter. His answer was similar to mine – an early call to vocational ministry, made specific in time. I had taken a “Pastor Appreciation” survey on social media, assuming that pastors would want their church members to pray for them. I asked, "What should be the most important prayer request a pastor has for the people?” I got a variety of answers, all good, all correct, and all necessary, but I didn’t get the answer I was looking for. Among these answers, someone should have said a pastor needs people to pray that he keep his calling from God always fresh in his mind. A few years ago, I had a conversation with a man who was struggling in his position as a pastor. When I asked him about his call to ministry, he had no answer. He had entered the pastoral ministry because it seemed to him like a good thing to do. He was learning, as others before and after him, that the call is crucial. Ministry is difficult enough to manage with God’s call, impossible to do effectively without it! In his Pastors College, Charles Spurgeon once said, “We must feel that woe is unto us if we preach not the gospel; the word of God must be unto us as fire in our bones.” An older pastor advised me once to “try to do something else and if you are miserable, get back to your calling to be a pastor.” Being the son of a Pastor, plus having been pastor of two churches and Interim Pastor of more than twenty-five churches, not to mention spending more than two decades teaching want-a-be-pastors, I have the highest respect for those who feel called to the pastoral ministry. I believe Paul was absolutely right-on when he wrote to Timothy, “It is a true saying that if a man wants to be a Pastor, he has a good ambition” (1 Timothy 3:1, TLB). So, as you pray for your pastor during Pastor Appreciation Month, pray that the call of God is never far from their mind.

It had been awhile since I had counted, but the recent purchase of more books from a used book dealer, sent me back to the shelves to count how many books I possess on the subject of prayer. The new count is 481. A bit excessive for the normal minister/seminary professor, but not for one who for many years occupied one of only two fully endowed chairs of prayer in theological education in the world. Do I agree with everything in these books? Absolutely, not. Am I a better professor/person because of their contents? Absolutely, yes. They remind me of my opening words in the introduction of the book that I compiled for America's National Prayer Committee, entitled "Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry" (“we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”) which included the works of eighty authors from across the theological spectrum. I began with the words, "If I agreed with every paragraph in this book, I could have written it myself." Not meaning to sound arrogant, I was simply paying tribute to the diversity found in the subject of prayer – that same diversity found on my bookshelves in the section devoted to prayer. The fact that I own so many books on prayer reminds of a long-ago published book, entitled “Bull at a New Gate (1965). The chapter on prayer consists of 14 words. It reads, “Go pray! It will do you more good than reading another chapter on prayer.” So, pray or collect books on prayer – either way, you will be blessed.

I sat around a rectangular table with seven other men, all focused on an eighth man at the head of the table. That eighth man had been named to a prominent and powerful position. The seven were there to pray for the eighth. How many intercessors does it take to reach maximum effectiveness in prayer? Could one intercessor have been just as effective as seven? Would ten or twenty or a hundred intercessors been more effective than the seven present at the table? Jesus took three disciples with him up Gethsemane to intercede for him (Matthew 26:36-38). The Apostle Paul clearly requested prayer from entire groups in each of his New Testament letters to the churches. In Ecclesiastes 4:12, Solomon implies that three is better than two. So how many intercessors does it take to assure God’s response? Surely God can respond to one as easily as God can respond to a hundred. But if only one prays, many are left out of the privilege of intercession and the blessing of observing God’s response. Plus, if I have only one, two or three praying, they may all forget. Sometimes I ask people to pray for me with some concern that they will never remember, much less actually pray effectively. On the other hand, the more intercessors I have, the more likely some will remember and pray effectively. My mother was the greatest, and most effective prayer partner that I ever knew. When she died, I felt I needed to recruit multiple intercessors to replace her. With her, a phone call resulted in one praying saint. Today, a post on social media generates hundreds of potential prayer partners. So, what to do? There is no easy answer, but I would suggest that you err on the side of numbers. While only one may be needed, many could be blessed.

(BTW, I do have an internet-driven prayer support team. If you are not on it and would like to join, e-mail me at drc1241@yahoo.com, or text me at 817-637-4967, your name and e-mail address, and I will add you. You will receive a prayer request/report on the first of each month, and additional requests as circumstances require. Plus, it is easy to unsubscribe if you decide to do so.)

