Harvest CMA

40 Days of Prayer - Monday, July 1 - Devotion 31 - The Sweet Fragrance of Prayer

2013-07-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

The Sweet Fragrance of Prayer

Revelation 5:8 - And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Psalm 141:2 - Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

We have learned why we pray, what hinders our prayers, and how to pray over the past 40 days. My prayer is that you have heard His Voice and sought to understand and know His ways regarding prayer. In knowing Him, we will pray well and our prayers will be a sweet offering unto the Lord.

Exodus 30 tells us of the requirements of the law for the altar of incense. The altar was to sit in front of the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat where the Lord met with His people. Every morning and every evening Aaron was to burn incense. Revelation tells us that the incense is a representation of the prayers of the saints.

We have tremendous responsibility and power in prayer. It is an opportunity to commune with our Lord; an opportunity for us to hear from Him, for Him to see us, and for Him to respond from the Mercy Seat. May we be careful to only pray for good things that are in accordance with His will and to not doubt that He hears us. We are privileged to be able to kneel in confidence through the blood of Jesus before our Creator. May we come before Him reverently, in wonder, with hearts bent with yearning for His whisper. May our time before His throne be without ceasing and a pleasing, sweet fragrance for His glory.

40 Days of Prayer - Saturday, June 29 - Scripture reading

2013-06-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

How To Pray

Jude 1:17-22 ¹⁷But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” ¹⁹It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ²²And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Ephesians 6:16- 20 ¹⁶In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

James 5:17 ¹⁷Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.

Philippians 4:4-7 ⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Jeremiah 10:23-24 ²³I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. ²⁴Correct me, O Lord, but in justice; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

40 Days of Prayer - Friday, June 28 - Devotion 30 - Praying in Truth

2013-06-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

Praying in Truth

Psalm 145:18 (ESV) 18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

As we begin to wrap up our "40 Days of Prayer," I trust God has been faithful to all who have sought Him, to all who have sought Him in truth. We must be continually reminded that our God is able! He is able to do exceedingly above all that we ask or think, according to that power at work within us (Ephesians 3:20). His arm is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear (Isaiah 59:1). What profound truths and promises!

If there is one thing that I hope sticks deep within our souls as we have spent time focusing on prayer, it is that we must pray in truth, for God promises to be near to those who so call upon Him in this manner. So at this point we must ask, "What does it meant to pray in truth?"

There are three things for us to know on this matter.

First, Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." The only reason and way we can come before God is through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the way! Not on our own ability, not in our own righteousness, but in His ability and His righteousness. We are not praying in truth if Jesus is not Lord and Savior of our lives.

Second, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13. He said, "⁹Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
¹⁰Your kingdom come, your will be done,on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us this day our daily bread,
¹²and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
The truth is God is our Father if we are heirs with the Son.
The truth is God's name is to be hallowed and no other.
The truth is God's will is to be done and we must be in line with His will instead of trying to align Him to our will.
The truth is all we have is from God. From our daily bread to our very breath, Acts 17:24-25 says, "²⁴The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, ²⁵nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything."
The truth is God alone can forgive and God alone can keep us from temptations and deliver us from evil. When we pray in truth we are praying in acknowledgment of all the glory of God! We are not praying in truth if we are praying in direct contradiction to God's word.

Third, Matthew 15:8 says, ⁸“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me..."
To pray in truth is to pray with a heart that is in line with God's desires, not just words that are empty.
For instance when we pray that God's kingdom come and His will be done, is this truly our desire or are these mere empty words, lies? When we pray for God's deliverance, do we really just want God to fix a problem and not change us? When we pray for God to be glorified, are we truly desiring to reflect His glory in our own lives? We do not pray in truth if we are not honest with ourselves and God.

God knows our heart before our mouths ever open. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully....Oh that the gates would be lifted up that the King of Glory may come in (Psalm 24).

Spend time this day reflecting on all that God has taught you in truth about prayer. If it is your heart's desire, call upon Him, not with empty words, but in truth! If you cannot pray in truth, then honestly wrestle with God and express your fears and concerns to Him, for He already knows, as did Jacob until God blessed Him and changed him forever (Genesis 32:24-30).

In Christ, Bryan

40 Days of Prayer - Thursday, June 27 - Devotion 29 - Prayer Brings Us in Relationship with God - Michael White

2013-06-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

Prayer Brings Us in Relationship with God

How many times has it been said about relationships: Communication is the key. So why would our relationship with God be any different? I wonder if we really understand the commune that we have with the Creator. The union that Jesus Himself prayed for in John 17:20-24. “I do not ask for these only, (the disciples), but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in you, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. The glory that You have given Me, I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are one, I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me. “

Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I have clearly wrapped my mind around the Trinity: God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Three persons in one, and now Jesus has invited us, asking God, into this same relationship. Absolute intimacy.

