DAY THIRTY-FOUR - But my conscience isn't clear

Read Verses: Hebrews 10:19-25

Key Verse: Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

You know the feeling, you've dome something and now your conscience is bothering you.  You come to God and ask forgiveness, but guess what...it doesn't feel like you are forgiven.  The guilt remains and you are driven by this conscience that won't give up.  We've all been there.  We read in the Bible that if we confess our sins...He cleanses us.  But deep inside we still feel the pain of knowing we let ourselves and others down.

Remember this...Satan is a thief.  He will steal anything he can because its his nature.  If he can, he'll steal the grace from underneath our feet.  And that's what he tries to do.  He condemns, and when you respond with grace...he tries to steal that as well.  And your conscience isn't clear.  It nags and nags at you, telling you something MUST be wrong.  It pokes, and prods and says to you "Do you really think God is going to forgive you this time?"  He comes back as the accuser "You're guilty and even though you know you are not under condemnation it doesn't matter because YOU ARE GUILTY. What kind of Christian do you really think  you are...God can see the truth"

Many times we are taught to "let our conscience be your guide."  As soon as it squeaks we listen.  In fact, many people treat the conscience like the Holy Spirit.  If it says something, it must be right.  I mean isn't our conscience divinely inspired?  How can you not listen to it.  When it clicks into high gear, how can you ignore it.  Surely it knows better than  you do!

To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.   Titus 1:15

Here's a though worth thinking about...the conscience is just another broken part of us.  It doesn't hold the key to a deep walk with God.  It doesn't hold the keys to holiness and life.  It is NOT the Holy Spirit, nor does it necessarily speak on His behalf.  In fact, your conscience needs healing and it needs to come under the influence of the Holy Spirit.  Rather than let your conscience be your guide, how about this...let the Word of God be your guide.  Let the truth in the Word of God transform your conscience.  Your conscience, for all the good that it can do, sometimes works against  you.  It is under the curse of sin just like your feelings, and your emotions, and your thinking.  It really can't be trusted too far.  And it needs to be re-trained once you become a disciple.

Your conscience is part of common grace, it's part of being human that helps us relate to the law.  Our parents teach us right and wrong, and the conscience tries to hold those teachings in place.  Here is the problem, for many of us, the conscience knows nothing about grace, and forgiveness, and mercy, and redemption, and new life in Christ.  It only understands "you broke it - you bought it."  It needs to be retrained and taught that in Christ, you have been fully accepted by God.  It has to be taught that our worth doesn't lie in our adherence to its code, but rather lies in the face that we have been fully accepted by God in Christ.  It can be part of the condemning system that Satan uses.

We all have thought it "If I were a good Christian, I wouldn't have done this for that."  Or "God won't forgive me this time, I just keep on doing the same thing."  Or "I can't be free from this sin, its too much for me...I must not have the Holy Spirit...I must be out of God's grace."  Or "Maybe I am not a Christian at all."  We've all heard satan working through our conscience.  It can be discouraging, it can get us down.  And since our conscience teams up with our feelings and emotions as well as things we have believed our whole life...it can be quite believable.  What eventually happens?  We give  up on prayer because why would God want to hear from me?

Our conscience needs to be retrained.  It needs to be introduced to a new way of thinking, it needs to be introduced to grace.  Once it begins operating the way it was intended it can be a great force in our lives.  But until then, it can be destructive in our relationship with God.  So, how to bring our purity to our conscience.  Begin in prayer.  Prayer is a great place to work out our questions and problems with God.  Break through to God...walk past the accuser....pour out the lies even your conscience is telling about you...and let the grace of God speak and heal.  Come to his throne of grace with promises and pray...pray that His truth become REAL in your life.  Don't leave yourself in the place where guilt is king.  Keep coming back and bringing all of your turmoil to His shelter.  Only when the conscience can experience the grace of God in Christ, and it become for you a tool that can develop Christ's character.  Don't let go until he has finished his work in your heart.

Lord Jesus, sometimes I feel so burdened by guilt and pain that I shy away from being with you.  I sometimes feel even you reject me.  I bring my conscience to you, and ask that your healing grace transform it into a conscience like Yours.  I want it to be prodded by what is truly wrong in the world, not by my false beliefs.  Guide me into Your truth, cleanse me with Your Word.  Open my eyes that I might see myself, and everyone, in light of your grace and truth.  Transform my conscience and bring me to the peace of purity.  AMEN

DAY THIRTY-THREE - End the mind games and make me like you.

Read Verses: Revelation 12:7-12

Key Verse: “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

My mother and myself like to play games together.  When I was younger she used to chide me while we were playing.  She'd get a good hand at cribbage that I helped with and she'd say "atta boy Jamey, feeding your mother I see...can't help it I see...do it again."   Ooooooh, that used to get me so angry, so I would play harder and try to out think her...make even a bigger mistake.  She was bigger than life and always seem to beat me.  But looking back on it, I was letting her chiding get to me.

Life is like that.  Prayer is like that.  We have an enemy, Satan.  He's a crafty old buzzard, and he knows our buttons.  He tries to push them every chance he gets.  He really starts accusing us whenever we try and get things resolved in our lives.  We are ready for a breakthrough, and there he is on the sidelines telling us what a loser we are.  You can't do it Jimmy boy...you can't stick to anything...you'll blow it again, God knows that....why bother cause everyone is judging you...go ahead and try but you're gonna fail...you're not smart enough...you're not good enough...you're a failure...you're hopeless...ON AND ON IT GOES.  You can hear all the lies in the back of your head, yeah, all day long they nag at you and make you feel powerless to change.

My mother taught me an important lesson, you need to stop listening to the chiding of the enemy. You need to stop being discouraged.  You need to stop letting the enemy force your hand and cause you to make mistakes.  There are forces at work to make your life miserable.  You need to identify those forces and overcome them, or they will try and block you from receiving God's grace.

