Pray Network Forum

Prayers are not our last resort. They are our first line of defense. I recently encountered a spiritual battle that kicked me in the gut. Most of the battles we face, by the way, are spiritual. We tend to think of things in the natural, but spiritual battles are going on all around us.

One of the dilemmas I faced recently had to do with people who listen, but don’t really hear you. I explained something critical several times to a couple of people and they nodded like they were tuned in. Then they did something incredible: They totally ignored what I said and did what THEY wanted (even though I was crystal clear on my expectations).

This created a huge problem for me personally and while I vented to a few close friends about the pickle I was in, I realized who had the solution. I prayed about it and God gave me a clear vision of what to do.

I did not explode on the people for what they did (although I could have and I literally could have sued them and won a ton of money and cost them their jobs). I calmly laid out the facts as they listened. They knew they were in the deep end of the pool with no life jacket unless I decided to give them one.

I did toss them a life jacket and asked them to help me get through the predicament that they had caused. I am not sure how all of it will play out yet, but I offered them a peaceful solution to a serious problem. All they have to do is give up some of their time on my behalf.

The funny thing is that God knew this was going to happen all along. While I got blindsided, God didn’t, and He has the perfect road map to get all of us through it. I believe God let this happen for me to show them mercy. Trust me when I say that mercy was not my first thought! I think God let this happen to them to teach them a lesson as well. Next time, I bet you dollars to donuts they listen to who is talking to them and check for clarity.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

www.danskognes.com

We are told in Hebrews 6 that the anchor of our souls is firm and secure. Such hope serves as a kind safety net in our daily lives.

Hope that reaches beyond this world will be a Safety Net From Fears that assail us. A trapeze artist must put in thousands of hours of practice to be able to amaze the crowds who gather to watch. But she would never be able to practice, especially her most difficult aerobatics, without a safety net. If our future is absolutely secure in the arms of Jesus all of life becomes practice for the real main event.

Hope is a Safety Net From Failure. This kind of Hope does not make us careless. The aerialist certainly finds falling painful even in practice. But she can learn from her falls because they are not fatal. We can risk in the challenges of life because our hope is secure.

You have probably heard the cynics of our time say something like, “Everyone has a price. Everyone will cheat, everyone will be unethical, everyone will sell their highest virtues for the right price.” Christians can escape those temptations, if we keep our eyes on our hope that is out of this world. Hope is a Safety Net in the Face of Temptation. Keeping our hope in mind will strengthen us in the face of any temptation. I don't have to lie, God loves me. I don't have to cheat, my reward in Heaven is certain. I don't have to lust after that thing or that person, my Lord is near, and His return is imminent.

The perspective of a secure hope even gives us a Safety Net in the Face of Success. Our greatest temptations often come in our triumphs. Success can make us prideful and careless. Arrogance makes us disgusting to God. It can even ruin relationships with those we love. But if I can keep my eyes on hope beyond this life, I will be able to say, “This is only worldly success. It is nothing compared to what is waiting for me in Heaven.”

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In an earlier blog I asked if there were any books written on Christian writing. Several of you suggested books dealing specifically with Christian writing. One of the books suggested to me was The Christian Writer's Guide, by Mary Harwell Sayler. What a wonderful surprise this book turned out to be! I, of course, had asked the question thinking somewhat academically about the differences in writing in the relationship and calling of Christ. But this book is satisfying longings I did not know I had.

One delightful concept she introduces “Prayer-a-Phrasing Scripture.” Although this was a clever way of presenting praying Scripture passages. The concept is not completely new to many of us. But two of her applications to writing struck me enough to be printed and put up on my desk.

She begins the first chapter with these words.

“Some writing projects might not even mention God’s name, but every project, including this one, needs to begin with prayer, asking God to guide, inspire, and be with us.”

Then she adapts The Lord's Prayer to the needs of writers.

Our Father Who Is in Heaven, let Your Name be holy in us.

Let Your Kingdom Come.

Let Your Will be done in our earthly writings as though written in Heaven.

Give us this day, our daily bread to nourish us and our readers and strengthen the whole Body of Christ.

Forgive us for trespassing with old assumptions or biased words that intrude, and help us to forgive those who speak ill of You.

Lead us not into the temptation of accepting facts without checking  or giving up when our work seems rejected.

And deliver us from evil – especially unloving words that speak unfairly of us or others and reflect poorly on our LORD God.

For Yours is the Kingdom – where our work and writing belong as we long to live and write in Your Power for Your Glory forever. Amen.”

