Prayer and The Whole Man

"Prayer has to do with entire man. Prayer takes in man in his whole being, mind, soul and body. It takes the whole man to pray, and prayer affects the entire man in its gracious results.

As the whole nature of man enters into prayer, so also all that belongs to man is the beneficiary of prayer. All of man receives benefits in prayer.

The whole man must be given to God in praying. The largest results in praying come to him who gives himself, all of himself, all that belongs to himself, to God. This is the secret of full consecration, and this is a condition of successful praying , and sort of praying which brings the largest fruits."

E.M. Bounds

Wisdom Prayer for Extremes

" Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me before I die:

Remove far from me falsehood and
lying;

give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is
needful for me,

lest I be full and deny you
and say, Who is the Lord?

or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God"

~ Proverbs 30:7-9

On God's Mind

"The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us"
Psalm 115:12

God has thought of us, provided for us, comforted us, delivered us, and guided us. His mind has been full of us--that is what "mindful" means. The last part of the text is a logical inference from the former one. He will bless us because He is ever mindful of us. Since God is unchangeable, He will continue to be mindful of us as He has been in the past; and His mindfulness of us is equivalent to blessing us.

Prayer: O Lord, You have blessed us. We gratefully acknowledge Your goodness and generosity. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Amen.

Let us Pray

Seven reasons why we ought to pray:

1. It is commanded plainly of God that Christians ought always to pray about everything and about everybody, with all prayer and supplication.

2.Prayer is God's appointed way for Christians to commune and have intimacy with Him

3. Prayer is the way for Christians to have fullness of joy

4. Prayer is God's cure for worry, the way out of trouble and anxiety

5.Answered prayer is brings Glory to God and is a witness to unbelievers

6.Prayer is the way to increase the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives for His work

7. "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved"

Friendship

"A friend loves at all times,
And is born as a brother, for
adversity" ~ proverbs 17:17 (Amplified)

Friend: companion, neighbor, fellowman; a familiar person.
Its root means "associate with or to be a friend of"

Stop Apologizing

We are here. There is a purpose , a reason, and an intention for our life. We do not have to apologize for being here or being who we are.

By God's good grace,we have a right to be here.We have a right to be ourselves.

It doesn't matter what we've done in our past. We all have a past, woven with mistakes, successes, and learning experiences. We have a right to our past. It is ours. God has used it to shape and form us. As we progress on this journey of faith, we shall see how each of our experiences will be turned around and used for good.

We gave already spent too much time being ashamed, being apologetic, and doubting the beauty that has come from the ashes. Be done with it! Let it go! It is an unnecessary burden.

Divine Timing and Order

Procrastination--not acting when the time is right--is a self-defeating behavior. It produces anxiety, guilt, disharmony,and a nagging consciousness of the task that life is telling us it's time to do.

However we are not always procrastination when we put off doing something. Sometimes, doing a thing before the time is right can be as self-defeating as waiting too long.

We can learn to discern the difference. Listen. Be still. What is past due and creating anxiety and prodding within you?

Is there something in your life you are avoiding because you don't want to face it? Is there a building anxiety from putting it off ?

Sometimes anger, fear, or feeling helpless can motivate procrastination. Sometimes, procrastination has simply become habitual.

Trust and listen today. The Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth. Watch and pray. If it is not yet time, wait until the time is right.

Testing For Gold

" But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold."

Job 23:10

Return And Restore

"If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up."
Job 22:23

The Lord excels in works of restoration. Perhaps some sin has brought you down; up have become like a ruin.

You may be struggling financially; you may be broken in spirit. Was it some folly, some overpowering temptation ?

The first thing is to return to the Lord. With repentance and faith find your way back from your backsliding.

See what a promise invites your return. You shall be "built up". Our part is only to return, His to rebuild.

From the writings of C.H. Spurgeon

Theology and Attitude

"I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering ,

bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;One Lord, one faith, one baptism;

One God and Father of all , who is above all, and through all , and in you all"

Ephesians 4:1-4

You can have a right theology and a wrong attitude. May God help us to always walk in Humility and Love.

Kool

Kool is the phonetic spelling of the Hebrew word chul. In English the word is sustain which means "to maintain, nourish, provide, protect, bear, hold up, support, defend; to supply the means necessary for living, to measure out a provision of food"

One example of this word use is found in Genesis 50:21 when Joesph pledges to provide for his brothers and their little children in time of famine. " Now therefore , do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones..."

