God wants us to get to know Him.  Our purpose in life is to love and worship Him. (See Matthew 22:36-38).  Out of the overflow of time we spend with Him – we need to make Him known to others.  He wants His creation to know Him.  In fact, David writes about this is Psalm 19.

 The heavens declare the glory of God;
       the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;
       night after night they display knowledge.

 There is no speech or language
       where their voice is not heard. (Psalm 19:1-3, NIV).

He reveals Himself to us through His creation.  A part of prayer is taking the time to stop our lives and get to know Him.  This could be a drive into the mountains alone, heading to the beach for some time with God, or to your bedroom with the door closed and in the quiet spend time with Him.  Whatever it takes – take the time to get to know God.

I love how Psalm 19:4-6 reads in The Message,

God makes a huge dome
      for the sun—a superdome!
   The morning sun’s a new husband
      leaping from his honeymoon bed,
   The daybreaking sun an athlete
      racing to the tape. 

 That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies
      from sunrise to sunset,
   Melting ice, scorching deserts,
      warming hearts to faith.

Two things I heard today.  One at church and one on the phone as soon as I got home.

1. Focus on pleasing God.  You will please those who please God.
2. We were created as human beings – not human doings.

Bottom line: Our mission in life is to know and love God.  To put Him first in all of life.  By doing so we will be pleasing to Him.  As we learn to be in His presence we will be like the sun and shine His love into the lives of those around Him –  “…warming hearts to faith.”

I woke up this morning and asked the Lord to teach me to pray.  I want to really know what it means to pray, why he wants us to pray, and how prayer should be done.  I thoroughly enjoy praying for other people.  At various times, someone will come to my mind and I will pray for them, someone may contact me and ask me to pray for them, and there are those I pray for as I follow on Twitter.  I’ve even had times when people have contacted me and asked me how they could be praying for me.  It’s amazing to see how the Body of Christ works and serves through this simple yet difficult task of prayer.

One thing I know – prayer is not about me or you.  It’s not really about the person being prayed for, the help needed, the “answered” prayer, or the blessing desired.  It is about God, trusting Him, aligning our thoughts, actions, attitudes, and will with His.  Prayer is the emptying of oneself and the filling up, internally, with the Holy Spirit.

Prayer is an incredible tool. Jesus’ followers recognized it in his life and asked him to teach them to pray.  Luke 11:1  Jesus understood prayer to be the direct line to his Father.  Even when it came down to those final moments in his life on earth.  Jesus knew what he was going to face.  So, he got alone with a couple of his disciples and prayed. Matthew 26:36-42

I like the way Eugene Peterson interprets this passage from Matthew in The Message.  Jesus, “plunged into an agonizing sorrow” (verse 37).  And in verse 38, Jesus says, “This sorrow is crushing my life out…”

Too often I go to God with my back against the wall or I’m way stressed out with a situation. I beg and plead for Him to do what I want or “feel” like I need.  I ask Him for what I think I know will bring about the best ending.  Basically, the picture here is a one of a spoiled little kid at Wal-Mart begging for a toy.  

We can see from the life of Jesus that he went to his Father out of a close relationship… a mature one.  Ultimately, this act of prayer wasn’t self-centered. He had one thing in mind – doing the will of His Father. He knew by doing His will you and I would have salvation – God’s plan.

Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is anyway, get me out of this.  But please, not what I want.  You, do what You want. (Matthew 26:39, The Message).

Jesus’ prayer, “Not what I want. You, do what You want.”  – total reliance, trust, and confidence in his Father.  I want to live this way.  I want my life to be as such that it helps others desire the same thing.  I want to be able to respond to the Father the way Jesus does in verse 42.

He then left them a second time. Again he prayed, “My Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I’m ready. Do it your way.”

Are you ready to let Him do it His way?  I want to live life and pray His way.  There is no better way to live than to live life the way God intended for our lives to be lived.

I will be posting my thoughts on prayer as I follow a 21 Day Prayer Guide from Genesis Church in Orlando.

In my previous post “Take My World Apart,” I referred to my friend  exhibiting the following qualities: “confidence, love, passion, and abandonment to God for the people he has been called to serve.”  I mentioned having been in a place where I have experienced this before.  In order to get there, I recall having had to take some great risks and he is no different.

During church on Sunday I began to journal about the importance of taking risks when Brian Bloye said,

The greatest risk is not to risk at all.

As I have gone throughout this day, I kept having this thought that great risks will have to be taken once again in order to be where I really want to be.  I try each day with all that I do to seek Jesus and his teachings in my decisions.  Presently, I am camping out in the Gospels to continue getting to know him more.  I still hold fast to this passage found in Hebrews,

Keep (my) eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in.  Study how he did it.  Because he never lost sight of where he was headed- that exhilarating finish in and with God – he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever.  And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.  When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through.  That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” (Hebrews 12:2-3, The Message).

I can’t tell you how many times I have walked out of West Ridge Church in the past 9 months and have been incredibly challenged!  This week was no different.  The message series is called, “One Month to Live”.  The following video challenged me… I hope it will you too.

Does your life have what Oswald Chambers calls, “sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is satisfying to Jesus.”?

How does someone’s life bring about that kind of pleasure to Jesus? Chambers would say it is found in, “…continual willingness to “go out” in dependence upon God…”

I’m reading about that kind of faith lived out in the lives if so many found in the book of Genesis. Abraham and Sarah’s lives were a continual “‘go out’ in dependence on God.” I believe there are many people living today with broken dreams because they have chosen not to “go out.”

