“How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘violence!’ but you do not save.”
Habakkuk 1:2
Sound familiar, have you ever demanded of God to know what is going on and why isn’t he doing anything to help? If you are like me, chances are you have wondered if God is even listening. Habakkuk expected answers from God about all the bad he was witnessing in his world, he wrestled with God over what he perceived as a lack of response from the LORD.
It feels like I have been wrestling with God for a very long time asking – when will my husband find a job? When will I find a job? How will we pay the bills? Why do those I love suffer from illness, or bad relationships? WHY? WHY? WHY? Hello… God, are you listening up there?
God doesn’t mind wrestling with us – He doesn’t mind all of our whys and we are not alone in our need to know. Abraham, Jacob, Job, Habakkuk and even Jesus all questioned God and made the choice to trust Him. What is important to remember, is that when we are tired of asking why, when we are worn out from wrestling with God – God is still God. God loves us and only wants the very best for us – sometimes the very best takes time.
A prayer
Father, there is so much going on in our world and our lives that we don’t understand, that causes us not only pain but doubt as well. Thank you for wrestling with us as we question the situations of our lives. Help us to remember that when we are tired of pounding on Your chest, that you will hold us. Be our peace and rest – for we are weary but you can restore us. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
I Dare You... I Double Dare You
“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven...’”
Matthew 6:9-10
More than 20 years ago I attended a one day retreat where the speaker spent the entire eight hours teaching about the Lord’s Prayer. I remember thinking there was so much more to the simple pray than I ever realized – after all I can probably say in 30 seconds. Recently however I was reminded of the importance of this prayer – the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. I was reading a book by Dave Earley called; Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders, and was once again reminded of the power that this simple prayer holds.
A short phrase in the Lord’s Prayer really caught my attention this time around – the phrase: “your will be done.” We often say we want God’s will but do we really? That is a dangerous phrase and to pray it sincerely we need to have a courageous faith. His will may require us to be willing to sacrifice a child – like it did Abraham. His will may require our own lives of us – like it did Jesus’. His will may require that we give up our cushy American life to serve him in a not so hospitable land. His will may not be what we want.
Dave Earley’s book really challenged me and so I have been concentrating on supercharging my prayer life and that includes saying the Lord’s Prayer several times a day and asking Him to give me the courageous faith needed to really want His will for me. To do this I need – we all need to trust, to have faith that God really does know what is best, that He really intends to bless and not harm and that good will come of bad – even when we don’t understand.
So I dare you – I double dare you to seek that courageous faith, to pray the Lord’s Prayer and when you get to “your will be done” ask it with a sincere heart, being ready to act on His answer.
A Prayer
Father, Your Son taught us to prayer – Our Father in heaven, hollowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, YOUR WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Jesus said that whatever we in His name we shall have and so we pray this prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Matthew 6:9-10
More than 20 years ago I attended a one day retreat where the speaker spent the entire eight hours teaching about the Lord’s Prayer. I remember thinking there was so much more to the simple pray than I ever realized – after all I can probably say in 30 seconds. Recently however I was reminded of the importance of this prayer – the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. I was reading a book by Dave Earley called; Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders, and was once again reminded of the power that this simple prayer holds.
A short phrase in the Lord’s Prayer really caught my attention this time around – the phrase: “your will be done.” We often say we want God’s will but do we really? That is a dangerous phrase and to pray it sincerely we need to have a courageous faith. His will may require us to be willing to sacrifice a child – like it did Abraham. His will may require our own lives of us – like it did Jesus’. His will may require that we give up our cushy American life to serve him in a not so hospitable land. His will may not be what we want.
Dave Earley’s book really challenged me and so I have been concentrating on supercharging my prayer life and that includes saying the Lord’s Prayer several times a day and asking Him to give me the courageous faith needed to really want His will for me. To do this I need – we all need to trust, to have faith that God really does know what is best, that He really intends to bless and not harm and that good will come of bad – even when we don’t understand.