So how would I get from a casual hello on the street to an intimate relationship? Spending time with that person. Listening, talking, and getting to know their character, likes, and dislikes. I challenge you to tap into the relationship with God that’s available to you through Jesus Christ. Read your Bible and Pray

40 Days of Prayer - Wednesday, June 26 - Devotion 28 - The Responsibility of Answered prayer - Scott Gardner

2013-06-26T00:00:00.000-04:00

Luke 12:48 (ESV)

“Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”

We pray because we want God to answer our prayers. We ask Him for help and to "give us our daily bread," as well as to heal our illness and to comfort us in difficulty. We may also ask Him to save our families or change our communities for His glory. These are all things worthy of our prayer, but do we realize they come at a cost?

Jesus tells us that great responsibility comes with great blessing. The more we receive from God, the more He expects from us. We cannot ask God to meet our needs and then just walk away.

Answered prayer teaches us, as Hebrews 11 says, that "God is and that He is a rewarder of those that seek Him." When God responds to our prayers it means that He is real, that He is aware of what we are doing, and that He is able to act. That knowledge should change the way we live.

If God is real, then we can no longer play games with our faith. We have to take seriously everything that Jesus said. We can no longer live, think, and act the way way we did before. We are called to be a new creation and to be conformed to the image of God’s own Son (Romans 8:29), and that is exactly how we must live.

Answered prayer should also change the way we pray.

If we know that prayer works, we should “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

When we see God answer prayers, we should pray more and more (I Thessalonians 5:17; Colossians 4:2). When we see that prayer changes people, we should pray earnestly for God’s truth to be proclaimed (Ephesians 6:19-20; Romans 10:1). When we see God provide in response to our prayers, we should “cast all our anxieties on Him” (I Peter 1:8). When we see God answering our prayers to help us walk in love, light, and wisdom, we should ask Him to do even greater things in us (Luke 11:13).

Once we see God answer our prayers, we can never be the same.

40 Days of Prayer- Tuesday, June 25 - Devotion 27 - Interceding Prayer - John Toler

2013-06-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

Interceding Prayer

John 17 is an awesome chapter to me. Contextually it follows the chapters that deal with abiding in Him and the Holy Spirit coming, which are two great chapters in themselves but this 17 is special to me because Jesus prays for all believers. This is but a glimpse into the intercessory role that Christ is getting ready to take at the right hand of God. It should be encouraging to us to know that Christ prayed for us and continues to do that and we now have an example of what that is like in John 17.

There are also more examples from this passage that Christ gives us. This passage is an example of praying for God’s Will. Notice in His prayer for us, it is all about our growth in Him, ability to serve God, and success in GOD’S KINGDOM. Also it serves as an example to intercede on the behalf of other Christians and their work in the Kingdom of God. Do we spend time praying for our brothers and sisters and their impact for Christ in the world? Do we really spend time praying for missions in other countries? In our prayer time I hope we are making time for all the things we should be accomplishing in prayer, such as worship, thankfulness, repentance, our requests (needs), but also interceding on the behalf of others as God lays them on our heart.

My challenge to you! Be praying God will lay people and ministries on your heart so that we can be praying for the will of God in and through their lives as Christ did for us.

John 17:20-26 I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

40 Days of Prayer - Monday, June 24 - Devotion 26

2013-06-24T00:41:00.000-04:00

Hindrances to Prayer Pt. 2

Today's devotion is a follow up to Sunday's message on Part 2 of Hindrances to Prayer. Reflect on these final 4 hindrances and trust God to teach you that your prayers may go un-hindered!

1. Robbing God – Malachi 2:17-3:18

In Malachi, the prophet speaks and tells the Israelites they are robbing God. They are robbing God with their tithes and offerings. Not only are the robbing God with their tithes and offerings, but catch this, when there is cherished sin, not listening to God, wrong motives and doubt, what are they actually robbing God of, His Glory? Don’t rob God, reflect His glory!!!

2. Pride – Luke 18:9-15 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed[a] thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The man that was justified before God was the one who was not prideful in His prayer. The one man declared himself righteous before God, the other was declared righteous by God.

3. Un-forgiveness – Matthew 6:14-15 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

When we pray there must not be un-forgiveness in our heart toward others who have wronged us. If there is God will not forgive us when we ask. A true sign of a forgiven person is one who forgives others,

4. Un-healthy Relationships – 1 Peter 3:1-7 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. 7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Matthew 5:21-24 (Read)

Un-healthy relationships are a hindrance to God hearing our prayers. When there is not understanding or honoring one another, these are hindrances and God desires we deal with our un-healthy relationships.

Conclusion

Read these following passages and consider why these hindrances prevent God from answering our prayers. If our cravings are not for God, He may very well give us the desire of our heart and how devastating this may be to us! Spend time today asking God to search your heart and reveal things in your life where you are lacking. Heed His words and return to Him in these areas and His promise is He will return to you!