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http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” -1 Corinthians 15:51–55

If the message of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection mean anything, it’s this: in Jesus, death has died.

The one power that has held sway over every single human being since the beginning of time has now been completely routed in Jesus. There is no final victory of death over the believer.

So why do we have such respect and fear of death? Why do we lavish such honor upon it at our funerals and memorial services? We speak in low voices or don’t know what to say at all in the presence of it. We think it so final and so decisive that we use the word “death” to mean the ultimate end of things.

This shouldn’t be. For the believer in Jesus, death is a defeated enemy. No, it’s not a friend or “a natural part of life,” it’s always an enemy, but one that’s been utterly overpowered by Jesus’ resurrection. We certainly recoil at its threat and the ways it can come to us, and we clearly suffer when our loved ones are taken by it, but it’s not the final word or the greatest power over us. Its victory and sting have been neutralized.

This is true not only in the personal, physical realm (death of the body), but it’s also true in the realm of our professions, broken relationships, and life dreams.

Our jobs can be lost, our careers can take a downward turn, our dreams may come crashing down in a single afternoon, but there is nothing that can be lost in this world that is beyond recovery.

If our very bodies can be brought back to life (even greater life than before), then the lesser things of life are equally open to restoration and transformation.

This is the hope that is available now, in this present life, to the believer in Jesus.

And, fortunately, it is something that God demonstrates in the nitty-gritty of our daily lives. It’s all the “little resurrections” (the rescues, healings, and answers to prayer) that give us a solid reason to expect a great resurrection at the end.

This Easter, let us move forward in joy and utmost confidence knowing “that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Today’s Prayer

Lord God, reveal to me the true meaning of the resurrection, and may its power fill me with your hope and everlasting joy, I pray in the strong name of the resurrected Christ, Amen.

My Easter Commitment

Yes. I do believe this.

After these eight days of walking through the Easter story—the events of Holy Week, which are the turning point of all of history—I recommit myself and everything I have to…

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. -Galatians 2:20

How are we supposed to view our present life of faith?

This passage tells us to look at our present lives as servants of the Lord Jesus. Just as Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried, and then raised to new life, so we are in a sense crucified with Jesus, dead with him, buried with him, and then raised with him.

This is what it really means to be a believer, a disciple, a Christian. This, and nothing less, is what the Christian life means. When we come to Jesus and ask him to forgive us, dwell in us, and transform us for his purposes, what we’re really asking is this: for the old selfish life story, with its private, “me-centered” goals and dreams, to be taken up into the Great Story and transformed for God’s eternal purposes.

It’s not just “making Jesus our personal savior,” then skipping happily on our way as if nothing had happened. It’s being totally aware that our life prior to faith in Jesus is dead and buried. Gone—nine feet underground.

From now on, since Jesus is our Lord, Master, Ruler, Guide, Commander, and all the rest, we live to and for him.

No, there isn’t any split-level discipleship available, as if some people can choose “First Class” Christian life of total commitment and others can opt out for “Business Class” or “Main Cabin.” Jesus is either Ruler of everything or Ruler of nothing. Either Jesus’ spirit is going to dwell inside us (the biblical definition of a Christian life—see Rom. 8:9–10; 2 Cor. 13:5), or he isn’t. We’re his disciples or we aren’t.

So we live each and every day of this earthly life by faith in and dependence on the Son of God. Our lives no longer belong to us to do with just as we wish.

Remember, the “old guy” is dead. Now Jesus lives out his life in us, daily transforming us into his likeness and doing through us the will of the Father.

How this affects our prayer is obvious: We pray for and about everything, always conscious of the fact that our life has been thrust into the main stream of another higher will and purpose.

Today’s Prayer
Lord God, let me not forget that my life belongs to you and that you have a plan and purpose that far exceed my own selfish desires. Thank you for your compassion and grace to us all. Amen.

Today’s Commitment

Today I recognize once again that I am fallen. I acknowledge my need to submit completely to Christ and surrender…

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. -Isaiah 53:5–6

Our human minds can’t even begin to grasp the enormity of the price Jesus paid for us on the cross. If we did, our hearts would ache knowing of his supreme sacrifice on our behalf and love for us.

Although we don’t know exactly whom the prophet Isaiah was referring to in his own day, this passage was very early applied to Jesus. The church recognized that it perfectly (and prophetically) described his mission on our behalf—he’s the one who bore the full weight of our sins and folly, he is the one who paid for our transgressions, and he is the only reason we are healed of our alienation from God.

