Tag: prayer
Prayer as incense!
Scripture reading for July 1: Psalms 140-145
Have you ever experienced a prolonged time of sickness or trouble that seemed would not end? Have you felt like God didn’t hear your prayer or wasn’t answering your call? David’s life was one of deep trouble and prolonged times of pursuit by his enemies. Often these enemies were his own friends or family! His brothers were jealous of him and spoke in a derogatory manner about him. His boss, King Saul, tried to kill him and hunted him mercilessly for a number of years. His own wife, Michal, despised him for dancing before the Ark! His son Absalom tried to take his throne by force and hunted him! But David had a habit of prayer that helped him to keep his soul steady and in tune with the Lord.
In Psalm 140, David was crying out to the Lord for rescue from evil men. These men had sharp tongues and plotted violence and war against him. They wanted to trap him and trip him up. David realized that he needed God’s mercy to make it through the battles. He prayed that those who surrounded him would be covered with the trouble that their own lips had caused! (Psalm 140:9) In other words, he wanted them to reap what they sowed! He prayed that they would have burning coals fall upon them and that they would be thrown into the fire and miry pits. He assured himself that the righteous would praise God’s name because God secures justice for the poor and needy!
In Psalm 141 David asked the Lord to come quickly and help him! He asked that his prayer would come before God like incense. (Psalm 141:1-2) The priests would add incense to the burnt offerings to make the smell of the burning meat more fragrant. As they offered the prayers before the golden Altar of Incense in the Holy Place, the incense on the coals would rise in sweet fragrance to the Lord before the veil. In Revelation 8:3-5, John the Apostle sees an angel offering incense with the prayers of the saints on the golden altar before God’s throne. As the prayers and incense ascended, the Angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and hurled it toward the earth producing thunder, lightning, rumblings and an earthquake! David knew the power of prayer and expected God to help him!
As we read this series of psalms, we realize that we are totally dependent on God, the Faithful One. Take time to pray one of David’s prayers: “Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. For Your Name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life; in Your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.” Psalm 143:9-11
Sunday rest and reflection–prayer
Greetings on this day to rest and worship! The Sabbath or seventh day was made for man to help him recover and center his life again on the source of life. We have a tendency to center on ourselves, our work, our happiness, and to pamper our flesh. This book of Psalms helps us to re-center our lives in the source of life, God Himself.
We are designed with the unique ability to communicate. We can talk to God and hear Him speak to us. Many of the psalms are prayers that are written out as poetry or in the form of a song. Music and rhythm help us express the depths of our soul. In prayer we can share honestly with God our deepest feelings, hurts, fears, and longings. We can express our frustrations and ask for help, guidance, or divine intervention. Some of the psalms flow with troubles and needs. Often, they conclude with a re-centering on God and His ability to save, heal or deliver.
There have been some who advocate only speaking positive confessions about everything in our life experience. They say that if we speak about our troubles or fears, we open ourselves up for Satan to bring us further trouble. These psalms show us that we can be honest with God about our feelings, hurts and pains. We must come back to a good confession of trust in God’s ability to guide and help us, however. We should not live in negativity! Casting cares on the Lord is the right thing to do for it helps us remember God’s great ability to help us and brings us peace and comfort.
Psalm 42 is a great example of a prayer of centering in a time of trouble. Join the psalmist in this prayer of honest sharing of his heart’s needs. (Psalm 42:1-2) Cast every care on Him, He cares for you! (Psalm 42:5-6) Pray about everything, worry about nothing! (Psalm 42:7-8) May the peace that passes human understanding stand guard over your heart and life today and throughout the coming week! (Psalm 42:11) God bless you! In His Love, Pastor John
Sunday rest–Forgiveness and Restoration
Dear brothers and sisters,
Greetings on this day of rest! Reflecting today on the trial of Job, we see that our Lord was and is good and that His plans to restore and bless His people are amazing. Job had lost everything over a period of time that is not defined for us, probably a year or more. He lost his children, in spite of praying and sacrificing for them regularly. He lost his wealth and possessions through theft, even though he was generous and did not worship his wealth or possessions. Then he lost his health and vigor when he should have been in his prime. In all this, Job did not curse God or accuse Him of wrongdoing.