Numbers 11

Psalm 106:6-15

40 Days Of Prayer - Saturday, June 22 - Scripture Reading

2013-06-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

Hindrances to Prayer Pt. 2

1. Robbing God
Malachi 2:17-3:15
17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”

2. Pride
Luke 18:9-15

⁹He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹⁵Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. ¹⁶But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁷Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

3. Un-forgiveness
Matthew 6:14-15
¹⁴For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ¹⁵but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses

4. Un-healthy Relationships
1 Peter 3:7-12
⁷Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

⁸Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. ⁹Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. ¹⁰For

“Whoever desires to love life
    and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
    and his lips from speaking deceit;
¹¹let him turn away from evil and do good;
    let him seek peace and pursue it.
¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

40 Days of Prayer - Friday, June 21 - Devotion 25 - Praying to Forgive - Laura Page

2013-06-21T00:05:00.003-04:00

Jesus told his disciples of the need for forgiveness: “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15, ESV) This is no light or easy thing - in fact it is not possible in our human strength. But Jesus also said that “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27, ESV) To say “I forgive” and to mean it requires that we seek God earnestly and that we allow God to do that work through us.

Corrie ten Boom is a woman who understands the need to be forgiven as well as the need to forgive. As a child, she and her family sheltered Jews from the Nazis and was later forced into a concentration camp at Ravensbruck with her sister Betsie (who was killed in that concentration camp). Corrie spoke often in gatherings about forgiveness, and then one day, after sharing about forgiveness, a man approached Corrie to thank her for her words on forgiveness and Corrie shared about the experience in “I’m Still Learning to Forgive”:

“I remembered him and the leather crop swinging from his belt. I was face-to-face with one of my captors and my blood seemed to freeze.

“ ‘You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk,’ he was saying, ‘I was a guard there. But since that time, I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein,’ the hand came out—’will you forgive me?’

“And I stood there — I whose sins had again and again to be forgiven — and could not forgive. Betsie had died in that place — could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking? It could not have been many seconds that he stood there — hand held out — but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do. For I had to do it — I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. ‘If you do not forgive men their trespasses,’ Jesus says, ‘neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.’

“I knew it not only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience. Since the end of the war I had had a home in Holland for victims of Nazi brutality. Those who were able to forgive their former enemies were able also to return to the outside world and rebuild their lives, no matter what the physical scars. Those who nursed their bitterness remained invalids. It was as simple and as horrible as that.

“And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion — I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. ‘… Help!’ I prayed silently. ‘I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.’

“And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

“ ‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart!’

“For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then”

We must, as followers of Jesus, obey His commands, and he has commanded us to forgive. But He also promises to “supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19, ESV). Who do you need to forgive? Pray to God – ask Him first for the will to forgive and then ask Him for the feeling of forgiveness.

Jesus, when he was dying on the cross, said (and meant with His whole being): “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:24, ESV). Thy mystery of the gospel, according to Paul in Colossians, is “Christ in you”. Allow His forgiveness to flow through you and extend to those who have caused injury – for those who do so know no more what they are doing than those who crucified Jesus.

40 Days of Prayer - Thursday, June 20 - Devotion 24 - Touching His Hem - Scott Gardner

2013-06-20T00:00:00.000-04:00

Touching His Hem

Mark 5:24-29 (ESV)

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.

Wherever Jesus went, the people flocked to see Him. In Mark chapter 5, the crowds have thronged around Him, jostling each other to see or even perhaps speak to Him. Imagine the noise and the chaos as they press closer and closer. Also see a woman who has suffered for many years gradually working her way through the crowd, slowly getting closer to Jesus. “If I can only touch Him, I will be made well!” She finally is able to reach out and touch his clothing, and she is healed. Jesus confronts her and then says, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

This is an amazing story isn’t it? However, in some ways, it is a very sad story as well. This woman had spent the past twelve years visiting doctors who could not help her. She had lost all her savings and had found no relief. Then she turned to Jesus and immediately found the help she so desperately needed. Jesus was this woman’s last resort. She had tried everything else first.

Unfortunately, we often do the same. When we find ourselves in difficulty, it is so easy to run to our friends for comfort and advice, or to browse the bookshelf for the latest best-seller before we ever turn to God.

Is prayer your last resort? Do you try everything else and then ask God for His help? Where do you turn when the worries of the world press in on you from every side? Are you determined to get closer to Jesus and ask for His help? Prayer should be our first reaction in every situation. Jesus says that we do not have because we do not ask (James 4:2). In other words, “Don’t waste your time seeking help from the world, come to Me and ask Me for help, and I will answer you.”

Proverbs 18:10 (ESV)

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

40 Days of Prayer - Wednesday, June 19 - Devotion 23 - Prayer Time - John Toler

2013-06-19T00:00:00.000-04:00

Prayer Time?

