Specific prayers

 "Healing of Bartimaeus" by Alexandre Bida

(Though the blind man isn't named in Luke's telling, 

he is named in Mark's - Mark 10:46-52)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 17-18; Psalm 119:33-64

TO CHEW ON: “So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, that I may receive my sight.’” Luke 18:40


Surely Jesus knew the man was blind and that he wanted to see. Yet He asked the blind man to say it, to pinpoint exactly what he wanted Jesus to do for him.

This incident says something to us about prayer (talking to God—that’s what the blind man was doing):

1. It seems our prayers are the catalyst that moves God’s hand.
Though God knows everything—knows our needs better than we do, He has invented prayer for us to tell Him what we need and want. I’m reminded of a scene in C.S. Lewis’s The Magicians Nephew. At one point the children, Digory and Polly, are hungry but all there is to eat is grass—good for Fledge the horse but not them. (Remembering that Aslan the Lion is the Christ figure):

“‘Well, I do think someone might have arranged about our meals,’ said Digory.

‘I’m sure Aslan would have, if you’d asked him,’ said Fledge.

‘Wouldn’t he know without asking?’ said Polly.

‘I’ve no doubt he would,’ said the Horse (still with his mouth full). ‘But I’ve a sort of idea he likes to be asked.’” 

- C. S Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia, Kindle Location 1898 (emphasis added).

2. What we ask for is linked to our faith.
Jesus replied to the blind man’s ask: “‘Your faith has made you well.’” And then He healed him on the spot.

This incident encourages us to pray, and when we do, put into words what we specifically want Jesus to do for us. We are invited to pray ("'What do you want Me to do for you?'"), not in vague generalities (“Bless my family”) but specifics (“Please help my grandson with his math test”).

Do we have the faith for such praying?


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, praying in specifics is a little scary because it reveals the state of my faith and makes prayer’s answers so measurable. Help me to trust the wisdom and love of all your answers, whether they’re “Yes,” “No,” or “Wait.” Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 119:33-64

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Resisting the temptation of pat answers

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Job 35-37; Psalm 144

TO CHEW ON: "Then He tells them their work and their transgression—
That they have acted defiantly.
He also opens their ear to instruction,
And commands that they turn from iniquity." Job 36:9,10


In the beginning  of his fourth speech, Elihu lectures Job about a purpose of suffering that Job's other friends have left out: that it is instructive.

God despises no one, Elihu insists (Job 36:5). He doesn't preserve the life of the wicked (Job 36:6) despite what Job thinks (Job 21:7). Rather, God speaks to the righteous person through his or her suffering (Job 36:9) in that way alerting them to sin so they can repent (Job 36:10). If they do, prosperity will result (Job 36:11). If they don't, they are doomed (Job 36:12).

Though what Elihu says may contain general truth, his cut-and-dried explanation that this is why Job is suffering is inadequate. We see how wrong he is when he applies this to Job (Job 36:16-18). For as the heavenly prologue to all these speeches has told us, Job's suffering is neither punishment nor instruction but a demonstration and proof to Satan of Job's integrity (Job 2:1-6).

If Elihu is teaching us anything it is that we need to temper our defense of God, always leaving room for what we don't know. To us earth-bound humans there remains mystery in His actions or lack of them. Though the Bible is clear in its description of God and what He is like (love, omnipotent, omnipresent, righteous, just, holy etc.) we will not understand the outworking of these attributes in our lives and the lives of those we love, until we see Him face to face and "…know even as we are known" - 1 Corinthians 13:12.


PRAYER: Dear God, when I or my loved ones suffer, I long for explanations. Help me to avoid the temptation of giving myself and others pat answers because, frankly, I don't see what's happening behind the scenes and what You are accomplishing through these hard times. Amen.


PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 144 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

No answer!

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Micah 3:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "Then they will cry to the Lord
But He will not hear them;
He will even hide His face from them at that time,
Because they have been evil in their deeds....
So the seers shall be ashamed
And the diviners abashed
Indeed they shall all cover their lips
for there is no answer from God." Micah 3:4,7


What a desperate feeling—to pray and not be heard, to expect and wait for an answer and none comes. Micah's denouncement on his contemporary prophets reminds me of Israel's first king. Saul found himself in this very predicament. After the prophet Samuel died and he faced the Philistine army, he cried out to God in desperation himself but "...the Lord did not answer him..."  2 Samuel 28:6. He felt driven to seek an answer from a witch and discovered his sealed fate (read the whole story in 2 Samuel 28:1-25).

The Bible gives some clues as to why we might pray and not get an answer:

• We have been disobedient - Deuteronomy 1:42-45.

