Pray Network Forum

-- 

Several days ago, I came across a really helpful interpretation of James 1:5-6, about asking God for wisdom, believing and not doubting.  This was in Chris Tiegreen's "One-year Walk With God" devotional (which I highly recommend, by the way).

James tells us to ask God for wisdom, but then warns that when we ask, we must believe and not doubt, because "he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind".  I've always thought that the belief referred to in this passage was belief that God would answer the prayer, but Tiegreen takes it a step further.  He interprets the belief as meaning "believing that God's answer is wisdom" and implying a prior commitment to following God's guidance.

If we believe that God's answer is true wisdom, Tiegreen argues, we will be committed to following that answer - whether or not it agrees with our preferences or our own thoughts about the right direction.  This commitment doesn't allow us to consider God's path as one of many directions to follow.  If we ask God for wisdom and then just throw his answer "in the pot" as one of many options, then we fail to trust God's wisdom to be true wisdom.  This is what leads us to be "blown and tossed by the wind". 

In fact, Tiegreen argues, if we don't have this prior commitment to obeying God's direction, he won't answer the prayer for wisdom.  He does not give advice to be considered - He gives wisdom to be heeded, direction to be followed. 

Thinking about it this way, I can look back over my life and recall some key decisions that I made without a lot of prayer.  I think that I instinctively realized that I had made up my mind which way I was going to go, and wasn't really open to a different leading from God, so I never bothered to ask Him for wisdom.

I'm older now, but only wiser when I commit myself to following God's wisdom.  Based on Tiegreen's conclusions, I no longer see a prayer for wisdom as something I would just toss up on the spur of the moment.  To really pray for wisdom, I need to be committed to following where God leads, to holding my own desires and thoughts with open hands.  A prayer for wisdom is first and foremost a prayer of surrender - which makes it both much harder and much more meaningful.

Just a week ago, I spent a day at an interesting church. Rising out of the corn fields of central Iowa is the town of Newton. Hard hit by the recession, Newton’s main employer having gone out of business. On the edge of Newton stands a dynamic praying church of 800, Community Heights Alliance Church.

After preaching in the morning services and teaching in Sunday school, we were holding a concert of prayer that evening. The pastor was a little anxious about who would show up. It was the kick-off to their fourth annual week of prayer. We were using a large side room called the Gathering Place. As the people kept coming, more chairs had to be set up. Eventually close to 200 people filled that room for what became a dynamic beginning to the week.

The highlight was watching 20 or so kids lined up down the center aisle, with all the adults laying hands on them or lifting their hands toward them as we prayed over them.  And they weren’t safe, tame “Lord, bless them,” prayers. They were prays that were praying down the Kingdom of God on them!

I was struck by several things that day. First, the hunger of the people to connect with God was palpable. They were excited by what God was going to do as a result of prayer. I was also struck by something lead pastor Cory said to me. He had been at the church only four years, so this was not primarily a result of his ministry. “I have never been in a church before where we have seen so many adults come to Christ,” he told me. It was exciting as they watch lives and families be transformed.

They recognize that it is the result of prayer. They regularly and consistently pray for specific people to come to Christ; and they pray that the person who gave the name for prayer would become the one to lead the individual to Christ. It’s working!

The last thing that struck me was something I had never seen in a pastor before—at least not on a busy Sunday. I watched Cory talk with people (individuals and couples) before or after one of the gatherings—a typical thing for a pastor to do. But four times I watched Cory put his hands on the person or couple, bow his head and pray for them. My host, an intern named Mark who was over the prayer ministry, told me that Cory challenges his staff every week to not just talk with people, but pray for them on the spot. That is absolutely what you expect to see in a church that views prayer as important—people doing it without it being “prayer time.”

God is up to something at Community Heights; and it is coming out of prayer. What might He do in your church is your people caught a vision and passion for prayer?

--Taken from www.prayerconnect.net, the website of Prayer Connect magazine.

