Pray Network Forum

Question #3

“What do you want, and why do you want it?”

You may be thinking this question does not fit with the others. But it does. Many of our conclusions are affected more by our wants than by our reasoning. I recently heard a joke about a guy who decided he should not eat donuts. But he was finding it very difficult to hold his donut free conviction. And in his struggle he said, “Maybe God just doesn’t want me to stop eating donuts. So he decided that if there was an empty parking space in front of the donut shop when he passed, that would be a sign from God that he was not to stop eating donuts. “And sure enough,” he reported to his small group, “on the fourth time around the block . . .”

What we want influences what we think. And it is important to examine our wants and the reasons for them as we are trying to determine the truth.

In his book, Ends and Means, Aldous Huxley wrote, “I had motives for not wanting the world to have meaning; and consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption.”

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, I you of little faith?  

Matthew 6:30

Prayer is the first expression of faith. If you believe in God, you will pray. Praying faith is propositional. We trust what Scripture tells us about God. By faith we risk ourselves in the confidence that God is able to meet our needs. We believe that the One who made us knows what we need before we ask Him. We believe that He who feeds the sparrows and clothes the lily will provide what we need.

But praying faith is also personal. We not only believe that Almighty God can meet our needs, we trust in His love for us. We do not just trust God to give us what we want. We can know that God loves us even when He withholds what we want or think we need. By faith we throw ourselves into God's embrace. I remember being terrified up on a roof as a child. I yelled and screamed. My father came and stretched his arms up to me. "Jump, David." Closing my eyes and gritting my teeth, I jumped into my father's arms.  

Praying faith is exclusive. We often hear faith touted as if it were a good in itself. But I would not have survived if I put my faith in the sidewalk to catch me. In prayer we decide to put faith in God rather than in our doubts or fears, rather than our wants and thoughts, rather than the goals and promises of the world around us.

I need to write on faith again next week. I want to key on the words, "their faith" in Matthew 9:2.

http://daveswatch.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

Patriot Praying or Kingdom Praying

Recently, I came across an article in the Connector, published by Intercessors for America.  It was titled ‘A Warning from Macedonia’.  Some of you, who have are on the Intercessors for America mailing list, may have seen it.

It raises an interesting question—are we trying to view control—possibly by encouraging adherence to our particular belief by a political candidate or party as the answer to our problems?  That involves the thinking, that the solution we think is best—is what God wants.  

There is a lot to think about in that statement. –Maybe we are asking God to fix our problems—when we should be asking for God’s presence and power to be demonstrated in the church. --  The real question here is does God just want to fix our problems—or does he want us to know Him?

Our country has great division in it.  We are a people that may be too diverse in our thinking for our own good.  The result of such thinking that does not focus on getting to know the Lord Jesus.  What would happen if we were to focus on asking for God’s presence?

Rather than offer suggestions—I would like to open this discussion up to others.  It you have experience the Lord’s presence—what change has it brought?

Maybe you differ with the focus that we should invite the presence of God.  Tell us why.

Finally-what does it take to replace nationalistic type praying with God’s Kingdom Perspective.