• We are holding onto sin - Psalm 66:18.

• We have ignored God's rebuke and been indifferent to Him - Proverbs 1:23-28.

• Have have been callous toward the poor - Proverbs 21:13.

• We have despised God's laws - Proverbs 28:9.

• We have blood on our hands - Isaiah 1:15.

• We are living in sin - Isaiah 59:2 and Micah 3:4.

• We have stubbornly refused to listen to God's words in the past - Zechariah 7:11-13.

• We waver and are double-minded, asking with a doubting attitude - James 1:6-8.

• We ask with self-indulgent motives - James 4:3.

If we have been praying but the heavens seem like brass, perhaps we should examine our hearts in the light of the above to see if any of them describe us.

PRAYER: Dear God, please shine the light of Your word on my heart. Show me where my attitudes and actions have blocked the answer to my prayers. Amen.

MORE: Unanswered prayer quotes

"When He grants our prayers,
it is because He loves us.
When He does not, it is also
because He loves us." - O. Hallesby

"If the request is wrong, God says, 'No.'
If the timing is wrong, God says, 'Slow.'
If you are wrong, God says, 'Grow.'
But if the request is right, the timing is right
and you are right, God says, 'Go!'" - Anonymous

"God has not always answered my prayers.
If He had, I would have married the wrong man—several times!" - Ruth Bell Graham

All quotes from Prayer Points, compiled by Randall D. Roth, pp. 196, 197.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Persistent children

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 7:1-14

TO CHEW ON: " ' Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened.' " Matthew 7:7,8


If you've ever lived with a child determined to get his or her way, you'll have experienced a bit of what these verses talk about from God's point of view.  "Mom, please. Why not? You said…Please? When?"

My Bible's commentary says about the grammatical construction: "The Greek imperatives ask, seek and knock (vs. 7) are in the present tense suggesting continued petition" - J. Lyle Story, commentary on Matthew, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1302.

However, prayers that take a long time to be answered are much more than our attempts to convince God that it's answer time. Persevering prayer:

• proves to God and us our deep desires.

• reminds us of our ignorance of God's timing.

• focuses us on what is really important enough to stay on our prayer list year after year.

• may have us searching our lives for hindrances to God answering our prayers,

• while at the same time living alert to ways God is working and the part He may want us to play in bringing about the answers.

Daniel Henderson, in his book Transforming Prayer says about prayer generally:

"He has ordained prayer as a means by which we depend on and trust in Him. He answers our prayers to give us what He knows we need to bring Him glory. … We often pray to escape our difficulties rather than embrace discipleship" Daniel Henderson, Transforming Prayer, p. 79.

About the parallel passage to this one (Luke 11:9-13) Henderson says:

"Jesus clarifies His focus on the good things we should expect with these words: 'How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!' (Luke 11:13). The life spring of all the good things the Father wants to give us is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit" - Ibid, p. 81.

So we can and should keep up our persevering ways in prayer, knowing that the answer—whatever it is, whenever it comes—will be good.


PRAYER: Dear God, please keep the burden heavy on me over the things You want me to continue to pray for. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Prayer insights from Daniel

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Daniel 10:4-11:2
 
TO CHEW ON: “‘Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words’” Daniel 10:12 NIV.

In today’s reading in Daniel 10, I see four things from Daniel's experience that teach us about God, us, and prayer.

1. God knew Daniel by name. He had a reputation in heaven.
When the vision described in Daniel 10 began, Daniel was petrified. The angel visitor began his reassurance with these beautiful words:
“‘Daniel, you who are highly esteemed….’”

Don’t you love how the angel called him by name (Daniel 10:11,12) and told him his heavenly reputation.  A note in the NIV Study Bible explains “highly esteemed”:

“A relatively rare Hebrew word … sometimes translated ‘coveted.’ Daniel is a highly desired, precious man whom God covets” (NIV Study Bible, Kindle Location 202,318).

The expression “highly esteemed” reminds me of a story told by one of the pastors at my church. In a series about hearing God, Pastor Mike told us of a day when he read a Bible story of God changing someone’s name. That morning in prayer he asked God, “Do you have another name for me?” He sensed God telling him to wait for an answer later in the day.

That night before bed he was wrestling with his young sons. At one point one of them straddled his head with his little legs, held Mike’s face in his hands, looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘Daddy, you’re expensive.’

Highly esteemed, highly desired, precious, coveted, expensive. What a reputation to have! Maybe the angels God sends aren’t always terrifying.

2. Daniel’s prayer set things in motion:
“Since the first day … your words were heard” Daniel 10:12.
On another occasion the angel Gabriel came to him with the message: “‘As soon as you began to pray a word went out’” - Daniel 9:23.