I am looking for VBS lessons that teach prayer to children.  I have found some helpful material, but am looking for actual VBS lessons that teach prayer to our children.  My research has come up empty handed so far--with the exception of some supportive material that can help build a lesson.  The VBS director at my church has requested me to help, and wants 4 short lessons on prayer (5 minutes) then the prayer activity is for each child to place a prayer on a prayer wall for people of the church to see and pray over.  In response, I have put together 4 possible lessons, but would like to examine others.  Does any one have some lessons that are shareable or a source that one can look up? 

Many in the Christian world want to see revival or an outpouring of God hit a group of people, but we await this so that our local pews are filled. The Kingdom of God is bigger than any one church in any single city. If one awoke and all in their city came to the faith, most Christian thought would be about making a church facility bigger and better. When revival comes, and it will, enlarging church buildings will only limit beleivers. We need to re-read the epistles and see how "the gathering" of believers was split into multiple meeting places and how large gatherings lead by Paul were for the training of leaders and not to "do church." Its time to start thinking Kingdom! When we recite the Lords prayer, part of what we are doing is declaring to God that only He can bring the Kingdom and that we agree to partner with Him to release it any way He chooses to do so. This is why we need to remain in prayer with God the Father, because we have to no assume that we don't know how to 100% release His Kingdom. Yes, we make disciples as we go and baptize and cast out and free people, but we need to remember that the New Testament records disciples who were constantly led by the Spirit of God. One of the goals of my life is too awaken every morning, spend time with my best Three Buddies, Father God Jesus and Holy Spirit, and then to ask God, "How do you want me to release the Kingdom for you today?" Im not there  yet...but that is a Kingdom Goal i am learning to partner with a little bit more each day.

The last few months have been very busy and hectic for me, my life felt weighed down and cluttered. However, I have been focusing on getting my life, home, and grandparenting ministry in order.

We are often weighed down with clutter in our lives, focusing on the many petty tasks before us. However, Jesus asks us to rest in him forgetting the worries of the world and focus on Him. If we focus continually on Jesus throughout the day, His presence will bring order to our thoughts, infusing peace into our lives. If we begin each day with Jesus, we will experience the reality of his presence with us. As we spend time with Him, the journey before us opens up step-by- step. He is waiting to smooth our path as we make it a priority to hold his hand and deliberately depend on Him.

Our children and grandchildren can also be weighed down with clutter in their lives with their homework and activities just like us. The enemy is watching for vulnerable spots and the unguarded door to their hearts.

Pray for your children and grandchildren to guard the doors of their hearts, placing their focus continually on Jesus. Then God will guide their lives step-by-step and your grandchildren will experience the reality of His presence.

Finding Daily Renewal in the Lord Jesus Christ

Daniel Henderson 

Jeremiah 13:11 says, "for as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen."

God's hope and dream for his people corporately and individually are based upon our "clinging" to Him for our every need. Whatever the need, real or imagined, God has an answer for His clinging people. Even our witness is based upon our clinging to Him.

I am convinced that God's people do not witness with those nearby because they/ we do not have anything significant to share of God's activity. We will only share what moves us. Think about it. People will debate facts, but they can only marvel at your personal experience with God.

As we cling to our Savior in prayer and worship He moves. The non believing audience can only be motivated to seek God because of believers that are clinging to God for His everything in their personal issues. The closer we are to God's activity, the more relevant and powerful is our response to our neighbor in need or Jesus Christ. Even believers need to cheer on the work of God in the lives of fellow believers.

God wants to bless his believing audience.

Bro.Bob

We are all searching for happiness, a blessed life, but too many don't know where to look. Finding happiness is really no secret but it does require seeing life differently than how the world does. Of course, when you consider the state of the world and the fact that we don't find much happiness there who really wouldn't want to uncover the "Secrets to a Blessed Life."  

It's pretty simple really. The answer to our happiness is on our bookshelves or somewhere else tucked away in nearly every home in America - God's Word. The problem today is too many, Christians included, don't know God's Word. American's are a Biblically illiterate people as we seek our happiness in ways that are at best only temporary. For far too many the Bible is an irrelevant antiquated relic instead of the guaranteed source of joy and wisdom for living today.

