I read recently an estimate of how many people are reading books on prayer these days and I wondered how many of these readers were actually praying.  With amazon.com listing 48,000 books on Christian prayer for sale, there is no shortage of reading material, and new books are being published daily. Certainly writing and reading on the subject is needed and valuable, but praying is crucial. There are a few folks who would read a book just out of curiosity, or strictly for information purposes, but most read books to learn and live. The disciples’ request of Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1) did not ask to be taught “how” to pray, indicating they already knew how.  What they desired was to actually practice prayer like Jesus did. So, keep reading and learning about prayer, but don’t forget to pray. Paul E. Billheimer, author of the classic book on prayer, Destined for the Throne, wrote, “Satan does not care how many people read about prayer if only he can keep them from praying.”  Beloved, let us pray!

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“Sending prayers your way.”  I’m noticing this comment more and more, especially on Facebook and other social media. I know what the sender intends to say.  At least, I sincerely hope they are not actually sending the prayers toward the person in need. If so, they should not expect an answer to their prayer.  Only God answers prayer and then likely only prayer offered directly to Him.  The direction of our prayer must always be God-ward, not man-ward.  The Bible instructs us to “pray for one another” (James 5:16), but to address our prayer to God alone.  Prior to Jesus teaching His disciples to pray, in what we call “The Lord’s Prayer” He said, “When you pray . . . pray to your Father” (Matthew 6:6). Paul modeled prayer addressed to the Lord, when he wrote, “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord . . .  (2 Corinthians 12:8).  I know, some will say that I’m just a picky professor of prayer, attacking something that is no more than a word game.  But prayer is a serious matter, and we will practice it best when we think and speak of it correctly.  So today, I’m sending prayer TO God, FOR you, my readers.

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Beginning in pre-school (Kindergarten), and for many years following, my mother said the same thing to me very morning as I left the house.  “Do the best you can, with what you have, where you are, for Jesus sake today.” Only recently, did I discover that she was paraphrasing a quote from Theodore Roosevelt.  I’m not even sure she knew that’s what she was doing, but it worked.  I’ve lived with that daily motto for many years. In my teen-age years, I added the words of a then popular song, “Hear ye the Master’s call, ‘Give Me thy best!’ For, be it great or small, that is His test. Do then the best you can, not for reward, Not for the praise of men, but for the Lord.” Then came the awareness of a quote by John Wesley, “Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can.”  Still later in life, I came across Numbers 18:29 that speaks of what we give, and instructs us to give “our best” offerings to God. All of this reminds me to ask myself (and you), what is the best I (you) have to give to God this week? And the follow-up challenge to the answer is, “Well then, give Him your best!”

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How many times have we heard that Jesus prayed early in the morning and thus we ought to do the same? Granted, early morning prayer is both needed and valuable. But what if I am not a morning person? What if I wake up slow and don’t think very well until a few cups of caffeine? What if I am a night person? Good news. God hears and responds to prayer in the evening as well as in the morning. The Psalmist said, “The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me—A prayer to the God of my life” (Psalm 42:8). Jesus, Himself, often prayed at night, even on one occasion, He prayed all night — “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). Nighttime praying is a good time to reflect on the activities of the day, thank God for specifics, praise God for who He revealed Himself to be that day, ask forgiveness for that day’s short-comings, and intercede for those who serve God on the other side of the globe where it is day. So, morning prayer or night prayer? It’s not either/or, it’s both/and.

Dr. Dan's Monday Morning Manna, is posted every Monday morning at http://discipleallnations.org/blog. You can subscribe to this blog and receive it free via E-mail.  Simply click on “subscribe” and follow the instructions.