I pulled up to the drive-thru window at the burger restaurant with money in hand, only to be greeted by a smiling teenager saying, “Your meal has been paid for, sir.” When I asked for an explanation, I was told the person in line in front of me had paid for my meal and left a message to “Pay it forward!” I have no idea who was in front of me, or why they chose to pay for my meal, but I followed suit and asked how much the bill was for the person behind me in line, hoping they had not ordered double cheese burgers and giant sodas for their entire family. They had not, so I paid it forward and left them a message to do likewise. Interesting cultural practice. I have another idea. I have an e-mail based prayer team of several hundred people. (BTW, if you want to join that team, reply with your name and e-mail address and I will add you to the list.) I’m sure some, if not all, of them have prayed for me recently. So I’m going to PRAY it forward. I’m going to start through that list, praying for everyone listed there. Why not? First Samuel 12:23 indicates it is a sin to refrain from doing so – “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you” and that is just one verse instructing intercessory prayer. My friend and colleague, T.W. Hunt took the time to research, and discovered that 7/9 of the prayers in the Bible, where an answer was given, were intercessory prayers, that is, prayers prayed for someone other than self. Have you been prayed for this week? Surly there is someone who has remembered you in their intercessory prayer – a spouse, parent, grandparent, or friend? In response, you could pray for your family, your minister, your neighbor, or your friends. Why not PRAY it forward?

I confess that I opted to watch baseball on TV last week vs. watching twenty Democratic want-a-be Presidential candidates debate the issues. I did surf the networks back and forth just to see what was going on among the hopefuls, and I did read the next-morning reviews. I start with my confession only to say I may have missed something in the four hours of debate, but I never once heard a candidate begin an answer with something like, “I would seek God’s will in the matter” or “I would talk with God about this and then make a decision” or “I think God would want me to . . .” To each question, the candidates had their own answers, and their own solutions. No one, at least to my awareness, even acknowledged God as a part of their decision making. I’m not talking about church-state issues, or religious freedom issues, or even one’s spiritual preferences, I’m talking about a candidate acknowledging the importance of communicating with God in decision making. I realize this was not a religious debate, and the questions were not spiritually oriented, but I sure wish someone on the stage would have at least referenced communication with God. This reminds me of Jesus’ words in John 16:24, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive,” and James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” This is not about Democrats or Republicans or any other group. It is about the absence of communication with God in the discussion of the current issues that concern our society.

Effective preaching must be preceded by effectual praying. Occasionally, the King James Version of the Bible still has a better choice of words than more modern translations. That’s why I prefer the KJV for James 5:16, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Assuming the righteous status of the preacher, effectual praying produces effective preaching. It matters little whether the sermon is categorized as textual, expository, topical, or the currently popular term, text-driven, a sermon will only reach its maximum potential if it comes from God through the preacher, rather than simply from the preacher to the people. In other words, before the preacher stands to preach, he should knell to pray. In his book, “Power Through Prayer” E.M. Bounds wrote, “Talking to men for God is a great thing but talking to God for men is greater still. He will never talk well and with real success to men for God who has not learned well how to talk to God for men.” So, the preacher should never talk to the people about God until he has talked to God about the people! I have a copy of a cartoon which pictures a preacher in the pulpit with a concerned look on his face. The caption says, “It occurs to Rev. Jones in the midst of point #2 that point #3 misses the point entirely.” The way to prevent this from happening is to pray through the preparation, as well as the presentation of the sermon. As a member of the congregation, one should assume the role of faithful intercessor. Praying for the preacher is a vital and helpful act of worship preparation. So, whether you are the preacher or a member of the audience, the way to receive the maximum message from a sermon is to spend time with God prior to its delivery. If not already active in this, try it for your next worship service.

“The Prayer-Shaped Disciple” - It’s the name of the textbook I wrote for use in Seminary classes on prayer. It is also the name of the seminar I lead occasionally in churches. I led such a seminar in a church in west Texas earlier this month and will lead one in a church in Oklahoma next month. It is often the title of a sermon series I preach where I serve as Interim Pastor. To be shaped in the image of Jesus is to be prayer-shaped. He prayed at his baptism, He prayed from His cross, and He prayed all the way in-between. The most used verb in the ministry of Jesus was the verb, “to pray.” After all that they had experienced, His disciples requested that He teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). According to the writer of Hebrews, Jesus is even on this day, interceding for us, in prayer with the Father (Hebrews 7:25). Prayer is the priority of the Christian life. Oswald Chambers wrote, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.” The more nearly we are shaped in the image of Jesus, the more nearly the world will be shaped by prayer. Mother Teresa said it this way, “God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil." At the beginning of each semester, I would say to my Seminary students, that everything you need to do ministry, properly, comes from God. So how can you minister effectively without being shaped in His image through prayer? Prolific prayer author, E.M. Bounds wrote, “Prayer makes a godly man, and puts within him the mind of Christ . . . and of prayer. If we really pray, we will become more like God, or else we will quit praying.” What kind of spiritual shape are you in?

