Tag Archives: Prayer

Communing with a King

Posted on by
Reply

“I tell you; this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.” Luke 18:14a ESV1

There is a protocol for greeting a member of the English Royal Family:

“When being presented to The King or Queen, men are expected to bow from the neck. Women can either bow or curtsey. If a curtsy is given it is just a short bob, keeping the back straight, hands by the side, dropping the knees slightly and bowing the head … Allow The King or The Queen to begin, steer and end the conversation.

On first address: Your Majesty

Thereafter: Sir (King) or Ma’am (Queen).2

There is a proper way to address the President of the United States.

“In direct oral address – actually speaking to the President – the President is addressed as: Mr. President—His given name or surname are not used in his presence. This pattern of not using the name is typical around the world when addressing the highest officials—chiefs of state, heads of government, speakers of houses, chief justices, and a very few others.”3

There is also an appropriate way to come before the King of the Universe.

Continue reading →

Getting on God’s Good Side

Posted on by

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6b ESV1

Read James 4:1-5:20

Let me be clear: there is nothing you can do to make God love you more, and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less. God is love (see 1 John 4:8, 16). Perfect love is His character and cannot be swayed by human effort. And your salvation is not dependent on your works. Jesus has already accomplished everything necessary to pay for your sin and give you His righteousness. You need only repent and believe, and God takes care of everything else (see John 6:29 & 27).2 But God’s favor and blessings are conditional. James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote:

“‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (James 4:6b).

God’s resistance to the proud and approval of the humble wasn’t a new concept to the Jewish believers to whom James wrote. Similar statements are found in the Old Testament (see Job 22:29, Psalms 138:6, Proverbs 3:34, and Isaiah 57:15, 66:2). Jesus modeled and taught this (Matthew 23:12), and Peter wrote about it (1 Peter 5:5). But James expounded upon it.

The fourth and fifth chapters of James explain what pride and humility look like. As we consider each of these characteristics, I challenge you to ask yourself, “Does that describe me?”

Continue reading →

Do You Know Jesus?

Posted on by

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” John 14:7 ESV1

Read John 14:7-14

If I asked you, “Do you know Jesus?” what would you say? If your answer is, “Yes!” how do you know Him? Do you know Him as a historical figure? A person who once lived here on Earth, taught people how to love, and reportedly did some amazing things? Do you know Him as Savior? Are you confident that Jesus, by dying on the cross and rising from the dead, took the punishment for your sins and, through your belief in Him, you have received eternal life? Do you know Him as a Friend? Do you find Him a very likable Guy, enjoy spending time with Him, and receive His encouraging words as a blessing? Do you know Him as Spouse? Do you love Him more than you love yourself, desire to please Him, and regularly experience satisfying intimate times with Him? Or do you know Him as the Head of your body? When He laughs, do you shake? When He cries, does your heart break? Are you so absorbed in Him that when people look at you, they only see Him?

Continue reading →

No Longer Following at a Distance

Posted on by

Then they seized Him and led Him away, bringing Him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance. Luke 22:54 ESV1

Read Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75; Mark 14:27-31, 66-72; Luke 22:31-34, 54-62; John 13:36-38, 18:15-18, 25-27, 21:15-19; Acts 2:14, 22-24, 36-41

Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus because he was only in a relationship with Jesus for what he could gain.2 Peter denied Jesus, but his fault was for a totally different reason. Peter dearly loved Jesus and wasn’t shy about proclaiming his devotion to Him. But Peter didn’t have what it took to keep his promises to Jesus.

Continue reading →

The Answer is Always “Yes!”

Posted on by

“Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24 ESV1

Read Matthew 21:18-22 & Mark 11:12-14, 20-24

I have been praying since I was a wee, little girl. My relationship with God began with prayer. And over the years, my relationship with God has been sustained by prayer. In my five decades of almost constant prayer, I have had thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of prayers answered. But that doesn’t mean I have never been disappointed in my prayer life. What often baffles me is God’s almost immediate answers to many of my little, insignificant prayers, like helping me find my lost car keys, but in other bigger, more important pleas, like healing my loved one from cancer, He doesn’t seem to hear. This is frustrating especially when God promises over and over in His word that if we will but ask, His answer will be, “Yes.”2 Following is a passage where Jesus made such a claim.