The last three days have definitely been, “a time to weep . . . a time to mourn” (Eccl. 3:4). Another mass shooting, this time in the Sandy Hook Elementary School of Newtown, CT.  Like many who have been involved in one of these mass shootings and its aftermath (and many others who have not), I sat glued to the TV, listening to reports that were correct, incorrect and partly correct.  Emotions that lay buried, rushed back with images of crying children, frantic parents, worried grandparents, first responders, law enforcement officials, emergency vehicles, news media, yellow crime-scene tape, press conferences, etc. Two statements got my attention and would not let go. “All the students and staff have been accounted for . . . except there is an entire class missing.” The result would be twenty children, 6 and 7 year-olds, killed as they sat innocent in their classroom.  Our Lord, who loved children so very much, said, “It is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:14). It is comforting to know that nothing about this evil tragedy was God’s perfect will.  In fact, evil did not originate with God.  It originated with man.  With all that is within me, I resist those who glibly say, “This was just God’s will.”  Murder is a violation of God’s command (Exodus 20:13). You cannot take a violation of God’s law and make it God’s will.  The second comment that stuck in my mind was in the form of a question posed by CBS Commentator Bob Schieffer, “Is this the new normal?”  With sixteen such mass shootings in America this year alone, one would have to agree that it is.  I remember the Counselors who assisted in our Wedgwood Baptist Church shooting, telling us that nothing in our minds could comprehend the acts of the lone gunman.  Our minds are like a computer that searches for a file, humming and humming, but not finding it. Likewise, our minds contain no “file” for such senseless acts of violence, especially in places of worship and study.  Further, the Counselors said, “Nothing will be normal again.  You must establish a new normal and move on with life.”  Only those who have been through such tragedies can understand the painful difficulty of establishing a new normal. If for no other reason than the establishment of a new normal, we should pray for the families of the twenty-six deceased, even as we “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15).

When God impresses upon our minds some pleasing thought, everyone is happy.  What about when God sends a displeasing word?  What about when we pray for health and illness lingers? What about when we ask God to send us to a particular place and God sends us elsewhere? What about when we intercede for God to perform some specific act and God does just the opposite? What about when we petition God for rain and no rain falls?  Can we follow God when the response we get from our prayers is a response that is not to our liking?  One day, the Captains of the remnant forces came to Jeremiah with a request for prayer and guidance.  When the prophet agreed to pray and then to tell them what God said, they replied, “Whether it is pleasing or displeasing we will obey the voice of the Lord our God” (Jeremiah 42:6). Nowhere in Scripture or in human experience, are we promised that God will answer our every prayer with pleasing responses, no matter how hard or long we pray, nor how many people we enlist to join us in our requests.  Sometimes, in spite of our efforts, God’s answer is displeasing to us.  Following God when directions are displeasing surely is a mark of spiritual maturity.

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Back to complaining.  We’ve now entered the post-Thanksgiving days.  For 364 days each year many people complain to God that roses have thorns. On Thanksgiving Day, they thank God that thorns have roses.   Why do we do that? Why do we not thank God all year around for everything? I read the other day about a man who complained to God because his car was slow starting one morning, making him late for an appointment.  The reply was that the car starting slow was delayed because God was preventing the man from being involved in a twelve car pile-up on the freeway. I remember missing a flight from Florida to New Orleans a few years ago because the person driving me to the airport was slow and uncertain of all the correct turns. While I was waiting on the next flight and telling God how upset I was, I learned that the flight I missed had run off the run-way during its landing in New Orleans, injuring several passengers. Now, listen to Paul talk about a 365 day thanksgiving prayer, “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers” (1 Thessalonians 1:2). Thanksgiving prayers have now been voiced.  Keep it up!

It was an interesting title for a conference, especially when most of the conferences these days are related to mega-churches.  This one was named the “Ordinary Pastor’s Conference” and sponsored by my home church, Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX.  The stated purpose was, “to encourage, instruct and bless the ordinary, average, vanilla flavored, mega-nuthin pastor and his wife.” The instruction was given early in the day that the one thing that was illegal was to ask another pastor how many he had attending his church.  This conference was not about numbers, but about encouragement.  For a first year conference it was well attended.  More will attend next year as the conference becomes better known. Invited to lead a break-out session on “When All Else Fails . . . Pray,” I was unsure who might attend. Would I have a room full of ordinary pastors, or would I have less than ordinary pastors striving to become ordinary, or would it be extraordinary pastors fearful of becoming ordinary?  All in all, it was a wonderful day, filled with affirmation.  This much I re-learned: All pastors are ordinary.  As they enjoy the prayer support of ordinary friends, they are empowered by an extraordinary God to be more than ordinary.  Now that’s encouraging.

