Garden of Prayer

But When You Pray

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment 
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

Regular personal prayer is not an option, a nice idea, or a path for the spiritually mature. In today’s verse, prayer is a vital part of daily life for all God’s children. And this time of prayer is not to simply bless our food or to ask for God to watch over us as we sleep. This prayer is such a part of any normal busy day that Jesus says, “Stop! Get alone with God and talk to Him about everything.” Though there is a place for corporate prayer, the prayer Jesus teaches about here is not something we do in church, or in front of our family. God’s plan and desire is for us to have a personal intimate time spent talking to Him about our doubts, questions, and even complaints about our problems, and a time to give Him praise. As we are working our way through this first week of Lent, there is no better discipline to begin with than with prayer. Without prayer we are like a bow without arrows to shoot at the target or a compass without a needle to point the way. God calls us to personal private prayer, and though it may feel awkward, or maybe even boring at first, the longer we linger and listen, the more we will sense that we aren’t alone. Jesus has gone ahead of us into our prayer room and there He is waiting for us. Will you come and pray to Him in secret? God has also promised that when we pray, that He will listen and then go with us and reward us with the answers as we go out to serve Him today!

How is Your Garden of Prayer?

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Pulling Weeds in the Garden of Prayer

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  Romans 8:26 ESV

In my time as a landscaper, I think I learned more spiritual lessons on my knees in the garden, than on my knees in church. Maybe the most important was that weeds grow far better than flowers, both in a perennial bed as well as in our prayer life. This came to me after spending two days weeding and edging the flower beds at a weekend place in the country of one of my customers. Then on Saturday they ca3lled and asked me to stop by. That morning as we walked around surveying the vast flower beds, Mary Ann turned to me and said, “I can’t believe it Peter. You’ve done such a marvelous job. Those flowers are growing so strong that they are choking out the weeds!”

For a moment I was struck speechless but deciding that explaining the details of the 16 hours of work it took to make it that way, I simply smiled and nodded. Our prayer life in many ways is not unlike those gardens. When everything is in order and we are seeking God, amazingly things will blossom around us, as God goes to work in every corner of His garden. But when we neglect our time in the prayer closet, it won’t take long for weeds to grow, and those flowers (answers to prayer) will not choke out the weeds. We need to get back down on our knees, and with God’s strength and direction, begin to pull them out one by one. The kinds of weeds that grow are almost endless, but here are three of the most common –

The Weed of Prayerlessness – Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way. 1 Samuel 12:23 KJV

Photo by Ylanite Koppens on Pexels.com

2) The Weed of Selfishness – You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. James 4:3 ESV  

 

3) The Weed of Sleepiness – And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Luke 22:45-46 ESV

We need the Holy Spirit to motivate us – to direct our hearts, wake us up so that the light of Christ can shine in our hearts again!

Coming As We Are

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

This is the video version of my post from yesterday where I shared about my dad’s beauty shop. I do the video because once a week I prepare a devotional newsletter which I send in to two different nursing homes where I once visited and this video gives them some music to go along with their lesson. The newsletter version is usually shorter than what I post here because it all has to fit on one page in print large enough for my dear friends to read. I pray that you will also be blessed as I share a few songs along with the thought for the week. “Come to Jesus; just as you are” He is calling and waiting for you.

Here in the Tampa Bay area it is “Florida cold” but our family up North is having tons of fun shoveling white stuff which we don’t miss a bit! Have a blessed Tuesday wherever you are!

This is from our son’s house up north of Philly