05.05.09
“THE UNRIVALED POWER OF PRAYER”
.
This devotion was written by Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest..
.
THE UNRIVALED POWER OF PRAYER.
.
“We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26).
.
We realize that we are energized by the Holy Spirit for prayer, and we know what it is to pray in accordance to the Spirit; but we don’t often realize that the HOly Spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable.
“He,” the Holy Spirit in you, “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (8:27). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is.
The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. “…your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit…” (1Corinthians 6:19). When Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, “…He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.” (Mark 11:16). The Spirit of God will not allow you to use your body for your own convenience. Jesus ruthlessly cast out everyone who bough and sold in teh temple, and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer…But you have made it a ‘den of thieves’ ” (Mark 11:17)
Have we come to realize that our “body is a temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have ot remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of the total person, is to be regarded by us as a “temple of theHoly Spirit.” He will be responsible for the unconscious part, which we don’t know, but we must pay careful attentio to and guard the conscious part for which we are responsible.”
05.04.09
“EXPECTATIONS BEYOND US”
.
This devotion was written by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman Streams in the Desert
.
EXPECTATIONS BEYOND US
.
“But prayer” (Acts 12:5).
.
But prayer is the link that connects us with God. This is the bridge that spans every gulf and bears us over every abyss of danger or of need.
How significant the picture of the Apostolic Church: Peter in prison, the Jews triumphant, Herod supreme, the arena of martyrdom awaiting the dawning of the morning to drink up the apostle’s blood, and everything else against it. “But prayer was made unto God without ceasing.” And what was the sequel? The prison open, the apostle free, the Jews baffled, the wicked king eaten of worms, a spectacle of hidden retribution, and the Word of God rolling on in greater victory.
Do we know the power of our supernatural weapon? Do we dare to use it with the authority of a faith that commands as well as asks? God baptize us with holy audacity and Divine confidence! He is not wanting great men, but He is wanting men who will dare to prove the greatness of their God. But God! But prayer! –A. B. Simpson
Beware in your prayer, above everything, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, above all that we ask or think. Each time you intercede, be quiet first and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, of how He delights to hear Christ, of your place in Christ; and expect great things. –Andrew Murray
Our prayers are God’s opportunities.
Are you in sorrow? Prayer can make your affliction sweet and strengthening. Are you in gladness? Prayer can add to your joy a celestial perfume. Are you in extreme danger from outward or inward enemies? Prayer can set at your right hand an angel whose touch could shatter a millstone into smaller dust than the flour it grinds, and whose glance could lay an army low. What will prayer do for you? I answer: All that God can do for you. “Ask what I shall give thee.” –Farrar
“Wrestling prayer can wonders do,
Bring relief in deepest straits;
Prayer can force a passage through
Iron bars and brazen gates.”
02.19.09
“POURING OUT”
.
F.B. Meyer, Our Daily Homily, February 19
.
I have poured out my soul before the Lord.1 Sam. 1:15.
.
HANNAH’S soul was fall of complaint and grief, which flowed over into her face and made it sorrowful. But when she had poured out her soul before the Lord, emptying out all its bitterness, the peace of God took the place of her soul?anguish, she went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. What a glad exchange! How great the contrast! How much the better for herself, and for her home!
Is your face darkened by the bitterness of your soul? Perhaps the enemy has been vexing you sorely; or there is an unrealized hope, an unfulfilled purpose. in your life; or, perchance, the Lord seems to have forgotten you. Poor sufferer, there is nothing for it but to pour out your soul before the Lord. Empty out its contents in confession and prayer. God knows it all; yet tell Him, as if He knew nothing. “Ye people, pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us.” “In everything, by prayer and supplication make your requests known unto God.”
As we pour out our bitterness, God pours in his peace. Weeping goes out of one door whilst joy enters at another. We transmit the cup of tears to the Man of Sorrows, and He hands it back to us filled with the blessings of the new covenant. Some day you will come to the spot where you wept and prayed, bringing your offering of praise and thanksgiving.
02.18.09
“PRAYERFULLY ARRANGED MARRIAGE”
.
Today God is First, by Os Hillman, February 18
.
PRAYERFULLY ARRANGED MARRIAGE
.
“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).
.
James Rutz, author of MegaShift, tells a wonderful story of God’s supernatural hand in answering prayer.
“I have a good friend named Barclay Tait who sells vacation real estate in Niceville, Florida. Back in 1977, he was a 36-year-old Florida basketball coach. That summer, he decided to hitch-hike to a Christian conference in Front Royal, Virginia. Arriving four days early, he went to a nearby forest and pitched his tent by a stream. On the last day, a tall, thin hiker with a notebook under his arm suddenly appeared, startling him as he read his Bible. Barclay explained that he came out there to fast and meditate.
Dave, the hiker, replied, “Well, I’m an intercessor. What would you like me to pray for?”
Feeling somewhat overwhelmed, Barclay said, “Uh, frankly, I’d like prayer for a wife.” The man wrote the request in his notebook and walked on.
By 1988, Barclay, now married to Sherry, has been divinely guided to move to Asheville, North Carolina. A chance encounter in the Holiday Inn parking lot led to an invitation to join a gathering of a Christian group outside of town. Arriving just before the 7:00 P.M. meeting, the host walks in from the kitchen and stops dead in his tracks. “I know you!” he exclaims, pointing his finger. “You’re Barclay Tait!” Barclay draws a blank.
“Just a minute. I have something I want to show you,” the host announces. He scampers upstairs, leaving the puzzled Taits standing in the middle of the suddenly hushed room. In a moment the host reappeared with a well-worn ledger book. “See here? This is where I wrote your prayer request in column one when I met you in Front Royal in 1977: ‘Barclay Tait: God’s choice for a wife.’” Barclay looked down at the journal entry. It was the most detailed, methodical prayer journal he’d ever seen.