Satan wants to discourage you, and get you busy with anything other than what can really bring true healing to your soul.  He wants to keep you away from God...he wants to keep you away from the living water that refreshes your soul....the living bread which satisfies your every longing.  He wants to keep you away from church and especially away from prayer.  If he can keep you away from those things, he'll stop you from growing and experiencing true freedom...the kind of freedom that Jesus has for all of us once we get past all of Satan's lies and schemes.  What does Satan do to try and keep you away from God's throne of grace???

1) He can try and trap you in emotional turmoil...you'll say to yourself "I can't fight this", "This problem is too big, I'll have it for life", "Well, I got what I deserved, now I eat my just desserts".  Oh there is no end to how he tries to discourage us.  But know this...God is the God of healing, and miracles, and encouragement, and joy, and peace.  God may have an answer for you just two prayers away, God knows it, Satan knows it...but here you are in the middle ready to give up.  Don't give up, allow God to bring healing.

2) He can try to make you feel less than you are.  "Oh, God won't listen to me, I am nobody."  "God doesn't have time for me"  "I don't have enough faith"  "I'm not good enough."  Hey, you are the apple of God's eye...you always have been.  God will receive you like he receives his own Son.  Once you have been adopted into His family you have the same rights and privileges everyone else has.  God's not the one putting you down...think about that.  He has only good in store.  Maybe you've been around the wrong kind of people who like to judge you, but that isn't who God is.  And you need to find our more about Him.  He is awesome in his love and care for His children.

3) He'll try and get your mind off of divine help and get you thinking about something less powerful and life changing.  He'll tell you that you can fix it on your own.  He'll tell you that Jesus can't fix you, you need a new car, a new husband/wife, and new life.  Maybe you think if you ignore it, the problem will go away.  Go back to school...get a pilots license...take your mind off things.  There are a million distractions...none of which work better than a hug from Jesus.  Satan will stop at nothing to get you to chase an empty rabbit trail when you really need to spend time with your Heavenly Father.

Here's the truth...the thief (Satan) has come to steal kill and destroy.  He wants to do that to everyone. Jesus came that we might have life, and that we would have life to the full.  Now, you can let the thief rob you blind, or you can come back to God and invest some of your time in Him. He's got a proven track record at changing hearts and lives.

Where does the battle begin...it begins with a choice...Do you want to experience freedom and joy in your life?  Then learn to walk with God.  Do you want to fill your life with empty events which rob you of your time...walk with anyone other than God.  Satan will keep you busy, might keep your mind occupied...but deep down, DEEP DOWN, are you really experiencing life to the full?  Or are you just settling for something less.  Satan is an accuser, he always wants you to feel like your not worth it...God says you are worth it.........who you gonna believe.   Prayer is the place to do battle.  Its war out there...you know it, I know it.....take up the battle cry, and come into God's presence.  In his presence you'll find all the grace you need, and the false accusations will lose their power

Lord Jesus, as I draw near to you, I ask that you quiet my mind by Your Spirit.  I want to know you more and draw closer to you.  I want my mind to be free of all the lies the enemy has been telling me for years.  In your power heal me and fill me with your Spirit.  Silence the enemy in my life.  Let me hear your voice and the sweet sound of freedom in your presence.  Jesus, you are my Lord, you are my God, I commit my life to you and I renounce all the lies of the enemy.  Work a miracle in my life by transforming me into the likeness of you.  Lord make me like you, just make me like you.  AMEN

DAY THIRTY-TWO - Don't go it alone

Read Verses: James 5:13-18

Key Verse: Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.

We had just moved to Mississauga into a new townhouse.  I had never seen townhouses before, they all looked the same to me.  So, the day we moved in, I decided I was going outside to enjoy the new neighbourhood.  Forgot my house number and before long I was walking up and down the sidewalk wondering which townhouse was mine.  It was probably the first time in my life I felt lost and alone and scared and helpless.  No one around and I couldn't remember my house number.  I wanted to go inside where it was warm, where I new people.  Everything was too new.  I can remember the sense of panic I had, and the felling of being alone.  What a horrible feeling.

As we meditate tonight on the life of Jesus, we reflect on what it was like that night in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Here was Jesus, facing one of the worst spiritual battles of his life.  He goes into the garden and he asks Peter James and John to pray with him.  They of course go to sleep.  Jesus returns to find them sleeping, no once, but twice.  "Could you not pray with me one hour?"  Can you imagine how Jesus felt. Worst time of his life and his best friends go to sleep on him. Jesus must have felt alone as he prayed that night, and he didn't want to feel that way.  He wanted support, he wanted his friends to pray with him one hour...and they failed.

One question I think of is this: Why did Jesus need his disciples to pray for him?  If you think about it, his disciples probably weren't great prayer warriors...good sleepers though.  They didn't have the faith Jesus had...nor the relationship with God.  Jesus ultimately got through it, so really, did he need their prayers?  I think he did.  Sometimes when we are facing our deepest struggles we shouldn't be alone.  A chord of three is not quickly broken.  There is strength in friendship.  Jesus is teaching a principle...don't go it alone, even if you probably can.

All of us have had those times when we could use people around us to pray.  But somehow we fail to ask.  We get through it...or so we think.  What happens when the day comes when you don't get through it?  Jesus said to Peter that night "Satan wants to sift you like wheat."  Jesus knew Satan wanted to take his disciples out, as well as himself.  There was a spiritual battle going on of the likes we may never know.  Jesus knew more than anyone, we need each other at times like that.  Getting help from friends is not a sign of weakness, but of strength...its what Jesus did.  There may be more going on than we know...and an extra shoulder sure can make the difference.  Hey, when you are going through something....get someone to pray for you....or a couple people.....it can make a huge difference in the battle.

Consider this also...when his disciples failed him, there was an angel that appeared and gave Jesus strength.  AHA.....disciples failed, but God didn't.  He knows exactly what you need to get through it.  And if you do all the right things and your friends fail...God has your back.  That night, an angel was sent by God to help Jesus in his prayer.  God made up for the lack of help the disciples would have been.  Every feel alone, even when friends are concerned?  God has your back...trust him.