3. Daniel’s attitude in prayer moved God.
The angel said: “…the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard…” Daniel 10:12.

How had he set his heart to understand and humble himself? We can read his prayer of repentance and humility in Daniel 9:4-19.

4. The answer to Daniel’s prayer was delayed by spiritual warfare.
The angel’s words give us a glimpse of the spiritual warfare that was being fought in heaven ((Daniel 10:12,13,20) and which is also being waged around us (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).

God knows our names too. We too have a reputation in heaven (Psalm 139:1-18). Let’s keep praying with realism—the awareness of who we are in relation to God—and with faith, confident that our prayers also move God’s hand and that we too can be part of God’s kingdom strategy.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for this glimpse into the connections between our prayers and Your answers. Help me to pray with realism,  perseverance, and faith that my prayers do make a difference. Amen.
 
MORE: Feast of St. Michael and all Angels

Today the church celebrates the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels.

The day’s liturgy begins with this collect prayer:

Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted in this meditation are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

God's answers in real time

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 12:29-51

TO CHEW ON: “And it came to pass at the end of four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD when out from the land of Egypt …. And it came to pass on that very same day that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt …” Exodus 12:41,51

When the day of freedom from Egypt finally came for the Israelites, it was a big surprise—to them at least. For we read that they had made their usual night-time preparations for the next day (mixed dough to which they usually added leaven in the morning). But then came the tenth plague and they were “driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves” (Exodus 12:39).

It was no surprise to God, though. The writer of Exodus (most likely Moses) even points out that the date of their leaving was a significant one—the 430th anniversary of their arrival.

The phrase “on that very day” occurs twice in this account, as if to emphasize the fact that God’s decisive action came in the real time of human history.

I take comfort form this for my life. God is still able and does answer our prayers on a particular day in time and space. I am looking forward to the day I can point to a date on the calendar and say, on this very day the project I bathed in prayer was completed, the healing occurred, the prodigal came home… Do you join me?

PRAYER: Dear Father, I love the fact that You know my upcoming days as if they had already happened (“And in Your book they were all written, / The days fashioned for me, / When as yet there were none of them” - Psalm 139:16). I know You will answer the things for which I have been burdened to pray in “that very day” that you have foreseen they will occur. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

When things seem too hard for God

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Genesis 18:1-15

TO CHEW ON: “‘Is anything too hard for the LORD?’” Genesis 18:4

I am right now aware of several circumstances that are difficult, even seem impossible. In the light of our focus verse “Is anything too hard for the LORD?”—a rhetorical question where the implied answer is ‘No, nothing is too hard for God’—I pray that God would intervene in these circumstances. I want Him to heal, restore function, reverse the effects of sickness and things gone wrong.

So far, though, He hasn’t. Does that mean these things are too hard for God, that there actually is something too hard for Him?

My go-to source for theological definitions defines God’s all-powerfulness (omnipotence):

“God’s omnipotence means God is able to all His holy will.” There are some things He will not do, however: lie - Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18; deny Himself - 2 Timothy 2:13; be tempted with evil - James 1:3. - from Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 216.

• Job confessed God’s omnipotence - Job 42:2.

• So did the psalmist - Psalm 115:3; 136:6.

• And Isaiah - Isaiah 43:13.

• Jesus Himself uttered the words “‘… with men this (a rich man entering the Kingdom of Heaven) is impossible but with God all things are possible’” - Matthew 19:26.

• However, there was one time when even Jesus’ request was denied. In Gethsemane before His crucifixion, He prayed, “‘Abba Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not what I will, but what You will’” - Mark 14:36.

God the Father didn’t remove “the cup”—suffering, crucifixion, bearing the sins of the world, separation from Himself, death—that Jesus requested. If God’s omnipotence means that He is able to accomplish all His holy will, then this “no” to Jesus was part of His holy will… and His “no” to us when we pray but don’t get the results we want, is also part of His holy will.

With our incomplete sight we keep praying, perhaps even as long as there is life and breath. Jesus did praise the persistent friend and told us to keep asking, seeking, knocking - Luke 11:5-13.

However, whatever the ultimate answer—no, wait, yes—we can have the confidence that all will work out, in time or eternity, for good because of God’s heart of love for us - 1 John 4:16-18, Romans 8:28-30.

