I have a friend who used to go to Cumberland. He moved on to take a job with another church. I remember one time having a discussion with him on prayer. He told me that he was having a hard time praying. He would try to find a quiet spot but just could not focus on GOD.

One day, he was in his house trying to pray and could not concentrate. He got up (frustrated) to get something to drink and came back to his empty chair……and then it hit him! Was the chair really empty?

In standing there looking at what most people would think was an empty seat – he saw JESUS! CHRIST is alive! We are alive in CHRIST! He went and got another chair and sat next to our LORD (who is in all things). He saw JESUS sitting there with him. This allowed him to focus and pray.

The Apostle John writes that "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, JESUS CHRIST" (1 John 1:3). He is talking about participation in experiencing the incarnate CHRIST. We all have this incredible opportunity to experience GOD everyday through the gift of the HOLY SPIRIT.

The question is what are you doing to spend quality time with our LORD?

When Nehemiah was rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, he faced lots of opposition. So he took a two-step approach to their problem. Both steps were important and so was the sequence. First, he prayed. He didn’t act rashly or impatiently. Then, he posted a guard. Nehemiah and his followers had faith that God would protect them, but even though they acted with faith by praying, they didn’t pretend that the threat didn’t exist. They realized that they had a responsibility to take reasonable and appropriate action.

When trouble comes, and life gets hard, there are two things we need to do, and we have to do them in the right order. We pray so that God’s hand is moved. Then, we act in a reasonable and appropriate manner. Sometimes, the action to take is waiting. Waiting is a conscious action. I try to remind myself of this principle all the time. Man, that pot still isn’t boiling.

Do you have kids?  Maybe your don’t have kids, but do you have ’spiritual children’ (younger believers whom you disciple)?

Parenting is tough.  There never seems to be enough hours in a day, and before we know it, our kids are grown.  There are many things we can do help our kids spiritually.  We can teach them scripture, we teach them disciple, we can teach them to serve, we can teach them to pray, etc, etc, etc.  But, I believe the most important thing we can do is pray for them. 

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians (1:17-19a) is a great one for us to pray over our own children: 

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

I wish I could say I was good at this myself.  Can we agree to all help each other grow in this area?  Can we hold each other accountable in this area?  Can we ask each other in a few months how we are doing praying for our children?

I didn’t know what was causing this hurriedness; I just felt that I was rushed, my mind crowded. I should have plenty of time to pray and be alone with God, I mean, I’m a vocational pastor for crying out loud– if anything, I should have plenty of time to pray. Time wasn’t necessarily the problem – it was what I was praying. Or more specifically, it was what I was speaking – it was the fact that I was praying through my agenda – my family, friends, ministry events, yada yada yada…

My conviction and my confession were this – I was talking AT God way more than I was conversing with Him, enjoying Him, listening; that often thought of ethereal state of just being in his presence. So, for Lent, I decided to stop speaking to God. I am spending an intentional period of just listening.

But for what am I listening? That is just it… I have no agenda in what I am listening for. I just want to hear Him. And slowly-by-slowly, day-by-day, His voice seems to be getting stronger, closer.

Here is one thing that I did hear. It was through reading his Word in 1st Peter 4:7: The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.

The word that kept coming to my mind was "perspective." "The end of all things is near" brings back perspective. I know somewhere in the back of my mind that Christ will return… someday. But I think I had lost somewhere the notion that Christ WILL RETURN like a thief in the night… when I least expect it. It very well could be in my lifetime! I have no way of knowing when the big day will come. But having that on the forefront of my mind makes my prayers much more urgent, much more specific, much less yada yada yadaa. Praying for family, friends, and ministry events are vital and valuable – really. But they should never become a to-do list for me.

So, I’m proud to say that I’m no longer speaking to God… for a while. Listening has proven to be much more enjoyable.

This is something that I struggle with, this determining God’s will for my life because I have a tendency to be a goal setter, long range planner, schedule maker extraordinaire. Mission focused, task oriented… was I born this way or was this a result of ten years of Army life? Hooah Sir, may I have another! Hooah (pronounced /?hu????/) is a U.S. Army battle cry used by soldiers referring to or meaning anything and everything except no. In other words, a mentality of I can do it, no problem, wind me up and turn me loose.

