God at the controls

I would rather give the controls of an aircraft to an experienced pilot than take over myself.

And yet I am often guilty of telling God in prayer how he should run my life.

I find it hard to yield my efforts at ministry to the one who gave it to me in the first place.

Why?  Probably because I don't trust God enough.  And I'm not tuned to what he is saying.

But Jesus is our example.

In John 14:10, Jesus says: "The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me."


Jesus lived in dependence on the Father.  He did what the Father wanted him to do.


Clearly, he struggled mightily when his crucifixion was imminent.  He prayed to the Father that he be spared the horror of taking on all the sins of the world and the righteous Father turning away from his as the sin bearer.

Yet in Matthew 26:39, Christ yielded and said to the Father: "I want your will to be done, not mine."

The model prayer to God that Christ taught also includes the line: "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Often it is hard to determine what God's will is.

In his book The Prayer Life, the great South African writer Andrew Murray suggests the approach we should take.

He says: "Our first work . . . ought to be to come into God's presence not with our ignorant prayers, not with many words and thoughts, but in the confidence that the divine work of the Holy Spirit is being carried on within us."

He is referring to the apostle Paul's words in Romans 8:26 where he says that the Holy Spirit helps us when we don't know what to pray for.  He adds that the Holy Spirit "prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words".

What Paul is saying is that we don't have to rely on our own wisdom.  We know that the Holy Spirit is praying for us even when we don't know what to say.  And the Holy Spirit "pleads for us believers in harmony with God's will".

So, my job is to stop getting in God's way.  I am to come before God, listen to the Spirit's promptings, and act on what he is telling me to do.

For big things, the great prayer warrior George Muller waited for direction from God.  He would read the scriptures, praying about them and obeying God's promptings for action.  He would be attentive to the things that the Spirit brought to his mind.

Sometimes, that means obeying promptings that don't make sense - like Abram leaving Ur on God's command.  Abram didn't know where God wanted him to go, but he started travelling, taking his family with him.

Abram's obedience led to the formation of the nation of Israel, God's chosen people.

 Imagine if Abram refused to obey God's promptings.  Suppose he wanted to control his life apart from God.  Yielding control to God helped him become a vital part of God's story.

It's something for me to think about. Giving control to God makes all the difference in the world.

Gazing at God

When you feel dissatisfied, it's time to gaze at God.

There is nothing so quieting and reassuring than to simply contemplate God in peace.

It is so good that David says in Psalm 27:4:

"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."

There are always things to trouble us, to prey on our minds.  But, entering the presence of the Lord and enjoying him alone is like the touch of a cool breeze on a warm summer's day.  It refreshes.

David was always at war as King of Israel.  He had bad relations with some of his children.  He had a lot to worry about.

I have nothing really heavy on my mind right now.  But I have felt something gnawing at me for the last few days - something I can't quite put my finger on.

So, this afternoon, I turned to this lovely passage in Psalm 27 and thought about "gazing upon the beauty of the Lord".

This is a great picture.  In my mind, I see David kneeling before God and just gazing at him in wonder and joy.  I am certain he is doing that now in heaven.

Like David, we don't need to wait until heaven in order to gaze upon him.  We may not see God as clearly as we will when we are with him in eternity.  But we can be aware of him with us - and enjoy him.

Richard Foster, author of Sanctuary of the Soul, recommends that we "put away all obstacles of the heart, all scheming of the mind, all vacillations of the will".  As St. John of the Cross said, it is like a house going still.  We quiet ourselves.

Now, we are ready to relax in his presence, attentive to him.

Sometimes, that is all that happens.  As Foster says: "In silence, we behold the Lord.  Words are not needed for there to be communion.  Most of all, we rest in God's 'wondrous, terrible, gentle, loving, all-embracing silence'."

Often, I have pictured God with me and I am resting in silence with him.  He is just with me and no words are needed.  He extends his peace to me.

At other times, we may want to hear him as he speaks to us.

Mark Virkler, who wrote How to Hear God's Voice, imagines walking with Jesus on a beach and just delighting in his companionship.  He opens his mind to what Jesus is saying.

As Foster says, listening to God means being aware of how God speaks and what he has said in the Bible.  God does not contradict what is said in scripture.  But he does speak to us personally through the promptings of the Spirit in our minds and hearts.

The key to listening is wanting to hear what God has to say.  He may simply be saying: "I love you."  What he has to say is always good, even if he is urging us to change for his sake.

So, after gazing at God, I am no longer dissatisfied.  I am renewed.

Singing in my heart

I was feeling a bit glum and grumpy yesterday when I read these words in the apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians:

"Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord."

This verse is part of a wonderful section in Ephesians 5:19-20 which is all about thanksgiving and joy - a foretaste of heaven.

Me? Sing?  I'm a monotone.  Family members can't help but smile when I sing - and I sing robustly.