Why did God have Jesus's back.  Well, there is something else that happened when Jesus asked his friends to pray for him.  On the part of Jesus there was humility.  He asked for help.  Now, this blows me away...the Son of God asked for help from some mere mortals.  I know that sounds funny, but what does it take to ask for help from people who have a very limited ability to help?  It takes great humility...and God responds to great humility.  When we are humble, he steps it up on our behalf.  He knows exactly what we need...sometimes if we are prideful and never ask for help, he has no opportunity to send us strength.

There are all kinds of negative surrounding us...words, acts, news, people, demons, struggles, inner fear, shame...you name it.  It surrounds us.  Prayer is one of those things that God uses to insulate us from it, heal us from it, and give us strength to overcome it.  Why not lift up to God how you feel, about some real struggles you are going through.  Better yet...share that with a friend or two at church, and let them pray with you, and over you.  You're being humble, opening a door to God's help...your are sharing your burdens with your brothers, and the struggle might be lighter...and you are letting others pray for you, and that blesses their heart as well.  Prayer, sometimes its a team sport because maybe we can't do it all on our own...Just look at the example of Jesus.

Heavenly Father, reveal to me some true friends in my life who can pray for me, pray for healing and strength.   I want to trust you more, and trust others, but its hard.  I have been let down so many times.  But if I need to trust others, work in me to that end.  Give me strength to trust, help me to open up my heart.  For its in the strength of true humility that your Spirit brings healing.  Heal me Lord Jesus.  You are the God who heals.   AMEN


A story to reflect on:

A boy and his father were walking through the woods together. They came across a large log, blocking  their path. The boy turned to his father and said, “Do you think I can lift this log, Dad?” The father replied, “If you use all your strength, absolutely you can.” The boy rolled up his sleeves, bent his knees, and got his hands under the log. He locked his arms and heaved with every ounce of strength he had. But the log wouldn’t budge. He tried over and over again until at last, exhausted and breathless, he gave up.

He looked at his dad with disappointment and frustration and said, “You told me I could lift it!” His dad smiled and said gently, “I told you you could lift it if you used all your strength. You didn’t ask me for help.”

So the boy asked his dad to help him and together, they lifted the log out of their path.

Your strength isn’t held by you alone, but also by the people who march alongside you. When you feel unequal to the task in front of you, perhaps it is simply because you aren’t using all your strength.

And your strength is held also by your God...ask for help in prayer faithfully and always.

DAY THIRTY-ONE - Do you Belong to the people of prayer?

Read Verses: Acts 4:23-31

Key Verse: After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

How would you like to experience the shaking of the ground because the Holy Spirit is moving in the life of your church in power.  We see in this passage the Holy Spirit moving in the lives of His people and working through them.  Why?  Now, Acts is a book of history and not necessarily a book about what to do and when to do it.  It records what happened, but what happened may not be what needs to happen in EVERY case.  That's important!  God teaches his people through historical movements of the Holy Spirit...and sometimes he will make people take notice by doing "one time" special things, which he may never repeat.  For instance, the tongues of fire on people at pentecost.  Maybe it will never be repeated...but we know what God was purposing.  The same here....we need to be careful and pull out the principals which relate to us...today...in prayer.

The first thing I see is this, and I think this is a principal that is universal.  The people were ONE, they were united.  In verse 24 we read - "When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God."  They had a purpose that was united together.  There was a unity that existed in this group, and maybe it was always there.  But notice...please notice...they were one.  Do you want to see Holy Spirit fill your church...then get close to one another.  Unity of heart precedes the Spirit's presence.  You might say this...the Holy Spirit loves to fill places of worship where people love each other and have a genuine love for each other.

Think of the day of pentecost...everyone was tarrying in Jerusalem for a period of time...all together praying...for what - 10 days.  Sounds like a good old fashioned prayer meeting revival type thing if you ask me.  Spending 10 days together, pouring our their hearts in prayer, talking about what Jesus said and did, eating with each other...fellowshipping.  There was an intimacy with each other in that place...they "shared" their life together.

Here's what I notice...some of the people in church who are struggling the most...are the ones who don't make it out to church regularly...they don't make it to church events...they don't meet regularly with people at church...they "FEEL LIKE AN OUTSIDER".  Listen to me...if you feel like you don't belong...do something about it...BELONG.  God loves to move in the lives of His people when there is a sense of oneness and closeness.  Be of one mind and purpose.  Look for the outside to include them, and if you are an outsider let people know you need to feel included...but then change and be included.

You been to churches...so have I...where everyone says something about someone.  You're stabbing yourself in the foot...what, you think you can make a mockery of God's love in His house, and come home and all is well with you and Jesus.  Don't fool yourself...if you can't be one with God and His people in His House...you are probably overly self-righteous and don't have a clue.  Sorry I have to be so blunt...but look at the pharisees...all they were glad of is the fact they were not like the "others". When you DIVIDE God's house, it is not longer a place of prayer, but a den of thieves.  The Self Life has no place in the House of God.  Do you want HOLY SPIRIT to move in a powerful way...begin by making YOUR CHURCH a church that is intimate...that loves to be together.

The second thing I see is the lack of shame the early Church felt regarding the Gospel.  For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of God. Do you know what shame is?  It's a feeling that  you are broken and somehow unfixable.  It's a terrible thing to experience...the belief that your different than everyone else and that somehow you are broken beyond repair.  You envy others happiness, and friendships, and...well...you envy pretty much everything...cause you are broken inside.  You think everyone else has the answer you are looking for.  The same thing can happen in a church!!!

We say "If we did things like the New Testament church did things...wow."  We have a collective sense that our "modern" churches are missing something...that we are somehow broken.   The church is missing this or that...the preacher could be better...the music more uplifting...Not enough scripture being read...not enough tithers...sermon is too long...Mrs Patterson is wearing the wrong color hat. Oh gosh, it goes on and on...but I hear it.  The belief that somehow Christianity has gone off the rails and isn't as "pure" as it was in the early church.  Guess what?   That's what Satan wants you to believe because if he can get you to "think" that things are broken...you'll be ashamed.  AND WHEN YOU ARE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL THERE IS NO POWER.  "Oh, I am not ashamed of the Gospel, I am ashamed of this or that or the other thing."  I am afraid, the Gospel made those things too.   It all comes down to people feeling something about church today is broken.

