How Can I Pray?

First of all, let’s define prayer. Here’s the bottom line: Prayer is communication with God. It’s not that God doesn’t know what we need, but with prayer we invite Him into our lives.

Prayers can be formal or informal, written or spontaneous. Since God created languages, He's open to prayers from people in all countries. I grew up with the King James Bible, but was taught to pray in my everyday English language.

Here are a few simple guidelines:

1.       Approach God with humility, avoid praying to be seen by people.

Jesus taught this with a parable about two characters: A Pharisee and a tax collector.  One prayed to be seen, proudly listing all his religious accomplishments. The other tried to be unnoticed as he bowed his head and prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:9-14)

2.       Prayer does not require wordy repetition.

Jesus said pagans thought their gods would hear them if they used many repetitive words. But He said our Father knows what we need, so prayers can be simple and direct. (Matthew 6:7-8).

3.       The Lord’s Prayer is a great model.

If you’re not sure what to pray, review Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV). I enjoy praying this in group settings, but sometimes I pray it on my own, using one sentence at a time to jump start my own prayers.

4.       Pray for the needs of others, as well as yourself.

Be alert to people and their needs. In writing to the Thessalonians, Paul made his request very simple: “Brothers and sisters, pray for us.” (I Thessalonians 5:25 NLT)

5.       Simple sentence prayers are heard, too.

Remember when Peter was walking on the water toward Jesus? He lost his focus, started to sink and cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached for him (Matthew 14:28-31). Remember one of the thieves crucified next to Jesus? He said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” Jesus said, “Today you’ll be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43)   

If you’ve considered prayer a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, think again. You can talk to God about anything, anytime, anywhere. What could be better than that?  

  

Be Generous With Joy

 

Joy is an upbeat feeling of gladness that results in positive actions. Some people sing for joy, others dance. Some people wax eloquent in poetry, others express joy through paintings or sculptures.

Christians find joy in knowing and serving God. Jesus found joy in obeying His Father’s earthly will to the very end, meaning even to His death on the cross (Hebrews 12:2).  

It’s hard to separate joy from happiness or contentment. True joy is hard to hide or contain, but why even try?

Joy gets even better when shared. It was never meant to be hoarded.

Some see joy as morning dew or a gentle rain bringing hidden seeds to life as colorful flowers in unexpected places.

Others see joy as a quiet brook bubbling along while refreshing friends. Either way it is something desirable, positive and uplifting.

Be generous with joy. “He who waters will himself be watered,” said Solomon (Proverbs 11:25).

“What a person sows they will reap,” said Paul (Galatians 6:7).

Joy can be shared with an encouraging word, a loving deed or even a heart of forgiveness.

Joy flourishes in the unity of community. Consider these suggestions:

• ·      Share time with someone by treating them to breakfast, lunch or dinner.
• ·     Send a card of thanks or appreciation.
• ·     Connect with friends or family through phone calls or other modes of communication.
• ·     Invite someone into your home for simple fellowship over coffee or tea and dessert.
• ·     Surprise a colleague with their favorite treat.
• ·     Share encouragement with a favorite scripture or personal story of God’s goodness.

I’m sure you have your own good ideas, and things like this make joy contagious. Spread joy, not germs!

Joy is an inner fountain that propels us through all seasons of life. Some would call joy the oil of gladness that keeps their days rolling along.

As you join others on life’s journey, be generous with joy. Together your joy will never run dry.  

 

Equality and Submission

                  

Here’s a dichotomy for you. Like a boat on dry land the title words oppose each other, so let’s take a closer look.

I was listening to a Bible teacher* the other day whose key points brought up a personal memory.

There has been a lot of misinformation about women and submission, but here are some truths:

1)      Men and women are created equal before God

2)      All women are not required to submit to all men

3)      Women can be leaders, CEOs, or military commanders

4)      Submission applies only to a wife and her own husband

Marriage is not for everyone. If the idea of submission sets your teeth on edge, you may want to say, “No.” For sure you should not marry someone you don’t respect or trust, or who doesn’t care about what you think or feel.

In the days when this scripture was written women, children, and slaves in Roman, Greek, and Jewish cultures had great responsibilities. Men, on the other hand, had a great deal of freedom.

The true translation of submission means “to place under rank,” and Paul spoke not only to women. He also addressed men, children, and slaves (Colossians 3:18-4:1). Think about it. Everyone in the world is in submission to someone. That’s the orderliness of society.

My husband and I enjoyed equality in marriage for many years. I was comfortable submitting because he cared what I thought. After freely sharing my opinion or insight, I expected him to make our family decision. 

Strange as it seems, in the 1980’s women started teaching submission to the extreme. In taking some of their advice, I stopped freely sharing my thoughts and feelings. The result was that gradually my husband stopped asking for my opinion.

Things came to a head while exploring options for housing on a new job. Riding around, I became extremely depressed. God had given me a clear vision (warning) a few weeks earlier and I said to myself I’m not going to share this. He won’t listen anyway.

I can still see the street where I finally burst into tears. Shocked, my husband pulled into a parking lot and asked, “What’s wrong?” I told him about the vision and why I had not shared it with him earlier.

Besides his apology, he asked me to promise I would always share what I thought or felt. The fresh start was good, but it wasn’t magic. We had to rebuild our trusting relationship.

Equality and submission are positive truths. Please avoid getting bogged down with false teaching.

*Dr. Robert Jeffress, Pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, TX, Pathway to Victory.

 

Can You Be Honest?

 

Have you ever had someone say, "Can I be honest with you?" No matter how you felt about it, I'll bet you said, "Yes."

I prefer that people be honest with me. I have a hard time with those who talk indirectly about an issue, expecting me to guess what they mean. My response may seem totally irrelevant. 

When I was fighting cancer, I became deeply aware of the Psalms. Before then I had read them, but never really studied them. In fact, I started with a simple Bible study booklet called *Praying the Psalms.

Today I focused on Psalm 139. There David praises God for His ability to be everywhere at once plus His ability to know all things. These characteristics are listed in the dictionary under omnipresent and omniscient.

In the first six verses, David says God knows everything about him. Then in verse seven, he asks, “Where can I flee from Your Presence?” He shares illustrations of a God that is everywhere; there’s no place to hide.

In verses thirteen through sixteen, David declares the beauty of creation in utero. I found it easy to agree when he said, “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Our life systems are awesome---Skeletal, Muscular, Respiratory, Digestive, and Reproductive, to name a few.

The last four verses are interesting contrasts. First, David declares his love for God, including hatred for those who malign God and speak evil of him.

Then he follows up with a prayer: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24 NIV).

Can you be that honest? Can I? If you read David’s life story, he wasn’t perfect. Neither are we, but with God, and people, honesty is the best policy.

 *Bible study booklets by InterVarsity Press are available in the Life Guide Bible Studies Series from ChristianBooks.com or Amazon.