William Richard Ezell's Posts

Believing Prayer Works

Posted by William Richard Ezell on April 3, 2014 at 15:14

"But he (Jesus) would withdraw to desolate places and pray" (Luke 5:16 ESV).

Jesus prayed. Nineteen times the Gospels record instances where Jesus prayed. Prayer for Jesus was not some routine tucked on the periphery of his life; prayer was at the center of his life. Jesus made a habit of prayer. It was his vocation.

Glenn Hinson was a professor of church history and spirituality at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for many years. Once he took a church history class to the Abbey of Gethsemani at Trappist, Kentucky. Their host was Thomas Merton, a Trappist Catholic monk who wrote more than 60 books on spirituality. To Hinson's horror, one of his students asked why someone with Merton's intellect would waste his life in a monastery.

Hinson said that, rather than rebuking the student, Merton smiled and answered: "I am here because I believe in prayer. That is my vocation."

"You could have knocked me over with a feather," Hinson said. "I had never met anyone who believed in prayer enough to think of it as a vocation."

Jesus looked at prayer similarly. Prayer was not just a part of his life; it was his life. It was not a hiccup; it was a habit. It was not a little thing; it was a lifestyle. It was not an exercise; it was his everyday life. Jesus prayed, plain and simple.

Biographies of great people are often read to learn the secrets of their success. Reading Jesus' biographies, the gospels, one learns his secret: He prayed.

Obviously and practically, Jesus prayed because he believed that prayer works. Jesus experienced prayer's effectiveness and power because he knew the heart of his Father.

I imagine that when Jesus came into God's presence, he didn't present a list of needs. He just basked in the presence of his Father in much the same way a sunbather basks in the sun's rays. And, my guess is, God wasn't anxious for Jesus to leave nor was Jesus watching the sun dial to see if he had spent his allotted time. They enjoyed each other's company. They knew each other's heart.

I remember as a teenager wanting to ask out the prettiest and the most popular girl in my class, but I was unsure she would go out with me. I lacked the confidence to ask, fearing rejection. So I asked my best friend to ask her best friend to see if she would say yes. To my great surprise and delight, the pretty girl said she would go out with me. Then, rather than fearing and trembling, I asked her out with confidence, knowing that she would say yes.

Likewise, you can approach God with confidence when you know Jesus' heart, understanding what he will say yes to. Once you know his plans, his desires, and his wishes, like I knew the pretty girl would say yes, then you can claim the prayer promises, asking boldly.

Jesus believed in prayer. He knew the secret. Jesus wants to answer your requests that come from his heart. Answers to your requests come when you pray for what Jesus prayed for: his will to be done, his name to be famous, his joy to overflow, his children to be as one, his message to be sent out, his presence to abide.

Turn Around

Posted by William Richard Ezell on February 17, 2012 at 11:32

Turn Around
By Rick Ezell

"Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19 NASB).

How often have you stopped at a gas station to ask for direction only to have the attendant say, "You're going in the wrong direction. You've got to turn around." To turn around is to repent.

Repentance finds its origin not in religion, but from a culture where people were essentially nomadic and lived in a world with no maps or street signs. It's easy to get lost walking through the desert where everything basically looks the same. One could walk and walk and eventually come to the realization they were going in the wrong direction. Turning around, they would head in the opposite direction. That's repentance.

Repentance does not mean to feel sorry, or to cry over, or to blame someone else for the wrongs in one's life. Repentance is the act of changing the direction in which the heart is inclined. It is a spiritual "about-face." It is a change of mind that calls for a change of way.

Repentance is the decision to turn from selfish desires and seek God. It is a genuine, sincere regret that creates sorrow and moves us to admit wrong and desire to do better. It is the becoming aware of the awesome love of God that motivates you to change. No one is happier than the one who has sincerely repented of wrong.

Sammy Tippet wrote, "If we are to experience the manifest presence of God's glory, we must repent. When Isaiah saw the glory of God in the Temple, he was driven to brokenness, confession, and repentance. Too many in the West desire to know the manifest love of God without the manifest holiness of God. We have lost the message of repentance."

God desires change. That's his main business. We make the first move.

The Power of Prayer

Posted by William Richard Ezell on February 3, 2012 at 10:10

The Power of Prayer

By Rick Ezell

"So I prayed to the God of heaven . . ." (Neh. 2:4 HCSB).