Prayer is our personal time with our Heavenly Father. There are many times we have prayer during the day to help with situations, stand in the gap for friends/family members the Spirit brings to mind, or emergencies within our lives which need attention. This kind of prayerful attitude is the praying without ceasing the Word teaches us about. However, we should not limit our time before the Throne to these instances alone. We should always be in an attitude of prayer so we can come to our Heavenly Father in prayer at any time. Furthermore, there should always be time in our day when we come to God in prayer and long for deeper communication with Him.

We all live in a busy world, often times overlooking the need for deep, intimate, and personal communication within our relationships. What do we find happening in our earthly relationships when healthy communication is not fostered? We find the relationship almost always suffers under these circumstances. All the sudden we aren’t on the same page anymore, we aren’t hearing things correctly, and the tide of the relationship is not flowing smoothly. Probably more important than any other consequence is the loss of intimacy and oneness of that relationship. The same is true, if not more so, in our personal time with God.

So what is prayer time? It is our personal communication with God and worship of God. Are we making sure we set time aside to have this deeper communication? Do we truly value the opportunity we have in communicating with our Heavenly Father?

Luke5:16 But He (Jesus) would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Psalm 17:6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.

Psalm 88:13 But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

40 Days of Prayer - Tuesday, June 18 - Devotion 22 - Good Gifts

2013-06-18T00:00:00.000-04:00

Good Gifts

Matthew 7:11 - If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Psalm 34: 8-10 - Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Upon first reading of these Scriptures, it may seem our Father has some Santa Claus attributes where He is willing to give whatever we ask in prayer. However, the verses say He gives good things and that His children lack no good thing. Our Father’s view from Heaven allows Him to know what is good. He knows what gifts will draw His children to Himself and what will bring Him glory, honor, and praise. His good gifts may be illness or disappointment or a loss of job and they can be finding a job or encouragement or health. When we pray in accordance with His will, we should feel confident that His deep love for His children and His name will only allow good things to be given.

Those who seek and trust Him have all the things necessary to serve and bring Him glory. We lack nothing good. Therefore, if there is something we want and the Lord hasn’t provided it after we have asked with right motives, then that thing must not be good. Knowing we have what He considers good should result in contentment in our lives. The Word teaches us to be content in all circumstances. Without contentment, we become influenced by our desires for things we do not have and James 1 says our desires are what lead us to sin.

Praise Him today for all things He has given regardless of whether they seem good in our own understanding. Trust Him to know what is good.

40 Days of Prayer - Monday, June 17 - Devotion 21

2013-06-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

Hindrances to Prayer Part 1
Sunday's Message

It is a fact that, although all Christians pray (for prayer is indeed the believer’s source of all that is good), yet there are many who cannot record in actual experience a definite answer to the plea & cry of their hearts.

It is important for us to hear, in our focus on prayer in this 40 Days, that there may be, and often are, hindrances to prayer that would cause God to withhold what we ask of Him. To Israel He said, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2). And the Psalmist plainly declares, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18). Words like these are often forgotten? Do we not, at times carelessly come into the God’s presence making requests of Him, only to get no answer from heaven because we have been careless and self-absorbed instead of absorbed by Him?

Let me explain why these hindrances keep us from getting our prayers answered.

1^st remember why we pray. For God’s Glory and for His will to be done. This is why we must ask in faith, this is why prayer changes us and when our concern is for His glory and His will He so aligns us and we receive what we ask of Him. That’s the first thing we must remember. That was the challenge for us the last two weeks.

2^nd We must remember that God said in Romans 8:28, that we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Now, our definition of good and God’s definition of good may be different. As Jesus said, No one enters the Kingdom of Heaven unless he changes and becomes like a little child. We must so humble ourselves before him and depend upon Him for all goodness to happen in our lives and that He will so treat us in a way that is good for He alone is good.

3^rd Jesus said in Luke 11:9-13, 9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

So often we may think we are asking for a fish or an egg but what if the very thing we are asking for is really a serpent or a scorpion, something dangerous to us. Would we as parents give such a thing to our children if we knew it would do more harm than good? So who do you trust, yourself or your God?

This is why Hindrances keep God from giving us what we ask. I say this so that we may truly understand the love of God in not answering our prayers when there are hindrances in our lives. Why?, we are asking amiss. We are asking with cherished sin in our heart. We are asking with the wrong motives that we may spend what we get on our own pleasure. We are asking with a heart that is not right before God and if He gives us what we ask it may do more harm to us than good. So remember the Love God has for us in not answering because of hindrances in our lives.

Hindrances

1. Cherished sin – Psalm 66:18-20
18 If I had cherished (regard, seen, perceived, gazed upon) iniquity (Sin) in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 19 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!

Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

40 Days Of Prayer - Saturday, June 15 - Scripture Reading

2013-06-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

Hindrances to Prayer

Psalm 66:18
¹⁸If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

2 Chronicles 7:13-15
¹³When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, ¹⁴if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ¹⁵Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.