But, in my heart I can sing like an opera singer.  One of my favourite pieces of music is the "Hallelujah Chorus" in Handel's choral masterpiece "The Messiah".  Sometimes, I feel the music swelling up within and I imagine the hallelujahs pouring out of me in song.

There is a great picture of heavenly worship in Revelation 5:11-13 where the apostle John sees in his vision "ten thousand times ten thousand" angels surrounding God in heaven and singing praises to Jesus.  As they sing, all the creatures in creation join in.

Imagine that.  What a chorus!

There is something about song that ushers us into the presence of God.  I noticed that again last Sunday evening when we were praying in our church for the people we wanted to enter the kingdom of God.  Worship songs prepared us to seek God for our loved ones.

As I say, Paul's words that I read are part of a section about praising God.

We are to come before him in prayer, offering songs of joy and worship in our hearts.

Then, we are to give thanks to God for everything.  Always - not sometimes.

Of course, many will say that we can't give thanks for bad things that happen to us or our loved ones. 

Paul certainly believed we could because in 2 Corinthians 12, he says that he asked God to remove a "thorn" in his flesh but God refused, telling him that "his (God's) grace is made perfect in weakness".  Paul said he would boast in his weakness so that "Christ's power may rest on me".

Paul knew that God had a plan for his good and was working it out in his life, no matter what happened.

But even if we find ourselves unable to go as far as Paul, we can certainly praise God in tough circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).  We need simply remind ourselves about God's character, his love and mercy to us, and the good things he has given us.

Paul is telling me that I must make a habit of singing in my heart to God and thanking him.  I must do it always - particularly when I feel glum and grumpy.

There is no better antidote to glumness and grumpiness.

Worship and healing

Recently, a visitor with severe heart problems came to our church prayer room to offer thanks to God.

To outsiders, it didn't make sense.  Her family was deeply concerned about the health issues she had - and yet she wanted to praise God.

What triggered her decision was a sermon by our pastor about thankfulness in the midst of trial and turmoil.

It reminds me of the importance of praise and thankfulness to God - no matter what.  We are commanded in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to be thankful in all circumstances.

Our visitor left the prayer room unchanged physically, but I believe she was emotionally helped.

Sometimes, God even brings physical healing and deliverance from evil spirits  as we worship him.  This is not the reason for praise and thankfulness, but a special blessing of the Lord.

Morris Cerullo, a well-known evangelist, says:

"We enter God’s presence (where there is healing) through worship and praise. Healing can come through worship and praise, even without a healing prayer, because God inhabits the praises of His people. When we praise, He is present to heal."

Terry Law, author of The Power of Praise and Worship, says that in the last decades of the 20th century, he traveled with his worship band all over the world and saw miracles of deliverance and healing as people worshiped God.

Missionary leader Wesley L. Duewel, author of Mighty Prevailing Prayer, tells of a time in India when he was asked to help those who were praying and fasting for the deliverance of a demon-possessed girl who was unconscious but thrashing on the ground. 

He felt helpless, but he felt impelled to bend down and speak words of praise to Jesus in her ear.  She responded by struggling to repeat the words, forcing them through her locked mouth.  As soon as she did, she was delivered.

Again, healing - emotional, physical or spiritual - is not the purpose of praising God.  He deserves our praise and worship even in the worst circumstances.

But, scriptural passages and believers' experiences through the ages suggest that, as we praise and worship God, we are changed and occasionally our circumstances change.  Our faith grows and God works in us, through us and around us.

Duewel says that praising God:

• Focuses our minds and hearts on God and cleanses us of fears;
• Increases faith;
• Invokes God's presence and power; and
• Terrifies, restrains and thwarts Satan.

Excellent reasons for worshiping God.

 

Yet, when all is said and done, I need only look at Jesus, contemplate his love for me, and consider what he has done for me, to bow in worship.

He is worthy of all praise.

Praying for the world

Last week, our prayer group was led by the Holy Spirit to pray about Christians in Iraq and Syria.

You might wonder what good is prayer for situations where we have no personal knowledge.  Isn't it hard enough to get answers to prayer for concrete personal issues?

I believe we don't pray enough for God's kingdom work in other parts of the world.  Our vision is too short.

Our prayers for Iraq and Syria last week sprang from our hearts as moved by the Spirit.  When we pray as the Spirit prompts, we can expect God to act.

A prayer leader in another church told me several years ago how members of his prayer group were seeking God one evening when the word "Tonga" came to someone's mind.  Another person felt there was a coup attempt and the king was threatened with assassination.

The group prayed about Tonga without knowing where Tonga was.  They found out later that a coup attempt on the Pacific island had been thwarted at the time they were praying.