When asked to share his thoughts on the power of prayer, a retired missionary quickly recalled an event that took place several years earlier while he was piloting a small Piper Cub airplane. After flying for several hours toward his destination he saw a sight that filled him with dread. "Directly ahead of me was the boiling, swirling black fury of a summer storm. Below were the mountains. A landing was impossible. I had passed the point of no return and didn't have enough fuel to get back," he recalled. His small Piper Cub was not equipped to fly through a storm. Not knowing what to do, he began to fly in a circle while trying to determine a course of action. With his gas gauge registering empty, the man knew he had to attempt a landing at a nearby airport but it meant flying into the storm.

As he piloted his small aircraft into the clouds, the rain began to come down in torrents. Within seconds of entering the storm, the little plane was tossed about like a canoe on an angry sea. The plane's instruments were spinning crazily. He had no way of knowing if the Piper Cub was flying upside down, on its side, or right side up. He couldn't see the ground or the sky, only a swirling blackness. "I was completely helpless to do anything except pray to God to help me," he said.

Immediately after the prayer a tiny break appeared in the clouds directly below him. He could see the ground. With a shout of joy, he flew the little Cub through the small hole in the clouds. Right below was the airport. Desperately, he guided his plane toward the runway. Even though he approached from the wrong direction and overshot the runway, he landed safely. As he taxied back to the hangar, the tiny hole in the clouds closed into complete blackness again. Later he learned that the small break in the clouds lasted only a few moments and that it was the only break in the ceiling all afternoon.

Nehemiah was a man of prayer. After receiving word that the wall in Jerusalem was demolished and the people were distraught, he sought an opening to ask his master, King Artaxerxes, for permission to return to Jerusalem to help rebuild the wall. One day as Nehemiah was serving the king, the king asked him why he was so sad. With his heart racing like a wind whipping across the prairie and his emotions swirling like the clouds in a thunderstorm, he thought: Is this the opportunity I have been asking for? Is this the opening I have sought?

Like the pilot of the Piper Cub, immediately after praying, Nehemiah saw a tiny break in the clouds. He went through the opening. He was granted permission to leave. He landed in Jerusalem all because he prayed.

Would the king have granted Nehemiah permission to go to Jerusalem had he not been praying? Perhaps, but we have no guarantee. We do, however, have an example: The power of God was triggered by prayer. God opened the heart of King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah was granted permission to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem. The key that unlocked that door was prayer.

The practice of prayer in a believer's life is an incredible, virtually untapped power source. Prayer moves the hand of God. Prayer prevails. Prayer turns ordinary mortals into men and women of power. It is the key that unlocks the storehouse of God's riches. It is the call that moves heaven to act on behalf of earth.

The power of prayer is not found in the words you use, but in the one who hears. Prayer is the key that unlocks heaven's door.