So I dare you – I double dare you to seek that courageous faith, to pray the Lord’s Prayer and when you get to “your will be done” ask it with a sincere heart, being ready to act on His answer.
A Prayer
Father, Your Son taught us to prayer – Our Father in heaven, hollowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, YOUR WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Jesus said that whatever we in His name we shall have and so we pray this prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Hope is Here
“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.”
Lamentations 3:21-22
There is a popular television program called Once Upon a Time, its premise - all of our most beloved fairy tale characters are under a terrible curse, trapped in a world that is not their own and they have no memory of who they once were. Really not so unlike us living in this fallen world so far removed from how it was created, unable to remember who we were made to be.
A recent episode told the story of Hansel and Gretel – it was a bit different from the story we may have read but when it came down to the end of the story – the children were able to resist the offer of riches from the evil queen because they had hope in their father and family. It made me think about how much hope we can have because of the LORD’s great love.
The news these days is filled with loss and in many cases stories of hopelessness. A cruise ship runs aground, violent crime seems on the rise, a large employer in my own community is scheduled to close leaving hundreds of people without jobs. In the verses leading to today’s reading the author of Lamentations is reflecting on what has been lost he says “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me” (vv19-20). But then he remembers – I am not alone, I still have hope even with the losses I have suffered, even with the losses I may still face – because of the LORD’s great love I do not, we do not have to be hopeless. God never fails us if we just trust in Him.
I don’t know how the New Year has started for you – mine has not started on as positive a note as I would like – but there is hope because I serve a GOD that is so big that really I can’t comprehend the power available to me and His compassion and love never fails – He promises that.
A Prayer
Father, thank you for the hope we have in You. Thank you for your great love and for the compassion that never fails. Be with us, provide for us, show us your promises in actions. As we find our strength in you may we praise you in new and bolder ways. Help us also to share that hope with others. In the name of Jesus our hope, Amen.
Lamentations 3:21-22
There is a popular television program called Once Upon a Time, its premise - all of our most beloved fairy tale characters are under a terrible curse, trapped in a world that is not their own and they have no memory of who they once were. Really not so unlike us living in this fallen world so far removed from how it was created, unable to remember who we were made to be.
A recent episode told the story of Hansel and Gretel – it was a bit different from the story we may have read but when it came down to the end of the story – the children were able to resist the offer of riches from the evil queen because they had hope in their father and family. It made me think about how much hope we can have because of the LORD’s great love.
The news these days is filled with loss and in many cases stories of hopelessness. A cruise ship runs aground, violent crime seems on the rise, a large employer in my own community is scheduled to close leaving hundreds of people without jobs. In the verses leading to today’s reading the author of Lamentations is reflecting on what has been lost he says “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me” (vv19-20). But then he remembers – I am not alone, I still have hope even with the losses I have suffered, even with the losses I may still face – because of the LORD’s great love I do not, we do not have to be hopeless. God never fails us if we just trust in Him.
I don’t know how the New Year has started for you – mine has not started on as positive a note as I would like – but there is hope because I serve a GOD that is so big that really I can’t comprehend the power available to me and His compassion and love never fails – He promises that.
A Prayer
Father, thank you for the hope we have in You. Thank you for your great love and for the compassion that never fails. Be with us, provide for us, show us your promises in actions. As we find our strength in you may we praise you in new and bolder ways. Help us also to share that hope with others. In the name of Jesus our hope, Amen.
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Power of His Promise
I have read that God’s word contains 7,487 promises to his people. I have not counted them for myself – at least not yet. Today’s verse is one of those promises. Let me be very clear God is not a genie in a bottle to grant our every want and desire. He is a loving father desiring to give good things to his children in accordance with His good will and our faith put to action. Notice this verse says “if”. If we remain in Christ and His words dwell in us – what we ask we shall have. What kinds of things should we ask for?