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Today is Canadian Thanksgiving Day giving thanks at the close of the harvest season. I invite you to join me today in giving thanks and praying to “the Lord of the harvest” (Luke 10:2) for the men and women who serve God in the spiritual harvest fields of Canada and especially for those with whom I serve and for whom I advocate in the metropolitan area of Vancouver and on Vancouver Island. Here are some Vancouver facts to prompt your Canadian praying:

• Metro Vancouver is the fourth most densely populated city in North America containing over 200 different language groups.
• One-third of the nearly three million population of metro Vancouver (900,000) are foreign born.
• 500,000 citizens of metro Vancouver, under the age of 35, are second generation – Canadian born children of foreign-born parents.
• In metro Vancouver there are 300,000 post-secondary students, in other words, one of three residents are college and university students. University students in Vancouver, represent 145 nations.
• 35% of those in metro Vancouver have no religious preference. Estimates are that 93% of those in metro Vancouver are non-Christian.
• Among university students, less than .5% are evangelical Christians, making the campus an unreached people group.
• Many mainline denominations are closing their church doors and selling their property. Pray for new church starts in the municipalities of Coquitlam, New Westminster, Pitt Meadows, White Rock, Richmond, Surrey, Maple Ridge, in the Vancouver inner city core and on Vancouver Island.
• Vancouver Island has a population of 750,000 and is home to more than 5500 indigenous people. It is said to be the second leading center of occult in the world.
• Vancouver is known as the “Gateway to the Pacific Rim.” To reach Vancouver, is to reach into the Pacific Rim and countries beyond.

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I’m always challenged (if not always happy) when someone invites me to speak, then, after I’ve accepted, gives me the subject of my presentation.  A friend recently invited me to preach in his absence at the church where he is Pastor and assigned me a theme, for which I was both happily challenged and appreciative. The theme for the month was, “Power of a Whisper.”  We decided I would preach on the subject, “When God Whispers.”  Robert Browning raised the fact of God whispering when he wrote (Abt Vogler): “God has a few of us whom He whispers in the ear. . .”  But do you know of any occasion in the Bible where God ever whispered to anyone?  Granted, it’s an assumption, but I’ve recently been to two funerals and was reminded how, in the presence of death, people talk low, like in a whisper, unlike at normal worship services, where Americans, at least, enter and depart rather loudly. The Old Testament book of Joshua begins with the words, “After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua . . .” (Joshua 1:1). Could these words from the Lord have been spoken to Joshua in a whisper?  There’s no way of knowing for sure, but its close enough for a sermon text.  Has God ever whispered to you? The sermon comes up later this month so I could still use a couple of good illustrations.  My experience is that the best sermon illustrations come from those who listen to sermons, rather than from those who deliver them.  Help anyone?

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Aging is both a blessing and a barrier.  (I confess to a different “b” word when I first had this thought, but for this means of communication, I’ll go with “barrier.”)  Having reached the biblical standard of “three score and ten” (Psalm 90:10, KJV) I feel qualified to comment on this subject. One blessing of aging is the obvious additional years that God has purposely given.  Obviously, God is not finished if we are still here.  Additional years allow for ministries that, for whatever reason, we didn’t perform earlier.  My mother is a good example.  Homebound the last twelve years of her life, she developed a rather extensive prayer ministry.  In her pre-Internet, E-mail, Facebook, Twitter world, she used her telephone to call through the church directory repeatedly to see what matters she could include in her prayer for that day, often singing a hymn or chorus to the person on the other end of the line.  The barrier created by aging is likewise obvious – physical, emotional, mental, limitations.  An unnamed friend is a good example. He pouts about everything.  “If it works, it hurts!” he exclaims. “This young generation  . . .” and he continues with a list of complaints about youth. As one who now attends more funerals than weddings, I want my aging years to be a blessing, not a barrier.  How about you? Comments are appropriate and welcome. 

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Emotions felt in certain traumatic events never go away completely. Similarity brings back a flood of feelings.  Such was the case this past week.  It will soon be thirteen years since the September 15, 1999 shooting at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.  Many of the emotions of that night returned last week with the shooting in an Aurora, Colorado theater.  There are major differences in the scenarios but the commonalities are striking: darkened auditorium full of mostly teenagers and young adults (ours was for a concert), heavily armed shooter (ours had two guns and 200 rounds of ammunition), shooter throwing something in the air prior to shooting (ours was a home-made pipe bomb), shooter walking up and down aisles methodically shooting at defenseless victims (in ours, one person stood up and confronted the shooter), many thought it was a part of the program (ours thought it was a skit, some even yelled, “Shoot me!”), a nearby school became a gathering place for information and grief counseling, bodies still in the building hours after the shooting, the wounded praying for their lives, multiple versions of the events that transpired. And the similarities continue. At Wedgwood, we drew strength from God who “turns the shadow of death into morning” (Amos 5:8). When people asked, “Where was God?” our response was that God was where God was when His own Son, was killed – namely, in the midst of His people. We were reminded that Jesus came “to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79) It is my prayer that those who suffer today, and those who re-live suffering today, “walk before God in the light of the living” (Psalm 56:13).

