Pray, and Keep Praying!

'...Pour out your heart before Him...' Psalm 62:8 NAS








This morning as I sit in my office I'm reminded of the mercy of God again. The privilege to have relationship with Him because of that mercy goes beyond comprehension. Did you know that prayer is One of the benefits of our relationship? Remember the story of Hannah, more than anything else in life, Hannah wanted a son. And as the years passed she wrestled with disappointment and despair. ‘…and [Hannah] was in distress of soul, praying to the Lord.’ (1 Samuel 1:10 AMP) However, she did two things that worked—and they’ll work for you, too!


(1) Instead of turning away from God, she turned to Him. Instead of praying less, she prayed more. She knew that while her husband couldn’t give her a child, God could. She may not have been happy with God’s timing, but she never doubted His goodness. Unfortunately, one of the things we’re tempted to do when things fall apart is to avoid God’s presence. That’s a mistake, because He’s the one you need most! Yes, it’s hard to pray when your heart is breaking. But unless you’ve prayed with a broken heart and a deep sense of your need, you’ve never really poured out your heart before God, or learned what the Bible truly means by prayer.


(2) She didn’t just think about what she wanted, she also thought about what God wanted. ‘…she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if You will…not forget Your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life…”’ (1 Samuel 1:11 NIV) And shortly after that Samuel was conceived. When you’re willing to make a promise to God that He can hold you to (which is what a vow is), you’re getting serious about prayer. And that’s when God will get serious about your prayer as well! So, ‘pour out your heart before Him.’ You are Loved!

A Divine Masterpiece

'...I am...wonderfully made...' Psalm 139:14 NIV

Evolution says that, where there’s a want, nature will provide what’s needed. That takes a lot of faith. In Natural Theology, Dr. William Paley writes: ‘To keep the eye moist and clean—which qualities are necessary to its brightness and its use—a wash is constantly supplied by a secretion for the purpose; and the superfluous brine is conveyed to the nose through a perforation in the bone as large as a goose quill. When the fluid has entered the nose, it spreads itself upon the inside of the nostril and is evaporated by the current of warm air which in the course of respiration is continually passing over it… It’s easily perceived that the eye must want moisture; but could the “want” of the eye generate the gland which produces the tear, or bore the hole by which it’s discharged—a hole through bone? Let the evolutionist tell us who bored the hole… and laid a water pipe through it for the dispersion of tears.’ When it encounters darkness, your eye’s ability to see increases one hundred thousand times. The finest camera ever made doesn’t even come close! And what’s more, your eye will find the object it wants to see, and focus on it automatically by elongating or compressing itself. Both eyes moving in tandem must adopt different angles in order to fix themselves on what’s to be seen. Evolution tells us when the eye got ready to create itself, it had forethought for its own protection and built a bony ridge of the brow, which provided a nose on which to position the glasses many of us need. Then it provided a shutter to protect itself from foreign objects. Perhaps it takes more faith to believe in evolution than creation! What do you think? '...I am...wonderfully made...' Psalm 139:14

Set Yourself Free from People Pleasing

"...We ought to obey God rather than men." Acts 5:29 KJV

Too often our actions are dictated by a misguided need to please others. We care so much about what they think that with every step we take we look over our shoulder to see whether they’re smiling or frowning. Understand this: if you’re always looking for people’s approval, you’re not looking where you’re going and eventually you’ll hit a wall or trip over your own two feet. The Bible says, ‘…We ought to obey God rather than men.’ What do you think will happen if you open your mouth and stand up for yourself? The truth is that people who don’t respect your rights and honor your wishes are not worth your time or effort. Nor are they worthy of a long drawn–out discussion; just say goodbye! (We’re not talking about your marriage or children they deserve effort) The scripture has everything for us, look at Abraham's life. When the land became too small for the flocks of Abraham and Lot to graze together, strife broke out. Abraham loved his nephew Lot, but he realised he could no longer live in this situation. So he said, ‘…Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.’ (Genesis 13:9 NKJV) How does their story end? Lot chose the best grazing land close to Sodom, and, as a result, everything he worked for went up in smoke. But Abraham, who always sought to please God, ended up not only being blessed himself, but being a blessing to the nations of the world. So the word for you today is—God wants to set you free from people pleasing.