When We Are Wrong

Posted by William Richard Ezell on September 29, 2011 at 11:24

When We Are WrongBy Rick Ezell"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear" (Isa. 59:1-2 NIV).When our prayers aren't answered whom do we blame? Most often, if we are honest, we blame God. We wonder what is wrong with God for not granting our requests. When, many times, we are the problem.Let's face it, sometimes we are wrong. We may be the wrong employee for the promotion, the wrong candidate for office, the wrong boyfriend to marry. Sometimes we are in the wrong: An error in judgment, a poor decision, a thoughtless mistake. Sometime we are wrong when it comes to our praying. And, when that happens we stand in the way of our prayers being answered.While at times we point our forefinger at God, laying the blame on him for not answering our prayers. We need to observe the three fingers pointing back at us. We may be the reason our prayers are not being answered. God saying "No" can be our own fault. "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear" (Isa. 59:1-2 NIV). Or as The Message states it: "Look! Listen! God's arm is not amputated-he can still save. God's ears are not stopped up-he can still hear. There's nothing wrong with God; the wrong is in you. Your wrongheaded lives caused the split between you and God. Your sins got between you so that he doesn't hear" (Isa. 59:1-2 The Message). The Psalmist echoes that thought: "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened" (Psa. 66:18 NIV). Again, The Message paraphrases, "If I had been cozy with evil, the Lord would never have listened" (Psalm 66:18 The Message). Personal sin hinders prayer.Over thirty times the Bible reveals instances where God didn't answer someone's prayer. Usually it was because of unrepentant sin. What are some of those sins?Broken relationships. (Matthew 5:23-24). Relationships are vitally important to God. In fact, he desired a relationship with us that he sent his Son, Jesus, to die for our sins to make it possible for us to live in relationship with him. God is intensely committed to building and maintain a loving family. When our relationships are out of whack our prayers will be out of touch. When we get in right relationship with our brothers and sisters, then we are in a position for God to hear our prayers. There's no point in praying if we are engaged in ongoing conflict with a family member, a co-worker, a neighbor, a friend.Husbands dishonoring their wives. (1 Peter 3:7). Honoring our spouse opens the door for God to hear our prayers. Actually, if we are honest, too often we pray for our spouses something like this: "God, please change that person I live with!" It's perfectly appropriate to pray that someone will change. After all, we are to pray for people's conversions, for bad habits to be broken. But too often the motive behind such a request is not authentic concern for the other person. Maybe we need to change.Pride. (James 4:6). Pride is what got Lucifer into trouble. Pride is everyone's downfall. Pride is the exact opposite of what is needed when coming to God in prayer. In fact, the prideful person sees no reason to come to God. God loves the humble. It is the prayer of the humble that God listens to and answers.Selfishness. (James 4:2-3). Eugene Peterson paraphrases the last sentence of James 4:3: "You're spoiled children, each wanting your own way" (James 4:3 The Message). God does not answer self-serving, "me" only prayers. He does answer prayers that glorify his name.Uncaring attitudes. (Proverbs 21:13). God is committed to developing a people who will reflect his character in the world, and his character always expresses concern and compassion for the afflicted. When our focus and our actions are directed toward others, especially the poor and less fortunate spiritually, then our prayers will be more apt to be answered.Make no mistake about it: Our sin can close the spigot of God's flow to answer our prayers. If you are tolerating sin and disobedience in your life, don't waste your breath praying unless it's a prayer of confession. Your sin may very well be the hindrance to answered prayer.When Norman Vincent Peale, the pastor and author, was a boy, he found a big cigar, slipped into an alley, and lit up. He knew he shouldn't. His parents had told him many times about the ills of smoking. But he puffed on it nevertheless. It didn't taste good, but it made him feel very grown up, until he saw his father coming. Quickly he put the cigar behind his back and tried to be casual.Desperate to divert his father's attention, Norman pointed to a billboard advertising the circus. "Can I go, Dad? Please, let's go when it comes to town."His father's reply taught the future preacher a lesson he never forgot. "Son," he answered quietly but firmly, "never make a petition while at the same time trying to hide a smoldering disobedience."God answers the prayers, not of perfect people, but of repentant people.Copyright 2011, Rick Ezell.

The Relationship Component

Posted by William Richard Ezell on June 25, 2011 at 8:48

The Relationship ComponentBy Rick Ezell"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you" (John 15:7 NIV).For some people prayer is nothing more than a meaningless ritual. Like the little boy who asked his father when they sat down at the dinner table, "Dad, can I talk to our plates tonight." Many people treat prayer like an Aladdin's Lamp. We pray our prayers, like rubbing the lamp waiting on the genie to pop out to grant the requests to our commands. Or we treat prayer like a spiritual first-aid kit. We break it open only in emergencies. Or we treat prayer like a transaction between God and us. Usually it us who makes the demands with the expectation that God will act.I would like to suggest to you that prayer is an interaction between God and us. Rick Warren says that one of the reasons that God doesn't answer our prayers is so God can talk with us more. If he answered our prayers immediately, we would treat God like a rich uncle to bail us out when we were in trouble, only coming to him when we had a serious need.Prayer is an ongoing conversation with God. That is the idea behind Paul's admonition to "pray continually" (1 Thes. 5:17 NIV). Prayer is the main vehicle of a Heavenly Father sharing life with his children. Prayer is an inner dialogue with a friend. Through prayer we express our feelings to God. And in turn, God pours out his love and comfort.In a scene from Shadowlands, a film based on the life of C. S. Lewis, Lewis has returned to Oxford from London, where he has just been married to Joy Gresham, an American woman, in a private Episcopal ceremony performed at her hospital bedside. She is dying from cancer and, through the struggle with her illness; she and Lewis have discovered the depth of their love for each other. As Lewis arrives at the college where he teaches, he is met by Harry Harrington, an Episcopal priest, who asks what news there is. Lewis hesitates, then, deciding to speak of the marriage and not the cancer, he says, "Ah, good news, I think, Harry. Yes, good news."Harrington, not aware of the marriage and thinking that Lewis is referring to Joy's medical situation, replies, "I know how hard you've been praying . . . Now, God is answering your prayer.""That's not why I pray, Harry," Lewis responds. "I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God; it changes me."Jesus said, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you" (John 15:7 NIV). Notice carefully what Jesus is saying. He is providing two powerful pieces of revelation if we want our prayers answered. First, he is emphasizing the need for relationship with him. God desires a relationship with you and me. "If you remain in me" or "If you abide in me" testifies to that relationship. The word remain or abide means to "continue in a state or place, to endure." What Jesus wants from us is that we be willing to remain in him, that we be willing to live in and with him. That is, we have established an intimate, personal relationship with him.Notice that this verse begin with the word if. If we have established a personal relationship with God, then we can approach him with our prayer requests, and then he will answer them.Too often we attempt to use God. The only time we approach God is when we need something. God thus has no natural desire to answer any prayer request we may have because we don't established any kind of true personal relationship with him.Second, we spend time in his Word. Jesus said, "and my words remain in you." Jesus' "words" literally means his words. If we have established a good, loving, personal relationship with God, then he will talk to us just like we will talk to him. And if he is talking to us, then his words will be abiding in us! This will be as a direct result of the free flowing dialogue that we will have with God as a result of having established a close personal relationship with him.In addition, his word remaining in us is a reference to the Bible. Prayer and the Bible go hand in hand. In fact, we need the Bible-God's Words to us-more than we need our words. If we really want to enter into a close personal relationship with God, then we have to be willing to spend some type of regular quality time in the Bible. The Bible is the only true source that while we are on earth can really learn all about God, the Father, his Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.As we obey God's Word our prayers are answered. The Proverbs say, "If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable" (Prov. 28:9 NIV). I love the way Eugene Peterson translates this verse in The Message: "God has no use for the prayers of the people who won't listen to him." That should be awake-up call for every believer. If we want God to answer our prayers then we should be listening, obeying, and doing what God tells us to do. Could that be the reason that God is not answering our prayers, we aren't doing what we already know what we should?What is prayer anyway? Is it simply a mental flex to get what we want? Prayer is more than a glorified shopping list. Prayer is conversation and communion with God. Through prayer we experience relationship with God. The quality of our prayer life then determines the quality of our relationship with God. Prayer is talking with God. Prayer is listening to God. Prayer is enjoying the presence of God. It can take many forms, for example: worship, confession, thanksgiving, praise, petition (asking for things), waiting (silent, listening, and sensing of God) and warfare (command). Prayer is not simply saying words. It is not repeating formulas. God is looking for heartfelt relationship. We are told by Jesus not to make meaningless repetitions of words when we pray. (Mathew 6:7).We like C.S. Lewis pray because we can't help ourselves. We need God.