“I prayed for you for seven years,” proclaims Dave. “Then in the middle of the night on December 30, 1984, God woke me up out of a sound sleep and said, ‘Write in your journal, “Prayer answered.” So I did. See? Here in column two, “Prayer answered.’”
Barclay and Sherry look at each other with their mouths open. They sat down, and their eyes fill with tears. Quietly, Barclay tells Dave, “That was the day we were married.”
01.29.09
“MOST PERSONAL OF RELATIONSHIPS”
.
From Eugene Peterson, Living the Message (San Francisco: Harper Publications, 1996), May 8.
.
MOST PERSONAL OF RELATIONSHIPS
.
Satan’s angel did his best to get me down, what he in fact did was push me to my knees. 2Corinthians 12:7B-8A The Message
.
The last sentence of Lamentations is blunt and direct: “…has though utterly rejected us? Art thou exceedingly angry with us?” [Lam. 5:22]. But this anger is addressed in the most personal of relationships, prayer. Prayer is suffering’s best result. In prayer, God’s anger is neither sentimentally glossed nor cynically debunked, but seized as a lever to pry open the door of redemption. The sufferer, by praying, does not ask God to think well of him or her, but asks that God will enact redemption, working “fruits meet for repentance” though Jesus Christ who suffered and died for all.
01.26.09
“A PRAYER OF TRUST”
.
From John Ballie, A Diary of Private Prayer (London: Oxford University Press, 1936) Fifth Day, Evening.
.
A PRAYER OF TRUST
.
28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Matt 10:28-31 NIV
.
Almighty God, in this hour of quiet I seek communion with Thee. From the fret and fever of the day’s business, from the world’s discordant noises, from the blame of men, from the confused thoughts and vain imaginations of my own heart, I would now turn aside and seek the quietness of Thy presence. All day long have I toiled and striven; but now, in stillness of heart and in the clear light of Thine eternity, I would ponder the pattern my life has been weaving.
.
May there fall upon me now, O God, a great sense of Thy power and Thy glory, so that I may see all earthly things in their true measure.
Let me not be ignorant of this great thing that one day is with Thee as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.
Give me now such understanding of Thy perfect holiness as will make an end of pride in my own attainment.
Grant unto me now such a vision of Thin uncreated beauty as will make me dissatisfied with all lesser beauties.
.
Though earth and man were gone,
And suns and universes cease to be,
And Thou were left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.
.
I am content, O Father, to leave my life in Thy hands, believing that the very hairs on my head are numbered by Thee. I am content to give over my will to Thy control, believing that I can find in Thee a righteousness that I could never have won for myself. I am content to leave all my dear ones to Thy care, believing that Thy love for them is greater than my own. I am content to leave in Thy hands the causes of truth and justice, and the coming of Thy Kingdom in the hearts of men, believing that my ardor for them is but a feeble shadow of Thy purpose. To Thee, O God, be glory for ever. Amen.
12.31.08
“SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP”
.
Psalms 20
20:1 For the director of music. A psalm of David.
May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
Selah
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.
6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
9 O LORD, save the king!
Answer us when we call!
.
Deut 17:16-17
16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
……………………………………………………..
As recent events replay, strife in the promised land is par for the course. In biblical times, the lands which the nation of Israel were strategically positioned along the ancient highways by which the superpowers of the days traversed to wage war with each other. Constantly in the shadow of Philistine, Midian, Egypt, Damascus, Assyria and Babylon, Israel’s kings would have been hard pressed to ensure their people’s security.
But early on, God outlined a different strategy for His people and their leaders. Rather than amass military might, or political connections; they were to put their trust in the character and promise of Yahweh. Psalm 20 is a psalm of blessing, prayed by the people for their king.
The king is reminded here that the key to victory did not lie in the number or horses or chariots he had at his disposal. Rather, it was in his integrity before God; and the faithfulness of God to answer prayers. In fact, Israel’s kings were warded off from hoarding horses, wives, or funds [Dt.17:16-17]. They weren’t barred from martial training & planning. But these prohibitions were put in place so that the heart of the king would not stray from the true source of life and victory. This is so important to God that Gideon is told to even whittle down his outnumbered troops [Judg.7:7]; while King David is judged for forcing through a military census [2.Sam.24:2ff].
In the eyes of some, leadership that trusts in God’s name over “chariots” is naive, even irresponsible. But to God, leadership that is not fundamentally spiritual is deadly. Trusting profoundly in personal charisma, political savvy, technological advantage, or even superior force of arms or funds figures to be a recipe for victory. But it can also all too quickly result in blitzkrieg and Auschwitz; Enron’s & Madoff’s. Leadership that is not fundamentally spiritual can devastate nations, companies, families, and souls. But leadership that trusts in the name of the LORD, in integrity and prayer can change the eternal destinies of the same. Oh how we need this kind of leadership for the crisis that lay before us in 2009.
……………………………………………………..
REFLECTION /RESPONSE
- This morning, will you reflect on the spiritual leadership of Christ; who when faced with the crisis of the cross, refrained from calling down legions of angels so that he could trust in the name of Lord. This is our King, this is our God.
- Imagine being tasked with the defense of a nation surrounded by dangerous enemies abroad; or with the reigns of a corporate entity in a changing marketplace. When push comes to shove, what role would integrity and prayer take in your administration? What role does it play now in your leadership?
- Are there choices before you where you have leaned on horses and chariots, over calling on the name of the Lord? Would you take time to ask God to anoint you with a greater measure of spiritual leadership? Will you intercede for your leaders, from the top down; asking God to grip & guide them.