“Night of Tragedy Dawning of Light”, is the book on the shooting at Wedgwood Baptist Church and its aftermath.  Although it is out of print, the full manuscript with pictures can be found by going to http://www.discipleallnations.org and clicking on “Free E-books.”

What happens when your prayer is not in sync with God’s will?  It matters little whether you are praying for recovery of relationship, removal of pain, or revival of spirit, if the prayer is outside of God’s will, the answer is different from the request. James wrote, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss” (James 4:3).  Did that ever happen in Scripture?  Sure it did.  A prime example would be Paul asking God to remove his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).  The response was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” How do we respond when our prayer has proven to be outside of God’s will? Some act like an immature child whose parent has said no to a request.  They whine, and cry, and fuss, and make threats, all to no avail. Nor is God a wishy-washy parent who can be manipulated with such actions.  Others become reclusive, pouting, and feeling sorry for themselves that they should be denied, again to no avail.  Nor is God one on whom a display of human emotions can necessarily bring about change. The most mature response is to join Paul, living in the sufficiency of God’s grace.  Meanwhile keep praying until you get it right.

Two new stories have been added to my website – www.discipleallnations.org. In the left menu, under “Categories” click “A Funny Thing Happened on my Way to Heaven” and read, “Fatted Calf or Milk Cow?” and “What Were You Thinking?” Enjoy.

More than physically tiring, the prayer journey around the world, was emotionally draining and spiritually challenging.  Having worshipped with underground believers in China, met down a dirt road and sat around a campfire in India, posted a guard nearby so we could have a prayer meeting in Yemen, it was good to be back home. I reflect on that three-week trip during special occasions.  One of those occasions is July 4, Independence Day for Americans.  Among other things, we celebrate the freedom to worship without fear of governmental interference, without what the Apostle Paul calls, “a yoke of bondage”.  In Galatians 4 it is shown that the gospel is freedom, but the Mosaic law is the covenant of bondage. Hence Paul bids his readers to, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). Having worshipped and prayed with people who live in such a yoke, I am grateful without limit, to live where I can worship without fear. Americans will celebrate the 4th of July this week with fireworks, parades, and Bar B.Q. along with various other means of festivity.  Even as I join in these types of freedom celebrations, I give thanks for being free from bondage.

Have you ever wondered how you can “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5.17)? Those of us who grew up in a church learned this verse early.  But how do we follow it?  We can’t walk around with our heads bowed and our eyes closed.  Other responsibilities call for our attention.  You can’t pray all the time. Or can you?  A look at the original Greek translation offers little help when it instructs us to “pray continuously, without interruption.” This week, a missionary friend wrote of his discovery in a Swahili Bible, which translates this verse literally as, “pray without getting tired to the point of wanting to give up.”   So we are to continue praying, even if we feel we are not successful in our efforts, even if we grow weary in the same intercessions, even when no answer is apparent, even when circumstances seem hopeless. Keep knocking at midnight even when no one seems to respond (Luke 11:5-8). Keep pleading before the Judge when no immediate response is offered (Luke 18:1-8). Hang in there!  Pray on!

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"What can we do for you?”  That was the question asked of ten church planters in an area where less than 2% of the population claim to be a part of evangelical Christian churches. All but one responded with the same first answer – “pray for us.”  There were other answers with other expressed needs, but prayer was always first on the need list. The truth is - prayer is much more of a felt-need on the front lines of ministry being carried out on Satan’s turf, than in areas where Christian churches are populated and Christian resources are plentiful.  Unfortunately, when we can provide for ourselves, we become less dependent on God to provide, and thus our need for intercessory prayer diminishes in our minds. Seeing God’s response to intercession for these unreached areas and the pioneers who serve there, makes me wonder what God would do if folks in the Bible-belt, with ample human and financial resources, would take prayer seriously.  Yes, there are exceptions, but they are far too few.  The Apostle Paul, who often served in areas heavily populated with unreached people, requested of the believers in Ephesus, “Pray for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19).  In Satan’s strongholds, the “mystery” is what God can do in a life.  In the Bible-belt, the “mystery” is often, what God would do if properly asked.