In his book Spirit Rising, pastor and author Jim Cymbala says he was reading his newspaper one day when he came across an article about a mob attacking a Christian family in Gojra, Pakistan, killing seven of them just because of their faith. The mob went on to burn and loot Christian homes and stores in the area.

Cymbala was deeply moved by what he read and, as he prayed, he wept.  The Spirit was at work in Cymbala's heart.

At the church's huge Tuesday evening prayer meeting, Cymbala spoke about the Christians' plight in that Pakistani village and led the congregation in prayer.  The amazing thing was that a woman was present from Pakistan whose Pakistani pastor husband was bringing aid to the Christians in that village that very evening.

It was her first time visiting Cymbala's church in Brooklyn, N.Y.  Her visit led the church to give thousands of dollars in aid to the suffering Christians in that village which was delivered through the woman's husband.

Months later, the Christian pastor in Gojra telephoned Cymbala's church to say that a mob was gathered around the Christians who had retreated to the roof of a house and he asked for prayer.  Cymbala and his church prayed that evening.

The Pakistani Christian pastor telephoned back later to say that a heavy downpour of rain saved the Christians.  The mob scattered as the rain pelted down.

Prayer rescued Israel many times in its history, going back as far as God hearing the cries of the Israelite slaves in Egypt and delivering them from their tormentors.

We should pray boldly when the Holy Spirit stirs our hearts for our nation or people a world away.

Dynamic prayer

We’re human – we want our wishes fulfilled.

But should that be the main focus when we pray together?

No, says Dennis Fuqua, author of United and Ignited.

From long experience leading group prayer, he finds that prayer that centres on Jesus is far more dynamic than going through our list of personal prayer requests.  

And with good reason – we are turning our eyes from our own worries and concerns to the great God of the Universe.  As we draw closer to God, our faith and trust in him grows.

Fuqua doesn’t reject personal requests.  But he places worship of God first.

He often uses scripture as a jumping-off point for times of uplifting group prayer.  He quotes great Christian leaders over the centuries who say that all scripture should lead us to Christ.

One technique he has used is to list the titles of Jesus or God.

I have found that effective, too – referring to the names of God in the Old Testament, such as, God our redeemer, God our peace, God almighty.  These names are used by the Holy Spirit to prompt and direct our prayers.

For example, the title “Jehovah-Jireh” – God our provider – can lead to prayers of thanks about God’s provision in our own circumstances.

On one occasion, Fuqua used a song “All of you is more than enough for me” to encourage people in the prayer meeting to complete the phrase “Jesus, you are my . . .” People began saying “Jesus, you are my light”, “Jesus, you are my rock”, “Jesus, you are my conqueror.”

Then, he urged them to make this even more personal.  And people began saying things such as “Jesus, because you are my justification, I don’t have to justify myself.”

He notes that the Lord’s Prayer – the model prayer that Jesus himself gave to his disciples – begins with requests that God’s name be holy, that his kingdom come, and that his will be done.

“Jesus made it very clear that before we pray about our needs, we should first consider his desires,” Fuqua says.

In effect, “we should be aware that his kingdom has priority over our needs”.

Once we begin thinking and praying this way, we will realize that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves – spreading the kingdom of God on earth.

That’s exciting!

The power of the few

In prayer, it’s not how many pray, but how dedicated they are.

I need this reminder often.

As a prayer leader at our church, I dream of the church auditorium being filled with fervent pray-ers.  There are many churches in Asia, Africa and South America where this is true – and even a few in North America.

It’s wonderful when this happens.  And God honours such church gatherings. The gospel spreads powerfully in churches and nations when large numbers gather to seek God in prayer.

But there is power in the few, as well.

After all, Jesus said in Matthew 18: “I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

The key is praying in Jesus’ name – praying as Jesus would pray.

We get an inside look at how Jesus would pray by reading the scriptures.  There we see what mattered to Jesus.

He said that he did what the Father asked him to do.  He was here to bring glory to God through acts of love and power and in the supreme sacrifice on the cross.

So, when we want what God wants, we can be sure our prayers will be answered.

In his book Draw the Circle, Mark Batterson tells the story of Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf who formed a prayer group in the 1700s that launched the modern missionary movement.

He and a small group of men from several countries pledged to use all their wealth, gifts, and influence to reach the world for Christ.

Zinzendorf and a group of 24 men and 24 women began praying around the clock in 1727 and the Holy Spirit came upon them as he did on the disciples on Pentecost.

The Moravian prayer meeting – Zinzendorf was a Moravian – continued for 100 years.

“And those prayers reverberated all around the world in one of the greatest missionary movements the church has ever known,” Batterson writes.

“At critical junctures in history, God raises up a remnant to reestablish his reign and rule,” Batterson adds. “It’s rarely a majority.  In fact, it’s almost always a small minority.  But all it takes is a faithful few to begin a reformation.”

Inspiring words – true words, proven many times in the history of revivals