I mean, TV says its broken.  Your non-Christians friend say its broken.  I mean, even Ghandi says it is broken...SO IT MUST BE BROKEN.  No, not it doesn't.  The church has always been imperfect. Their leaders imperfect.  Their members...imperfect.   The sermon...imperfect.  The blogs...same.  We are an imperfect people serving a PERFECT GOD.  Of course there are going to be issues, and those issues have been there from the start...don't be fooling yourself.  Most of the New Testament was written to those issues.  Now, stop being ashamed of who you are, of what you believe, of where you worship and start believing that the GOSPEL IS POWER...both in your life and in the life of your church.  

Here is this passage their eyes were on Jesus.  Read those verses again.  They were all servants of the Holiest of Servants...Jesus.  They knew the kings would rise up...the nations would rage...everyone would hate Jesus...and them.   But they couldn't care less, they wanted to take on the world because they were convinced the Gospel had the answer.

Maybe whats lacking in our lives is we are unsure of the power of God to us personally.  Well, then I have three things to say......First, get close to people at church and stop being divisive or a complainer.  Secondly, stop saying this or that is wrong with Christianity and start saying that nothing is wrong with Jesus.  Show a little pride for your Saviour.  Thirdly...when you have those two points settled...pray and draw close to God in the presence of God's People.  You'll find that when you choose to belong to His People and stand with them...your prayer life improves...in fact, everything improves.  We are to be a people of prayer.

Abba Father, teach us how to get along with each other.  Make me the kind of person that others look at and say "WOW, a man (or woman) of God, I want to get to know them."  Fill Your church with the closeness that exists between You and Your Son.  We want that same closeness between ourselves and our church family.  Make us one as you Holy Trinity are One.  Draw us away from the shame we feel about ourselves, our church, maybe even our God and fill us with Power Divine.  May the transforming power of Your divine nature change us and keep changing us.  AMEN

DAY THIRTY - In Jesus Name

Read Verses: John 14:9-14

key Verse: And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

When you end your prayer, how do you end it?  If you are like most Christians you say the words "In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen."  Or you say something very similar.  It's what we've been taught, when you pray, you pray in "HIS NAME".  We fulfill that by saying "in the name of Jesus".  But I am wondering if we aren't being a little too...literal when we do that?  Even sometimes the AMEN can be a bit on the superstitious side of things.  But...but....that's the way its supposed to be done.  Again again with the formulas...its one way it can be done, not necessarily the only way.  It's not like a stamp on the envelope...the letter is all written and ready for the mailbox...but it needs a stamp to make sure it gets there.   Do you really think your prayer won't be heard, or it will be ignored if you don't say "in Jesus name?"  Truly?

Ask yourself these questions.....

1. Is this three-word traditional prayer conclusion really what our Lord had in mind when He told His disciples to ask and pray "in My name"?

2. If it is not what he meant, do we honor him by saying "In Jesus Name?"  Or have we just entered into a type of religious superstition?

3. If this was not His intention, what do we need to do in order to  fulfill the "In my name" clause?

John 14:13-14 – "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

John 15:16 – "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

John 16:23-24 – "And in that day you will ask Me nothing.  Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.  Until now you have asked nothing in My name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

I deal with these verses all the time...people say "Jesus said to ask ANYTHING in his name and he would answer it."  And so, off they go and some silly selfish prayers emerge.  Will Jesus really do ANYTHING we ask if we slap the "in Jesus name" sticker on it?   Just put these three words at the end of your prayer and abra cadabra...VOILA...answered prayer?  No questions asked? And, is it true that speaking these three words represents the spiritual fruit of being chosen by Him? Oh, and will tacking these three words onto the end of our prayer guarantee joy? Then there’s this catch...it always has to glorify the Father.  This gets pretty confusing, maybe even restrictive.

We might have to go to other verses in the Bible to explain the phrase "in his name."  This is always a good thing to do, especially when there seems to be confusion around a verse or two it is used in.  Remember, confusion if from the enemy...where there is confusion there certainly are lies present and misunderstanding...To understand His intention, it is helpful to discover that the New Testament speaks of doing other things in His name.  For instance:

In Matthew 18:2 Jesus speaks of being gathered “in My name”.

In Mark 9:37 He said to receive a child “in My name”.

In Mark 9:41 He speaks of giving a cup of cold water “in My name”.

John 1:12 says that we become children of God when we believe “in His name”.

John 20:31 says that by believing we “have life in His name”.

Let me ask some more questions...when you start church do you say "This morning, welcome to Fellowship Church...we meet today IN THE NAME OF JESUS?"  The last time you helped someone in need...did you say "I am giving you this quarter to help you buy a coffee, but you probably buy beer, IN JESUS NAME?  I don't think so.  The use of "in his name" means so much more than just a few words.

In both the Old and New Testaments, to do something in the “name” of God, or another person, was to do it in compliance with that person’s character.  It meant to do something just as that person would do it, and in a way that honors the reputation of that person.  It was to be an agent of that person's character saying and doing and being EXACTLY what the person who sent you would say and do and be.

So, what do you suppose Jesus had in mind when He told us to pray “in His name”? He really meant that we should pray in compliance with His character, praying just as He would pray, and in order to honor His reputation and purposes in this world.  So how can we do that more effectively?  Well, when we pray...pray from a desire to be more like Christ.  This is the end purpose of all prayer, we want to exude Christ's Character.  When people hear us pray they should have a sense that this is the kind of prayer Jesus would pray....or Paul....Or Peter....Or Moses....Or Elijah.   It is a prayer that comes to the Father and speaks from the heart regarding the Will of the Father.  Do we need to end the prayer "in Jesus name?"   No, not really...but you can, nothing wrong with it.  I am used to doing it from years of practice...but don't use phrases and words without understanding...or not for long. Such traditions without purpose is what got the pharisees into trouble in the first place.

