PRAYING SUCCESSFULLY 2

 

PRAYING SUCCESSFULLY 2

Nehemiah 1:5 Then I said, “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commandments, …. NLT

When you enter into God’s presence, pause to reflect on who God is. While God is far more than whatever we can imagine, there are some things about God that we tend to not think about as often as we should. Knowing the indescribable and glorious nature of God keeps us humble and reverent before Him.

God is the God of heaven. It is the place of holiness. It is a place where His glory replaces the sun, moon, and stars. It is the place of perfection. It is a place of eternal peace and praise. It is a place where we will be able to see God. It is a place of eternal security, a place where Satan can never reach us to harass us again.

God is great. Notice God’s position. He is God and there is none else. He sits on the throne of heaven. He is creator, sustainer, and ruler over all things. How great is our God? No one in the flesh can really know. We acknowledge how great He is, but until we get to heaven, we won’t even come close to knowing. We bow before Him and sing forth His praises.

God is awesome. His power is beyond our knowing. He is all-powerful. Not only is His power on display throughout creation, it is on display in the lives of all who know Him as their Savior and Lord. We exist because of His power, we are saved by His power, we are kept by His power, and we will make it to heaven by His power. Praise His holy name!

God is faithful. He is our promise keeper. He keeps His word to us always. He is faithful to keep His covenant of love to us. God loves us. We are kept safe from His holy wrath because He loves us. He supplies all we need for life because of His love. We are never left alone to fight against Satan on our own because God loves us.

There is so much more about God we need to reflect on, but Nehemiah gives us a start. Remember who God is as you enter into His presence. Think about these things and worship Him as you pray.

PRAYING SUCCESSFULLY

 

PRAYING SUCCESSFULLY

Nehemiah 1:1-4

Do you struggle with praying? Do you have more “unanswered” prayers than you do answered ones? Do you get frustrated and wonder if God even hears your prayers? Do you not pray because you don’t believe it will do any good? Nehemiah 1 gives us some things to consider when we pray. It is my prayer that you will be encouraged to pray more and trust the Lord to answer your prayers as we ponder these truths.

In verses 1-4, we notice something very important if we our prayers are going to be effective, we must be broken in spirit. I suspect we aren’t as broken before God as we should be.

Is your heart broken over the things going on around you? If you follow the news, you are bombarded with all sorts of negativism. We hear all the time how bad things are. We see horror stories of rising crime. We hear of people abusing people. We hear of people doing others harm to other people and property. People everywhere are living in uncontrolled anger. Does it bother you? Are you bothered enough to pray about it? If not, you should be praying about your lack of concern over it.

Is your heart broken by the things going on in your life? Do you complain about how bad things are, or do you talk to the Lord about it? Is you life a mess? Are you seeking the Lord’s help? Do you lack vigor in your faith walk? Have you told the Lord about it? Are things going badly for you in your family or with your health? Are you sharing your problems with the Lord?

Let me ask you another question. Is your heart broken to the point where you mean business when you pray? On a personal basis, it means you are willing to change and be an instrument of change in your situation. Are you willing to let the Lord take charge of your life? Are there things 5you need to repent of?

Notice how Nehemiah responded. For days his heart was burdened. He fasted and prayed. When was the last time you were so burdened over anything that you were burdened over it for days and sought the Lord’s help? Until you are broken in spirit, not much is going to happen when you pray.

WHY AM I HERE? 3

 

WHY AM I HERE? 3

I Chron. 28:10 “So take this seriously, the LORD has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”

King David was about to die and he was passing the torch onto his son, Solomon. David had planned to build a Temple for the Lord, but the Lord told him he was not the one to do it since he was a man who had taken many lives in his wars. Solomon was the one who would build it. David was giving his son some encouragement and was passing on the responsibility for the Temple to him. There are some important lessons we can learn from David’s charge to Solomon.

One of the things we discover as we read the Scriptures is that we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works. There is no lack of work to be done. There is no lack of work for you to do. We are to serve the Lord, not sit in our comfortable pews and let others do the work. There is far more work to do than there is people to do it. God gives each of us particular gifts and abilities to use to bring Him honor and glory on earth. If we aren’t busy working for the Kingdom, whatever you profess to have in Christ is not real. Faith in order to work must be worked daily in our lives.

There is no one who can do the work God gives you to do better than you. Others may be able to do similar work, but they cannot do what you are capable of doing in quite the same way or with quite the same results. Only you can fill your shoes. Only you will answer to God for what you do or don’t do with what He has equipped you to do.

Learn how to best do the task God gives you to do. Be the best at what you do, and do it all for the glory and honor of Christ. Do your best, and God will reward you for it.

Don’t put off for another day what you are to do. Tomorrow may never get here. Not only is today the day of salvation, it is the day of serving. Your service to the Lord affects others. You can make life easier and better for others by living in obedience to Christ. Nothing you do for Christ is in vain. Not doing what you are given to do is noted in heaven, and you will answer to God for it.

May the Lord richly bless you as you live submissively and obediently to Him.

WHY AM I HERE? 2

 

WHY AM I HERE? 2

I Chron. 28:10 “So take this seriously, the LORD has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”

King David was about to die and he was passing the torch onto his son, Solomon. David had planned to build a Temple for the Lord, but the Lord told him he was not the one to do it since he was a man who had taken many lives in his wars. Solomon was the one who would build it. David was giving his son some encouragement and was passing on the responsibility for the Temple to him. There are some important lessons we can learn from David’s charge to Solomon.

David told his son to be strong. One of the greatest hindrances to the Gospel message is most who claim to be children of God are weak. Far too few believers are strong enough to stand on their two feet and resist temptations to sin. Most cave in to the need to be popular or comfortable. Most resist letting Jesus be Lord of their lives. You are only as strong in faith as your trust in what God has said. You are only as strong as your commitment to a regular and consist prayer life. You are only as strong as your passion for the Lord.

