Prayer

God Still Answers Prayer

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

When you think about prayer; have you ever stopped to consider all the prayers of the Bible that God is still answering? Maybe it would help to think about them somewhat like going out to eat or stopping at the grocery store to buy milk and eggs. The first thing that happens whenever we start out in the car is that my wife begins rummaging through her purse for coupons. Somehow, whether we are going to Olive Garden, Pizza Hut or Walmart she finds one that we can use, then she looks to see if the date is still valid. Prayers in the Bible are somewhat like those coupons. We only get to take advantage of them if we ask to redeem them and the good news for us is that there is no expiration date!

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This morning as I was reading Paul’s prayer of blessing for the Corinthian church I stopped and went back over the words realizing that in my own life I desperately need the grace, love and fellowship that Paul asked for. These blessings are much more than just words on a page or the sound waves generated by our pastor as he prays them over us at the end of a Sunday service. This 2,000 year old prayer is a valid coupon, redeemable in our prayer closet to whoever presents it by faith to God.

God still wants you and I to experience the Grace of Jesus Christ every day. The love of God is more than a gift given long ago; it is valid and waiting for us to experience it this morning. And just as they say on television; “But wait there’s more!” remember that in these days of stress, fear and change; the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit is a gift that God longs to put into our hearts if we will only ask.

So why not put aside a moment right now as you are reading and ask God for:

Grace for every weakness, sin and sorrow

Love for all people you will meet in every place and hour

Fellowship In every conflict, disappointment or disaster

These are God’s precious promises; still active in the words of this ancient prayer. They never die but they wait on our faith to remember and believe!

The Prayer Investment

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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

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

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.