PRAYER: Dear Father, it’s hard for me to wrap my head around You allowing people to go through things that appear to be nothing but evil. This is when I must truly walk by faith, not by sight. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Faith that dries tears

"Eli thought she was drunk" - 1 Sam. 1:13

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 1:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "And she said, 'Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.' So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad." 1 Samuel 1:18

The yearly religious trip to Shiloh was a particular trial to Hannah, it seemed. For not only did she have to watch as husband Elkanah gave portions to Peninnah and all her brood and receive a double portion from him herself (something that only made Peninnah's razzing and pestering of Hannah over her barrenness worse), but it was also a reminder that God appeared to dislike her too. For why had He not allowed her to conceive?

On this particular day, Hannah could take no more. So she went alone to the house of the Lord (the tabernacle) to pour out all her frustration and desperation to God. She prayed. She wept. She made a big promise. And then Eli came up to her and accused her of being drunk!

Oh no, she said, I'm just so sad. Then she went on to explain her situation.

Of course Eli saw her genuineness then and said a wonderful thing to her: "… the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him" - 1 Samuel 1:17.

Hannah reacted (went away happy) as if God Himself had spoken. But why? Nothing had changed had it?

Not yet. But she believed it would. Her happiness was the result of FAITH, that considered what God promised through Eli as good as done.

For what do you and I need faith today?

• Wisdom?  (see James 1:5.)

• Big prayer requests? (See Matthew 17:20 & 21:21.)

• Healing? (See James 5:15.)

• A shield against discouragement, temptation and other Satanic darts? (See Ephesians 6:16.)

• Perseverance for whatever situation we're in? (See Hebrews 11:1-40.)

I love the Bible's definition of faith as much as any. It explains so well why Hannah could leave the tabernacle with her tears all dried up and why when we can also leave our stuff with the Lord and go away lighthearted:

"Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality—faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses" - Hebrews 11:1 AMP (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to leave my issues with You as completely as Hannah did, knowing that You can and will handle things. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

God brings us full-circle

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 7:9-34

TO CHEW ON: “For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.” Acts 7:25.

Stephen’s retelling of Moses’ story adds some interesting details that the original telling (Exodus 2:11-14) doesn’t include.

• Stephen makes it sound as if Moses never visited the Hebrews until he was 40 years old. Maybe he didn’t even know his origins—although since his own mother nursed him, probably through toddlerhood (“Children were not weaned until they were three to five years of age," study notes on Exodus, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 78), her training was no doubt a memory. I love how Stephen phrases it: “.. it came into his heart to visit his brethren…” Acts 7:23.

• Stephen gives us an insight into Moses’ thoughts at that time: “For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand” - Acts 7:25.

I wish we knew more. Did Moses’ mother whisper her dreams for his future into his ear when he was just a child? Had he been sitting for years on the notion that he’d been spared for the purpose of freeing the Hebrew slaves, perhaps not quite sure what to do next?

Of course his attempt to realize that destiny went horribly wrong. It took another 40 years before one surprising day God came to him.

I can only imagine the emotion Moses felt when Yahweh Himself acknowledged the legtimacy of his Egypt emotions: “‘I have surely seen the oppression of My people … I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them’” - Acts 7:34. Now God’s plan was to use Moses for the job Moses had earlier dreamed of, but in God's time and way.

We can take away from this, I think, that the things that are in our hearts, the memories, pulls, old dreams, are not there by accident. We know who put it into Moses’ heart to visit his brothers and hope to free them. Surely it was God.

We also know that God took a long time to incubate that dream. By Moses’ reaction to God’s assignment, we can conclude that he had all but given up on it (Exodus 3:11). But God hadn’t. And it didn’t matter to Him that Moses was now 80 years old (Exodus 7:7). He would still use the faux Egyptian prince-turned-shepherd to accomplish the dream He had planted in Moses’ heart 40+ years prior.

So let’s not give up on the dreams God has planted in our hearts, even if they are decades old. God brought Moses’ full-circle, back to his dream, and has wonderful ways of bringing us there too.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to be alert to Your signals and quick to follow Your directions, delighted when You in Your wisdom lead me back to see the fulfillment of youthful dreams. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Nothing is impossible!

"Mary and Angel" - Botticelli

TODAY'S SPECIAL: LUKE 1:26-38

TO CHEW ON: "Then the angel said to her … He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of His kingdom there will be no end." Luke 1:31, 32-33


The day Jesus rode into Jerusalem accompanied by crowds of cheering followers, I wonder if Mary recalled the angel's words to her before Jesus was born (part of our reading today) and thought, Now it's coming true. The angel's promise is playing out right in front of my eyes!

I wonder how she grappled with her thoughts and emotions a few days later when all her expectations were dashed by Jesus dying on the cross. We can only imagine the emotional bungee plunge of all Jesus' followers when what seemed like an impending coronation turned into a crucifixion.

