This morning I would like to introduce you to Alisha Mullett. Her testimony is both touching and powerful and I have been so blessed as I began to listen to her family’s story and music recently. No matter what crisis you are experiencing today; we can all identify with Alisha’s battle and draw strength by the hope she has found in Christ. I pray you will be blessed as you listen and consider subscribing to their channel or supporting them on Patreon. Have a great day!
Month: October 2020
The Prayer Investment
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In this is all the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12
Most of us have learned and pay at least lip service to the golden rule. Maybe a parent quoted this one day when we were tussling over a toy with our brothers or in a dispute with another kid on the bus. The doing unto others part is thought of as some kind of good or bad karma that will somehow show up one day in our life.
But though the doing good idea that Jesus was teaching does have a general application it is interesting to note that He mentions it here in reference to prayer. It comes right after talking about how our heavenly father give good gifts for those who ask. I wonder how often we have stopped and wondered if others (especially those we aren’t getting along with) care enough to pray for us. I find this really hits home in family relationships because to honest those are the most challenging in my life. It’s a lot easier praying for missionaries, starving children and the president than it is to intercede for a family member we just had an argument with over the phone. And heated words often lead to cold stone walls that separate us from each other for years.
Of course reconciliation is the ultimate goal of God but maybe the best first step begins with an investment of prayer. Maybe as we put aside our hurts and desires and simply pray for an offended brother or sister, mom or dad a seed is being planted by the Holy Spirit in their hearts. A harvest of restored love in a family matters far more than proving who is right or wrong in an argument. And what can make happen reconciliation faster than when we both begin to pray for one another. Prayer is the hidden investment we make in the lives of others that will yield a harvest of love by the grace and power of God one day.
God’s Wide Angle Lens
In all my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:4-6
One thing I love about going to the beach is taking photographs from the edge of the water that take in the wide expanse of the Gulf of Mexico – especially at sunset! There is something both overwhelming and at the same time assuring about being one tiny part of that enormous expanse. But to catch the magnitude of that scene I have to switch my camera from the portrait setting to a wide angle lens.
That reminds me of a song we like to sing at church with the line, “I know breakthrough is coming.” Usually while I am heartily belting out the lyrics I am thinking of some issue that I am hoping God will help me or maybe someone in our family with. Now it is true that God does want to meet our personal needs, but the amazing thing about the Apostle Paul’s prayer is that it is completely focused on others. He wasn’t only clinging on to that hope that God wasn’t finished with him yet (Remember Paul is sitting in prison while he is writing). No! In fact Paul writes to encourage the Philippian church not to give up on what God has started with them. He is trusting the God of breakthrough, but not just for himself to get out of jail. He is believing that God has great things in store for His friends back in Macedonia.
Praying like Paul is like switching from looking down at our feet while we stand on the seashore, to looking at the people around us through God’s wide angle lens. That is not to say that our own battles are insignificant, but that the breakthroughs which God has in store include far more than just us. We are one small part of God’s big plan. His amazing love includes so much more than we can imagine and so many more people than we could ever dream of. So in switching over to using God’s wide angle lens, think about who you can pray for this morning. Maybe that someone else needs a breakthrough that only you can ask God for today.
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