Word for Today, Monday, May 8, 2005: Scriptures about Prayer and Praise
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
I manage another mailing list, a prayer needs letter for Larry Davies' Sowing
Seeds of Faith. Recently I have been convicted that time is short and the time
for mincing words is over. We all need Christ and we need Him all the time,
every day. Without Him, we are completely lost.
Some of you already have a personal relationship in Jesus Christ, you know of
Him and morever, you have a friendship with Him, you include Him every day in
your life.
Others of you have heard of Him and perhaps even believe in Him, but it ends
there. My friends, that is not enough.
Every one of us has a problem that we cannot deal with on our own. That
problem is a problem with sin. My own sin is too obvious to ignore, and by the
grace of God, He has helped me see it and realize my need. In fact, my deepest
need is fully met in Jesus Christ, the need to be deeply loved, fully accepted,
and completely forgiven.
Read what I wrote in the comments of the prayer needs letter before I sent out
this week's prayer need requests.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
Prayer Needs for Monday, May 8, 2006
Dear friends,
Are you troubled by something this week? The Bible deals directly
with all kinds of troubles. Remember that we have been examining the
Psalms, remembering to give praise to God, and thank Him, regardless
of whether we have seen the answer to prayer or not.
Recently, we have examined Psalm 23, 37, 119, 51, 139, 100 and 89. I
encourage you to continue to read the Psalms on a regular basis, for
they provide many examples of ways in which we can give praise to
God, including times when we are downcast. We can agree with God that
He is good, that He has made us, and that His plans are perfect. When
we do not know the answer to the things that are in front of us, we
ought not to proceed on our own, we ought to look first to God in
every area of our lives.
This week, let's look at what Jesus Himself had to say about prayer.
The following passage is often taken out of context, plucking out only
verse 24. Let us take a broader look at what Jesus was saying. If
you really want to get the entire context, read a few chapters of the
Gospel according to John Mark, one of the early followers of Jesus:
Mark 11:22-26 says:
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this
mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall
not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he
saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye
pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any:
that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your
trespasses.
26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in
heaven forgive your trespasses.
Do you see that there is a promise, but that the promise comes with a
couple of conditions? First, without belief, without faith, it is
impossible to please God, which Hebrews 11:6 states quite clearly. We
see the same thing above, so scripture confirms scripture (which is
another solid way to determine the context of a passage of scripture.
If something in the Bible appears to contradict something else, then
we are not getting the correct context.
The second thing we see is that we must examine ourselves before we
pray, confessing our sin before God and making right any issues we
have, either with God our Father or with those around us. Then and
only then can we come in faith, expecting God to hear our prayer.
Finally, we must ask with the right motive, as James explains in
detail. If our prayers are motivated by greed and lust, we can count
on our prayers not only being denied, but we can count on our words
being a stench to heaven.
Therefore, before we pray, let us learn from the Bible as much as we
can about prayer, and get our hearts right before God. Then and only
then may we go before the throne of grace in confidence, knowing that
we serve a kind and gracious God who is eager and interested in our
lives and ready to bless us in ways we can barely imagine.
Now when we are going through difficulties, it can be difficult to
have a thankful heart, can't it? Be honest! That is why Jeremiah
wrote these words more than once in his prophesies: 11 The voice of
joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the
voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD
of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and
of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the
LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the
first, saith the LORD. Jeremiah 33:11, KJV
For those of us who have worries and concerns, remember this promise
from God:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4:6.
Ephesians 5:1 tells us to be imitators of God as children imitate
their parents. Later in Ephesians the apostle Paul tells children to
obey your parents in the Lord. That is, to the extent that we
ourselves follow Christ, our children are to follow us. Therefore,
let us learn the Word ourselves and follow it earnestly and
completely.
Feel free to use these verses as encouragement, either personally, or
as you share with others.
Thank you for being a part of this important ministry. I pray that you
take it seriously and "prepare ye the way of the LORD" this very day,
for He is coming soon, and it will be a Day of triumph! Encourage
yourselves with this bright hope of glory.
--
Brian Masinick, masinick at yahoo dot com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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