James 4:3:10
³You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴You adulterous people!Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? ⁶But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ⁷Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Matthew 6:5-6
⁵“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

James 1:5-8
⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ⁶But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

1 Peter 3:7
⁷Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Psalm 34:12-16 & 1 Peter 3:10-12
¹²What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?
¹³Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.
¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.
¹⁶The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

40 Days of Prayer - Friday, June 14 - Devotion 20 - Hindrances to Prayer

2013-06-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

Hindrances to Prayer

"That your prayers be not hindered" (1 Peter 3:7).

The greatest hindrance to the life of prayer is sin. "The Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." God would rather let Israel be defeated at Ai and go into captivity to Babylon, notwithstanding the prayers of Joshua in the one case, or even Noah, Daniel and Job, if they could have interceded, in the other, so long as the answering of these prayers would have countenanced the sin of His people. Yes, even that beautiful and consecrated temple must be consumed to ashes and the very name of Jehovah dishonored by His enemies, rather than sin in the slightest degree be sanctioned by a holy God.

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Even the cherished purpose of sin will thus hinder our prayers. The Apostle John most clearly adds his testimony to this heart-searching truth when he tells us that, "If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight."
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God can hear the prayers of sinners, or else none of us could have access to the throne of grace, but this is a different matter from expecting Him to answer our prayers while we are deliberately committing sin without an honest purpose to abstain from it. This is the coolest insolence and presumption in the face of heaven. The sin may be confessed and put away, and the Lord will freely bless; but while we stand with evil conscience and wrong intent and expect God to countenance our disobedience and presumption, we can only accept the awful message which He gave to the leaders of Israel in the fourteenth chapter of Ezekiel; "Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols. . . . For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself: and I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord."

This will frequently be found to be the cause of long unanswered prayers and the failure of God's people to enter into the fullness of the blessing they are seeking. God is searching their hearts and bringing to their remembrance long-forgotten sins with which He wants them to deal thoroughly.

By A.B. Simpson (C&MA Founder)

Spend some time today in prayer asking the Lord to search your heart to reveal any hindrance to your prayer. Scripture promises us in 1 John 1:8-9, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

40 Days of Prayer - Thursday, June 13 - Devotion 19 - He Sees

2013-06-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

He Sees

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:6 ESV).

What a privilege it is to have such a promise from our Lord. If we seek Him privately, He promises to meet with us personally and to see us, to focus His attention on us. We were created for fellowship with our Lord and our hearts long for His attention and nearness, but sin distracts and destroys that connection and the ability to abide in Him. Abiding in Him, fellowship with Him is meant to be an all day, every day condition, but we easily lose focus and return to following our own wisdom, our own desires, our sin nature. Meeting with the Lord in secret provides childlike assurance that He is with us and He cares for us. By focusing our eyes on Him and Him on us in the secret, living in that assurance all day long becomes possible.

Our secret time with the Lord may become filled with a list of to-do’s like reading a devotion or studying Scripture which are good things, but our fellowship, our relationship with Him must come first, must be our foundation. Secret prayer shouldn’t just be about asking for comfort, or things, or strength; but a giving away of our lives into the sure and safe keeping of our Faithful Father. When the secret fellowship is secured and maintained, then the reward of strength and wisdom to live an obedient public life of following Him is provided.

40 Days of Prayer - Wednesday, June 12 - Devotion 18 - Praying Like Daniel - Scott Gardner

2013-06-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

Praying Like Daniel

Daniel 9:3-5 (ESV)

Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.”

It seems like the world is falling apart at the seams these days, doesn’t it? People have lost a respect for God and for each other, the legal system seems eager to reward the lawbreaker, and the values that were once a foundation of our society are considered old-fashioned and narrow-minded. How did we ever get to this point?

In 721 B.C., the Nation of Israel found themselves in a very similar situation. Their society was falling apart and, eventually, they were forced to leave their land as captives. In his prayer, Daniel describes his people as rebellious, disobedient, and refusing to obey God’s laws. In fact, he says, they wandered so far away from God’s law that they had become a disgrace to all the other nations around them (which is amazing when you consider their neighbors). Daniel’s heart was broken for his own people.

1 John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, God will forgive us our sins. The word “our” refers to all our sins as a group of people, not just our own personal sins as individuals.

Daniel was a godly man who took a stand for righteousness, and yet he fully recognized his need to confess the sins of God’s people. He understood that God’s people had broken His law and were experiencing God’s punishment. Daniel confessed his nation’s sins and pleaded for God’s mercy.

It is so easy to become discouraged as we watch the evening news. However, instead of complaining, let’s follow Daniel’s example and pray. Let us come to God and confess not only our own sins, but confess the sins of our nation and cry out to God for His mercy.

But also, like Daniel, we need to pray for the people of God today - the church that has wandered so far from the truth. May our hearts break for a church that in many ways has lost its power, respect, and significance. Let us pray with Daniel,

“O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake.”

Paul tells us to “make supplication for all the saints” (Eph 6:18). It is our responsibility to pray like Daniel - to pray for God’s people.