Of course with our long view, we know that this was all part of God's plan. It's a plan we're still living through, in faith that the prediction of the angel about Jesus ultimately establishing a forever kingdom will be seen and acknowledged by everyone on earth as we have acknowledged Him king of our lives and of the church.

Perhaps we can also take a lesson from this for our day-to-day lives. We pray. We get a promise. We think we're getting our answer as the circumstances line up. And then they turn. The door shuts. The heavens are brass. We cry and wonder, was my faith misplaced? Is God really going to make good on His promise?

Maybe, as it was for Mary, our answer will be way bigger than an immediate answer would ever be, like Jesus' ultimate kingship will be way bigger than just being a deliverer and king for the Roman-oppressed Jews of His time.

At times like that we can hold close the angel's further words: "For with God nothing will be impossible" - Luke 1:37.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to hang onto Your promises for their fulfillment in Your ultimate big-picture way. Help me to really believe that with God nothing is impossible. Amen. 

MORE: Feast of the Annunciation

Today the church celebrates the Feast of the Annunciation. The liturgy for this day begins with this Collect:

Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord, that we who have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion be brought to the glory of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Trial template

"David Lifting Up His Soul to God"
by Franco dei Russi - The Getty Trust

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 40:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "But I am poor and needy;
Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God." - Psalm 40:17


The editors of my Bible have helpfully summed up this psalm with the title "Faith Persevering In Trial." So we know that trial will be one of its subjects. In it the writer (David) talks about two aspects of trial:

I - He shows us what a trial looks and feels like. According to David a trial feels:

• Like it's going on too long. "I waited patiently … make haste to help me … Do not delay" He says (Psalm 40:1, 13, 17).

• Disorienting, dangerous, life-threatening. David calls it a "horrible pit" and "miry clay" (Psalm 40:2). He's in the dark. I imagine him feeling helpless and terrified as quicksand sucks him downward. He fears for his life (Psalm 40:14).

• Evil. He senses evil all around him and searches his own heart; maybe the evil within him is to blame for this trouble (Psalm 40:12).

II - He shows us how to bring God into our trial.

• He cries out to God until he gets a sense that God is with him. He uses the image of God setting his feet on a rock (out of that miry clay - Psalm 40:2).

• He praises and sings (Psalm 40:3-4).

• He focuses on God's creativity and "wonderful works" (Psalm 40:5).

• He re-commits himself to God (Psalm 40:6-8).

• He testifies in church (the "great assembly" - Psalm 40:9-10).

• After again giving in to feelings of despair, desperation, and panic (Psalm 40:11-15) he refocuses on God. He makes God big: "The Lord be magnified," even though in the last verse plummets us down to earth and trouble's reality again: "But I am poor and needy … Do not delay, O my God" (Psalm 40:16-17).

Though some of what David says in this psalm makes it seem like his trial has already passed, sprinkled throughout are reminders that he's still in the middle of it (Psalm 40:1, 13, 17). I would suggest that the things David does to bring God into the middle of his trial are things we can do too. We don't have to wait for trials to pass to sense God's presence, to praise Him, to testify to others and, if we find our thoughts again slipping into fear, to pull our focus back to God, who will also be our "help" and "deliverer."

May this psalm be our template as we go through trials of our own.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for David's honesty as he describes what he's going through. What a wonderful example hs is of someone changing his focus from trouble to God. Help me to do that with big and little things that come against me. Amen. 

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Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) Used by permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Persistent pray-ers

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 18:1-8

TO CHEW ON: "'Nevertheless when the Son of Man comes will He really find faith on the earth?'" Luke 18:8 NKJV

"'However, when the Son of man comes will He find (persistence in) the faith on the earth?'" Luke 18:8 AMP


This little story Jesus tells teaches us, using contrast, a bit about God and our prayers.

God's counterpart in this parable is a rogue judge who doesn't respect God or people. A woman keeps pestering him about getting justice for her situation until, in exasperation, he gives in, judging in her favor not because of the injustice but to get a little peace and quiet for himself.

Jesus' point: If this self-centred judge does the right thing (even if for the wrong reason), how much more will God, who is just and perfect, do the right thing for those who cry out to Him?

But:

• It may not happen fast enough for us. There seem to be two perceptions of time here. "'Will He defer them and delay help on their behalf?'" Jesus poses this question and answers, "'I tell you, He will defend and protect and answer them speedily'" - Luke 18:7-9 AMP. But to the pray-er who continues to "'cry out day and night'" it seems to be taking a long time.

• God values our persistence. Jesus again: "'However, when the son of man comes will He find (persistence in) the faith on earth?'" (Luke 18:8 AMP). The question implies that that's what He is looking for.