How can someone else take upon himself the punishment due for our crimes against God and his holiness? We don’t really know how this all works. We’re told only that this is what happened. God could have rescued us in some other way, but this is the way he chose, carefully planned, and carried out. And there was nothing irrational or arbitrary about it.

Figure it this way: Jesus came into the world in perfect holiness and sinlessness. He led the perfect human life without the slightest flaw. Then, like the prophets of the Old Testament, he was persecuted and killed for telling people the unpleasant truth about themselves. In their rage, they murdered him.

But in a way, God said of all this, “Alright, since in your misguided religious fervor you insist on violence and murder of everyone I send to you, and now even my beloved Son, then I’ll decree this act of murder, the lowest point to which you can sink, to be the very thing that saves you.”

In other words, God says to us that it’s not our righteousness, goodness, or religious performance that leads us to his kingdom, but his total mercy and grace. If he used the raw material of our sin and turned it into the building blocks of our salvation, then there isn’t the slightest ground for claiming that we control (or in any way deserve) our salvation. It’s his work from beginning to end and has nothing to do with us, except for each one of us to reach out and receive from his hand the gift he offers.

How much clearer could he make it that he alone is the Author of our salvation? In this act of God lies our total security.

Today’s Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for giving your life for me and for paying the price for my sins that I could never pay. I pray that just as you lived and died for me, I may live and die for others. Help me, O Lord. Amen.

Today’s Commitment

Today I thank God for…

This time of the year, we become aware of the spring season, especially in the areas where we experience the four seasons. It is exciting to see the buds on the trees that have lied dormant and the bulbs popping out of the ground almost overnight. Spring reminds us of new life.

 During the winter, many areas have experienced harsh freezing weather. However, as spring approaches it gives us the hope of warmth, beautiful gardens, and landscapes. As it warms our spirit, we become alive and more energetic.

We often go through seasons in our prayer lives where we do not take the time to read and meditate on God’s Word or pray intentionally for our grandchildren or ourselves. We pray but our prayers may become humdrum, repetitive, or pointless.

That was my experience some years ago I felt the prayers for my grandchildren were very general and superficial. Being a long distance grandmother, I didn’t know their needs so I prayed they would be safe, have a good day, and I would be on my way. I felt my prayers became rote, empty, and powerless.

 However, it all changed when I asked God to give me wisdom and insight how I could pray for them intentionally. Praying intentionally means a determination to pray in a certain way, done by intention or design. Asking God for direction and reading several books about prayer, I was encouraged, and I gained some tools to help me to pray intentionally and regularly for my grandchildren and their parents.

The Bible, God’s Word was the most significant resource I discovered to help me with my praying, not only for my family but also for myself. We read in Hebrews 4:12 (in the Amplified version), “The Word of God is alive and full of power, making it active, operative, energizing, and effective.” it was alive and full of power, bringing energy into my prayers. Personalizing God’s Word in our prayers releases His supernatural power and His presence in my life.

 In praying scripture, I not only find myself in intimate communication with God, but my mind is being renewed to think His thoughts, about the situation I am praying for, instead of mine. Ultimately, God shrinks what I thought as impossible to a possibility and gives me peace as I wait for His answer.

As we start claiming God’s promises and personalizing the scriptures, we will experience more confidence and boldness in our praying. Nothing threatens the ENEMY more than when we are intentionally praying God’s Word for children, grandchildren, and ourselves.

As you experience the spring, season approaching in your area, I hope your thoughts will turn to accessing your prayer life for your children, grandchildren and yourself. If you are in a WINTER season in your prayer life and you have not been spending time with the Lord regularly or in prayer, allow the spring season to bring new life to your prayers.

Prayer:

Dear Father, as I am reading your Word,

show me the scriptures I can pray for my family and myself.

Help me to set an appointment with you each day and show me

how you would like me to be an intentional prayer warrior for my family.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

By Lillian Penner, Co-prayer director for Christian Grandparenting Network

 Free resources:

On this website, you will find a list of free downloads with many helpful suggestions of how to pray

intentionally for your grandchildren.

Click on the 3 bars on the upper left side of this page

FREE RESOURCES.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. -1 John 4:10–12

The word “Maundy” comes from the Latin “mandatum,” meaning commandment. This is in reference to the new commandment of love Jesus gave to his disciples: “Love one another.”

And we love because God loved us first. It’s not that we loved God and therefore searched him out and discovered that he loved us too. No, long before we ever had any interest in him, he had his eye on us and loved us with an everlasting love.

And it wasn’t because we were so irresistibly lovable either.