Why not spend your prayer time today asking for God to restore His people - for His own sake?

40 Days of Prayer - Tuesday, June 11 - Devotion 17 - Our Confidence in Prayer

2013-06-11T00:00:00.000-04:00

Our Confidence in Prayer

There are certain things that often amuse me in life. By amuse, I mean they often stop me dead in my tracks and cause me to shake my head and ponder. For instance, in the last year I have seen two groundhogs in two different trees on two different occasions. They seemed so comfortable and confident being in those trees. I was amused! People also amuse me. Consider peoples' actions in their automobiles. Some people drive like they have all the confidence in the world and then you see them off the side of the road or pulled over by our faithful law enforcement. Confidence is such an amusing thing. Confidence can be defined as assurance, reliance, trust in self or some other. With it, we can accomplish great tasks and with out it, we are hesitant and unsure.

Something else that often amuses me is people's confidence, or lack thereof, in God. I often wonder why some people have such confidence in God and why others don't. It is also amusing to consider the ungodly things people claim to have confidence in. For example, people often quote scripture out of context in order to meet a personal want or desire and they appear to have confidence in their request being heard. An often misquoted verse is Romans 8:28. Many people confidently say God will work all things for my good. We know God actually says, "He will work all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." Jesus says in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

Consider
1 John 3:16-22,
^"16By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? ¹⁸Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
¹⁹By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; ²⁰for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. ²¹Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; ²²and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him."

Apply
Is our confidence before God right? Are we confident in the right things of God? Sometimes we put confidence in our ability to listen well and to act right. Oh, how detrimental this is to our confidence before God. Our confidence is in Christ and Christ alone.

Read
Hebrews 10:14-22
¹⁴For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.¹⁵And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,¹⁶“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” ¹⁷then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” ¹⁸Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

¹⁹Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ²¹and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²²let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Pray
When you pray today spend time thinking about why you can come to God's throne of grace with confidence. Is your confidence in you or in Him?

In Christ, Bryan

40 Days of Prayer - Monday, June 10 - Devotion 16

2013-06-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

Why Pray? Part 2
Sunday's Message

1. Prayer accomplishes God’s will and Prayer helps us understand God’s will

A. Prayer accomplishes God's will

Matthew 6:9-10 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

1 John 5:14 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him

B. Prayer helps us understand God's will
Matthew 26:39-46 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

2. Pray so God is glorified

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 14:12-14 12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Psalm 50:7-15 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. 8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. 9 I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. 10 For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. 12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. 13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Consider

God intends prayer to be the means of obtaining His Grace in any number of situations. Consider the people in the Bible who were healed, they asked to be healed, Jesus recognized their faith and healed them.

Consider Ezekiel 22:30-31 30 And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. 31 Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.”

We should pray in preparation for decisions like Jesus did in Luke 6:12-13 12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:;

We should pray to gather workers for the spiritual harvest like Jesus said in Luke 10:1-2 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

We should pray to gain strength to overcome temptation as Jesus said in Matthew 26:40-41 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

We should pray to obtain the means of strengthening others spiritually like Paul says in Ephesians 6:18-20 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Apply

As we pray this week, are our prayers focused on God's will or our will? Are we praying for our glory or God's glory? Are we praying for our Kingdom to come or His kingdom to come? Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

40 Days Of Prayer - Saturday, June 8 - Scripture Reading

2013-06-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

Why Pray? That the Father may be glorified in the Son! Pt. 2

Prayer accomplishes God’s will

Matthew 6:9-10 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Pray so God is glorified

John 14:12-14 ¹²“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. ¹³Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

40 Days of Prayer - Friday, June 7 - Devotion 15 - Preparation for prayer

2013-06-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

Preparation for Prayer

After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. (2 Chronicles 20:21-22 NIV).

King Jehoshaphat of Judah was afraid. A great multitude of enemies were coming against him and God’s people. The King set his face to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. Then the people of Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord at the house of the Lord. King Jehoshaphat prayed for help by first acknowledging that the Lord is powerful and able to save His people. Next he acknowledged his own powerless and inability to do anything about the situation. The Lord responded to Jehoshaphat’s prayer and told him and all Judah not to be afraid for the battle was not theirs, but God’s. The Lord promised that the people would not have to fight this battle, but only stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord on their behalf. The next day the people obeyed, went out, and believed. As they praised the Lord for delivering on His promise even before they witnessed their enemies’ destruction, the Lord provided victory.

What is your first response when faced with great or even small obstacles in life? Jehoshaphat first had the people prepare their hearts through fasting before seeking help from the Lord through prayer. Jehoshaphat wanted to ensure the people had the right mindset, the right heart attitude, the right motives before asking anything from the Lord. It is easy to rush into prayer and seeking the Lord’s help should be our desire, but do we examine ourselves first to ensure He will hear us when we pray? His word tells us that harboring unconfessed sin, having a doubting mind, and unreconciled relationships all inhibit God from hearing us. We must first deal with our heart condition and then we will be able to acknowledge Him as all powerful and ourselves as powerless. We will seek Him in humility. And when He responds with promises, we will believe them and step out in faith praising Him knowing He will provide the victory.