"George Mueller prayed fifty-two years for an unsaved loved one, but it wasn't until some time after he died that his loved one came to know Jesus Christ as Saviour. I believe our prayers go right on living and working even after we die" - Hope Macdonald.

"According to Jesus, by far the most important thing about praying is to keep at it" - Frederick Buechner.

"Many a man asks in April a gift of divine fruit that will be ripe only in June" - Anonymous.

(All quotes taken from Prayer Powerpoints, p. 166.)

PRAYER: Dear God, may I be an answer to Your search for persistent pray-ers. Amen. 

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Unpredictable healing

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 17:11-19

TO CHEW ON: "So when He saw then, He said to them, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.' And so it was that as they went they were healed." Luke 17:14

If people who followed Jesus' ministry would have tried to predict His mode of healing, they would have been stymied at every turn. He healed in many ways. Here are some from the Gospel of Matthew:

• Jesus healed a leper and several pairs of blind men by touch - Matthew 8:2-3; 9:29-30; 20:34.

• He healed the centurion's son at a distance - Matthew 8:13.

• Sometimes He commanded action on the part of the sick person. He told the paralytic to rise, and the man with the withered hand to stretch it out - Matthew 9:6; 12:13.

• Some people were healed when they touched Jesus' clothes - Matthew 9:22; 14:36.

• Jesus rebuked a demon who had inflicted a little boy with seizures and "…it came out of him and the child was cured that very hour" - Matthew 17:18.

• In our reading today, the lepers were healed "as they went."

Do you pray for the sick to be healed? In the church I attend, the pastor often invites people who have physical illnesses to ask for prayer. I have been among the prayed for and among those who prayed.

There is always a desire to see instantaneous, miraculous, complete, on-the-spot healing. Sometimes that happens. But often not. Here we see that even those who came to Jesus when He was on earth were kept surprised by how He chose to heal them.

We still live in that era of necessary faith as we seek to live out Jesus' mandate: "'Go into all the world and preach the gospel …. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; ... they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover'" - Mark 16:15-18.


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, when I am sick, I pray for healing. So do I pray that my ill family members, friends and acquaintances will be healed. May healing balm continue to flow to Your people through Your people. Please give us all faith to believe for the physical healing You have power to give, however You would give it. Amen.

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

A real vs. religious relationship with God

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Habakkuk 1:1-2:4

TO CHEW ON: "O Lord how long shall I cry,
And you will not hear?
Even cry out to You, 'Violence!'
And You will not save." Habakkuk 1:1

The times felt God-forsaken to Habakkuk. Judah had backslidden from Josiah's reforms. Violence towards citizens and oppression of the poor were rampant. Babylonia was gaining strength and threatened to invade from the north while Egypt and Assyria eyed other borders. It was in this setting that the prophet Habakkuk—a Levite—cried out to God.

His part of the conversation in Habakkuk 1 is refreshingly honest.
- He pours out his frustrations with God who seems deaf and disinterested -  Habakkuk 1:1.

- He confronts God with what appear to be contradictions—if God is holy why doesn't He deal with evil - Habakkuk 1:13?

- He appeals to the order of creation, showing God how man, in his anarchy, is no better than the creatures - Habakkuk 1:14-17.

God's reply (Habakkuk 1:5-11) is delivered with the same feistiness as Habakkuk's questions:

"Look among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe though it were told you" (Habakkuk 1:5).

Habakkuk is a good example of a man who has a genuine relationship with God. In her Truth-In-Action Through Habakkuk commentary, Leslyn Musch says:

"Habakkuk's transparent interchange with God models for us a real relationship rather than a religious one."

Musch makes these points about how to make ours similar:

• Ask God the honest questions of your heart.

• Understand that He can handle them.

• Draw close to Him through prayer.

• Ask to gain God's perspective on injustice.

• Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the deep things of God - 1 Corinthians 2:10-11.

Of God's reply she says:

• Expect the Lord to answer you.

• Approach God with an open heart.

• Lay down any preconceived ideas of how He will respond.

• Be ready to hear anything He desires to tell you.

- Leslyn Musch, Truth-In-Action-Through Habakkuk, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1229.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for being big enough for any question. Help me to trust You when I don't understand and Your silence and inaction look like a contradiction of who You are. I want to be open to Your answers, however You send them. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Spiritual stumblung

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 7:18-35

TO CHEW ON: "'Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me.'" Luke 7:23

When John asked his disciples to get reassurances from Jesus that He was indeed "the One who is to come," it seems like he was really asking, 'Have I given my life to the right cause or person?'

