Pray First, Pray Most

Pray First, Pray Most
by Max Lucado

One of our Brazilian church leaders taught me something about earnest prayer. He met Christ during a yearlong stay in a drug-rehab center. His therapy included three one-hour sessions of prayer a day. Patients weren't required to pray, but they were required to attend the prayer meeting. Dozens of recovering drug addicts spent sixty uninterrupted minutes on their knees.

I expressed amazement and confessed that my prayers were short and formal. He invited (dared?) me to meet him for prayer. I did the next day. We knelt on the concrete floor of our small church auditorium and began to talk to God. Change that. I talked; he cried, wailed, begged, cajoled, and pleaded. He pounded his fists on the floor, shook a fist toward heaven, confessed, and reconfessed every sin. He recited every promise in the Bible as if God needed a reminder. He prayed like Moses.

When God determined to destroy the Israelites for their golden calf stunt, "Moses begged the Lord his God and said, ‘Lord, don't let your anger destroy your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with your great power and strength. Don't let the people of Egypt say, "The Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt for an evil purpose." ...Remember the men who served you—Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You promised with an oath to them'" (Ex. 32:11-13 NCV).

Moses on Mount Sinai is not calm and quiet, with folded hands and a serene expression. He's on his face one minute, in God's the next. He's on his knees, pointing his finger, lifting his hands. Shedding tears. Shredding his cloak. Wrestling like Jacob at Jabbok for the lives of his people. And God heard him! "So the Lord changed his mind and did not destroy the people as he had said he might" (v.14 NCV).

Our passionate prayers move the heart of God. "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5:16). Prayer does not change God's nature; who he is will never be altered. Prayer does, however, impact the flow of history. God has wired his world for power, but he calls on us to flip the switch.

Most of us struggle with prayer. We forget to pray, and when we remember, we hurry through prayers with hollow words. Our minds drift; our thoughts scatter like a covey of quail. Why is this? Prayer requires minimal effort. No location is prescribed. No particular clothing is required. No title or office is stipulated. Yet you'd think we were wrestling a greased pig.

Speaking of pigs, Satan seeks to interrupt our prayers. Our battle with prayer is not entirely our fault. The devil knows the stories; he witnessed the angel in Peter's cell and the revival in Jerusalem. He knows what happens when we pray. "Our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy's strong places" (2 Cor. 10:4 NCV).

Satan is not troubled when Max writes books or prepares sermons, but his knobby knees tremble when Max prays. Satan does not stutter or stumble when you walk through church doors or attend committee meetings. Demons aren't flustered when you read this book. But the walls of hell shake when one person with an honest heart and faithful confession says, "Oh, God, how great thou art."

Satan keeps you and me from prayer. He tries to position himself between us and God. But he scampers like a spooked dog when we move forward. So let's do.

Let's pray, first. Traveling to help the hungry? Be sure to bathe your mission in prayer. Working to disentangle the knots of injustice? Pray. Weary with a world of racism and division? So is God. And he would love to talk to you about it.

Let's pray, most. Did God call us to preach without ceasing? Or teach without ceasing? Or have committee meetings without ceasing? Or sing without ceasing? No, but he did call us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17).

Did Jesus declare: My house shall be called a house of study? Fellowship? Music? A house of exposition? A house of activities? No, but he did say, "My house will be called a house of prayer" (Mark 11:17 NIV).

No other spiritual activity is guaranteed such results. "When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action" (Matt. 18:19 MSG). He is moved by the humble, prayerful heart.

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ.
(Colossians 4:2-3 NLT)

God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, you created all that exists, and you keep it running through your infinite wisdom and boundless power. Yet you invite me to come to you in prayer, boldly and with the expectation that you will hear me and answer me. Teach me, Lord, to take full advantage of this amazing privilege, especially in regard to reaching others with your love. Give me a heart for those who have yet to experience the fullness of your grace, and prompt me to pray for them and for their welfare, both in this world and in eternity. Lord, bring me to the front lines of this battle. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

The Context of Stillness

The Context of Stillness
By Katherine Britton

"Be still, and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10

How many times have you heard this verse? A hundred? A thousand? This snippet of a psalm is a pet verse of mine. It constantly pops into my head when I start getting too busy or stressed out. Ironically, I hadn't taken time to read the whole psalm in months until the other night, and I had no recollection of the verses surrounding my favorite one-liner. Here's a sampling of the other verses in Psalm 46:

"Though the earth gives way…" (vs. 2)

"Though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea…" (vs. 2)

"The nations rage, the kingdoms totter…" (vs. 6)

"Be still and know that I am God… I will be exalted in the earth!" (vs. 10)

"The God of Jacob is our fortress." (vs. 11)

I had been picturing an idyllic, Psalm-23-ish passage as the context for my pet verse, but the context is completely different. The psalm is actually the meditation a man holding back fear with faith. In a setting of uncertainty, war, and all-around "trouble" (vs. 1), the psalmist focuses on the peace that comes from being the presence of God - even though the earth around him threatens to fall apart. The verse holds even more power in this context than in my imagined setting, doesn't it?

I love the Psalms because of their deep meditations on humanity confronted with God's holiness and faithfulness. I can see real men writing the lines, reminding themselves of the bigger context for their troubles. I see men who - like me - wondered what would happen next in this life. But every one of them comes to the realization that they serve a God who supersedes their worries and replaces them with worship. These men heard the command to "be still and know" and found that God blew their imaginations.  

I often look at the looming election and the financial woes and start getting jittery, wondering about outcomes and impacts. In these times, I slip into this mentality that thinks "being still" and listening to God can only happen in green pastures. But the real context of Psalm 46:10 tells me otherwise. God's amazing peace works most powerfully when the world's craziness reaches a crescendo. Like they say, context is everything.

 Look up your favorite one-liners of the Bible today, and read the surrounding passages and chapters. How does the context add to your understanding of the verse? What more does it reveal about living the Christian faith?

A Prayer for Using Your Spiritual Gifts

A Prayer for Using Your Spiritual Gifts
By Greg Laurie

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. - John 14:26

Have you ever watched a fire begin to burn down to the point that all you have left are coals? It looks as though there is no fire actually left, because the coals may be under a layer of ash. You can’t really see much. But when you take a fresh log and toss it on top of those coals and stir it around a bit, it suddenly ignites, and you have a whole new fire going.

Paul wrote to Timothy, “Stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6). That phrase stir up the gift means to fan it into full flame.

There may be live coals in your life, but you have allowed the fire to go down. You haven’t been using the gifts that God has given you, the talents He has given you. It’s time to fan them into full flame again. It’s time to be reignited. It’s time to say, “Lord, how can I use what You have given me for Your glory until You return?”

We need to take advantage of the opportunities that are out there. There are those who want to have the big, visible ministries. They want the applause of men. But if we will humble ourselves and take what we have and offer it to God, if we are willing to do what He has set before us and be faithful in the little things, then He will give us something better than visible ministries or applause – He’ll give us the peace and joy that comes from pleasing Him.

Any time you take a chance, you can fail. But it’s better to try than to never have anything happen in your life. I would rather try and fail than never try at all.

Heavenly Lord, do not let us neglect Your Spirit or the gifts You have given us. Give us courage to use these gifts and the humility to not use them for our glory, but for You and Your glory. Help us see the good work You have ready for us and embrace that work with willingness and joy. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.