In Psalm 119 however the Psalmist begins with these words: "Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart..." (v 1 & 2). Blessed is the highest form of happiness attainable in this life. The Psalmist understood that only by walking with and seeking the LORD through His Word and in Prayer can we find what we are looking for - lasting happiness.

In the "The Secrets of a Blessed Life," across 22 days, we explore what the Psalmist understood to be true about God's Word - that only by living out God's Word, in spite our obstacles and adversities, can we find lasting happiness. "Secrets to a Blessed Life" digs into Psalm 119 looking at how the Psalmist describes God's Word, the attitudes he approaches God's Word with and benefits that are his as he seeks to know God's Word better. Such can be ours as well.      

You can download "Secret of a Blessed Life" free as a PDF, or for your kindle or iPad by clicking here. Hope you will find it a blessing!  

As I prepare for worship, I am being led to preach on "the extravagance of God." Christ gave the blind man his sight in John 9. Could he have done less? possibly so, but he didn't Jesus gave him his sight completely.

He resurrected Lazarus in John 11. Could he have done something less. Sure, Mary and Martha even complained that he stayed away too long. However, Jesus resurrected his faithful worshiper, Lazarus.

Mary worshiped extravagantly through anointing Jesus with the expensive perfume that filled the air, and in the process, got all over her body.  She smelled like Jesus. Could she have done less? Certainly! But she chose to smell like Jesus instead.

I believe our prayers need to be open to the "extravagance" of our Lord. Not that we tell Him what we want. This seems to be the essence of many prayers today. But that we hear, give Him permission to do the extravagant, and worship him as he does the impossible.

May every day be a day of worship and eye opening excitement as we worship our wonderful, marvelous, extravagant Savior.

Robert Carruthers

                       When we who claim to be God's people, move out in obedient service for Him, we become more aware of our spiritual needs. At the same time, we qualify for a greater infilling of the Holy spirit, which is given for service.

The power that piled up the waters of the red sea forty years before Jordon was the power that opend for the people of God, a path through the river. The same God is ready to do wonders today if His people will be committed and willing to receive the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit

" One Nation Under God"

Praying for Revival Amongs our Churches in America!

His Name Shall Be Great on All of the Earth ( Malachi 1:11)

January 10, 2012

There are hundreds and even thousands of live and vibrant churches all across America that begin each new year with 21 days to 40 days of Prayer and Fasting.

The hearts of Christians are crying out all across this world knowing that there must be more!  Satisfied with the status quo is not a term that many are familiar with in this world – especially the young people that God is raising up.

As I begin a 40 day fast today we must ask the question? “Why Fast?”  As many would say “fasting without prayer is nothing more than a good healthy diet”. 

There are many reasons to fast and pray and I personally probably have tried them all.  Health professionals tell us that fasting cleanses the body and fasting removes toxins from our body when time is set apart for fasting.  But all throughout Bible history along with Jesus himself, speaks of the need to pray and to fast so that we might be able to obtain the perfect plan in our lives that God has already so freely set before us to live out.  I have always fasted over issues that I was facing in my life; I have prayed and fasted for health improvement and I have even prayed and fasted simply because I felt that this was what God was telling me to do.  I have been successful in prayer and fasting at times while at other times I have utterly and miserably failed only after a day or two.  By just praying and skipping lunch at then to be followed by succumbing and eating a large pizza at night, giving into hunger, was probably not what Jesus meant, when he spoke of fasting and prayer.

Many of us have all read the new book by Jentezen Franklin – “The Fasting Edge”.  We realize that the church today is very different than the original New Testament church as shown to us in the Book of Acts.  The modern church is also very different than the early American church which built and established this nation as “One Nation Under God”. 

Today when we as Christians search for a local church we search for the one with the best church programs.  We look for the best music and we obviously want the best worship for our Sunday morning worship experience.  We look for the best facilities that will provide for the total needs of our personal lives and provide the needs for our family.  And of course we look for the most comfortable place of worship that will fit into our comfortable lifestyle as we look for a church that can also maximize the time spent in that place so that church can comfortably fit into a part of our busy daily life.  However we realize that none of these goals were the goals of the early church; in fact the early Christians might be appalled to think that this is our view of Christianity.  Jesus himself may even be appalled to think that he gave so much for us, but yet we sacrifice so little for him.

