It’s Time to Pray
Nov 3, 2010 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
Well, yesterday’s elections are over and done. I suspect most of the votes have been tabulated and the winners have been announced. I say “I suspect” because I am writing this at 1:44 EST Tuesday and I am post-dating it for tomorrow morning.
The democratic nature of our country gives us the privilege to elect our leaders, which is a very cool thing.
An even cooler thing is the privilege we have to pray to the one who holds our leaders’ hearts in his hand like a stream of water. The Apostle Paul gives us this command:
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:1-4)
You can use this site to find out who your new elected officials are. Pick out a few and pray for them. Here are a few simple things to pray for from this passage:
Thank God for them.
Pray that they will lead well so you may live a peaceful and quiet life.
Now I know you are tempted to move onto the next email or blog post. Don’t. Take a few minutes and pray. Paul (and I) urge you to do so.
Prayerfulness
Sep 21, 2009 Sacrificial Followers
This is the continuation of my week long series through the 8 Marks of a Sacrificial Followers we have been talking about at Riv. The goal of this blog post is to create a forum where you can give and receive suggestions that help you as you grow in these areas.
Today, we are talking about
Prayerfulness
A Sacrificial Follower of Jesus engages in prayer, which is a consistent, authentic, intimate conversation with God about all aspects of his life. Here’s a snippet of a teaching I gave on this topic a week or so ago:
This is an area I have struggled with in my life. I read excellent articles like this one on prayer in the New Testament and I am challenged to pray, but I feel like I fall flat. I want to be a “prayer warrior” but fall terribly short of that ideal. I am surrounded by people who are great at this and it is an uphill battle for me.
I think the biggest reason is I have carried unrealistic expectations of what prayerfulness is. I have imagined it to be someone who sits down for a long period of time each day and wrestles with God about what they are dealing with.
Over time, I am learning to let go of this image of a prayerful person (as accurate as it may be for some people) and to embrace a different picture that is true to Scripture and also true to how God has wired me. Here are a few things I do to help me in my prayer life:
- I keep a list of prayer requests. I used to try to keep a “prayer journal” where I wrote lots of stuff about what I pray for and how God answers my prayers. That literally never lasted more than a week. Instead, I just keep a list of prayer requests. If you ask me to pray for you, I add you to my list and I take it out several times a week to pray through.
- I walk and pray. I am not very good at sitting still so I walk around when I pray. In good weather, I’m outside; in bad weather, I’m inside.
- I pray throughout my day. As I face different situations, I just stop and pray for a few seconds. When I read email from people, I stop and pray for a few seconds. When I surf Facebook, I stop and pray for a few seconds.
- I subscribe to the RivChurch prayer requests and pray for them as soon as I read them.
So, what practical suggestions would you add?
Tags: prayer
Prayer
Feb 4, 2009 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
This weekend at Riv I am teaching on prayer and today I am bunkering away doing message prep. I also have limited time this week due my computer being on the fritz again and having to plan a funeral.
What does that mean for you?
I am tagging you all as my research team! (The pay is wonderful: my undying gratitude.)
All I need is the answer to any or all of these questions:
1) Tell me about your prayer life.
2) Tell me what you or others think about the concept of prayer.
3) Tell me what you think Over Spiritualized Prayer may look like.
4) Tell me what you think Under-Spiritualized Prayer may look like.
5) Give me any other thoughts you may have on prayer.
Tags: prayer