Continue reading →

Approaching the Throne of God

Posted on by

 “I tell you; this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:14 ESV1

Read Luke 18:9-14

There is a protocol for greeting a member of the English Royal Family:

“For men, this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy. Other people prefer simply to shake hands in the usual way. On presentation to The Queen, the correct formal address is ‘Your Majesty’ and subsequently ‘Ma’am,’ pronounced with a short ‘a,’ as in ‘jam’. For male members of the Royal Family, the same rules apply, with the title used in the first instance being ‘Your Royal Highness’ and subsequently ‘Sir’. For other female members of the Royal Family the first address is conventionally ‘Your Royal Highness’ and subsequently ‘Ma’am’.”2

There is a proper way to address the President of the United States.

“In direct oral address – actually speaking to the President – the President is addressed as: Mr. President—His given name or surname are not used in his presence. This pattern of not using the name is typical around the world when addressing the highest officials—chiefs of state, heads of government, speakers of houses, chief justices, and a very few others. Listen to a White House news conference: Reporters addressing the POTUS as Mr. President are doing it correctly.”3

There is also an appropriate way to come before the King of the Universe.

Continue reading →

Proper Persistence

Posted on by

He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.  Luke 18:1 ESV1

Read Luke 18:1-8

This past weekend I got together with my daughter and her children. We stopped to get ice cream at a local restaurant. As we were enjoying the tasty treat, my two-year-old grandson noticed my phone peeking out of the front pocket of my purse. He turned to his mom and asked, “Trac’ors ‘Mammaw’s phone, p’ease?” My daughter replied, “Finish your ice cream first.” As we chatted, my grandson nibbled at his ice cream but his eyes were focused on me. As soon as I finished my ice cream, he asked again, “Trac’ors ‘Mammaw’s phone, p’ease?” His mom repeated, with emphasis, “Finish your ice cream first.” He shoved two more big bites of ice cream in his mouth, pushed the dish aside, and asked again, “Trac’ors ‘Mammaw’s phone, p’ease?” This time my daughter said, “Yes, now, you may watch a tractor video on Grandma’s phone.” A moment later, as I searched the internet and found a short, child-appropriate video about tractors, my grandson settled into my lap and stared with glee at what was happening on the screen of my phone.

When Jesus walked the Earth, there were no tractors, Grandmothers didn’t have smartphones, the internet didn’t exist, and I don’t think they even had anything like ice cream. But, Jesus, being the Good Teacher, was able to use as He taught illustrations from what they did have. In the following parable, Jesus told a story to help His audience learn an important lesson about a significant aspect of asking His Father for what they would like to have.

Continue reading →

A Friend, a Father, and a Little Bit of Faith

Posted on by

“Everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” Luke 11:10 ESV1

Read Luke 11:5-13

If you have been around Christianity for any length of time, you are probably familiar with the Lord’s Prayer.2 You may have it repeated several times with others in church services, on your own in times of need, or even at an occasional sporting event. As many times as you have heard and/or said it, you probably even have it memorized. If asked, you could probably recite it now. But are you as familiar with the parable Jesus shared with His disciples to reiterate this teaching on prayer?

Continue reading →

You Might As Well Ask

Posted on by

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to Him and said to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” Mark 10:35 ESV1

Read Matthew 20:20-28 & Mark 10:35-45

When my children were small, I used to get together with my sister frequently. My sister also had small children, and the cousins enjoyed having playdates together. Once, when we came to visit my sister’s family at her home, we found her standing at her kitchen counter, eating a piece of candy. The other children ran off to play, but my son recognized what his aunt was doing. My son watched my sister nibble and said to her, “That piece of candy looks really good.” My sister continued to enjoy her piece of candy. My son noticed a bag of like candy lying open on the counter and stated, “Wow, I could really use a piece of candy.” My sister smiled and took another bite. My son, a little louder, exclaimed, “A piece of candy would really hit the spot for me right now.” My sister popped the remaining bits of her piece of candy into her mouth, closed up the bag, and placed it on top of her refrigerator. My son was shocked, but saying no more, he walked away saddened. My sister then turned to me and said, “You know, I would have given him a piece if he had just asked.”

I have the feeling God could say the same thing about us from time to time; He probably wonders why we don’t just ask. We spend a lot of time meditating on our problems. We mull over in our minds what we think we may need. We go to God and worry before Him, but do we really end up asking for anything? In the passage we will consider today, some people came to Jesus, and they audaciously asked for something they desired. They were surprisingly bold and asked for a grand thing. Let’s look at Jesus’ response?

Continue reading →