Like Solomon we should ask for wisdom. We should ask for the ability to see the world as God sees it. We should ask for the power to love others the way God loves us. We should ask for things that will help us to serve one another. We should ask for a pure heart.
Here is another promise “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:31-34). God knows what we need and promises to provide it – I have seen this at work in my own life have you see it in yours?
We, who follow after Christ – who seek to be like him, we may – no, perhaps we must claim the power of His promises. If we do not are we keeping God in a box – in our own lives, in the life of our world?
I want to encourage you to seek His promises and to claim those that apply to where you are in your journey to eternity. Claim the power that is yours as a child of the King and watch him do a powerful work in your life and the world around you.
A Prayer
Father, thank you for the many promises you have given us. Thank you for the fathomless depth of your love for us. May we boldly – as we are told to do – come before your throne to claim the promises you have for us through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Your word instructs us to ask in His name and so in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Like Solomon we should ask for wisdom. We should ask for the ability to see the world as God sees it. We should ask for the power to love others the way God loves us. We should ask for things that will help us to serve one another. We should ask for a pure heart.
Here is another promise “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:31-34). God knows what we need and promises to provide it – I have seen this at work in my own life have you see it in yours?
We, who follow after Christ – who seek to be like him, we may – no, perhaps we must claim the power of His promises. If we do not are we keeping God in a box – in our own lives, in the life of our world?
I want to encourage you to seek His promises and to claim those that apply to where you are in your journey to eternity. Claim the power that is yours as a child of the King and watch him do a powerful work in your life and the world around you.
A Prayer
Father, thank you for the many promises you have given us. Thank you for the fathomless depth of your love for us. May we boldly – as we are told to do – come before your throne to claim the promises you have for us through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Your word instructs us to ask in His name and so in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Monday, January 2, 2012
He Knows Your Need
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
Matthew 6:26-27
It is the beginning of a new year - are you excited anticipating what lies ahead? I know for many the past year was more than difficult, ours was for sure. Yet as I look back I can clearly see God’s hand at work to provide. God know what you will need to get through each day of this year. He knows the plans he has for you and me.
He sees us, He knows when we are hurting, He knows what we need and He is working out our circumstances for our good. How often do we get anxious and question God and His motives? We demand action and solutions and if we don’t get them sometimes we threaten to abandon the One who know us best, other times we try to get to Him by another means – a new church, a change of friends, whatever we think will help us get through and get our way. Only it’s not about our way – it’s about His way.
He knows what we’ve been through and what lies ahead of us. He understands even when we don’t think He does. All He asks of us is that we trust Him – make this a year of less worry and more faith in the One who got you through last year.
A Prayer
Father, thank you for the lessons your creation can teach us. Through the many trials we are facing in our world and personal lives, may we trust You – may we find rest in You and may we find joy in the little things while we wait for Your help. Thank you for knowing what we need. In the name of Jesus, Amen
Matthew 6:26-27
It is the beginning of a new year - are you excited anticipating what lies ahead? I know for many the past year was more than difficult, ours was for sure. Yet as I look back I can clearly see God’s hand at work to provide. God know what you will need to get through each day of this year. He knows the plans he has for you and me.
He sees us, He knows when we are hurting, He knows what we need and He is working out our circumstances for our good. How often do we get anxious and question God and His motives? We demand action and solutions and if we don’t get them sometimes we threaten to abandon the One who know us best, other times we try to get to Him by another means – a new church, a change of friends, whatever we think will help us get through and get our way. Only it’s not about our way – it’s about His way.
He knows what we’ve been through and what lies ahead of us. He understands even when we don’t think He does. All He asks of us is that we trust Him – make this a year of less worry and more faith in the One who got you through last year.
A Prayer
Father, thank you for the lessons your creation can teach us. Through the many trials we are facing in our world and personal lives, may we trust You – may we find rest in You and may we find joy in the little things while we wait for Your help. Thank you for knowing what we need. In the name of Jesus, Amen
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