Jesus' answer back, that His questioners tell John of all the miracles He was doing—was, I imagine, both reassuring to John and not. I wonder if, when John was reminded of Jesus' power, he didn't ask, at least inwardly, Couldn't you then do a miracle for me—get me out of Herod's prison?

Perhaps that's what Jesus was referring to—His inscrutable ways—when He concluded, " 'Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me.'"

We too try to understand Jesus' continuing works on earth through the Holy Spirit. But there's still no predicting or controlling Him. We fast and pray for situations, the sick, the unsaved. Sometimes we see results, sometimes not. I believe Jesus' words are as relevant to us as they were to John: "'Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me.'"

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to continue to trust You even when I don't understand what You are or are not doing. Amen.

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Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted in this meditation are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Unanswered prayers

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TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 1:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "When you spread out your hands

I will hide my eyes from you;

Even though you make many prayers

I will not hear.

Your hands are full of blood." Isaiah 1:15

Many books have been written on the subject of prayer, looking at it from many angles. Despite our close inspection and study, we still don't understand how it works exactly. Why, for example, are some prayers answered even as the words exit our lips, while others need the persistence and perseverance of the widow in Jesus' story in Luke 18:1-8?

Though I've heard it said that there are no unanswered prayers, because no and wait are answers too, I'm not content with accepting that as the full picture.

One reason for unanswered prayers is implied in the opening chapter of Isaiah: it may be our fault. "Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear," God says through Isaiah. He gives the reason for His unresponsiveness. In this case it is injustice - "Your hands are full of blood." They were guilty of putting to death (or looking away while others killed for them) people who did not deserve to die.

The Bible gives other reasons for unanswered prayer. Answers may be denied:
- to the disobedient (Deuteronomy 1:43-46).
- to those who hold onto their sin (Psalm 66:18).
- to those living in sin (Micah 3:4).
- to the indifferent (Proverbs 1:25-28).
- to those who refuse to extend mercy (Proverbs 21:13).
- to the stubborn (Zechariah 7:11-14).
- to those who waiver in faith (James 1:5-8).
- to those who are self-seeking (James 4:3).

When the heavens seem like brass and our prayers remain unanswered, maybe we should spend some time searching our own hearts and lives. Perhaps we'll find some of the things listed above plugging the channel to God's flow of grace into our lives.

PRAYER: Dear God, I confess my life contains some of the things on the list above. Help me root them out. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

When Wisdom is silent

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TODAY'S SPECIAL: Proverbs 1:20-33

TO CHEW ON: "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord."  Proverbs 1:28,29

Wisdom is speaking here. She addresses those who have turned their backs on their parent's instruction (Proverbs 1:8-9), got involved in crime (Proverbs 1:10-19), and persistently resisted her plea to go another way (Proverbs 1:20-25).

She warns, there will come a time when ignoring her—that is, refusing to choose the fear of God—will have consequences. One of them is wisdom's silence.

If we equate wisdom and the fear of God to God, we could say that indifference to God, ignoring His will as revealed in the Bible, is one of the reasons our prayers go unanswered.

James describes a similar frustration and God-silence:

"You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures" - James 4:2-3.

If we are in a time when God seems silent, when it feels like He's ignoring us, maybe one of the things we should examine our lives for is who or what we've really been fearing (showing respect to, in awe of, conforming our lives to get the approval and praise of, running after). Is it God? Or something / someone else?


PRAYER: Dear God, please show me the deceitfulness of my own heart—so resourceful at sneaking in its own idols and pleasures. Help me to understand what the fear of You looks like in each situation. Amen

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thorn-plagued life

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TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Corinthians 12:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." 2 Corinthians 12:7

We don't know what Paul's "thorn in the flesh" was. My Bible's commenter describes it as "an intense wearying difficulty or affliction."* It might have been some bodily condition like migraines, epilepsy, an eye disease, even a person ("What was Paul's thorn in the flesh?"  - from Got Questions.org).

From this passage, we do know, however that:
1. Paul attributes this negative thing to Satan - "… a messenger of Satan to buffet me."

2. At the same he implies that God has allowed it - "… a thorn in the flesh was given to me." My Bible's notes explain that this is "grammatically a 'divine passive,' indicating God as the unseen agent overseeing the entire process."*

3. Paul prays that this thorn will be removed. But God's answer to Paul has been "No." Instead, Jesus answers Paul: " 'My strength is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' " Even more Paul doesn't have the strength to only tolerate the irritation but to be happy about it because God's grace shining through his life will reflect glory back to God and His ability to bring good things out of bad ("Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.")

This is easy for us to relate to, isn't it?

• We too suffer from "thorns"—irritations, conditions, situations that stick to us like burrs, that let us know, every step of the way, they are still there.