Joseph's response to his brothers injustice and personal suffering, developed a Christ like attitude that sustained him and his brothers. His attitude reflected maturity and insight. To be able to perceive the hand of God in prolonged period of unfair suffering requires innumerable choices to deny bitterness and to pray.

"Cast your burden on the Lord,
And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the
righteous to be moved".

Psalms 55:22

Endure

"bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

~I Corinthians 13:7

Endure- To hold one's ground in conflict, bear up against adversity, hold out under stress, stand firm, persevere under pressure, wait calmly and courageously. It is not passive resignation to fate and mere patience, but the active, energetic resistance to defeat that allows calm and brave endurance.

Putting Two and Two Togther

There is a story about the boy Jesus at 12 yrs old, sitting with the scholars and teachers of the day in the Temple, listening, and asking questions. Luke records it like this, "...and all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers."

This word understanding is very interesting in that it means "a putting together, a quickness of apprehension, the critical faculty for clear apprehension, intelligently assessing a situation". This word, understanding, is derived from two Greek words, phronesis and sunesis. "phronesis", acts while, "sunesis", judges. Phronesis is the practical side of the mind, while sunesis is the analyzing and discerning side.

My prayer is that God grant me understanding and the ability to put two and two together as I walk with Him daily through life.

In Time

Sometimes, the way is not clear.
Our minds get clouded, confused. We aren't certain what our next step should be, what it will look like , what direction we are headed.

That is the time to stop, ask for guidance, and rest from the Lord. That is the time to let go of fear. Wait. Feel the confusion and the chaos, then let it go and give it to God.

When we surrender it to Him He then can show us the way. We don't have to know now. We will know in time. Let go and trust.

When our mind cries why the Lord knows the answer and He does all things well and in His time.

Gratitude

Today is my birthday. I have been up early sipping my espresso, listening to the "light classical" music channel , reading and praying. All is quiet and my thoughts are deep and wide. Birthdays can be interesting days for reflection and meditation. Thanks to the new social networking of FB many people have extended to me birthday greetings of which I am very grateful. One friend commented on the fact that she noticed I must have reached "that age" to stop listing my birth year on my FB profile ! Well it's not difficult to do the math if one cares to find out. I am 54 years old today and grateful to be healthy and some what sane. I am blessed to have a wonderful family, wife of 29 years and 3 sons that I could not imagine life without. I am grateful.

Sometimes in life, things happen too fast. We barely solve one problem when two new problems surface. We're feeling great in the morning, but we're submerged in misery by nightfall. Every day we face interruptions , delays, changes, and challenges. We face personality conflicts and disappointments. Often times it leaves us feeling overwhelmed, unable to see the lessons that these experiences are bringing.

One word that comes to me today over and over is Gratitude. It is a simple concept that I have applied many times before but amazed at how easily I can forget it. When we learn to say Thank you for these problems and feelings and Thank you for the way things are, something powerful happens. Please don't misunderstand me. I am not so much thankful for the experience but what the experience brings when I view it with the right perspective.

Today, I am going to focus on Gratitude until it becomes habitual. Gratitude helps us stop trying to control outcomes. It is the key that unlocks God's power in our life. It is the alchemy that turns problems into blessings, and the unexpected into gifts.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing this birthday blog with me today.

Wait

In spite of our best efforts to work out the present and lean on God's guidance, we sometimes don't understand what's going on in our life. We trust, worry, pray, listen to people, listen to ourselves, and the answer still doesn't come.

During those times, we need to understand that we are right where we need to be, even though that place may feel awkward and uncomfortable. Our life does have purpose and direction.

We are being changed , healed, and transformed at levels deeper than we can imagine. God is bringing good things, beyond our capacity to imagine. We are being led and guided by His grace.

We can find peace in the midst of it all. We do not have to act in haste or urgency just to relieve our discomfort or get an answer. We can wait until our mind and heart is at peace. We can wait for clear direction. Clarity will come.The answer will come , and it will be good for us and those around us and God will be glorified.

"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him"
~ Lamentations 3:25

Temptation

I find it most true, that the greatest temptation out of hell, is to live without temptations; if my waters should stand, they would rot. Faith is the better of the free air, and of the sharp winter storm in it's face.