40 Days of Prayer - Thursday, June 6 - Devotion 14 - Even if our God does not ...

2013-06-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

Even if our God does not ...

Read Daniel 3

What if we pray and God does not deliver? Can we still proclaim that we will not bow a knee to any other god? What if God is silent in our request for deliverance? Can we still proclaim that we will not bow a knee to any other god? What if God answers as He did to Paul when Paul asked for the thorn, a tormentor from Satan, to be removed from him? What if we just hear the words as in 2 Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Can we still proclaim, WE WILL NOT BOW A KNEE?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were such servants of God. They had one desire... faithfulness to their God. We often pray in faith, with faith, and because of faith; but do we persevere with faith? I loved Ben and Scott's devotions on faith and prayer these last couple of days. They were both describing what praying and not persevering in faith looks like. Do we have a plan B in case God doesn't show up? - Scott. Do we try to solve the problem ourselves? - Ben. If I am honest in my assessment of my own prayer life, I so often fall short of persevering in faith when I pray. I often become impatient and eager to make things happen. When I do, this never turns out good. What if we truly waited on the Lord?

Consider
Recall in Daniel 3 what happened with these three faithful servants of God.
1. They were accurately accused of not worshiping an image
2. They refused to bow a knee
3. The temperature of the fire was raised even more
4. They were thrown into the fire
5. God showed up in the fire
6. God was glorified

Apply
Is our desire for God's glory greater than our desire for self? When you pray today ask God to search your heart and reveal anything in your life that takes the place of God's glory.

In Christ, Bryan

40 Days of Prayer - Wednesday, June 5 - Devotion 13 - Prayer is the Ultimate Expression of Faith - Ben Delong

2013-06-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

Prayer is the Ultimate Expression of Faith

Daniel 6:10 - Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. (NASB)

Daniel was in real trouble this time. The king had just been tricked into signing a decree that no one, under penalty of death, was allowed to make a petition to any man or god except to the king alone for 30 days. The men who had tricked the king had just one thought in mind, they were going to get rid of Daniel. Their cleverly laid plan had one end in mind, Daniel being thrown into the lion's den.

What is fascinating about this story is what Daniel did next. He didn't run to the king and try to get the decree changed. He didn't challenge the legality of the decree. Instead, he went straight to God. Daniel didn't first try and take care of the problem himself, he put the problem directly in God's hands.

What do we do when we run into a problem that is too big for us to deal with? Do we attempt to solve the problem ourselves? Or do we first go to God in prayer and seek His help? If our first instinct is to go to God in prayer, that demonstrates that we put our faith in Him. This sort of prayer is the ultimate expression of our faith because it fully demonstrates our trust in our Lord.

Daniel's faith really shined in this moment. The chips were down and his life was on the line. Daniel took his problem straight to God and in doing so, the greatness of Daniel's faith was expressed. Daniel bet everything that he had on God. We know the ending to this story, Daniel was thrown into a pit of lions and God sent an angel to shut their mouths. When we express our faith by going straight to God when we need Him the most, He will also come through for us.

40 Days of Prayer - Tuesday, June 4 - Devotion 12 - Praying without a plan B - Scott Gardner

2013-06-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

Praying without a plan B

James 1:5-8 (ESV)
^"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

We know that one of the reasons we pray is because it is a demonstration of our faith in God. We believe that God hears and that He answers, and so we tell Him our needs and concerns, and ask for His help. It is faith that gives our prayers power. That is what James 1 is all about.

How many times, however, do we ask God for His help, but have a Plan B ready just in case He does not answer our prayers the way we want Him to? Or, perhaps we ask God for His help, and then get tired of waiting for God to act and we decide to fix the situation in our own wisdom and strength. This is being double-minded and James tells us that we should not expect God to answer those prayers.

In Genesis, God promised to make a great nation from Abraham and Sarah, something that seemed impossible at the time. They waited for years but no child was born. Had God forgotten? Was He unable to fulfill His promises? No, God remembered, and the day finally came when they celebrated the birth of their son, Isaac (Genesis 21:1-2).

Hebrews 11 tells us, "By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised."

Yes, Sarah had moments of doubt and even tried a Plan B with her servant, Hagar, that resulted in generations of problems. However, in the end, she realized that God was faithful to His promise and that only God could answer her prayers and give her a son. God rewarded her faith.

Do you pray in faith, completely expecting God to fulfill His promises to you? If not, then maybe the place to start today is to recognize your need and to say with the disciples, "Lord, increase our faith!"

40 Days of Prayer - Monday, June 3 - Devotion 11

2013-06-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

Why Pray?
Sunday's Message

In Sunday's message we asked the question Why Pray?