The Baffling of Unanswered Prayer

Posted by William Richard Ezell on May 19, 2011 at 14:20

"I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer" (Job 30:20 NIV).A Sunday school class wrote letters to missionaries informing them that they were praying for them. One missionary got a letter that read, "Dear Mr. Missionary, we are praying for you, and we don't expect an answer."How many people pray yet don't expect an answer. They feel like Job. "I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer" (Job 30:20 NIV). They go through life wondering if God will ever answer their prayers. They are not alone.Ask the twelve-year-old who says, "I don't believe in God anymore. Once I prayed for a trip to Disney World, but it never happened." Or, ask the single adult who has prayed for a spouse yet marriage seems as distant as the moon. Or, ask the young couple that has prayed earnestly for children yet remain barren. Or, the businessperson who has prayed for a job yet remains unemployed. Or, the wife who has prayed for her husband's salvation yet he seems farther away from God than ever.Nothing is more baffling than unanswered prayer.Jesus' outrageous promises appear to be part of the problem. He promised, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (Luke 11:9-10 NIV). He taught that if "You ask me for anything in my name . . . I will do it" (John 14:14 NIV). Jesus' promises awaken an expectation that our prayers will be answered. This leads to profound disappointment when our prayers go unanswered. In addition, we are told that God is a father who does not deny any good thing from his children. We think we are good and deserving that God will and should answer our prayers.The fact is God does not answer some of our prayers. Some of the reasons we'll never know on this side of eternity. Yet some of the reasons are quite obvious, if only we'll look. Here are a few:1. God did not answer all the prayer of prophets, kings, Christ's disciples; therefore, we should not expect answers to all of our prayers.2. When God does not answer a prayer there is a legitimate reason, but we may never know it in this life.3. Answered prayer is foremost about God's will and not our personal convenience and comforts.4. Answered prayer must fit with God's sovereign purpose and desire.5. When God does not answer our prayer that is no reason to quit praying.6. Answered prayer is always about God's glory, not our personal needs.7. Through unanswered prayer God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life-longings that will never be fulfilled on this side of eternity. (We're not completely happy here because we're not supposed to be. Earth is not our final home; we were created for something much better.)8. Some prayers will not be answered on this side of eternity.9. If all our prayers were answered we would not have to depend on God for strength and help.10. Prayer is foremost about relationship not requesting.