Samuel Rutherford~The Loveliness of Christ

His Voice

The first sound uttered in the universe was the voice of God commanding, "Let there be!". God spoke into a void and stars appeared...God's fiats are limitless. He can create by the sheer force of His divine command. He can bring something out of nothing, life out of death. He can do these things simply by the sound of His voice.

" ...and the sheep follow him; for they know His voice" ~ John 10:4

Teach Me

"For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You in a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters they shall not come near him.

You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you"

Psalms 32: 6-9

(Teach: To instruct , direct, teach, to point, shoot, aim, throw, cast in a straight manner. The primary meaning here is "to shoot straight" or "to direct the flow" of something.)

Paradoxes

O Changeless God,
Under the conviction of thy Spirit I learn that
the more I do, the worse I am,
the more I know, the less I know,
the more holiness I have, the more sinful I am,
the more I love, the more there is to love.

O wretched man that I am!

O Lord,
I have a wild heart,
and cannot stand before thee;
I am like a bird before a man.
How little I love thy truth and ways!
I neglect prayer,
by thinking I have prayed enough and earnestly,
by knowing thou hast saved my soul.

Of all hypocrites, grant that I may not be
an evangelical hypocrite,
who sins more safely because grace abounds,
who tells his lusts that Christ's blood
cleanseth them,
who reasons that God cannot cast him into hell,
for he is saved,
who loves evangelical preaching, churches,
Christians, but lives unholily.

My mind is a bucket without a bottom,
with no spiritual understanding,
no desire for the Lord's Day,
ever learning but never reaching the truth,
always at the gospel-will but never holding water.

My conscience is without conviction or contrition,
with nothing to repent of.

My will is without power of decision or resolution.

My heart is without affection, and full of leaks.

My memory has no retention,
so I forget easily the lessons learned,
and thy truths seep away.

Give me a broken heart that yet carries home
the water of grace.


A Puritan Prayer

He Knows

"Everything I need shall be provided today. Everything." Say it, until you believe it. Say it at the beginning of the day . Say it throughout the day.

Sometimes, it helps to know what we want and need. But if we don't we can trust God does.

When we ask, trust and believe that our needs will be met, our needs will be met. Sometimes God cares about the smallest and even silliest little things, if we do.

"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?...for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God...and all these things will be added to you" ~Matthew 6:26-33

Man's All

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgement, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil"
~ Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Peace

Anxiety is often our first reaction to conflict, problems, or even our own fears. In those moments, detaching and getting peaceful may seem disloyal or apathetic. We think: If I really care , I'll worry; if this is really important to me , I must stay upset. We convince ourselves that outcomes will be positively affected by the amount of time we spend worrying.

Our best problem-solving resource is peace. Solutions arise easily and naturally out of a peaceful state of mind and heart. Often Fear blocks solutions. Anxiety gives power to the problem, not the solution. It does not help to harbor turmoil !!

Peace is available if we choose it. In spite of chaos and unsolved problems around us, all is well. Things will work out.


"do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be make known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." ~ Philippians 4:6-7

The Impulse for Vengeance

" Revenge losses sight of the end in the means, but its end is not wholly bad--it wants the evil of the bad man to be to him what it is to everyone else. This proved by the fact that the avenger wants wants the guilty party not merely to suffer, but to suffer at his hands, and to know it, and to know why. Hence the impulse to taunt the guilty man with his crime at the moment of taking vengeance: hence, too, such natural expressions as "I wonder how he'd like it if the same thing were done to him". For the same reason when we are going to abuse a man in words we say we are going to let him know what we think of him".


from the Problem of Pain ~CS Lewis

Straighten Out

"My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.

Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart,

And so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your hear, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths". ~ Proverbs 3:1-6


Direct-(Yashar- Yah-shar) to be straight, right, upright, pleasing, good.

God will "straighten out " the path of His devoted, trusting servants.

Problems

Many of us lived in situations where it wasn't okay to identify, have or talk about problems. In this kind of environment denial can become a way of life--our a way of dealing with problems.

We may spend more time reacting to a problem than we do to solving it. We miss the point; we miss the lesson; we miss the gift. Problems are a part of life. So are solutions.

Having problems does not mean our Heavenly Father is picking on us. Some problems are part of life; others are opportunities to solve, and in the process we grow in grace and power and image of Christ as we rely on Him to help us solve problems.

Change

"Things change, not because we're controlling others,but because we've changed"