When I was born, the hospital in Temple, Texas had a show window where they placed their idea of the best-looking baby to be born that day/week. Partly because someone thought I was that baby, and partly because my mother was a registered nurse in the same hospital, I spent a full week in the show window. Of course, I don’t remember it, but I was reminded of it many times through the years. Last week I walked through the new-born section of a local hospital. One cannot do that without also talking a trip down memory lane. First it was the memory of a hospital in McAllen, Texas where our daughter was born. Then memory shifted to a slow trip on an ice-covered road, to a hospital in Greenville, Texas, where our son was born. Another memory shift took me to a hospital in Fort Worth, Texas where my granddaughter was born. Finally, my memory shifted to another Fort Worth, Texas hospital where my grandson was born. What a trip! How can one walk through the new-born section of a hospital without thinking about the days ahead for the new parents (and yes, the new grandparents also), knowing that there will never be another day quite like the day (or night) when their baby was born. You already know what they will soon learn, that one of the amazing things about becoming a parent is that you are no longer your own first priority. You pray that the new parents will raise their babies, “In the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). You pray that the babies will make good use of their years, years that pass more quickly than they, or their parents, can imagine, as you remember the words of legendary sports announcer, Vin Scully, “It’s a mere moment in a man’s life between an All-Star Game and an Old-timers Game.” From a hospital show window in Temple, Texas to the hallways of a local hospital – a long trip; a rush of memories, a heart-felt prayer.

I have a confession. Growing up, it seemed the preachers always used at least one Hebrew or Greek word in every sermon to help clarify or explain the biblical text. This was good. It was helpful. I appreciated it. But I also assumed if I didn’t understand a word or phrase in the worship service, it must be Hebrew or Greek. So, my youthful observation led me to assume the word “Amen” was either Hebrew or Greek for “Sit down.” Every time someone ended a prayer with the word “Amen” we all sat down. It made sense. As I grew older and wiser, I understood the “Amen” was not a command to be seated, but rather a concluding thought to the prayer, meaning, “So be it.” However, the word came to mean “Over and out” or “Signing off here” or just “Good bye for now” and I understood why it was used in public prayer – to indicate the prayer was concluded, and it was indeed time to be seated. But why use the word in private prayer? No one else needed to know the one praying in private was finished with the prayer. Why not leave the prayer open-ended? Maybe God wasn’t finished. After all, prayer is two-way communication isn’t it? How about employing a time of silence before ending your private prayer? Listen for God. The Psalmist ended a prayer with the words, “Truly my soul silently waits for God . . . wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him” (Psalm 62:1, 5). As the Psalmist waited in silence, two thoughts came to him. “God has spoken . . . power belongs to God” (Psalm 62:11) and that God would “render to each one according to his work” (Psalm 62:12). Although the Psalmist was disturbed by his circumstances to the point of prayer, he found comfort as he stopped talking to God and started listening to God. So next time you pray in private, don’t say “Amen.” Listen and let God conclude your prayer.

When your Pastor stands to proclaim God’s Word is there the appearance of being “prayed up?” You may or may not be able to discern this, but don’t assume that this is the case. Vance Havner borrowed an anonymous quote to describe the possibility that a pastor may not be up to date in his prayer life. "The devil is in constant conspiracy against a preacher who really prays, for it has been said that what a minister is in his prayer closet is what he is, no more, no less." Granted, it is difficult for a pastor to cover all the ministerial bases each week and may not even know how to pray effectively. After all, the subject of prayer is taught in very few Bible Colleges and Seminaries. Leonard Ravenhill said, “To stand before men on behalf of God is one thing. To stand before God on behalf of men is something entirely different.” An experience early in my ministry shaped my practice of always knelling before God, before standing before people on behalf of God. A pastor should never speak to people about God until speaking with God about the people. But, again, rather than assume your pastor is “prayed-up,” take it upon yourself to be the intercessor. After all, Paul requested of his readers to be “Praying always . . . for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:18-19). If the pastor is “prayed-up” and the church members have done their intercessory work, it might be amazing to see what God would do.

While the birth of Jesus didn’t happen on the day we call “Christmas” nevertheless, many celebrate His birth on December 25, our Christmas Day. Almost lost in the scripture account of Jesus’ birth is the story of Anna. By any measurement, Anna was an elderly woman. The Bible describes her as follows: “She was of a great age and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years” (Luke 2:36-37). Considering the fact that girls often married in their teen-age years, Anna would have been in excess of one hundred years old. According to the Jewish law (Exodus 13:12), Jesus was brought to the Temple to be dedicated to God. There in the Temple, Jesus was encountered by Anna, “who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Luke 2:37). At this encounter, Anna “gave thanks to the Lord” (Luke 2:38). She prayed. Significant is what Anna did next. She “spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). Anna became one of the first evangelists! Anna showed us that it is never too old for one to have a fresh encounter with the Lord, and it is never politically incorrect to proclaim Him to others. What a Christmas role-model!

