Perform Consistently 3

Numbers 13:30-32

Before arriving at our current appointment the superintendent for our church district held a funeral. It wasn’t for any particular person. The funeral – including a donated casket and headstone – was for “I Can’t.” He was urging everyone in this symbolic gesture to say good-bye to an attitude of negativity and to embrace an attitude of consistent performance.

Before entering the Promised Land Moses sent spies into the land to get a good look at what was awaiting the Israelites. The spies returned with samples of the abundance of the land, yet they did not move forward. What did Caleb want to do? What did the other spies do to prevent it?

There are many ways to interpret what went on in Numbers 13. Some point out Caleb’s attitude of relying on God while others relied on themselves and failed to act. The fruits the spies brought back were incredibly abundant and of enormous size. They said the land flowed with milk and honey.

And yet they did not want to act. They allowed their own fears to overtake them. Their own doubts caused them to “spread a bad report” to the people. An interpretation can be that these spies told lies and fostered negative rumors about the land. Because of that the people failed to perform.

And because of their failure the Promised Land was withheld from them. God made certain that those who doubted would wander the wilderness until they died. The promise of a land of abundance was then passed on to the next generation.

We are given God’s promises for a bright future, a future of hope and success. But to reach that wonderful future, to receive the promise from God we are called to act. We are called to perform our ministries with faith, trusting that god will be with us as we go.

If we will perform our ministries, as we are called to do, then we must say farewell to the “I can’t” attitude. We must refuse to listen to those who choose not to perform and go forward with our prayers and plans to serve God’s kingdom.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What will it take for you to say “I can?”

Faithful in Prayer 5

2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

One of the most memorable moments from my Emmaus Walk experience was when the leaders presented a list of names of people who were praying for all of us involved in the weekend. Prayers were being offered 24 hours a day from all sorts of people, most of whom we did not know. Seeing so many names and realizing that other people were lifting me in prayer had an impact.

There have been other times when a prayer offered on my behalf has meant so very much. To know that others are willing to take a moment of effort to address God for my benefit is truly moving.

In this second letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul is asking for prayer. Why does he want prayer? What encouragement is offered in verse 3?

Paul’s request may at first seem selfish. He wants prayer for himself and his ministry team – Silas and Timothy. But what at first may seem selfish is actually very sound.

Paul realizes that he needs the prayers of others so that ministry might move forward. And he is not being selfish, he is being bold in his requests.

I think this brief passage addresses two key issues that we so often overlook. The first is the fact that we need to keep ministry and the faith of ourselves and others as part of our regular prayer life. So often prayer becomes a laundry list of desires and needs, a “wish list” for the believers. We go to God and ask for healing or better jobs or peace of mind.

While there is nothing wrong with presenting your needs to God, we also need to go to God and ask for stronger faith. We need to go to God and ask for others we know to be given faith. We need to go to God and ask for success in ministries – our own and the ministries of our church or other individuals we know. Our prayer requests need to expand beyond ourselves and encompass the work and the faith of others.

The second key issue often neglected is the fact that the Lord is faithful. We can come to God in desperation. We can cry out to God, and so often we wonder if He hears what we are asking for. Yes, God hears us. God is faithful. God wants to respond to our prayers.

What we must trust in is that God is faithful AND God knows better than we do what we need. God’s response to our prayers is the perfect answer. It may be different than what we seek, but we must trust that it better than what we hoped for.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What ministry needs your prayer?

Faithful in Prayer 4

Luke 11:5-8

I remember when I was young being shocked the day my mother called friends and invited our family over to their house.

“Can you do that?” I asked.

“Of course,” my mother said. “They are our friends.”

As time has passed I have seen the truth in that statement. You can be completely honest with friends. You can ask help from friends without inconveniencing them, and you will be welcomed even when you are the one inviting yourself.

In this passage Jesus has begun a lesson on prayer, presenting an outline to prayer that we now know as The Lord’s Prayer. What is the example Jesus gives here? How does the friend at home react to his neighbor? What is the lesson?

We have all experienced the person who nags and pesters and persists in a matter. And most of us have been like the friend who was already in bed – you may not want to do it out of goodness, but you will respond just to get some peace.

This little parable is an example to us on how we should approach God with our prayers. The emphasis from Jesus (in verse 8) is that if we are persistent and bold we will likely get a response from God. Christ’s teaching is that we are supposed to be bold in our approach. This is something I have urged in the past – don’t be afraid to go to God with big requests.

When we pray for other people be willing to ask for a great deal – peace of mind, a new attitude, a change of heart. If someone is sick don’t be afraid to ask for the miracles – ask for complete healing, total restoration. Jesus himself encourages us to be bold.

But what strikes me as well is that the neighbor in need did not go to a stranger. He went to a friend to get his help. It may have been his boldness or his persistence that got the friend to respond, but it was the friendship which paved the way for the request to begin with.

So it is with God. We are urged to be bold in our prayers to God, but I think we also need to remember that when we are approaching the Lord in prayer we are approaching a friend. We give God lofty titles – Mighty God, Lord, Almighty, Jehovah, King. These words might intimidate us and make us shrink away from asking too much.

God is indeed all of those things that we ascribe to Him, but He is also a friend who waits for us to be bold enough to ask.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What is your attitude in prayer?

Faithful in Prayer 1

James 5:16

This weekend in church we sang "Untitled Hymn" by Chris Rice. (play the video above or visit http://102grow.blogspot.com/ to view it!) One of the lines in that song that always strikes me is to remember when we walk, sometimes we fall.

Today's reading references this idea. The Greek word used for sins here means to stumble or fall down. So when we stumble in our walk, we are to confess that openly to our Christian brothers and sisters.

But there's a big AND in there as well that is sometimes forgotten by folks who like to condemn others. We are all to confess AND all to pray for one another. It's not only to pray for those we like or a few who are sick. We should always be in prayer for one another, lifting up, encouraging and helping one another. In this way, we will be healed.

Think about how you feel when you KNOW someone is there to catch you if you fall. How it feels to have someone you can depend on no matter what. Someone who "has your back" as they say. That's a wonderful feeling. It makes us stronger. It makes us want to take risks. That's how our Christian family should be. We should know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that people are praying for us and supporting us.

We should also KNOW one another's strengths and weaknesses. We need to know when our brothers and sisters stumble and fall down. Not so we can look down on them, but so that we can pick them up.

Prayer is powerful, folks. We see that over and over both in the Bible and our own lives. Prayer works miracles. Sometimes they are physical miracles like sensation returning to a numb limb. Sometimes they are emotional miracles that allow us to get through a year where we lose so many loved ones it's staggering.

But we lose sight sometimes of how powerful prayer can be and how important it is to pray for one another all the time. Let's be that kind of family in Christ. Let's pray for one another all week and see what happens.

DAILY CHALLENGE: PRAY for everyone in your church family today. Pray for anyone who sat in your pew this week at church. (and if you weren't there... pray for the folks who usually sit in your pew!) Pray personally for each one of them today, asking God to show you how you can help lift them up if they stumble.