1. Prayer changes the way God acts

James 4:1-2 4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.

What James is saying is, you do not have because you do not ask God. We pray and God responds. Jesus also says in Luke 11:9-10 9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. If you do not ask, you do not receive.
We see this in the OT in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 as well with Moses in Exodus 32:7-14

If we were really convinced that prayer changes the way God acts, and that God does bring about change in the world in response to prayer, as scripture repeatedly teaches it does, then shouldn’t we pray? Shouldn’t we pray much more than we do. If we just pray a little, it is because we probably do not really believe that prayer accomplishes much?

2. Prayer changes us

1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

John say's to pray by confessing our sin because God forgives and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. This cleansing changes us by making us righteous.

Paul believes prayer changes us as we can see in his prayer in Ephesians 3:14. He prays for the church to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.

3. Prayer is our best demonstration of faith

Biblical faith is dependence upon or trust in God. It is not wishy washy. Hebrews 11:1 says 11 Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

A key element in understanding faith and being sure our faith is correct is the object of our faith. God is the object of our faith. Our faith is in God, so we pray to God for discernment, for wisdom, for anything and everything in this life, and for His glory. Romans 4:18-21 says, 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”

When we pray we are saying, “God, we need your wisdom, because our wisdom is not enough.” We are saying, “God, I need your love in this life, for my love is not good.” We are saying, “God, I need your goodness, because I have no goodness in myself.” We are saying, “God I need your power, because when I am weak, then I am strong.” We are saying, “God, I depend on you for all things, because there is nothing good in me apart from you. I am a jar of clay, you are the treasure.” Just as Jesus said to the rich young ruler, “Why do you call me good, there is no one good except God.”

We don’t pray much because we think we have something good in us, apart from the knowledge of God. We don’t pray much because we think we can do what God wants us to do on our own.

If this were so, why did Jesus pray? He had to depend on the Father for all things. For even though He was fully God and fully man, He recognized His need for God while in this flesh. We too must recognize our need. So we pray!

Harvest CMA

40 Days of Prayer - Monday, July 1 - Devotion 31 - The Sweet Fragrance of Prayer

40 Days of Prayer - Saturday, June 29 - Scripture reading

40 Days of Prayer - Friday, June 28 - Devotion 30 - Praying in Truth

Praying in Truth

Psalm 145:18 (ESV) 18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

40 Days of Prayer - Thursday, June 27 - Devotion 29 - Prayer Brings Us in Relationship with God - Michael White

40 Days of Prayer - Wednesday, June 26 - Devotion 28 - The Responsibility of Answered prayer - Scott Gardner

40 Days of Prayer- Tuesday, June 25 - Devotion 27 - Interceding Prayer - John Toler

40 Days of Prayer - Monday, June 24 - Devotion 26

Hindrances to Prayer Pt. 2

Today's devotion is a follow up to Sunday's message on Part 2 of Hindrances to Prayer. Reflect on these final 4 hindrances and trust God to teach you that your prayers may go un-hindered!

40 Days Of Prayer - Saturday, June 22 - Scripture Reading

Hindrances to Prayer Pt. 2

40 Days of Prayer - Friday, June 21 - Devotion 25 - Praying to Forgive - Laura Page

40 Days of Prayer - Thursday, June 20 - Devotion 24 - Touching His Hem - Scott Gardner

40 Days of Prayer - Wednesday, June 19 - Devotion 23 - Prayer Time - John Toler

40 Days of Prayer - Tuesday, June 18 - Devotion 22 - Good Gifts

40 Days of Prayer - Monday, June 17 - Devotion 21

Hindrances to Prayer Part 1Sunday's Message

40 Days Of Prayer - Saturday, June 15 - Scripture Reading

Hindrances to Prayer

40 Days of Prayer - Friday, June 14 - Devotion 20 - Hindrances to Prayer

Hindrances to Prayer

40 Days of Prayer - Thursday, June 13 - Devotion 19 - He Sees

He Sees

40 Days of Prayer - Wednesday, June 12 - Devotion 18 - Praying Like Daniel - Scott Gardner

40 Days of Prayer - Tuesday, June 11 - Devotion 17 - Our Confidence in Prayer

40 Days of Prayer - Monday, June 10 - Devotion 16

40 Days Of Prayer - Saturday, June 8 - Scripture Reading

40 Days of Prayer - Friday, June 7 - Devotion 15 - Preparation for prayer

40 Days of Prayer - Thursday, June 6 - Devotion 14 - Even if our God does not ...

40 Days of Prayer - Wednesday, June 5 - Devotion 13 - Prayer is the Ultimate Expression of Faith - Ben Delong

40 Days of Prayer - Tuesday, June 4 - Devotion 12 - Praying without a plan B - Scott Gardner

40 Days of Prayer - Monday, June 3 - Devotion 11

Hindrances to Prayer Part 1
Sunday's Message