Holy Spirit, fill us with the Character of Christ.  Change us, change our hearts, or desires, make us truly one with the Father in unity and purpose.  And teach us to pray, not with flowery words and pretty phrases, but words filled with your power and compassion, words filled with a knowledge of the Fathers heart and purpose.  Make our every thought be yours, make our every movement be in step with You.  Transform our lives so our prayers will truly be in the "name of Jesus."  In honor of your purpose for me...AMEN

DAY TWENTY-NINE - Do you know more than God?

Read Verses: Job 38:1-7

Key Verse:“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?  Brace yourself like a man;  I will question you, and you shall answer me.

Lets go back to the story of Job.  What a trial that man went through, and the questions he had...wow. What would we have done in his shoes?  Well, life has a way of throwing us a curve ball, and we need to find ways of dealing with that curve ball.  I've talked to a lot of people over the years, all kinds of problems...all kinds of damage.  Here is what I know...we all struggle with the mysteries of life and how to handle it all.  What advice do you have to the woman in abuse, to the child facing racism at school, to the child of alcoholic parents, the the cancer victim...shall I go on.  Look around, you'll see meaninglessness everywhere.  Very few people get through life unscathed.  Job was one of those people who had the stuffing beat out of him by life.  And at every turn, he was praying, lifting up his heart to God.

Job was looking for answers...answers that never came.  The longer answers don't come, the more it seems like our hearts get discouraged (Proverbs 13:12)  Can you imagine how discouraged Job could have been?  Wonder how many times he really thought how hopeless his situation was?  But he went on didn't he?  He made it to the end, and so can we.  How long did his trial go on?  Who knows, but it always seems like one more day is one more day too much, doesn't it?  My advice, don't give up on God good Christian brother or sister.  Let God be in control.  He has the stopwatch, everything ends and it always seems darkest right before dawn. Have to fear, this too shall end.

Be like Job who keep praying and praying and kept on holding on.  Would have been easy to quit in his case...maybe yours too.  But don't quit.  I don't know if you have ever thought about this, but when we are tempted to "quit" we are saying many things.  Giving up says a lot about us, I wonder if you can see your attitudes with God in your attitudes with other people?  Time to grow

One...we may be attempting to punish God for taking so long...trying to manipulate him into granting your request.   God, I am giving up, it isn't working, you're not listening.  Do you know what happens when WE try to control God?  You are generally speaking, wasting your time.  But more importantly, you are giving up on the freedom that Christ died to give you.  You see, in order to be truly free, you need to give up your need to control others...including self.....including God.  How many of us miss this golden lesson in life because we are too busy trying to control those around us...our spouses...our kids...our friends...our families...our environment? When we control, we lose control...and never quite get to that awesome place of trusting God.  He only becomes another "entity" to control.  Do you really think you can control things better than God can?

Two...we are implying we know more than God.  How you ask?  By giving up you are saying this: "God, if it were me I would have already answered."  Listen to what one commentator says: "You imply you are kinder than God (If I were God I'd answer this immediately), smarter than God (If I were God I'd answer it this particular way, or greater than God (I have the right to be angry with God)."

In a sense, that was Job's problem.  He was coming pretty close to the place where he was telling God: "I can run the universe better".  What does God do, he comes to Job and says "Let me ask you a question".  Prayer helps us focus.  God will bring about justice for his loved ones (Luke 18:7-8)  He cares about you more than you can ever know.  You just need to give God a chance.  And keep hanging on.  Don't give up no matter what.  GOD KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING.  That was his message to Job.  That is always his message..."I run the universe, I know what is on your heart little child, trust me."  Perhaps you're praying for someone else to change...well, God knows...give him time to change their heart and show them the emptiness of their ways.

Lord Jesus, I trust you and your infinite knowledge of my life and the universe.  Help me to trust in your knowledge.  Too often I want to be in control, maybe too often I have tried to tell you the best way to do things.  Forgive me for my pride.  Open my eyes that I may not obscure your plan in my life.  Let me see clearly the things of the kingdom, and rule in my heart.  Give me a heart which can persevere and see that your timing is always right.  Use me to further your kingdom.  AMEN     

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT - I know whom I have believed

Read Verses: 2 Timothy 1:6-12

Key Verse: That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

So your prayers aren't being answered.  We seem to keep coming back to this topic...it is a big one isn't it.  Well, we keep coming back to it cause there is so much to know.  Too often we think we need to convince God that our problems are real.  "God, look at the mess I am in, can't you see...why doesn't it bother you that I am suffering like this."  We've all been there.  You know, God knows all about your problems, he saw them long ago before you even realized they were on the way.  Your problem(s) don't surprise God...they may surprise you...but not Him.

So, you may be asking...if he knows all this, why isn't he fixing it?  Why does it feel that God is putting my life on hold?  Well think about this...You want an answer to prayer, but at what expense? \What's the cost for your answered prayer?  Maybe you don't get where I am going...You want a solution to your problem...God  has a plan and a purpose for you, and the world.  What happens when these two ideas collide?  What's His purpose and His plan?  You may have never asked that question, but ask it now.  What is his purpose for you?  Here is where two worlds collide.

God's purpose for you is that you would come to know him more deeply while your problem persists. You may have no interest in knowing God more deeply, or maybe you want to do it on your own terms...See, you just want a resolution to your problem.  You just want a fix.  God's looking for more, he wants a relationship.  He wants all the turmoil in life caused by sin to cause us to draw closer to Him.  His grace is all we need.  Here there is one of our problems...we see our problems and the resulting unanswered prayer as an obstacle.  Really its an opportunity to draw closer to God and learn more about his Grace and Mercy, about his timing, about FAITH.  The problems you face are opportunities to know more about God, and His purpose for you.  Maybe he wants to mature you to be more like Christ.  Maybe he is working on getting you more committed so you can use your gifts in ministry.  Well, you get my meaning.  You eyes are on the present, fix this problem now because I am uncomfortable.  God's eyes are on something else, giving you an authentic Abba Father experience.

