Are you ready to say: "Lord, live your life through me"?
Our pastor said this morning we should consider praying that way rather than always asking God what he can do for us.
A friend said immediately afterwards that is a "scary" prayer. And it is.
But it is a powerful prayer - and, as our pastor said, an effective prayer. God uses people who think like that.
Indeed, it is an exciting and wonderful way to live. In essence, that prayer is a declaration that we will do what God wants us to do - no matter what.
The apostles and new believers in the New Testament lived that way.
In Acts 4:23-31, the young Christians prayed for courage to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ boldly - just after Peter escaped miraculously from prison. They did not ask for protection against persecution. They knew that God wanted them to spread the good news despite the threat of imprisonment and death.
Paul obeyed God's leading and visions wherever he went. As our pastor noted, the apostle said in Galatians 2:20:
"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."
Trust is the essence of Paul's life. Rather than worrying, he took everything to God in prayer (Philippians 4:6). He was ready to suffer (2 Timothy 2:3) because he saw himself as a soldier in a great cause, the greatest cause in the world - advancing the kingdom of God.
There is blessing in doing what God wants whether it is helping someone in need or sharing the gospel or praying according to his will. I have had a taste of these blessings as I am sure you have. More often, though, I have gone my own way.
In his book The Holy Spirit: The Key to Supernatural Living, Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, wrote that he began every day with this prayer:
"I invite you to walk around in my body, to love with my heart, to speak with my lips and to think with my mind."
That means surrendering everything about myself to God and letting him live his life through me.
Our pastor said this morning we should consider praying that way rather than always asking God what he can do for us.
A friend said immediately afterwards that is a "scary" prayer. And it is.
But it is a powerful prayer - and, as our pastor said, an effective prayer. God uses people who think like that.
Indeed, it is an exciting and wonderful way to live. In essence, that prayer is a declaration that we will do what God wants us to do - no matter what.
The apostles and new believers in the New Testament lived that way.
In Acts 4:23-31, the young Christians prayed for courage to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ boldly - just after Peter escaped miraculously from prison. They did not ask for protection against persecution. They knew that God wanted them to spread the good news despite the threat of imprisonment and death.
Paul obeyed God's leading and visions wherever he went. As our pastor noted, the apostle said in Galatians 2:20:
"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."
Trust is the essence of Paul's life. Rather than worrying, he took everything to God in prayer (Philippians 4:6). He was ready to suffer (2 Timothy 2:3) because he saw himself as a soldier in a great cause, the greatest cause in the world - advancing the kingdom of God.
There is blessing in doing what God wants whether it is helping someone in need or sharing the gospel or praying according to his will. I have had a taste of these blessings as I am sure you have. More often, though, I have gone my own way.
In his book The Holy Spirit: The Key to Supernatural Living, Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, wrote that he began every day with this prayer:
"I invite you to walk around in my body, to love with my heart, to speak with my lips and to think with my mind."
That means surrendering everything about myself to God and letting him live his life through me.
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