What keeps us from living in the potential of what God created us for? Why is it that some seem to serve the Lord with reckless abandon? While others shrink back in fear.

Fear is a gripping emotion that takes us into “watch out for myself” thinking. How often do we read in Scripture about someone being spoken to by an angel of the Lord and hear, “Do not be afraid…” Once we lock ourselves in on fear we will not hear anything else. We will not move… we will not walk in faith.

On New Years Eve I was playing a game with my son. He was sitting on the sofa and said, “Daddy when I grow up I want to be just like you.” I’ve thought about those words a lot since then. I’ve thought about our relationship and my desire for him to grow up knowing, loving, and serving Jesus.

I’ve realized these past couple of days that my desire for him is much like the desire Jesus has for me. To live and walk by faith… To “‘go out’ in dependence on God.”

Today as I look to my Heavenly Father I echo the words of my son to Him, “Daddy when I grow up I want to be just like You.”

Last weekend I was hanging out with friends at their home. It was overcast most of the day. I like dark and dreary days… I love rainy days even more!

My son was alarmed by the sky and afraid it was going to rain. He wanted to swim and didn’t want his fun in the pool spoiled with bad weather. He looked at me and said, “I’m going to pray that it doesn’t rain.” I smiled and said, “You do that buddy and I’m going to pray that it rains.”

Well, it wasn’t much longer before the rain began. He was in the house at the time it started. He came outside and said, “Why did you win?” I could see the disappointment on his face and hear it in the tone of his voice.

My response to him was: “Turn around and look up at the sky. God is giving you right now the blue sky you have asked for. You see, God has answered both of our prayers today. He loves us both and desires to give us both the desires of our hearts.”

I love my son! He is 7 years old. As his Dad I want to give him everything his little heart desires. But more than the stuff he wants to play with I want to give him Jesus. I want to make the most of every opportunity so he can grow strong in his faith, understanding of God, and the love God has for him. He is learning to seek God in all things. At 7 years of age, I’m excited to see him learn to pray. I know God has great plans for him…

God has great plans for all of us. When life all around is looking dark and dreary… When the rains begin to fall… Don’t give up hope! Cling to these words found in the Bible,

“Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” (Matthew 6:33-34, The Message).

I’m watching the Tour de France and am amazed at the strength of the riders.  I am blown away at the thought of how much training these guys have gone through in order to ride their bicycles the distance and at the pace that they will go over the next several weeks.

It’s remarkable that Lance Armstrong is making a comeback after being out for 4 years at age 37.  Not to mention he has already won the Tour 7 times after his fight with cancer.  He is in 3rd place now after the 3rd stage.  Amazing!

I think about the training that I must go through as a Christian in order to live the life Christ has placed before me.  As I see these well conditioned cyclists, I ask myself, “Is my spiritual life as well conditioned as these guys are physically?”  Paul exhorts us, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24).

Are you running the course of your life to win?  Are you conditioned in such a way you will finish strong?  Do you have someone who is running with you to push the limits of your faith?  Are you on a team (a part of a small group) that will help you get to the finish line?  None of us can finish this life on our own.  We need each other if we are going to live and finish strong.

Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it is also something that requires bravery, courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth. (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 7).

I was talking with a good friend of mine this morning.  As we talked, he began to share a passage of Scripture with me from Psalm 116.  As he read this passage to me I was reminded of this praise and worship set by U2.  It’s a very moving moment. 

According to RNS Blog, while speaking with reporters at the National Prayer Breakfast (February 2, 2006), Bono is quoted as saying,

I believe being a worship leader is the highest of all art forms, to worship and call people into the presence of God.

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Hope is the word that lingers in my head these days.  There’s a lot of people in need of hope.  Hope in conquering the past, the present, and the fears of the future.  Hope…

I watched and interview yesterday on CBN.  CBN’s guest was Glenn Beck.  They were talking about his new book, The Christmas Sweater.  It was a very emotional interview… full of redemption and hope.  As I enter into December 2008, I am going to focus on hope.

Romans 5:1-5 in the Message,

1-2By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

 3-5There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

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I’m reluctant to share the following story… I do so hopefully to inspire you to do whatever God leads you to do.  No matter how small or large a thing God tells you to do… just do it.  Be obedient and see what He does.

There’s a wonderful lady in our town God gives me the incredible pleasure of praying for.  She was my next door neighbor when I was in Middle School through College.  I pass by her house daily going back and forth from work.  Since her house is right off of the road I travel each day I always look that way… looking that way is a habit from my youth.  The Lord uses that habit as a reminder to pray for her everyday.

Today, while at the Post Office – God’s Spirit said go see her.  So I drove to her house to finish off my lunch hour.  We got caught up with each other for a few moments and I told her why I was there.  I told her, “I stopped by to pray for you.”  Wow!  What an awesome moment!  God’s love and grace is so beautiful.

Do you have someone you pray for regularly?  Do you have someone who has meant a lot to you over the years?  Why not drop in and share God’s love and the love you have for them!!  If you don’t live near by then write them a little note to let them know you are praying for them. 

I went there today to bless her with God’s Spirit working through me… I left blessed!

So.  You think you have got it all together.  But there’s this thing that keeps you from moving forward.  It’s like you are tripping over the same old rock.  You know it’s there.  You’ve walked the path so many times before but you still keep tripping over the same rock. 

What are you going to do about the rock?  Have you identified the rock?  Is it something you can take care on your own?  I bet it’s something you will end up needing some help with.

C. C. DeVille of Poison has a couple of thoughts about it. 

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