A child desperately wanted a new high-tech gadget.  He had heard about it from older friends. He begged and pleaded his parents for the gadget to no avail.  He cried for it, promised he be good forever if he got it, and offered to give up other possessions if necessary.  Still the parents did not yield.  Why?  Were they mean? Unloving? Hateful? Unresponsive?  Insensitive to his requests?  No.  The truth was that the child was not yet mature enough to properly benefit from the gadget.  Sound familiar? We hear of revival and we pray to God to let us experience it.  Sometimes we beg and plead for revival.  We make promises to God if we can just experience revival.  We offer to give up things if revival will just happen.  And yet no revival comes. Why? Is God mean, unloving, hateful, unresponsive, and insensitive?  No.  The problem is not with God, who longs to send revival.  The problem is often with believers whose stewardship level is not yet mature enough to properly handle the blessings and responsibilities of heaven-sent revival. If we don’t know what to do with revival when it comes, God will not send it, just because we want it and ask for it.

The vehicle in front of me had a bumper sticker that read, “If you love God, pray. Anyone can honk.” The humor of it was lost on me since I was having one of those dreaded days when I not only felt bad physically, but everything was going wrong. I actually felt more like honking than talking to God. Maybe you’ve never had one of those days. Maybe I’m the only one who ever has a day like that. Nevertheless, I resisted the urge to honk, mostly fearing that the driver might be someone who knew me. Then I prayed and ask God to forgive me for not really wanting a conversation with Him at that time. Then I remember what I had taught for many years, namely that prayer is not dependent on our feelings, but on God’s desire to hear from us. Just as earthly parents love hearing from their children, even in bad times, so God loves to hear from His children, however we are feeling at the time. I figure since God made everything, He made those things that make for bad days, and thus He understands why I sometimes have a bad day. But bad days are no excuse for failing to communicate with the God who had Paul encourage us to, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). Since I can’t drive around with eyes closed, or writing in a prayer journal, or concentrating on some prayer acrostic, this verse must mean to be in a continual attitude of prayer . . . even when you feel like honking.

You can read other postings by Dr. Dan Crawford at www.discipleallnations.org/blog.

A recent study of eleven major symphony orchestras revealed how orchestra members perceived each other. Percussionists were seen as insensitive, yet fun-loving. String players were perceived as arrogant and stuffy. Brass players were judged as loud.  Woodwind players were described as quiet, though a bit egotistical. With this diversity of feeling for each other, members of the orchestra arrive for the concert. Each tunes his or her own instrument, often oblivious to those around them. The combination of sounds creates discord, not harmony.  So how does such a group with such diverse feelings for each other, and such individualistic sounds of preparation, play beautiful music together?  The answer is simple: regardless of feelings for each other, regardless of warm-up chaos, orchestra members subordinate their biases and their uniqueness to the leadership of the conductor. When Jesus spoke of His followers agreeing in prayer under His direction (Matthew 18:19-20), He used the Greek word, “sumphoneo,” a word normally used for diverse musical instruments harmonizing together under the Maestro.  So, which prayer is God most likely to hear, the discord-like prayers of our individual wants and desires or the united prayers of a group, under the direction of the Master?

From "Dr. Dan's Monday Morning Memo" which can be seen at www.discipleallnations.org/blog.

I got caught by the police! Red handed! On Christmas Day! Every year I purchase Starbucks’s Gift Cards, drive around on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day giving them to Police Officers with a quick, “Thanks for working on Christmas.” This is done anonymously in the tradition of one of the early versions of Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, a saint who was known for giving anonymous gifts, especially to children during the night as they slept. This idea, of course, was popularized by Clement Moore, who wrote a simple poem for his children in 1822 entitled, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” that begins with the now famous words, “Twas the night before Christmas . . .” And of course in the spirit of Jesus who told His disciples, “when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3). For the first time, I got caught. One of the recipients apparently recorded my car license tag. My wife was surprised when a Police vehicle pulled up to our front curb and gave her a hand-made note for me. It read, “Of all the gifts bestowed this year . . . the greatest is the appreciation of those like you” and it was signed by nineteen police officers, complete with their badge numbers. I wept. One of my greatest Christmas joys, passed onto me my Father, is the anonymous giving of gifts. This year, I was blessed to be caught on Christmas.

"Caught on Christmas" is an entry in "Dr. Dan's MondayMorning Memo" written by Dr. Dan Crawford, located at www.discipleallnations.org/blog.