Pray Network Forum

Recently, hurricanes, excessive flooding, earthquakes, and fires have drawn our attention to the many people who have been victims of these catastrophes. It's a time to remember the many victims in our prayers. As our country is facing many difficult issues, it is easy to get discouraged, especially when we thinking of the world our grandchildren are living. However, we have a big God bigger than the challenges and struggles we experience at this time and our grandchildren’s future. In the Bible, we have an excellent example of how Joshua and Caleb handled their challenges.

 Moses sent Joshua, Caleb, and the ten other men on a scouting exploration to Canaan, as spies to the Promised Land. After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned to Moses to give their reports. Ten of the spies said that it was a magnificent area but the people are mighty and their cities are fortified and very large. The people are giants, much stronger than we are, we would not be able to attack them.

Joshua and Caleb reported to Moses that the land was good, but the people were giants. However, God would lead them. They had nothing to fear because their God was bigger than their obstacles. How do you see God? Do you see God big enough to meet your challenges, disappointments, and struggles?  

God often allows challenging situations in our lives for a purpose, teaching us to depend more on Him. Although trials and problems are inevitable, they can be our friends. Pray your grandchildren will learn to expect them, submit to them, and learn from them. The challenges and struggles they face are not meant to destroy them. They are designed to promote spiritual growth, develop character, and make them capable of fulfilling their God-given assignments. Our adversities may be blessings in disguise.

 Sometimes God wants to demonstrate to us truth about Himself. Only through trials do we move from academic faith to practical faith. As grandparents, we can pray our grandchildren will see their challenges as exercises designed to make them become stronger spiritually and mature in their character.

Pray that your grandchildren will see God as a great, big, strong God they can trust at all times, in all circumstances like Joshua and Caleb.

Taken from Numbers 13

By Lillian Penner, Co-director of the prayer ministry of Christian Grandparenting Network, lpenner@christiangrandparenting.net

For the past few days I have been dealing with some severe anxiety and depression. Does the Bible say anything about this? It does indeed. In fact the Bible deals more comprehensively with depression than any other source I know. In places like Elijah in the cave in 1 Kings 19 and quite a number of Psalms God shows us that the cause depression can be physical, dietary, cultural, situational, psychological, moral, or spiritual. It is often caused by several of these simultaneously.

And being tempted in all points like us,(Heb.4:15) Jesus also faced anxiety.

God has spoken powerfully to me in John 12:27,28 where Jesus said,

“Now is my heart troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’”

Let me share with you four crucial perspectives by which Jesus dealt with His own anxiety.

First Jesus saw the Perspective of Time.

He said, “Now is my heart troubled.” Your anxiety, and for that matter your crisis, is temporary.

Viktor Frankl rightly directed people to ask themselves how they would want to behave in a particular situation if they were looking at it from the end of their lives. Jesus clearly dealt with more horrific circumstances then you and I can imagine. He endured them for the joy set before Him.(Heb.12:2) While your reason for anxiety is not nearly as great as His, you will share in the fullness of His glory.

Jesus also saw from the Perspective of Purpose.

He asks, should I pray for God to deliver me from this trial? “But,” He concludes, “it was God's purpose for me to be disturbed in trial.” God has put you in this place as well.

Do you remember what Satan said to God when the Lord pointed out Job’s obedience? “But you've put a hedge about him. Job doesn't really love you. He just serves you because you've made it easy for him.”

You need to be in this place for God to prove that He can work even your anxiety together with everything else for good.

The chorus of Laura Story's hymn, Blessings, says,

“What if Your blessings come through raindrops?

What if Your healing comes through tears?

What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?

What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?”

You are going through this trial for the high purpose of Almighty God on the earth and in eternity. Stand straight. Be strong. Call upon God for His grace to obey Him in the midst of it.

Jesus prayed from the Perspective of God's Glory.

Jesus knew that His purpose in eternity and upon this Earth was to glorify God the Father. That is our purpose as well. Many of you know that activity, especially good, wholesome, productive activity is a great help in dealing with depression. I know of no activity that so effectively counters anxiety and depression as that of praising God out loud. Our anxiety is worsened because we are so focused on ourselves. And until we break our self-preoccupation with praise of Almighty God, it will keep us bound.

Finally, Jesus experienced God's Presence.

God thundering from the heavens was a rare occurrence, even as Jesus walked upon this Earth. But the presence of God is not rare for a believer in Jesus Christ. And nothing usher's you into nearness with God like recognizing His presence and praising Him, praying and glorifying His Name. When you connect with the reality, purpose, and Glory of God, you will sense His presence as never before. Philippians 4:5 says, “Let your reasonableness be evident to all, the Lord is near.” The King James Bible says, “Let your moderation be evident.” In 1 Timothy 3:3 this word is translated, “gentle.” There the King James used the word, “patient.” The point is, you don't need to be anxious, the Lord is near you.

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This week a teenage boy who attends our church and six other young people were in a roll over car accident. Three of the children, including the boy from our church, are in critical condition. The father of that boy gathered the families of those kids and asked our pastor to come speak to them all. He shared this in our Sunday worship. He mentioned Job's friends sitting with Job in silence for seven days, and said there are some situations where no words are sufficient. He asked us to pray for him as he was to speak to them because if God does not speak to the families, he we wouldn't have anything to say.

