Sunday 29 March 2015

He's my friend

It seems ridiculous to call God a friend.  He is so awesome and powerful and we are so puny.

But Jesus told his followers in John 15: "I no longer call you slaves because a master doesn't confide in his slaves.  Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me."

That is deep sharing - the hallmark of a close friendship.  Jesus shared his life and his love with his followers.  He even gave his life for them.

And this friendship is the basis for bold, effective prayer.

In her book Simple Prayer, Joyce Meyer writes: "If I had to identify the most important key to effective prayer, it is approaching God as his friend."

If Jesus tells me I am his friend, why should I be afraid to talk to him?  I should go to him eagerly, telling him about my joys, thanking him for his gifts, asking him to meet my needs.  And listening attentively to what he tells me.

Meyer says that "if we go to Him as our friend, without losing our awe of him, our prayers will stay fresh, exciting and intimate."

"A natural friendship involves loving and being loved.  It means knowing that someone is on your side, wanting to help you, cheering you on, and always keeping your best interest in mind."

Of course, friendship with God is more than a natural friendship.  God never stops loving me and caring for me even though natural friends sometimes do.

 But friendship grows only as I spend time with my friends.  And that is true of my relationship with God.  If I stop meeting him and talking with him, my relationship stagnates.

"Don't just run to Him when you're desperate," says Meyer, "talk to Him in the grocery store, while you are driving your car, combing your hair, walking the dog, or cooking dinner.  Approach Him as your partner and your friend and simply refuse to do anything without Him."

We should seek his advice and guidance as we would of a close friend.  We should delight in pleasing him.  And, as the psalmist wrote: "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires."

Meyer offers Abraham as an example of a man who counted on God as his friend.  She writes of the exchange Abraham had with God in Genesis 17 about what the judgement he planned for Sodom and Gomorrah, by-words for sin and wickedness.

God said he would share his plans with Abraham, his friend.  And Abraham pleaded with him to withhold destruction of these cities.  Ultimately, not enough good men could be found in that place to save Sodom and Gomorrah.

But the point Meyer is making is that Abraham spoke with God boldly and without fear because he knew the Lord as his friend.

We can do that, too.  We can enjoy him as a friend.  And we can ask things of him with confidence because he is our good friend.


Sunday 22 March 2015

Praying always in life's trials

Nehemiah is one of my heroes - a man without any power of his own but who lived a life of power.

He gained his power from God through prayer.

In terms of Bible history, he does not stand out like Moses, Elijah, David or Jesus.  But he played a significant role at a very low point in his nation's history even though he was from a despised, defeated, and enslaved people.

His story is told simply and relatively briefly in the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament.

He appears at the beginning of the book as a cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia where the captive people of Judah now lived.  The cup-bearer's job was to drink wine before the king drank it so that if someone poisoned it the cup-bearer - and not the king - would die.

A perilous job.  But it was also a position of trust - Nehemiah was clearly trusted by the king.

E.M. Bounds, author of Prayer and Praying Men, describes what happened when several Jews returned to Susa in Persia after visiting Jerusalem which was in ruins following Judah's catastrophic defeat at the hand of the Babylonians.

Nehemiah was devastated by their stories - so devastated that he mourned and wept and prayed to God for days.

"How few the strong men in these days who can weep at the evils and abominations of the times!" writes Bounds.  Nehemiah had a heart for his people.

As Bounds says, Nehemiah's prayer is a model for our prayers.  "He begins with adoration, makes confession of the sins of his nation, pleads the promises of God, mentions former mercies and begs for pardoning mercy."

And then he asks God to prepare the king's heart so that he can talk to him about his concerns.

The king noticed Nehemiah's unhappiness and asked him why he was so downcast.  Nehemiah prayed to God as he was telling the king that he wanted to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the fallen city.

In itself, this prayer in the midst of a crucial conversation reveals Nehemiah's total reliance on God.  He lived a life of prayer.

The king granted Nehemiah's request and went further, providing material and his royal authority to rebuild the city.

But Nehemiah faced a whole series of opponents and problems once he reached Jerusalem.  There were local powers who set out to sabotage the effort.