All of the amenities that we experience today in the modern church are wonderful; we shouldn’t change a thing but we have to ask ourselves – are we really experiencing Jesus Christ in the way that he intended us to know him or is Christianity only a comfortable attempt to fill a spiritual void in our lives without ever really experiencing and identifying with the real life of Jesus himself?

When we choose to pray and to fast – What is the end result?

When we pray and fast we fine tune ourselves to the place where our love and our passion for God is more important than food itself.  We are saying to God the very same thing that David said to God in Psalm 63:3 as he was fasting – “Your love is better than life”. David says “my soul thirsts for you and my body longs for you”. Does our soul thirst for God in the way that our body thirsts for food and water?

As we begin this 40 day fast most of our fasting will be identifying with Jesus as he spent those long isolated 40 days fasting in the desert. Because Jesus overcame in the desert, thru his victory thru temptation, we are able to identify with him along with him in his incredible love for his Father and his love for us. We are showing to God that our spiritual keenness and sensitivity to him is more important than the food itself that provides our daily nourishment for our body.  Fasting is a time to put away everything from the world and focus on our spirituality and focus on our love for God. 

It is amazing how sensitive we become to God and how his voice becomes so much more real and alive to us when we put everything away for a period of time.  Fasting and praying will make us more sensitive and aware to the God that resides within us and to the one that is already around us and surrounding us in every way.

Short term discipline yields long term results – Jentezen Franklin

Every Christian is blessed in every way possible ( Ephesians 1:3 ) but yet at times we need more. 

There is only one reason to fast and to pray and that is to be closer and more sensitive to God.

As we fast and pray – Yes! - He will break the chains that bind us and he will restore our families.  He will release evangelism and break bondage from our cities and he will release our communities and universities from the stronghold of humanism. He will restore jobs with finances and he will rebuild the old waste places along with raising up foundations of many generations ahead, just as spoke in Isaiah 58:12

Prayer and fasting makes areas more clear in our lives that were previously cloudy until that time.

Prayer and fasting allows us to refocus and to feel and hear the heart of God in new ways that we never dreamed possible for us to understand.

As we go through these 40 days together you are welcome to read our daily blog.  www.EveryDaySomethingNew.com

Even in these last few days as we have already begun the fast, God has already spoken to us so many things.  He has spoken so much that it is impossible to put everything in print.

Also there are many things that we will be attempting and doing in these next 40 days and we will attempt to keep you updated on this blog.

God is moving like we have never seen him move in decades past.  God is stirring the hearts of men and women in churches all across America.

Join us as we pray.

God Bless

Ron Brumbaugh

" One Nation Under God"

Praying for Revival Amongs our Churches in America!

His Name Shall Be Great on All of the Earth ( Malachi 1:11)

January 10, 2012

There are hundreds and even thousands of live and vibrant churches all across America that begin each new year with 21 days to 40 days of Prayer and Fasting.

The hearts of Christians are crying out all across this world knowing that there must be more!  Satisfied with the status quo is not a term that many are familiar with in this world – especially the young people that God is raising up.

As I begin a 40 day fast today we must ask the question? “Why Fast?”  As many would say “fasting without prayer is nothing more than a good healthy diet”. 

There are many reasons to fast and pray and I personally probably have tried them all.  Health professionals tell us that fasting cleanses the body and fasting removes toxins from our body when time is set apart for fasting.  But all throughout Bible history along with Jesus himself, speaks of the need to pray and to fast so that we might be able to obtain the perfect plan in our lives that God has already so freely set before us to live out.  I have always fasted over issues that I was facing in my life; I have prayed and fasted for health improvement and I have even prayed and fasted simply because I felt that this was what God was telling me to do.  I have been successful in prayer and fasting at times while at other times I have utterly and miserably failed only after a day or two.  By just praying and skipping lunch at then to be followed by succumbing and eating a large pizza at night, giving into hunger, was probably not what Jesus meant, when he spoke of fasting and prayer.

