Pray Or Say

Given February 19, 2007

I've been listening to some teaching lately on prayer and heard something I'd not noticed before, a revelation, if you will. Jesus is the authority on prayer, wouldn't you say? Sometimes He would pray to the Father and sometimes He would speak to the problem. Look at this.

In the famous pattern of prayer, "The Lord's Prayer" as we call it, Jesus said to pray like this; "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Matthew 6:9". Jesus said to pray to the Father. Then in "John 14:13, And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father." Jesus is saying here to pray to the Father, asking, and pray in His name. So that's what we should do, right?

Then in "Luke 4:39, And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her:" He didn't pray, He spoke to the fever and it obeyed. In many other places Jesus spoke to people, "take up your bed and walk, Matthew 9:6", demons, "And he said unto them, Go. Matthew 8:32", and fig trees, "and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. Matthew 21:19". All Jesus had to do was say the word and it was done. Now, aren't we supposed to do what Jesus did; and even more?!

This has given me a different outlook on prayer and my responsibility in the body of Christ. Sometimes I need to pray to the Father in Jesus' name and believe and not doubt and other times I can speak to a need and expect it to yeild to the Authority in me. Pray or say.

How Ya Doin' Dad?

Given December 7, 2006
God is dealing with me from several sources lately about the time I spend with Him. We know God wants to spend time with His creation; He walked in the garden "looking" for Adam and Eve, He brought the Israelites out of Egypt to fellowship with Him in the wilderness, He wants to spend time with you and I as His children.

I've got four wonderful boys and I think how sad I'd be if all they ever did when they came around was to tell me their problems and ask me for stuff. But isn't that the way we do God much of the time? We'll run over our list of needs then say, "Goodbye, gotta go." And God is saying, "Hey Son, wait a minute. I wanted to talk to you and tell you some things." Oh man, do we ever need to repent!

He wants us to come in to Him and just say, "Good morning Father, how 'ya doin'? Oh, sorry, you're always doing good, aren't you? I just wanted to spend some time with you today. You know Dad, I love you."

"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. Hebrews 11:5". That comes from spending quality time with God. I want to do more of that.

The Check's In The Mail

Given February 3, 2007

How many times have you heard the statement, “The check’s in the mail”? It’s become sort of a joke implying that something is promised to you and you doubt it’s going to happen. Sometimes people make promises to us then don’t follow through OR we make promises with good intentions but we forget or put it off…you know.

If someone says they’re going to do something for you and you don’t believe it or don’t have faith in that person, you won’t get too worked up about it. But, if you do believe it and trust that person, you’ll be excited and looking forward to it arriving. Even though you don’t see it, you have faith it’s on the way and you’re happy.

Well, that’s a description of how it is with God. If we have faith in Him and His promises to us, we’ll be excited about what’s coming even though we don’t see it. We trust Him and know He won’t let us down. “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 2 Corinthians 1:20”. However, if we don’t have faith, even though we’ve asked, we’ll still be sad and down in our circumstances.

Think about it; what’s your attitude about what you’ve prayed for? Are you excitedly expecting it or are you still depressed and doubting? If it’s in line with the Word of God, then “the check’s in the mail” and you can count on it!

The Closed Door

Given March 2, 2006

We hear often about how God speaks to His people. He speaks through His Word, through other people, in our spirit, and some say they’ve actually heard the audible voice of God, (Moses was one of these). But have you ever heard of God speaking to anyone through a slamming door? Well, lemme tell you about it.

Last year, I was struggling with some decisions and didn’t know whether or not to pursue, what I thought, was an opportunity. I was soon to retire from public education and had two or three options for post-retirement work. I'd been promoting myself for one of those opportunities but just didn’t feel right about it. You know how it is.

The Bible says God will open and close doors, “…I am the one who is holy and true, and I have the keys that belonged to David. When I open a door, no one can close it. And when I close a door, no one can open it. Listen to what I say. Revelation 3:7 CEV”. As I was going to work this morning and walking through the door of my building, I just blurted out to God, “God, if you don’t want me to pursue that job, just shut the door!”

Well, just as the words left my mouth, I heard the heavy metal door I had just walked through, slam shut behind me! Oh man, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I said, “Ok God, I get the message.” God had just spoken to me through a slamming door!

And you know it was, of course, the right decision. I stopped pursuing that avenue and felt at peace about it. But God spoke to my spirit later that if He wanted me to have that job, I’d have it. But I wasn’t to mess things up by trying to do it myself. Great advice.