If someone should pose the question, “How can I pray for you?” would you be able to give a clear answer? Oftentimes we simply do not know what to say. The same thing can happen with our friends – when we ask them that question, we frequently get a vague answer. Learning to pray for one another does not come naturally; we have to be taught. That is why the Bible contains many patterns for effective prayer.

One such pattern is found in Paul’s epistle to the saints at Colossae. He asks that they may be “filled with the knowledge of His will” (Colossians 1:9). This means that we can come to know what God is up to in our lives. When we understand His will, that knowledge is most satisfying and precious.

Paul’s prayer also includes a second request on behalf of the Colossians. He asks that they will have more than just an understanding of what is right; he prays that they may walk in a manner worthy of Christ and that they should be strengthened with all power. (verses 10-11)

Such a transformed walk can be so attractive that onlookers will come to recognize God at work in the lives of His children. Believers can display the heavenly Father’s power to forgive sins, and they can walk before Him in holiness.

These are the specific requests we should make when praying for others. To effect a double blessing, we can ask the same things for ourselves. And this powerful prayer will always be answered because it is in full accordance with the will of God.

It can be hard to hear God in the busyness of life. Take today’s lesson to hear how to listen better.  

“And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings 19:12b)

There’s a moment just before the performance begins where the lights go down and the symphony tunes.  It’s a strange, cacophonous sound, nothing at all like the music that will start a few minutes later.  I love that sound.  It sounds like anticipation.  It’s a sound that tells you that something wonderful is about to happen.

Tuning is not a warning bell; it’s an alignment.  One musician plays a single note, always the same note, and each of the instruments joins in.  They play, they listen, and they adjust and play again.  They keep going until all the sounds blend together, until there are united and aligned, in tune.

I love the line in the old hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” that says, “tune my heart”. I want that.  I want my heart to sound like God’s.  Did you know that if you put two grand pianos in a room and play a note on one of them the corresponding string in the other piano will start to vibrate? I want the note God is playing to resonate in my heart.

In 1 Kings, God tells Elijah to go and stand on a mountain where He will pass by.  There is wind and fire, even an earthquake, but God is not in the wind or the fire or the earthquake.  God comes in a gentle whisper.  I need to be still and hear that whisper; I need to tune my heart to it.

I cannot do the things God has planned for me if my heart is out of tune. No matter how carefully I try to serve God, if my heart is out of tune it’s all just garbage. I think it’s so interesting that even professional musicians have to tune and they tune every single time they play.  I want my life to be like that, to begin every day by listening for the voice of God and moving my heart – dragging it along sometimes – until my heart, my attitude sounds like God’s.  I want to go through my days in tune with Him.

Father,

As the hymn says, “Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace”. Teach me to stop and listen for your whisper.   Keep me still until the song of my heart sounds like You.  Mold me so that when people hear my words and see my actions they think of You.  Thank you for being patient with me.  Tune my heart. I’m listening.  Amen.

Question: When is it hard to hear God? Where do you find it easiest to hear His gentle whisper?

Are you struggling in an area of your life? We are here to talk and pray with you.

“For God so loved the world that he  gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but  have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only  Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John  3:16

Just about the time I think I am getting “tech savvy,” I get some new electronic device to figure out. It is incredible what these things can do, but the challenge is in getting them to do it.

Toyota recently announced that two new positions are being created in every dealership across the land to assist new car buyers in figuring out how to use the electronics in their new cars. I think they are called Electronic Usability Specialists or something like that.

New gadgets are designed to make life easier, but somehow they tend to make it more complicated. I have a hard time just remembering all of my passwords, much less how to use them.

One thing that hasn’t changed over the years is the simplicity of the Gospel. It is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and will be for evermore. It isn’t complicated and doesn’t have to be.

Here’s how one of the greatest theologians of all time, Charles Haddon Spurgeon expressed it:

“God be thanked for the simplicity of the gospel. The longer I live, the more I bless God that we have not received a classical gospel, nor a mathematical gospel, nor a metaphysical gospel; it is not a gospel confined to scholars and men of genius, but a poor man s gospel, a ploughman’s gospel; for that is the kind of gospel which we can live upon and die upon. It is to us not the luxury of refinement, but the staple food of life. We want no fine words when the heart is heavy, neither do we need deep problems when we are lying upon the verge of eternity, weak in body and tempted in mind. At such times we magnify the blessed simplicity of the gospel. Jesus in the flesh made manifest becomes our soul’s bread. Jesus bleeding on the cross, a substitute for sinners, is our soul’s drink. This is the gospel for babes, and strong men want no more.”

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9). It doesn’t get much more simple than that and  doesn’t have to be.

Questions: Have you confessed your sins lately to God? What can you bring to Him today? He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

How can we pray for you today?