Bounds says "Nehemiah mixes prayer with all he does."  He prays to God to foil the attempts by his enemies to undermine the reconstruction.  And he prays to God for protection when the walls go up again.

Nehemiah ultimately completes his task of rebuilding the city.

Bounds concludes: "Prayer helps mightily in all matters concerning God's cause and wonderfully aids and encourages the hearts of those who have his work in hand in this world."

Nehemiah had no power of his own, but God's power was more than enough.

Saturday 14 March 2015

Prayer is action

Some years ago, a friend told me he wasn't much interested in prayer - he was busy reaching out to people with the good news of Christ.

What he seemed to be saying was: "Prayer is a waste of time.  It doesn't accomplish anything."

That's not what John Wesley believed.  The founder of Methodism, which brought millions into the kingdom of God, said: "Prayer is where the action is."

David Bryant, author of In the Gap, takes it a step further: "Prayer is action."

The Bible supports this view.  Here are some examples:
  • In Exodus 3, God tells Moses that he has heard the cries of distress from the Israelites enslaved in Egypt and has come to deliver them;
  • In Judges 6, God sends an angel to the Israelites in response to their pleas for help against the Midianites and designates Gideon as the man who will free them from their oppressors;
  • In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat of Judah prays to God for help as three nations invade his country.  God responds by giving the people of Judah instructions to go out against their enemies singing praises to God - and the Lord miraculously destroys the enemy armies; and
  • In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are miraculously freed from their chains in a Philippian jail when they sing praises to God.
In each case, prayer - or praise - was the first step in God moving powerfully.  The implication is that without that action, God would not have moved.

And, of course, there are the great promises of Jesus on prayer such as:
  • "For everyone who asks, receives.  Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:10); and
  • "If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you."  (Matthew 18:19)
God chooses to move as we pray.

In his book The Hour That Changes The World, missionary and author Dick Eastman says:

"In no other way can the believer become as fully involved with God's work, especially the work of world evangelism, as in intercessory prayer."

Missionary and prayer warrior Wesley Duewel says: "We can reach the world, if we will.  The greatest lack today is not people or funds.  The greatest need is prayer."

It's clear: Prayer is vital in God's work on earth.

Friday 6 March 2015

Be bold!



Do you pray as if you expect a “no” answer?

I sometimes do.  I go through the motions, hoping but not really counting on a “yes” answer.

That’s not how Jesus prayed.

Of course, Jesus began by seeking what the Father wanted.  Then, he knew the answer to his prayers would be “yes”.

Yet, I may know from the scriptures that God promises something.  And I will still doubt that he will say “yes”.

The issue may be that I forget who is really praying through me – Jesus.  Knowing that it is Jesus builds my faith.

Bryan Chappell, author of Praying Backwards, writes:

“We can be very bold, not because we deserve to be heard but because the One who speaks to the Father for us provides us the privileges and power of his identity when we pray.”

I like the way Chappell puts it: “The Holy Spirit does not merely supply the fervor and content of our prayers; he gives us the Savior’s voice to make our petitions.”

He notes Jesus’ words to his disciples about the persecutions they would endure.  Jesus said that they need not worry about what to say because the Holy Spirit would give them Jesus’ words to speak (Mark 13:11).
 
He also points out the apostle Paul’s words that the Holy Spirit groans before the Father for us when we pray (Romans 8:26). 

In other words, Chappell says: “Through the Spirit we petition the Father with Christ himself speaking for us.”

“We pray, but another prays for us.  We approach the heavenly Father, but his Son intercedes.”

As believers, Christ lives in us.  He shares his identity with us.

Chappell says we speak to God with the voice of his child “and with fathers we can be even bolder than we are with friends”.

“If I, an imperfect father, so appreciate hearing my child’s voice, it helps me understand how my heavenly Father desires infinitely more to hear my prayers offered in the voice of his Son.”

Of course, praying in Jesus’ name means praying as Jesus would pray.  In his model prayer, Jesus begins by glorifying God and praying that God’s will be done on earth.

We must seek what God wants.  What he wants is for our good.

Then, we can pray boldly, knowing that Jesus is praying for us.