Many of us have all read the new book by Jentezen Franklin – “The Fasting Edge”.  We realize that the church today is very different than the original New Testament church as shown to us in the Book of Acts.  The modern church is also very different than the early American church which built and established this nation as “One Nation Under God”. 

Today when we as Christians search for a local church we search for the one with the best church programs.  We look for the best music and we obviously want the best worship for our Sunday morning worship experience.  We look for the best facilities that will provide for the total needs of our personal lives and provide the needs for our family.  And of course we look for the most comfortable place of worship that will fit into our comfortable lifestyle as we look for a church that can also maximize the time spent in that place so that church can comfortably fit into a part of our busy daily life.  However we realize that none of these goals were the goals of the early church; in fact the early Christians might be appalled to think that this is our view of Christianity.  Jesus himself may even be appalled to think that he gave so much for us, but yet we sacrifice so little for him.

All of the amenities that we experience today in the modern church are wonderful; we shouldn’t change a thing but we have to ask ourselves – are we really experiencing Jesus Christ in the way that he intended us to know him or is Christianity only a comfortable attempt to fill a spiritual void in our lives without ever really experiencing and identifying with the real life of Jesus himself?

When we choose to pray and to fast – What is the end result?

When we pray and fast we fine tune ourselves to the place where our love and our passion for God is more important than food itself.  We are saying to God the very same thing that David said to God in Psalm 63:3 as he was fasting – “Your love is better than life”. David says “my soul thirsts for you and my body longs for you”. Does our soul thirst for God in the way that our body thirsts for food and water?

As we begin this 40 day fast most of our fasting will be identifying with Jesus as he spent those long isolated 40 days fasting in the desert. Because Jesus overcame in the desert, thru his victory thru temptation, we are able to identify with him along with him in his incredible love for his Father and his love for us. We are showing to God that our spiritual keenness and sensitivity to him is more important than the food itself that provides our daily nourishment for our body.  Fasting is a time to put away everything from the world and focus on our spirituality and focus on our love for God. 

It is amazing how sensitive we become to God and how his voice becomes so much more real and alive to us when we put everything away for a period of time.  Fasting and praying will make us more sensitive and aware to the God that resides within us and to the one that is already around us and surrounding us in every way.

Short term discipline yields long term results – Jentezen Franklin

Every Christian is blessed in every way possible ( Ephesians 1:3 ) but yet at times we need more. 

There is only one reason to fast and to pray and that is to be closer and more sensitive to God.

As we fast and pray – Yes! - He will break the chains that bind us and he will restore our families.  He will release evangelism and break bondage from our cities and he will release our communities and universities from the stronghold of humanism. He will restore jobs with finances and he will rebuild the old waste places along with raising up foundations of many generations ahead, just as spoke in Isaiah 58:12

Prayer and fasting makes areas more clear in our lives that were previously cloudy until that time.

Prayer and fasting allows us to refocus and to feel and hear the heart of God in new ways that we never dreamed possible for us to understand.

As we go through these 40 days together you are welcome to read our daily blog.  www.EveryDaySomethingNew.com

Even in these last few days as we have already begun the fast, God has already spoken to us so many things.  He has spoken so much that it is impossible to put everything in print.

Also there are many things that we will be attempting and doing in these next 40 days and we will attempt to keep you updated on this blog.

God is moving like we have never seen him move in decades past.  God is stirring the hearts of men and women in churches all across America.

Join us as we pray.

God Bless

Ron Brumbaugh

This is my prayer for today, that God would end modern-day slavery. January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Today, January 11th, is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. We need to collectively take our stand against this horrible injustice. The Bible says in Ephesians 6:12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." THAT is what we need to do. We are not fighting against people, but against the powers of this dark world. God has given everyone a unique calling to further His Kingdom. I encourage you to do your part in what God has called you to do.

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.