“But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29)

Food. It tastes good, it allows my body to function, and it teaches me things about God. The other day I was looking at a pineapple thinking, “God hides himself in things and waits eagerly for us to seek Him out.” A pineapple looks so unappetizing: same with a coconut or a kiwi. Seriously God? You make these prickly, hairy fruits with the most delicious nectars and juices. You must want to be found.

I find the same characteristic of God in cooking. Spices in creative combinations, sweet, spicy, and salty, all working together in tantalizing unison. But again, I can’t help but think, He wants us to seek the full potential of the situation. And it’s not just in the 21^st century cuisine either. God wants us to investigate the normal, mundane, or even painful, and uncover the supernatural within. For example:

- The shepherd boy David found a deep faith in God while tending sheep.
- King David rediscovered God’s faithfulness while being pursued by Saul.
- Elijah found God’s presence in the stillness: a gentle whisper.
- Job found God in the midst of incredible suffering.
- Joseph was sold into slavery, but found God’s favor.
- And Jesus bought salvation for every person on a rugged, wooden cross.

All these events arrive in unpredictable and ugly packaging, like a pineapple. And while most of the Bible is filled with the dramatic moments of God revealing Himself to mankind, the Bible also tells us to seek Him. Yes, sometimes God hides Himself and wants us to dig deeper in order to find Him. Hosea 5:15 says “they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me.” Why would we have to seek God unless He was hiding? Whether in misery or in the mundane, may we always seek God.

And when we seek, we will find. Deuteronomy 4:29 promises, “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Life’s like a pineapple: find God in it today.

Lord, help me to never stop seeking You. Thank You that you promise to reveal Yourself to me.

Question: Where have you seen God reveal Himself to you lately?

“Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.  They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’” (Luke 24:31-32)

“Then He [Jesus] opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45)

Luke paints a beautiful picture of the power of God opening people’s eyes. In this chapter the disciples realize Jesus rose from the dead and grasp the truth He was indeed the Messiah. The two disciples who walked the road to Emmaus didn’t recognize Jesus. Though the disciples studied the Scriptures they didn’t understand the Messiah had to suffer and die.

Though Jesus said they were slow of heart to believe, He didn’t leave them in their ignorance. Instead He opened their eyes, opened their minds, and opened the Scriptures so they could understand. Because our sinful nature blinds us from the truth, we need God to open our eyes too. We can’t understand Scripture without God’s Holy Spirit opening our minds and showing us what it means.

Luke tells another story of opening in the book of Acts. “One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.” (Acts 16:14)

Even the initial act of believing, cannot be accomplished without God. We need Him to open our hearts to the good news.

Thank you God that You still open hearts. Open the hearts of those around me who don’t know You. Please open my eyes to see You at work in and around my life. Open my mind so that I can understand the Scriptures. Make the Living Word come alive through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Questions: How has God opened your eyes? How has He opened your mind?

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)

We all need two kinds of peace in our lives. We need inner peace with God but we also need peace with others. God addresses both. He tells us what to do to find that peace.

Inner peace is a gift of the Holy Spirit and our thankfulness and faith impacts it.  It’s a choice to focus our mind on Jesus and all He is. Peace is the natural result of that choice.

“You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is focused on You because He trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)

Inner peace hinges on my trust in God. Inner peace is there for the choosing.

The second kind of peace, peace with others, starts with the understanding that God has called us to be peacemakers in our world.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

Notice that the call is to be “peacemakers” and not simply “peacekeepers”?

Sometimes “peacekeepers” will do anything just to keep peace. That is not what God is asking of us. He is calling us to be “peacemakers”.

Is there somewhere in your own world where you can help make peace?
Is there an invitation that needs to be extended to smooth over a fractured family relationship?
Is there an apology to be made or a silence to be broken that has stood as a barrier for too long?
Is there an issue that needs to be addressed with loving-kindness?
Is there a boundary that needs to be extended to help make a relationship healthy?

Don’t miss the blessing God promises in your life as you respond to His call to be a peacemaker in your own circle.

We can help bring peace to our world one heart at a time.

Prayer of action:

Lord,

“Make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
and Where there is sadness, joy…
Divine Master;
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen”

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Question: Take a look at the questions above. How is God calling you to be a peacemaker?

We would all agree life can be difficult. Pressures of daily living sometimes overwhelm us, relationships can disappoint us and our own expectations may go unmet. How do we reconcile our experiences with the idea that God wants us to be successful? Consider the evidence confirming that He desires us to succeed.

A Plan and a Purpose

God has a plan for our lives. There is a general purpose revealed in Scripture that applies to all believers as well as a specific design for each individual. (Ephesians 2:10)

His Presence

God does not ask us to work out our own success; He sent the Holy Spirit to answer our questions and to guide us in our decision-making process. (John 16:13)

Special Gifts

The Lord has provided each of us with spiritual gifts selected to fit with what He wants us to do in life. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11) Our part is to learn what our gifts are and to use them as God directs.