A relationship with God takes a long time...just like any good relationship.  Take a husband and a wife.  Years of trusting each other and depending on each other in good times and bad times go into making a good marriage.  What happens when one partner says to the other partner....hey, fix this now.  You can imagine what happens when one person is the fixitall person and the other one just keeps asking and asking but never putting their fair share into a relationship.  It works that way with God as well.

Too often we lose patience with what God is trying to do in us and through us.  We decide its because we don't have enough faith, or our method is wrong, or .....???   On and on it goes...perhaps a new church will help?  Maybe I need to cast out some demons?  Or Plead the blood of Jesus, or come more boldly into God's presence and demand.  Maybe you can explain to him again just exactly what the problem is, cause obviously He doesn't get it.

I guess we can stop at this point and ask one big important question: "Do you trust God, that he knows what he is doing in your life?"  It really comes down to that.  When problems hit, our first response should be to God - "Lord, work through me to reveal yourself in this situation.  Change me and not necessarily my circumstance.  Make me victorious over each and every situation through the development of my character...not by making it easier on me."   Easy fixes sometimes create shallow relationships.  Persevering through the storm creates an experienced hardened sailor.  Victory over the small things give opportunities to be victorious over bigger things.  Any way you slice it, prayer can turn a passing trial into a great opportunity for growth.  Go forth and grow.

Lord Jesus, sometimes I can't see past the inconvenience of the problem in my life.  They seem to rise up and choke my walk with you.  I don't want to be the kind of plant that constantly struggles with the worries and cares of life.  Make me more, bring me to the place where I am producing all kinds of fruit in the kingdom....maybe 60 times, even a hundred times more fruit.  Grow my character, make me more like Christ...draw me closer to you...cause my eyes to see more than my present place in life and all the associated problems.  I wan to rise up and be victorious over self, and experience the new life you purchased for me on the cross.  AMEN

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN - Meaning of the word "prayer"

Read Verses: Philippians 4:4-9

Key Verse:Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Prayer is not a natural thing for people to do.  Oh, we wish, and hope, and even beg.  But true prayer, its a rare and beautiful thing and goes beyond what these words entail.  What we believe about prayer, about God, and about the purpose of prayer does a lot to influence how we approach prayer. We should probably take a moment and look at the word for prayer in the bible.  Sometimes, when you get the definition of a word, it can bring a lot of detail into what that word means.

The main word for prayer is proseuchomai or proseuche.  If it looks funny, that's because it's greek. And here are some definitions for that word that you will find if  you look it up in a dictionary for ancient greek works...or other similar books dedicated to helping us understand the original meaning of works.

HELPS Word Studies says this: "proseúxomai (from 4314 /prós, "towards, exchange" and 2172/euxomai, "to wish, pray") – properly, to exchange wishes; pray – literally, to interact with the Lord by switching human wishes (ideas) for His wishes as He imparts faith ("divine persuasion"). Accordingly, praying (4336/proseuxomai) is closely inter-connected with 4102 /pístis ("faith") in the NT. See: Ac 6:5,6,14:22,23; Eph 6:16-18; Col 1:3,4; 2 Thes 3:1,2; Js 5:13-15; Jude 20."    Now if you read that, it's very interesting what the author of the word definition is trying to say.  Let it sink in for a minute.

Prayer (proseuche) is actually a compound word in the Greek which means two or more Greek words are squished together in order to create another word, which often means something new, but maintains the essence of the words it was created from.   We do it in English all the time.  We have the word "talented" and combine it with "multi"...we get multi-talented.  And this means a person who has multiple talents.  Same in the Greek.   So lets split apart the word for prayer and look at it more closely.

The word "pros" which starts both words has a wonderful use.  the word means to “belong to” or “come near to” or “to pertain to” or “draw nigh.” It means “DRAWING VERY CLOSE” as if to speak something clear and intimate from very close proximity. Another scholar says the word pros is used to portray the intimate relationship that exists between the members of the Godhead. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.…" The word "with" is taken from the word pros. By using this word to describe the relationship between the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is telling us that theirs is an intimate relationship. One expositor has translated the verse, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was face to face with God.…"

So what a picture we are have regarding prayer.  First and foremost, it means to draw very close to God in a similar way that the Son draws close to the Father.  That's why we look into words, they are full of these precious little gems that you never see any other way.  Here is why some of our prayer lives stink.  Prayer is drawing close to God in Spirit.  It is developing intimacy with God.  God needs to change us and prayer is that lifeline which brings understanding and change into our lives. We often treat prayer as in impersonal way to ask God for things we need.  Sometimes we see prayer as a power that can change other things or people. Prayer does change things, but it starts by changing us. When Jesus drew near to His Father in prayer, he was experiencing something that we all want to experience.   And as we draw closer to God and meet him face to face in prayer, he imparts wisdom and love, our wills begins understanding His will.  Our lives are transformed.

The second part of that word is even more interesting.  The second part of the world proseuche is taken from the word euche. The word euche is a Greek word that describes a wish, desire, prayer, or vow. It was originally used to depict a person who made some kind of vow to God because of some need or desire in his or her life. This individual would vow to give something of great value to God in exchange for a favorable answer to prayer.  We can be reminded of the story of Hannah in the Old Testament or even a sacrifice.  Sacrifice is closely associated with this word.  It portrayed an individual who desired to see his prayer answered so desperately that he was willing to surrender everything he owned in exchange for answered prayer.

What does God want us to surrender to him?  What kind of sacrifice can we make?  What can we exchange that is precious to us, for an answer to prayer?  You can see why this word is not very well explained today...it lends itself more to and Old Testament sacrificial system. But not really.  What God wants is a pure and contrite heart.  What he wants us to sacrifice is our self-life, our desire to do things our way.  We open up our hearts to doing things God's way, whether we understand or not.  Is this the kind of prayer life you have?  Too often we are scared to draw close to God, afraid the change he might ask of us.  After all, God is best kept at a distance (that was sarcasm).  Prayer is necessary to understand God's will and purpose.  What do you have that he wants????  Your heart and comittment.