One of God’s greatest gifts is memory.  When we remember, we sometimes sit in a recliner and reflect.  Other times we do something in response to memory. Today, people will place flowers at grave sites, and memorials of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  Others will attend ceremonies in cemeteries and at national monuments.  Still others, will pause in the midst of worship services to remember and pray.  We act out our remembrance and our appreciation, for those who served in the past, and those who serve today.  For me that includes a father and two uncles who served in the U.S. Army during World War II, a brother who served in the U.S. Army National Guard, and a son who served in the U.S. Marine Corp, and continues to serve with the U.S. Homeland Security.  On this Veterans Day, may we pray for those who still serve, perhaps praying 1 Corinthians 16:13, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”  May we also join with those who serve in praying for peace.   General Douglas MacArthur said, “The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”

Transition is tough! I wonder how old does one need to be before life is not punctuated by transitions? I’m not sure. You’ll need to ask that question to someone older than me. I clearly remember transitioning from being at home all day, as a five-year old, to going off to school every morning. I did so with a prayer from and with my mother, the greatest prayer warrior I ever knew. She faithfully prayed every day, that I would do the best I could, with what I had, for Jesus’ sake, on that day. She taught me early that prayer was the way to deal with transition. From early school days, and off to college, through marriage, through parenting, through career adjustments, through mid-life crisis, through grandparenting, through health issues, and through retirement, my life has been marked by transition, and continues to this day. The idea of praying through transition has been enforced by two special passages of scripture: “Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established” (Proverbs 16:3, NASB) and “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Often the measure of maturity is how well we manage transitions. I recommend management with prayer.

To my surprise, the church announced their high-attendance Sunday goal and then prayed that God would help them to reach it. I was only their Interim Pastor, so was not in on the setting of the goal. When I asked how they arrived at the number, the answer was that it was ten more people than they had last year on high-attendance Sunday. Why do we ask God for things we know we can achieve in case He doesn’t? Were they afraid to ask God for fifty or a hundred more people? Afraid that the God who responds to our requests, “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask” (Ephesians 3:20), would not respond and thus they would look bad, like people of little faith? Had they never heard of the law of large numbers - invite 1000 people, 100 would show interest, and 10 would show up. I encouraged them to refrain from asking God for what they could do for themselves - then give God the glory. After all, which is worse, to set a goal for ten and reach it, or set a goal for fifty and only reach twenty-five? Pray big this week. Why not pray so big that if God is not in favor of your request, it will fail.

I’m about to try something I’ve not done before. For many years I occupied the Chair of Prayer at Southwestern Baptist Seminary and taught a very popular course on prayer each semester. I’ve also used those class notes to teach prayer on Sunday nights or Wednesday nights in churches where I served as Interim Pastor and furthermore, lead numerous prayer seminars in churches over the years. I’ve never used the notes to preach a series on prayer on Sunday mornings. Now I find myself serving as Interim Pastor in a church with no Sunday evening service and located too far away for me to be there on Wednesday evenings. So, I have reworked my class notes into five sermons that will be delivered on the five Sundays of next month. Why do I do this? I assume that if the disciples of Jesus needed to be taught to pray (“Lord, teach is to pray” Luke 11:1), modern disciples need the teaching as well. I did have one student tell me they wanted to take a class from me, but did not need the class on prayer, since they considered themselves a genuine prayer warrior, possessing the spiritual gift of intercession. I asked them if they had ever prayed till their sweat turned to drops of blood? The response was just a blank stare. I followed with, “That’s the way Jesus prayed (Luke 22:44) and I doubt if you have perfected your prayer life until you pray like Jesus.” The student signed up for the class and later wrote me a note, expressing thanks. I’ve often wondered if that student ever prayed till sweat turned to blood. So, how’s your prayer life?

In the stillness of this time and place, we lift our hurting hearts to You, O God. Thank You for life, and specifically the life of the one we celebrate today, and for allowing these family members and friends to share life with them. Thank You for the assurance that we who are believers, will once again share life with them in Your eternal heaven (John 14:1-3). Thank You for the gift of memory which will allow a continuation of thoughts about them for the next days, weeks, years. Relieve our broken hearts. Comfort our sorrow. Especially comfort the family, today, tomorrow, next week, next month, and every time they miss their loved one. Increase our faith in the unseen and the unknown. Even with the remains before us, we look up, for we know they is no longer here. They are absent from this body and already present with You (2 Corinthians 5:8). Remind us all that there is more to life than dying, and more to death than the grave. For that we say, hallelujah and Amen.