If God had waited for us to become lovable enough before he loved us, he’d still be waiting. From the beginning till this day, his love was and is based upon his character, not ours. What John is saying is that since this is true, we ought to love one another even if “they” aren’t so warm and fuzzy.

It’s this love for one another that signals to the world around us that something real is happening in our midst. People know that others aren’t always so easy to love, and usually we treat them just as they deserve. So when the Christian does something so astounding as to show love to the unlovely, it gets attention.

In fact, this is probably the principal way people learn that God’s people have something you can’t find anywhere else. When they see us loving one another, they know from their own experience that the unusual is taking place.

It wasn’t the church’s doctrines that first gained the attention of the Roman world, but the love found among the Christians—not just for one another, but for others as well. The first Christians loved even the ones who mistreated and persecuted them.

Such love isn’t optional. It’s not just something we can be doing while we’re waiting around—it’s the central requirement and identifying characteristic of the real church. With it our lives will make a lasting impact, and without it nothing else we do will make the slightest difference.

With love, God’s love is made complete in us. So when we’re praying, let’s ask for the impossible: real, tangible, measurable love for one another.

Today’s Prayer

Father, I cannot love the way you want me to love unless you grant me the power to do so. Fill me with your Spirit and power every day for the rest of my life. I pray in the name of Jesus who loved us first, Amen.

Today’s Commitment

Today I let go of any anger or bitterness and commit to love by…

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! -2 Corinthians 5:17

What is one of the main themes that keeps recurring in the faiths and literature of the world? What is that longing in the human heart that never goes away regardless of the time or place?

It’s the desire that the old, the worn out, and the temporary pass away and the new, the fresh, and the lasting appear!

This is what the Gospel promises—but in a modified form. The new life in Christ is in principle the beginning of the new and the lasting, but not in fact. The current life we live on this present earth is not the final end, nor is it perfect and complete in every sense.

What Paul is saying in this passage is very real.

It means that when we come to faith in Jesus, God has staked his claim on us, he has driven his flag into the soil of our lives, yet we still await the final fulfillment of the whole process of salvation. The first signs of eternal life appear in our lives and the tokens of his future kingdom are present in and among us, but the promise has yet to take on its full dimensions.

But this is more than enough to proceed through this life with joy and enthusiasm!

We still continue to stumble and fall, we still continue to age and experience the pains of decay (in both body and mind), but as our outer form wastes away, our inner person is renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16).

So rather than responding grimly the way most around us do, let’s see each new sign of aging as just another signpost along the way marking our journey toward the eternal kingdom, the city of God, the New Heaven, and the New Earth—and the new body!

Every new wrinkle or disability is nothing more than another page of the book leading toward the stunning conclusion, the wonderful, incomparable finale.

If we really believe this, then let’s live it out to the end so that our neighbors can see and join us.

Today’s Prayer

Lord God, teach me to laugh at all the many forms of aging and disintegration that occupy my concerns. Teach me to focus on the wondrous resurrection and restoration you have prepared for us. Amen.

Today’s Commitment

Today I make a decision to let go of all that is temporary in my life that distracts me from God’s highest and best…

Our hope, God's hope is personal. In his 1939 Christmas message to the nation King George VI read Minnie Louise Haskins’ poem, God Knows, given him by his daughter, Elizabeth.

“I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year,
‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’
And he replied, "Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.’

While we look forward to life beyond this life, our hope is more than what we think of as life. We certainly hope for all that we can understand of gates of pearl and streets of gold, but the heart of our hope in and beyond this life is the person of Christ.

In Titus 2:13 Paul explained our hope by saying we are,

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.”

He is our blessed hope.

Hebrews 6:19,20 calls us to Jesus.

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

I have cancer, and I don't know how long I will live. In all that I do I am preparing to enter the dark corridor of death. It is uncharted territory for me. But I know Jesus has passed this way before me. He is our forerunner. He knows the way. And He is holding tightly to my hand.

This is not the cold map of doctrine. This is His personal direction. He continually whispers through His word, “Trust me. Follow me. Depend on me. I will lead you home.

Relationship with Him promises continual novelty and dynamic security. I will always be held in His hands whatever we face. His wonders will be new every morning for ever and ever.

As I pen these words I am on an airplane. As exciting as technology can be, I am glad this flight is not completely automatic. We have a competent pilot. We have been told that there are thunderstorms in and around our destination. But our pilot has assured us that he will avoid them wherever they arise when we get there.

JESUS IS OUR HOPE.

http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/

httphinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

YouTube

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