Lord Jesus, lead us closer to you today.  Bring us face to face with the Father that we might know and understand him better.  Meet us in prayer...our sacrifice is this...a heart that wants to change and be closer to you.  A heart that desires to know what it means to be part of the family, adopted into the House of God.  We don't know how to draw close in prayer, respond to our faith and draw close to us, teach us the way.  Make our wills one with the Father's.  AMEN

DAY TWENTY-SIX - The mystery of prayer

Read Verses: Romans 8:22-27

Key Verse: We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

If you are like me, or like most people in fact, you struggle in prayer.  It's not that  you really struggle with the words, or with God...prayer itself is a mystery.  You hears other people say "God said this to me" or "God told me to..."  And you wonder, why doesn't God say that to me.  Or we meditate on God's will and we just aren't sure what God wants us to do.  It all seems so trite sometimes.  We get lost in the feeling that prayer just doesn't do anything.  Or maybe it would, but I don't know how to do it right.  It all comes down to "discouragement".  Sometimes prayer discourages us because it just seems to be fruitless and unjoyful (had to make that word up just for the experience of struggling in prayer).

Now sometimes, its not a problem with prayer...it's a problem with our expectations.  We want to hear God like we do a preacher on Sunday mornings.  We want a prayer experience with God that gets rid of all the doubts we have.  Don't we?  We want prayer to be our secret door into the garden of God where we can find assurances of His reality.  In prayer, we want all our questions answered, our doubts removed, our fears relieved.  We want clarity of purpose, clarity of His will, clarity of mind and spirit.  We are really looking for an out of this world experience in prayer which lifts us up and gives us a mystical proof for God.  And when prayer isn't that supremely mystical experience, when our prayers are met by the silence of faith.  We wonder "Why pray."  Are our expectations of what prayer really is too "spiritual"?  

Well, be discouraged no longer.  I know, that's easy to say...but this passage was designed by Paul through the Holy Spirit to teach us a great truth about prayer...it works, but not the way we think it does.  We come to God in prayer "discouraged".  Our hearts are groaning, experiencing the pain of not knowing his will completely or perfectly.  We have doubts, the future is cloudy.  We aren't sure what God really wants from us. We aren't used to living by faith day in and day out without a nice "scooby snack" once in a while.  BUT, WE CAN BE.  The Holy Spirit hears our heart...he hears all the groaning we do as we wrestle with the uncertainties of growing as a Christian.  And the Spirit takes all of our mis-information and yearnings and desires and puts them on the potters wheel.  He spins all that clay into a beautiful prayer to the Father...he knows what you need before you ask.  And the Holy Spirit himself takes it all and prays for you on your behalf.  Every time you pray, the Holy Spirit unscrambles it, readjusts it, re-purposes it just for your life.  Your prayer does something, and you might not even be aware what it is.  One commentator says this:  "Paul is saying … that our failure to know God’s will and consequent inability to petition God specifically and assuredly is met by God’s Spirit, who himself expresses to God those intercessory petitions that perfectly match the will of God. When we do not know what to pray for—yes, even when we pray for things that are not best for us—we need not despair, for we can depend on the Spirit’s ministry of perfect intercession “on our behalf.”..."

Now I don't know about you, but I really really really am thankful that the Holy Spirit is constantly praying with me sorting out my mistakes as we pray.  He's like the perfect editor...he listens to what we say, fixes the grammar, adds some edits and extra notes...and takes the finished copy to the Father and says..."Here is what we are asking for."

Prayer does some marvelous things.  Don't cease praying for we always have a helper who is filling in when you are weak.  We benefit from His ministry when we take time out of our day to go to God and say "I don't know what I need today, but you do Abba Father...listen to my heart."  I once was at the bedside of my mother as she lay dying.  I really stink at prayer, so no fancy words came out, just a simple prayer that went something like this..."Lord you know how much I love my mother, save her, I'm not ready for that kind of grief today, have mercy on me."   Now, I don't know what God heard, but that night He basically brought my mother back from the dead.  Her organs started functioning again, her blood cleared up.  Her skin which had long turned black and splotchy because pink again.  A miracle happened overnight...The Holy Spirit had used someone's prayer and a miracle occurred. God is that awesome.  He knows what we need, and if we'd spend time in prayer, even asking for stupid things...he'll even fix our prayer and do something wonderful.  Do you believe?

Prayer is a supernatural dose of a mystical experience that goes beyond human limitation to describe and put into words...perhaps we have to grow more before we really understand.  But, trust God to grow you as you continue to do what you "ALREADY KNOW TO BE HIS WILL....PRAY"

Heavenly Father, I won't even try to put this prayer into words...you know what is on each of our hearts today...Holy Spirit, mold our prayer into a masterpiece of Your choosing.  For each of us, listen to our hearts and begin providing what we are really needing today, and everyday.  AMEN

DAY TWENTY-FIVE - Keeping it Simple

Read Verses: Matthew 26:36-46

Key Verse: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

As we approach Easter, lets turn our focus to a prayer that Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. Many of you know the events of Easter, but lets look a little more closely at the prayer that Jesus makes to His Father.  It's in our key verse just above.  That was it.  That summed up His prayer to His Father.  Did he pray other things...probably, he prayed for what may have been three hours.  I'm sure he had other thing to say, but maybe not.  But we do know one thing for sure...this is something he prayed...and I want you to notice how simple a prayer it is.

If you're like me, you aren't great at making "speeches" during prayer.  You know, those people who can pray for 10 minutes in perfect King James english using flowery words you have to look up in the dictionary later.  They seem so elegant praying to God...so much so we say to ourselves "Ain't no way I am ever going to pray out loud, I can't pray like that."  Prayer isn't about how fancy you can make things sound.  Prayer isn't about how long you can say those fancy things.  Prayer is the simple heart cry of a Child to his Father.  We need to alway bear that in mind.  Prayer by its nature is supposed to be simple communication with the Father.  If someone is telling you that your prayers aren't long enough or fancy sounding enough or too simple...point them to the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane.