But, I need to humble myself, die to myself, and become weak which is very difficult for me. Intuitively I want to be strong on my own. Ah, but counter-intuitively if I make myself less about me, Jesus will reveal himself in me. As Henry and Richard Blackaby state so well, "We need to resist the temptation to pursue our own goals, asking God to bless them, and instead, deny ourselves and join the activity of God as he reveals it to us."

In 2 Corinthians 12:9 the Lord says to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

I think Jesus was referring to much more than material things when he speaks of losing your life. More along the lines of giving up my will, my desires, my preferences, my wants, to follow Him wherever and whenever He calls. We are to be a servant to Him, which translates into being a servant to others.

2 Corinthians 4:11, "For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body." We are to continually be dying to ourselves so that we can be filled with true life.

So what holds us back? Comfort, security, control, success, etc.? But when we don’t hold back God provides adventure, faith, miracles, and deep knowledge of Jesus. Who doesn’t want these things that God provides? In my recent trip to Kenya with the Missions team I really felt in line with God’s awesome provision when I didn’t hold back. I want more of that in my life.

Gary Haugen is President of International Justice Mission, an international human rights agency that rescues victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression worldwide. In his book, "Just Courage", he states in regarding how far he is willing to go in his natural inclination in obeying Christ: "To be brutally honest, as far as I am safe. As far as I am in control. As far as the risks feel manageable. As far as my sphere of certain competence will take me. And consequently, in my secret and most honest moments, I sense it doesn’t take me very far at all." He really hits on many of the areas in which we need to die to ourselves.

Philippians 3:8 "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,"

When I am brutally honest with myself I can’t think of too many things I have lost for God. That probably means I haven’t lost much.

Am I there yet? I wish. Will I continue pursuing that? Absolutely because that is what Jesus said to do.

Sometimes though, it is good to shake things up. A change of scenery changes perspectives.

Have you considered praying in a different way? What if today, instead of sitting down at the table and doing a routine quiet time, you invited God to go for a walk with you? What if you spent some time worshiping the Creator for and in His creation? Or what if instead, you wrote a poem from the depths of your soul to The One who gave you that soul, like David did in scripture? What if you created a space where things could be…. different?

When you change your perspective, God can show you new things & that is where growth occurs.
I asked God for a new perspective today and now I am sitting here watching a barrage of enormous snowflakes blanket my back yard. There is this tiny bird hiding under the roof of our bird feeder, trying to hide from the frozen, white onslaught. It reminded me of Luke 12:6, which reminded me that in the middle of my crazy fast paced life, God pays attention and I am important. –My prayers have now been changed for the day.

Glad I moved to the window seat for some God time today. Haven’t been here in a while. The change of scenery was great.

When it was all said and done, I was home by around 2:30 in the afternoon. That’s when I did a little couch reflection. I mused to myself: The serving and fellowship was awesome. We really did get a lot done, but did we pray? FIA was church, but did we pray?

Rob said a prayer to get us all kick started. We said prayer before lunch. I stopped and prayed with a man whose wife is having some medical tests. My heart explored the hallways of Campbell High School as my wife and I went from window to window with our little spray bottles and rags. My soul was expressing gratitude as I saw so many new CCC people jumping in and serving. Something inside was stirring as I considered how blessed many teachers and students would be come Monday morning.

I thought to myself, "We certainly DID pray… it just was different."

It takes all kinds of prayers, doesn’t it? Growing up, I believed holy and credible prayers could only happen on a Wednesday night, inside the sanctuary, led by an elder, with everyone’s eyes closed, hands folded, and fidgety kids un-fidged. THOSE were the only real prayers that really counted. Can you relate? Now, however, I believe it takes all kinds.

To be diligent in prayer it takes all kinds. It takes all kinds of people, and all kinds of prayers happening in all kinds of ways. To stay alert in prayer, it takes all kinds. To pray with eyes wide open and hearts full of gratitude, my little box of prayer needs to get considerably bigger. It takes all kinds.

This is exactly why I’m so glad we have begun our 365 prayer room. It’s in the Loft at the church. You can go up there anytime you’d like and pray. There are several prayer stations that help you creatively pray… and diligently pray. The many ways to explore prayer and God will keep you alert with your eyes wide open. There will be places in our 365 prayer room for requests, but also places for worship and gratitude. You’ll pray for an hour like it was your favorite song on the radio… and then you’ll want to hear it again! It takes all kinds. Find your kind!