'Now' Faith

'Now faith is the substance of things hoped for...' Hebrews 11:1 NKJV


When you’re in the middle of a crisis, what you really believe manifests itself in your words, attitude and actions. When Lazarus died and his sister Martha said, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died’ (John 11:21 NCV), she was voicing past–tense faith. When Jesus said, ‘[Lazarus] will…live again’ (John 11:23 NCV) and she replied, ‘I know that he will…live…in the resurrection…’ (John 11:24 NCV), that was future–tense faith. And when she said, ‘…Even now God will give You anything You ask’ (John 11:22 NCV), she was demonstrating ‘now’ faith, which is present–tense. As believers, the Bible tells us not to ‘…look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen…’ (2 Corinthians 4:18 NKJV) ‘Now’ faith stakes its claim on ‘something…even if we do not see it.’ (Hebrews 11:1 NCV) Paul says, ‘…we walk by faith, not by sight.’ (2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV) Too often we base our feelings on what we see, instead of what God says in His Word. But as Jon Walker writes: ‘When we believe that reality is confined to what we see, we become trapped into thinking the only truth is what we see. We become prisoners of our own perceptions; we cease walking in faith… For those who walk by faith, appearances are never the ultimate reality… Reality extends beyond what you can see… the things we do not see are eternal [time and circumstance do not diminish or alter them] (2 Corinthians 4:18). Even though things may appear bad, God is working things out for our good (Romans 8:28). He knows how the story ends, so fix your eyes on the unseen and not on what you see.’

Give It Your All

'...I will go...And if I perish, I perish.' Esther 4:16 NIV

Esther, a Jewish girl married to a pagan king, risked death to break with long–standing tradition, marched into her husband’s throne room, spoke her mind, and rescued her people from annihilation. One girl saved a nation because she was willing to put everything on the line.

Are you feeling inadequate today? Are you thinking, ‘Someone else should be doing this job instead of me’? Then read these words by clergyman Edward Everett Hale: ‘I am only one; but still I am one. I can’t do everything; but still I can do something: and because I can’t do everything, I will not refuse to do the something I can do.’ How many people did it take to rescue the dying man on the Jericho road? One Good Samaritan. How many people did it take to save the whole known world from the consequences of a seven–year famine? One man, Joseph. John Maxwell writes: ‘God has put a dream inside you. It’s yours and no one else’s. It declares your uniqueness. It holds your potential. Only you can give birth to it. Only you can live it. Not to discover it, take responsibility for it and act upon it is to negatively affect yourself as well as all those who would benefit from your dream.’ Poet John Greenleaf Whittier wrote, ‘For all sad words of tongue and pen; the saddest are these, “It might have been.”’ In your twilight years, will you look back and feel you’ve spent your life struggling to fulfil other people’s expectations? Or know that you lived to the fullest by striving to fulfil your God–given dream? Think about it now, while there’s still time to change direction.

Stop Complaining

'...do not complain...' James 5:9 NCV

In your walk of faith whatever you keep doing becomes a habit whether its good or bad. Today lets focus on something all of us do from time to time, complain. James says, ‘…do not complain…’ Author Jon Gordon says, ‘A complaining fast won’t just make everyone around you happier…you’ll experience more joy, peace, success and positive relationships.’ So instead of complaining when things go wrong: (1) Practice gratitude. Giving thanks for three blessings every day energises you and makes you feel happier. It’s impossible to be grateful and negative at the same time. (2) Encourage others. Instead of complaining about what people do wrong, focus on what they’re doing right. ‘…encourage…people who are afraid. Help those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.’ (1 Thessalonians 5:14 NCV) It’s ok to criticise people’s weaknesses as long as you balance it with three times more praise. (3) Focus on your success. Start a success journal. Every night before you go to bed, write down something great about your day. It could be an uplifting conversation…or an accomplishment you’re proud of. There’s truth to the old saying, ‘Nothing succeeds like success.’ When you focus on success you set the stage for more to follow. (4) Learn to let go. Instead of obsessing about what you can’t change, focus on what you can influence. When you stop trying to control everything and place your life in God’s hands, things have a way of working out. (5) Use the power of prayer. Paul says, ‘…pray…on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests…’ (Ephesians 6:18 NIV) Prayer reduces stress, boosts positive energy and promotes health. When you’re under pressure, instead of complaining, plug in to God’s power and recharge your batteries.

Vision 3

'I will instruct you...in the way you should go.' Psalm 32:8 NKJV


It is told that Mother Teresa didn’t set out searching for fame; it found her. She simply went to India, found a need no one else was meeting, heard the call of God, allowed her heart to be consumed by it, and ministered to multitudes of the world’s most neglected and forgotten people in the slums of Calcutta. One of her most famous slogans was, ‘A life not lived for others is not a life at all.’ Let’s face it; much of what we do each day doesn’t seem to matter until it’s evaluated as part of a larger picture. When you take the minutiae of any given day, drop it into the pot of a God–ordained vision and stir it around, suddenly there’s purpose, worth, adrenaline and the joy that comes from knowing you’re fulfilling your destiny. It’s like the difference between filling bags with dirt and building a levee to save a town. There’s nothing glamorous about filling sandbags, but saving a town from the ravages of a flood is another matter entirely. Building a levee gives meaning to the drudgery of shovelling dirt into sandbags. And it’s like that with your vision. Many times the everyday routine of life can feel like shovelling dirt. But take those same routines and view them through the lens of a God–given purpose, and suddenly everything looks very different. Vision brings your world into focus. It brings order and purpose out of chaos. It enables you to see everything in a fresh light. And the good news is that God is the giver of visions—so ask Him for one!