• They too could be said to be messengers of Satan. For every evil thing in life and nature is a consequence of Satan's fingerprints on creation after humankind's fall into sin. As Paul expresses it in another place: "For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now" - Romans 8:22 (the entire passage is relevant - Romans 8:18-28).

• But Satan's intent to do us harm, to bring us down, is still under God's permission. As we draw grace-strength from Him, our thorn hassled lives can do an end-run around Satan's schemes and score goals for God and His glory instead of defeating us.

Of course, like Paul, we probably keep praying that these thorns be removed. But when they aren't, let's not berate ourselves for too little faith, or give Satan credit for too much strength. For God is still in control, working His will in our lives, using even these Satan-conceived thorns to do it.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to recognize the thorns in my life for what they are to to respond to them by leaning on You and Your grace for strength to not only endure them but to shine through them. Amen.

*Arden Conrad Autry, commentary on 2 Corinthians, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1624.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Conditions for "Yes"

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Praying Hands stained glass

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 John 5:13-21

TO CHEW ON: "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us." 1 John 5:14


I love the way John describes the attitude to prayer here. The one who prays does it in "confidence." It's the same word used to describe how the disciples spoke following Peter and John standing up to the Jewish council and their prayer for boldness—translated "boldness"—in Acts 4:31.

[Confidence - parrhesia. This is outspokenness, unreserved utterance, freedom of speech, frankness, candour, cheerful courage. … exhibiting spiritual power and authority - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 1497.]

• But there is a condition to this kind of bold prayer—or any prayer for that matter—being answered. It is prayer "according to His will."

Other places in the New Testament give more conditions to God answering our requests with "yes":

• We ask in Jesus' name - John 14:13,14; 15:16; 16:23,24.

• We abide in Him and His words abide in us - John 15:7.

• We have faith - Matthew 5:22; James 1:6.

• We are righteous in life and fervent in prayer - 1 John 3:21,22; James 5:16.

My Bible's commenter on 1 John (where I got the above list of conditions and scriptures) makes this sum-up statement about prayer:

"One who abides in Christ, and whose words abide in Him, who prays in the name of Jesus, that is, in accord with His character and nature, and is full of faith and righteousness is not inclined to pray anything contrary to His will. … Genuine prayer is not an attempt at precise means of getting God to meet our desires and demands; but rather in subordinating our will to His, we open the doorway to His fullest blessings being released in our lives" - Peter E. Prosser - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1789,90 (emphasis added)

Before I pray I don't, and I'm sure you don't ether, check myself and my prayers against a list like the one above to see whether they qualify. I just pray.

However, such a list is a good one to refer back to from time to time, especially when we puzzle over why the answers to some prayers take so long in coming. And if we and our prayers are meeting the conditions, we keep up our confident praying.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to persist in prayer for people, circumstances, and issues in my own life that need Your intervention. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Test of faith

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 7:24-37

TO CHEW ON: "And she answered and said to Him, 'Yes Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs.' Then He said to her, 'For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter'" Mark 7:28,29

Jesus had made a little trip into non-Jewish territory—the only time He did that, according to my Bible's footnotes. Perhaps He needed a break from the crowds that pressed close day and night when he was in Galilee or Judea. But if He expected to escape into anonymity, He was disappointed.

The Syro-Phoeneician mother was despairing and desperate. Jesus' response seems calculated to add to that despair when He chides her—a Gentile—in a seemingly prejudiced way, for asking for a miracle.

But she has nothing to lose.

She turns His insult inside out. I may be a Gentile dog, but even dogs get table scraps (my paraphrase of  Mark 7:28).

My Bible's footnotes again: "Actually assuming the appearance of traditional Jewish prejudice, Jesus was drawing from her a confession of triumphant faith" - Notes on Mark, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1363.

And then Jesus pronounces her daughter healed!

This story makes me ask, am I too easily discouraged in my prayers? When the answer is "No," do I give up, or persevere?

Maybe it was just for this woman that Jesus made the trip into Tyre and Sidon. Maybe faith, tested in just that way will be precisely what she will need in the days and years ahead, as other circumstances challenge her and her daughter.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for these Mark 7 stories of Your power over dark spirits, and disability. Help me to have faith for crumbs, no, whole loaves of Your power in my life. Amen.

MORE: "He Saw It All" - the Booth Brothers

The story in our reading goes on to tell how Jesus returned to Galilee where He opened the ears and loosed the tongue of a man who had been deaf and mute. The onlookers "...were astonished beyond measure..." Mark 7:37.

"He saw It All" sung by the Booth Brothers is a fabulous expression of that awe and an invitation to trust for our own miracles.