And BTW… staff and elders and others are being inspired by a great book called "Red Moon Rising." It’s written by Pete Greig, and it’s all about a global prayer movement that involves 24/7 prayer rooms just like ours. It’s a great read.

Psalm 10:1
Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

Psalm 22:1
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?

Psalm 42:9
I say to God my Rock,
"Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?"

Psalm 44:23-24
Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.
Why do you hide your face
and forget our misery and oppression?

Is prayer for me or for God? The answer is both.

These prayers have taught me that anything goes with God. I am his kid and he wants to hear what is on my mind and what I am struggling with? No pretense, no holy sacred words just raw emotion. I remember a time I was so angry with God that during a walk and prayer time I took the bible and kicked it across a field as I talked with my Heavenly Dad. I was so mad at God. I had it out with Him. That prayer was for me and for God. As a result of that prayer time He came and comforted and directed my life and I learned about His unconditional love. I learned he is such an approachable Father.

I find their prayers appealing in many ways. They are grateful for what happened today and hopeful for tomorrow. Their prayers are consistent, personal, relevant, and refreshingly simple. I heard somewhere that there are paragraph people and there are word people. Since I usually find myself aligning with the paragraph people, those who use many words, a simple approach to prayer is a great reminder.

Peter prayed one of the shortest prayers in the Bible. “Lord, save me!” In three short words, Peter says so much. I think we could all fill in the blank after those words with something relevant to our lives, but Peter was in a bit of a conundrum. He was sinking and I would like to think Christ was privy to what Peter was referring to when he asked to be saved! No extra words necessary. In three words Peter recognized Chris as his Lord and had complete confidence in His ability to save him from drowning. Peter was sinking and he calls to Christ to help him, in those seconds he doesn’t even consider how maybe he could get himself out of his predicament. In three words, Peter prays so much.

I think sometimes we make prayer too confusing, too unlike how we truly speak. I mean really, have you ever said, “hedge of protection” in any conversation outside of prayer? Me neither. But for some reason, we think that our language needs to be savvy, our words flowery, and our prose almost publishable. Today I am learning a lesson from my kids and Peter. I am approaching God in a refreshingly simple way, using fewer words with greater impact, and leaving much quiet in which to hear back.

As a child I had good reason to bond unusually close to my brother and 2 sisters. We experienced things that no one else can truly tap into like we can with each other. And my relationship with my older sister has always been particularly close. Even into adulthood, we would talk at least once every week or so…not out of obligation, but simply because we were sharing in each other’s lives to such a degree that what was important to one of us was important to the other. Our conversations were real, natural, and life-giving.

However, for some reason, that all stopped a year ago. I would call…and call…and call, eMail, text…and eMail, text, and call some more. With the exception of a couple of defensive eMails, short meaningless texts back from her, and one 30 minute call after 9 months, we’ve had no other communications. Initially, I really had no idea why this was happening. Over the months I’ve learned about some of the funk going on in her life that has given me some understanding as to why this is happening. But more than that it’s made me want to connect with her even more. I’m in pain for her and I want to be there for her…I want to be a light to her, bring life to her. But until she’s ready to talk with me I can’t do much than be available (and pray of course!).

As I’ve processed through all this, I’ve come to realize that this is how our relationship with God can look at times. Although we know that He loves us so much and that He has given us so much (our very lives, a life on earth and into eternity with Him through Christ, His Word, the ability to crawl up into His lap) for one reason or another, we reject having a real, natural, life-giving relationship with Him. We allow our shstuff, our shame, and our idols to get in the way. He so much wants us to know Him and His ways better, to receive His grace fully and have peace and joy…but we just ignore or reject His constant messages and invitations to know Him more deeply. Every once and awhile, we might throw up a quick, almost meaningless prayer…but those are often empty, random, defensive or self-serving.

Throughout Scripture we’re shown that through prayer we can get to know God better. Jeremiah 33:3 states, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Then in John 21:12…"Jesus [said] unto them, ‘Come and dine’." That’s an intimate, life-breathing invitation. What a privilege!

It is my prayer that 2010 is characterized by "dining" with God in prayer and in the Word in such a way that each of us knows Him and His ways so much more deeply. Please join me in that prayer.