Thank God that He does speak through us from time to time. I recently listened to Ravi Zacharias tell of multiple times when God spoke through him and he had not thought beforehand about what he said. But God does not just speak through preachers.

Hebrews 1 reminds us that in the past God spoke through prophets at many times and in various ways. But God does not just speak through prophets.

I want to be the best writer I could ever be. I would like to be smart, even wise. And I would not mind being a popular writer. But more than any of these things, I would like God Himself to speak through me, at least from time to time.

I don't wish to stomp my foot here, but I do have some thoughts about this. We need a humility that recognizes that we have our greatest impact when God speaks through us. I believe it is dangerous, especially when we write, to tell people God spoke through me. But I should be able to quietly give thanks when I realize that He has spoken through something I wrote.

God must decide when and if He speaks through us, but I think it is important to realize that He may choose to do that. And that realization should lead me to ask Him to do just that. I am not sure I shouldn't regularly ask Him to speak through me.

What about writing something that isn't about God at all? I have written a number of stories about other things that interest me. I think God can speak quietly about character or truth or any number of other things through stories that are not so in people's faces. Tolkien used to say he was creating an “evangelicum” in his writings. His imaginary histories don't have a trace of the gospel, but he deals with deep issues of life. If God chooses, He can touch the lives of readers through much lighter fare than The Lord of The Rings.

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

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http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

Prayer and More

Every time there is a mass shooting in a church, someone asks me if it causes me to re-live the emotions of September 15, 1999 at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth – my home church – where a lone gunman entered a “See You at the Pole” Rally with two guns, two hundred rounds of ammunition, and a home-made pipe bomb. Before he took his own life, he killed seven people, wounded seven others, and traumatized hundreds including members of my family. The answer is always the same – an agonizing yes.

But this time – First Baptist Church, Sutherland Springs, with 26 dead, twenty injured, and a small Texas town traumatized – my mind went to another event.

When I was the Baptist campus minister at Pan American University, we were on a retreat in the mountains of southern Mexico. We had been warned not to go outside the camp after dark due to the wild animals in the mountains. Nevertheless, a student named, Jimmy, did just the opposite. When word got out about his absence in camp, students gathered in the cafeteria. After a long silence, a student said, “I think we need to get in a circle and pray” to which another student, a new, not-yet-discipled student, exclaimed, “Pray H____! Let’s go get Jimmy.”

Last week, and following every mass shooting, there were a lot of people encouraging prayer. I’m all for it. We need to pray. Survivors need our intercessory prayer. Injured, most definitely need prayer. But we all need more. It’s time someone did something about automatic weapons designed for warfare, but then used for killing innocent people, even children.

It’s time someone did something about mental illness, especially that which leads to violence. It’s time someone did something about those who “fall through the cracks” of society’s law and order. Pray? Absolutely. But isn’t it about time to go get Jimmy, to do something to prevent further trauma?

By the way, as you pray, remember to pray for spiritual awakening. It may well be the only solution.

Does your church have a prayer corner in the worship center? I Know a church that designates a back corner of their worship center as a place of special prayer. In every service they invite people to slip back at any time to pray. Members of a prayer team are there to pray with anyone who wishes.

They accomplish a number of important things with this. First, this helps to create an atmosphere of prayer in a church. Some might say, “We already have that. We pray throughout our services.” That is of course good. But in the church I where I observed this people began asking themselves if they should go back and pray. There is a difference in hearing a prayer and being invited to pray yourself. This practice helps normalize prayer in a congregation. People are told, at least by implication, that it is alright to need to pray. It is a normal thing to pray.

This helps to accommodate people who come into the church with burdens. This is a powerful way to tell them God cares about their heartache.

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

A person who was healed physically after a believer had prayed for him is studying the Word with a believer. This person has also invited a friend to join him in the study. Praise the Lord for this healing and pray that hearts may be open, given spiritual understanding, and come to faith as they study the Word with the believer. Pray also for protection and wisdom over the believer.

Give praise that after much resistance to spiritual conversations, a local lady is suddenly showing interest in hearing more about the truth. Please ask the Lord to continue to soften her heart, take away fear, and draw her into His Kingdom. Ask too that believers will persevere in sharing even when met with resistance time and again.

Please pray that those who have had dreams or visions of Jesus Christ would not be fearful or dismissive but would experience great joy and a desire to know more. Ask God to connect them with believers who can help answer their questions and guide them to the way of salvation and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Many adherents to Islam live with an attitude of simply accepting the culture, traditions, and religion without question. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will stir their hearts and minds with questions and dissatisfaction and set them on a journey to find true the Peace.

The relative affluence of the Gulf, as does affluence anywhere, can cause a sense of entitlement as well as a lack of awareness of the needs of the less privileged. Pray for humble hearts that will receive the great love offered by our Heavenly Father and in turn bring radical change in the culture.

You may or may not be aware, but two very important days are coming up for your Prayer Calendar!