24-Hour Communication

God, who has given us the privilege of prayer, has much to tell us. He invites – and urges – us to stay in touch with Him and talk things over. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

God has given each of us inborn desires to achieve the purpose He has in mind. He plans to fulfill those desires by transforming us into Christ’s image. Regardless of our difficulties, we are to believe the evidence that He wants us to succeed, and we should respond in obedience. Real success occurs when we act more and more like Jesus.

If you need prayer, we would like to pray with you.

“They all met together continually for prayer.” Mark uses the same Greek word here translated “continually” to describe a boat floating in the water, waiting on Jesus. The Master, speaking on the beach of Galilee, told the disciples to have a boat ready and waiting (Mark 3:9). The boat was “continually” in the presence of Christ. So are the Upper Room disciples. One day passes. Then two. Then a week. For all they know a hundred more will come and go. But they aren’t leaving. They persist in the presence of Christ.

The followers were willing to do one thing: wait in the right place for power.

We’re so reluctant to do what they did. Who has time to wait? We groan at such a thought. But waiting doesn’t mean inactivity—rather inHIMactivity. Waiting means watching for him. If you are waiting on a bus, you are watching for the bus. If you are waiting on God, you are watching for God, searching for God, hoping in God. Great promises come to those who do. “But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isa. 40:31).

To those who still struggle, God says, “Wait on me.” And wait in the right place. Jesus doesn’t tell us to stay in Jerusalem, but he does tell us to stay honest, stay faithful, stay true.

Desire power for your life?

It will come as you pray. For ten days the disciples prayed. Ten days of prayer plus a few minutes of preaching led to three thousand saved souls. Perhaps we invert the numbers. We’re prone to pray for a few minutes and preach for ten days. Not the apostles. Like the boat waiting for Christ, they lingered in his presence. They never left the place of prayer.

Question: Do you pray only for the “big things”? Do you think God cares about the “small things” too?

The Royal Gorge Bridge in Cañon City, Colorado was completed in 1929 at a cost of $350,000. (The relative cost today would be approximately $15 million dollars.) The bridge spans 1,260 feet and stands 150 feet above the ground below.

As the bridge just passed it’s 100 year anniversary, it seems to be holding up quite well: There are no signs of it collapsing. The bridge is held together by 2,100 strands of galvanized wire. Individually, each wire could easily be snapped. But working together in tandem with each other, they are able to support the entire weight of the bridge, plus much more. This allows the bridge to remain a significant tourist attraction for hundreds of tourists every year, even though it is nearly a century old.

By working together, we can achieve much more than we can on our own. The author of Hebrews exhorts us to “not give up meeting together … but let us encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25). In Acts we read about the early church, and how they would meet together in order to encourage each other (Acts 2:42-48).

This often will be difficult, since our churches are sadly sometimes filled with strife and argument instead of encouragement and fellowship. This is why Paul teaches us to “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13)

Our work with our fellow Christians is too important to ignore. We as frail individuals are like thin strands of wire: Weak individually, but when mutually supporting one another, enabled to do so and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are strong.

Question: Do you sometimes find it uncomfortable when meeting with other believers? Why or why not?

Are you struggling with anxiety? Talk to us.

“So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” John 16:22

Of all the phrases bestowed to us by the Founding Fathers, few come up more than pursuit of happiness. Yet who knows where the nation really stands on that score. Now an answer may be forthcoming. Amid a wave of research on the subject, the federal government is seeking ways to measure what some have called Gross National Happiness (GNH).

A panel of experts in psychology and economics began convening in December to try to define reliable measures of subjective well-being. If successful, these could become official statistics.

The idea of the government tallying personal feelings might seem frivolous or impossibly difficult. For decades, after all, the world has gotten by with gauging a nation’s quality of life on the basis of its GDP, or gross domestic product, the sum of its economic output. But economists and others have long recognized that GDP, a dollars and cents measure, doesn’t count everything that might be considered important when assessing living conditions. Our gross national product accepts that which makes life worthwhile.

But as the government ventures into the squishy realm of feelings, statisticians will first have to define happiness and then how to measure it. Neither is a trivial matter. There is even some doubt whether people, when polled, can accurately say whether they are happy. Personally I think they are on the wrong track.

Well, I have a suggestion. First they have to differentiate between happiness and joy. Happiness comes from without; joy comes from within. Happiness is often determined by our economic station in life. Joy comes from inner peace in our soul. Happiness focuses on the now; joy looks to eternity. Happiness comes on the mountain tops; joy is peace in the valleys of life.

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning (Lamentation 3:22-23). Now that is the wellspring of true joy and the measuring stick for us all.

How to you define happiness? You spell it joy and it’s not something capable of external numerical evaluation since it comes from within and when you have it, no one needs to measure it because it becomes an obvious part of your daily life.

Questions: Are you living a life of happiness and joy? If not, what steps can you take today to move towards having joy?