Restoring Prayer...

I have learned something about many Christians (including myself): we know prayer is important, we have listened to many lessons and sermons on prayer, there are a host of books and resources available to learn more about prayer, we confess and recognize that we do not take advantage of this great privilege as often as we should... but in the end: we spend a lot more time TALKING about prayer than we actually do PRAYING.

That's NOT good!

So what can I do (or say) to help you pray? Well, all I can do is offer some suggestions--only YOU can decide that you will spend time before the Father who loves you, and who delights in your coming into His presence to share your heart with Him. But, here are a few suggestions based on Scripture:

First, choose a time each day when you will pray. It may seem un-spiritual to "make an appointment with God"... but if you don't make one, prayer will not happen. Satan is too effective at keeping us from the prayer closet--so set a time each day when you will pray. Jesus said (Matthew 6:6), "When you pray...". Set an alarm, write it on your daily calendar or planner, do what you need to do to set aside time to pray. [And as a side note: if prayer is relatively new to you, don't set an unrealistic expecation with regard to time. Start with 5 minutes if that's all you can manage. Make it a habit, and when 5 minutes doesn't cut it any more, increase it to 10 minutes. Then, when 10 minutes is too short for all of your praying, increase it to 15 minutes... and so on. Let your knowledge and needs define the time frame. And don't worry about how long your pastor prays, or how long your Mom prays, or how long Spurgeon used to pray... pray for as long as you need to.]

Second, find a place to pray. The Bible says you can pray anywhere... and you can... BUT don't let that keep you from having a consistent, regular place where you meet with God. It doesn't have to be a fancy place--but I recommend that it be a place where there is little noise, where you can focus wholly on God, where you can read Scripture, sing, and pray out loud, and a place where you won't be interrupted. Bring a Bible, a pen, and some paper with you (and maybe a hymnal), and make that place a holy place where you go to meet with God. It can be a corner in the basement, a special chair that you always sit in when you pray, a nook in your kitchen, a closet that isn't too filled with junk. You name it... it can become a "prayer closet." Again, Jesus said (Matthew 6:6), "When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen."

Third, I recommend that you use some model or format for your prayer time. In other words, to help you have some direction as you pray, select a process that enables you to pray about the various aspects of life. Take for example, what is typically referred to as the Lord's Prayer recorded in Matthew 6:9-13. This a great pattern--taught to us by Jesus Himself--for our prayer times. It causes us to pray about God's person, His priorities, His provision, His pardon, His protection, etc. You can use the acrostic C.A.S.T. (1 Peter 5:7): Confession, Adoration, Suuplication, Thanksgiving. In this format, you spend time confessing your sins to God, you spend time praising God for who He is, you spend time sharing your requests and needs with God, and you also spend some time thanking God for all that He has done for you. This is a simple but great way to pray. Others think about concentric circles: I pray for myself, I pray for my immediate family, I pray for my extended family, I pray for my friends (both Christian and non-Christian), I pray for my church leaders, I pray for needs in my church, I pray for my co-workers, I pray for my neigbors, I pray for missionaries, etc. You start with those closest to you, and you work outward.

Finally, let me encouarge you to do two things that I believe will help you grow as a pray-er. First off, find someone who loves Jesus a lot and spend time praying with him or her. Many lessons about prayer are better "caught" than "taught". I have learned a lot over the years by listening to other godly people pray. Second, learn to pray the Bible back to God. There is a great promise in the book of 1 John (1 John 5:14-15)--it basically says that we can have confidence that our requests will be answered by God IF we pray according to His will... and the best way I know to do that is to pray God's truth back to Him. For example, David prayed in Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God." What a great prayer to pray. Just copy David's prayer. Make it your own. Or for example, when Paul prays for his Jewish friends (Romans 10:1) to be saved, we can emulate his example: We can pray for God to save our friends too.

I hope these few suggestions will help you pray... because after all, that is what God wants from His people: "My house [people] will be called a house [people] of prayer" (Matthew 21:13).

Restoring Purity...

Well, it's been a while since I've blogged. My apologies to any who drop by here regularly--my schedule has become quite full in recent weeks, and blogging has yet to become a "normal" part of my weekly calendar.

If you've looked at my previous blog, you know that I want to spend some time chatting about this recent series I preached from Matthew 21: Restoring God's House. Specifically, I said that I believe Matthew 21:12-17 reveals that Jesus is looking for 4 primary characteristics in His house (i.e. His people--Hebrews 3:6): 1) Purity, 2) Prayer, 3) Power, and 4) Praise.

So let's talk about purity. It's not a very common word in our culture, is it? If we do use it, it usually refers to water, or sexuality. I do like pure water and I do believe God calls us to sexual purity... but that's certainly not the only two issues where purity matters. Purity relates to sincere motives. It relates to the pursuit of holiness (2 Corinthians 7:1). Not only does God want us to be sexually pure, but pure in our speech. He wants us to be undefiled in our attitudes, and so on.

I was recently very convicted about this truth in my own life. I was chatting with some good friends, and in a passing moment of sinful weakness, I made some comments about a fellow brother in Christ that were just... well... BAD. I was reminded how easy it is to let the posion of a judgmental spirit get the best of me. My "guiltometer" shot through the roof as I drove home (after the conversation). What kind of example was that? How could I have said that? How rude and wrong of me to slander a friend to others!

What about your TV habits? What are you watching on a regular basis? How important are "your" TV shows to you and your schedule? Do you not do certain worthwhile things because they conflict with your favorite TV programming? Do you not go to small group because your favorite show is on? Do you miss out on a prayer meeting because you can't miss an episode of ___________? Do you take a pass on that service opportunity because you know it will keep you from watching __________? Or perhaps more convicting: are you watching programs that you know (deep down in your "know-er") are not honoring to Christ or edifying to your spirit? Are you purposefully watching programs that "turn on" your flesh and starve your spirit? This, too, is something Jesus would have you ponder.

In the end, a fellow pastor says it best. "When it comes to evaluating how my relationship with God is going, I ask myself two primary questions: 1) What in my life stirs my affections for Christ?, and 2) what in my life quenches my affection for Christ?" That same pastor acknowledges that even something simple like keeping up with sports can become too important to him. I think that's pretty impressive (and insightful) that he knows that about himself. And I guess it ultimately points to the fact that he does intentionally take time to evaluate the condition of his soul... and many of us who claim to be Christ followers don't.

So... in what area(s) of your life is purity at risk? Where does sin rule and reign rather than King Jesus? What person, place or thing do you treasure (value) more than Christ? What object holds more sway over your soul than the Lord of lords? In the end, only you can answer that question... but I hope (if nothing else) this blog challenges you to spend some quiet moments with God evaluating your purity level.

And by the way: don't forget the great promises from God's Word... when we discover we're not pure--it's Jesus (and Him alone) who can deal with our need for cleansing (1 John 1:9 & Ezekiel 36:25).