We must develop a strong character. You are no stronger than your weakest point. What we must do is to take an honest look at ourselves and identify our weaknesses. What holds you back from beign the person God wants you to be? What causes you to fall flat on your face? Whatever your weaknesses may be, you can conquer them with the Lord’s help. Tell Him what you struggle with and ask Him to help you get stronger. He can help you with whatever you struggle with, whether it be physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, or sexual.

With patience, effort, and faith in the Lord, you can turn your weaknesses into your strengths. Progress often comes slowly with many ups and downs, but if you have the will to get and be better, you will succeed.

WHY AM I HERE?

 

WHY AM I HERE?

I Chron. 28:10 “So take this seriously, the LORD has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”

King David was about to die and he was passing the torch onto his son, Solomon. David had planned to build a Temple for the Lord, but the Lord told him he was not the one to do it since he was a man who had taken many lives in his wars. Solomon was the one who would build it. David was giving his son some encouragement and was passing on the responsibility for the Temple to him. There are some important lessons we can learn from David’s charge to Solomon.

We are to build and not tear down. This is a very important lesson for us to learn today. On a personal level, we are given some guidance by the Apostle Paul in Col. 3:1-17. There Paul tells us about things that we first put out of our lives. Anything that hinders you from becoming all that you can be in Christ must go. 3-11 What is keeping you from growing in your faith? What must you get rid of in order for you to reach your potential in Christ? In verses 12-17, Paul tells us some things to add to our lives. Basically, anything that helps us to grow in Christ should be a part of our lives. Are you striving to help yourself grow in faith? Are you feeding your soul properly? Are you surrounding your soul with godly influences? Are you spending adequate time alone with God in worship and fellowship? Are you serving the Lord as you should be?

Publicly, are you building others up or tearing them down? Rom. 12:9-21; I John 3:17-24 There are clearly things that we should not be doing. We should not think more highly of ourselves than we ought. We are no better than anyone else. We are servants, not masters. We are all on equal footing before God. We must not see others as objects. We must treat others with respect. We must be kind to one another. We must exercise grace to all without being judgmental. We must love one another. We must never be found guilty of character assassination.

We are here to be a part of the solution, not the problem. We are to build and not tear down. We can only be who God created and designed us to be when we live submissively to Christ, letting Him be Lord of our lives.

PAUSE TO REMEMBER 3

 

PAUSE TO REMEMBER 3

Phil.1:3-11

Everyone has a story. Everyone who knows Christ knows what a difference He makes in his life. If Jesus makes no difference in how we live and view life, we know about Christ, but we don’t know Him. The better we get to know the Lord, the more we realize how we are to act as His children. Paul gives us some guidance in our text for today.

We are to give thanks for one another. 3 Let’s be honest with ourselves. We don’t normally do a very good job of it. Instead, we are quick to see the negatives in one another. We are quick to criticize and find fault with how others act or speak. Paul says instead that we should thank the Lord for other. Thank the Lord daily for others. Thank Him for your family members, friends, mentors, spiritual leaders, pastors, teachers, missionaries, public servants, etc. There is no excuse for us to not thank the Lord for others.

Not only should we be aware of others and thank the Lord for them, we should pray for them. 4,9 Everyone needs someone to pray for them. No one can stay true to the Lord without someone praying for them. Pray for those you know who are serving the Lord. Pray for those who serve as government leaders. Pray for the safety and well-being of those who daily put their lives on the line to protect and provide services for you.

We are to think well of one another. 5 How well we think of one another affects the wellness of the church body and ourselves. If you think well of someone, you will show them respect and kindness. You will act graciously towards them. You will strive to build them up and not tear them down.

We are to serve alongside of one another. 7 We are not in a competition for souls. We should complement each other’s service. It’s not a power or popularity contest. We are all part of the family of God and should act like it.

We are to desire what is best for one another. 9-11 We should never wish other believers harm. We should spur one another on in love. We should want not only what is best for them, but if we have opportunity, do what we can to help make it happen.

Be your best and do your best for the honor and glory of Christ in the Kingdom of God.

PAUSE TO REMEMBER 2

 

PAUSE TO REMEMBER 2

Heb. 12:1-3

It’s easy to forget, or neglect, or take for granted our salvation. It is why we must keep focusing our thoughts on God’s Word. We must revisit Calvary often. We must stay focused on Jesus who provide for us our salvation.

Remember Jesus, who died for our sins. Jesus began the plan of salvation. Before the very foundation of the earth was laid, the plan of salvation was conceived. God gave mankind the freedom to choose to live in and for Him or not. No one is forced to become a child of God. God knew before He created man the way He did that most would reject Him, but because of His love for us, He did not let us die in our sins and be cast out of His presence forever. He created the perfect way for sinful man to be made right with God, Jesus would die in our place.

Jesus not only planned our salvation, He carried it out. God sent Jesus to us to die for our sins. He lovingly became one of us so that He could save us from ourselves and our sins. Jesus alone was qualified to die for our sins, because He alone lived a sinless life in the flesh.

Not only did Jesus create and carry out salvation’s plan, He’s coming again to complete the plan. When Jesus rose from the grave, He made it possible for us to rise from the grave and go to heaven. He tore away the barriers that kept us from God. He did for us the impossible; He made us righteous and holy before God and fit for heaven. Jesus is coming again soon to complete what He started and is now doing in our lives. We have a sure hope , eternal life in God’s presence.

Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our salvation. Don’t lose sight of Him and He will finish what He started when He saved you. Don’t let anything distract you from your life in Christ. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.