Gethsemane, it was a place of intense struggle for Jesus.  Satan was attacking on all sides, the cross was coming, Satan was wanting to sift his disciples like wheat.  The smell of death hung in the air and the heart of Jesus was so heavy he could almost not bear the pain.  At this moment, one of the hardest Christ ever had to deal with, who does He pray to His Father?  Very simply.  I mean, most difficult time of his life and he utters a one sentence prayer.  He prayed more for the disciples an hour earlier in John chapter 14-17.  Surely He had more He could have prayed.  Maybe He did, maybe He didn't...but the Bible wants us to know that this prayer was enough for the occasion.

I don't know about you, but knowing Jesus prays like this and is heard gives me an awful lot of freedom in prayer.  I'm not a fancy speaker, and when pastors pray together, trust me, they can be a fanciful bunch.  My prayers always sound so...so...childish compared to a lot of theirs.  But then I realize, I am thinking about the wrong things.  I am worried about how I sound to other people rather than how I sound to God.  God doesn't need all that fancy stuff, although he doesn't really mind it if that is what is on your heart.  He just wants to hear from his child...even a short sentence prayer like what Jesus prayed.

How freeing is that?  You don't pray so other people can think how spiritual you are.  You pray so that Your Father can hear whats on your heart.  I do a lot of work on computers and the principle we have is this...keep it simple.  Of course, we usually add a "stupid" at the end to make up the word KISS. But the idea is the same...keep it simple.  Think of it this way...if this is the prayer that Jesus prayed when he was under so much agony and anguish that it was like he was sweating drops of blood, then its not about the words, or the length, or the oratory skills, or the theatrical pauses, or the tone of your voice...its about heart.  What is on your heart that you really want to say to God.  God doesn't need buttering up.  He doesn't need fancy shmancy stuff.  He needs to hear from His Child, the one He loves, the one He sent His Son to die for.  Just a simple sentence prayer is enough at times.

Lord Jesus, sometimes I don't know how to pray.  Worse yet...sometimes I feel like my prayers aren't worthy enough cause I don't know what to say, or how to say it.  Remind me always that you care less about words and more about intent.  You want to hear what's on my heart, no matter how it sounds. You want to hear what's really bothering me.  You want me to remember that you are available 24/7 to listen to whatever is on my heart.  I lift up my heart today and ask you to fill it with Your Spirit. And help me to enter your presence as a child enters the presence of his/her Father.  AMEN 

DAY TWENTY-FOUR - Royalty

Read Verses: Hebrews 4:14-16

Key Verse: Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

I don't know anyone who is really high up on the social scale, maybe you don't either...so we'll have to use our imaginations.  But suppose one of us wanted to ask the President of the United States a question and we saw him in a McDonalds...we walk up to him and say "Hey Mr......" The next words out of our mouths would probably be "Don't shoot, I'm unarmed."  I don't think the president would take kindly to some stranger approaching him without a security check, etc.  In fact, its like that with most people who feel important...if you want to meet them, you got to know somebody important.

For instance, I have a friend who took a class with 2 chefs who used to cook for the white house.  She had a fancy business card and everything to show.  She met them, talked with them, cooked with them and learned all kinds of culinary secrets.  Now, if I had paid the fee, maybe I could have met them too.  But, even they are "more important" than I am and I'd need someone like my friend to introduce me.  WHICH SHE CAN NOW DO...YEAH!!!!!!  Some good eats coming up in the future :)

In the Old Testament, royalty was a lot like that.  You needed an invitation to come into the king's presence, or it could be curtains for you.  Queen Esther had such a choice to make, the Jews were about to be persecuted and choices had to be made.  Esther made a decision to come into the king's presence unannounced.  Here is what she says about it in Esther chapter 4...Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Notice the phrase.....If I perish, I perish.  She had no confidence coming to speak to the king unannounced.  In fact, it could mean her life if he were in a bad mood.  Needless to say in the story of Esther...she received favor from the king and was heard.  Now I want to talk about coming into someone else's presence who is even more important...GOD.  In our key verse today, we can come into God's presence with boldness and confidence...unannounced even...and find mercy and grace. Why can we do this with God and not royalty?  Well, lets not talk about some people over inflated sense of importance...but rather talk about the work of Jesus Christ.  Romans 8:34 talks about Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.  Guess what...he has introduced us to His Father on our behalf.  He's already made an appointment for us.  What great news...but wait, there's more.  Not only has Jesus paved the way for us to come into God's presence.  He also paved the way for us to be adopted into His family.  Here is a truth about prayer...when we pray, we pray as family, not as peasants trying to earn the favor of a monarch.  

God has adopted us as His very own, and we also have Jesus as mediator.  What could possibly go wrong?  Absolutely nothing.  We can come into God's presence boldly and humbly knowing that we will be received and listened to.  Remember, prayer is about relationship first.  It's a family thing.  God isn't just a nice idea, He is real, and He is our Heavenly Abba.  We have been covered by the blood of Jesus.  Our sins are forgiven.  We have been adopted into the Family of God.  We can pray having full confidence that we WILL be heard.  No grovelling for us.  In a sense you could say that Jesus makes us royalty.  We are a child of the King.

Many times we feel ashamed or fearful or unsure as we pray to God.  Does he hear us?  Is he listening?  Is he listening to me?  Does he really Care?  Yes, YES.....YES to everyone of those questions.  He loves us as His own dear Son.  Why wouldn't he care and listen.  But more importantly we have Jesus interceding on our behalf.  He is up there PRAYING FOR US.  Don't know if you realize that?  Jesus is not only paving our way to the Father, but also praying for us and lifting up our needs already.  The Father probably doesn't hear anything from us He hasn't already heard from His son on our behalf.   So Pray....Pray boldly knowing you can come into God's presence because of the work of Jesus Christ.  It's a family thing.

Heavenly Father, thank you for Your Son.  Thank you for providing Him as a provision for all of our needs, and for making a path for us to come into your presence without fear.  We know you don't have to listen...not because of anything that we have done.  But we do know that you DO listen, because of what your Son has done for us.  Father, teach us what it means to be Your child.  We want to know everything that it means to be a Child of God.  Work in our hearts bringing us to a deeper knowledge of what it means to be part of Your Family.  In the name of Christ we pray...AMEN