As he experienced this trial, he was abandoned by his wife, who told him to ‘curse God and die.’ His three friends did come to sit with him in silence at first. But as they began to speak, they took up the taunt of our enemy the devil, accuser of the brethren. They accused him of harboring some unknown sin and of pride and arrogance. They told him he was being punished even less than he deserved. Job told them that they were ‘miserable comforters’! The young man, Elihu, also tried to offer wisdom but failed Job in telling him that God was clothed in awesome majesty, but that no one could find Him, especially those wise in their own conceit (like Job)! (Job 3:24)
But God does appear to Job and speaks personally to him out of a whirlwind. He questions Job and probes his lack of true understanding of God and His creation. Job repents of his own doubts and questions for God. God instructed Job to pray for his friends, forgiving them and blessing them. “And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” Job 42:10 This emphasized how important forgiveness is in our relationship with God and others who may wrong us. Job lived another 140 years and had ten more children and many grandchildren to the forth generation! God is Good! In His Love, Pastor John
Sunday rest and reflection: prayer
Greetings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus Christ, our coming King and eternal Savior! “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24) It is a choice to rejoice in the Lord each and every day! Each day is a new day with new understanding of how great our God is! As we begin another week, set aside time to reflect on God Himself. Take time to commune with Him! Take time to be with others of like-precious faith who gather to worship, study, and thank Him in community! We especially need this as we see the day of the Lord approaching! (Hebrews 10:25)
We have been reading this past week about Ezra and Nehemiah, two great men in the history of Israel who relied on God and lived lives of prayer and obedience. Ezra offered praise and thanks to the Lord for granting him favor to rebuild the temple. (Ezra 7:27-28) Ezra prayed for traveling mercies for his party with all the gold and silver articles for the temple. (Ezra 8:21-23) After God brought them safely to Jerusalem, they met with others and offered sacrifices and thanked the Lord. Ezra heard about the unfaithfulness of those who had married outside of the faith and he again humbled himself to pray and fast and confess the sins of his countrymen. (Ezra 9:5-15) Others gathered with him and they sought the Lord. God brought repentance and cleansing as they prayed together.
Nehemiah carried a burden for Jerusalem and it’s broken walls. He began to pray to the Lord about his burden. (Nehemiah 1:5-11) God gave him opportunity to speak with the Persian king, Artaxerxes, and he prayed again. (Nehemiah 2:4) God granted him favor and he was sent by this pagan king to rebuild the walls, along with materials and money as well as workers! As he arrived, God gave him a vision to put the people to work by families, assigning them personal responsibility near their own homes. Prayer was offered to combat discouragement and stop opposing forces. (Nehemiah 4:4-5) Nehemiah armed the workers and encouraged them to work and fight for their own children, homes and families! (Nehemiah 4:14) He had a trumpeter near him at all times to sound a call to fight (or pray) when an attack might come. (Nehemiah 4:20)
Take time today to praise the Lord, thank Him for Who He is. Do this for yourself and for your family! Meet with God’s people and worship in community! He is coming soon! In His Love, Pastor John
Leaving a legacy!
Scripture reading for May 11th: Nehemiah 11-13
Would you like to be remembered by God for the good works you accomplish? It would be a great honor to have God’s smiling approval recorded for all to read and know. Nehemiah is one to have this honor and his prayers for God’s approval are examples of a godly leader and their legacy!
“Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.” Nehemiah 13:14
Nehemiah was asking to be remembered for cleansing the temple. Nehemiah threw out Tobiah the Ammonite and cleansed the room he had been given. (Nehemiah 13:1-2,7-9) Nehemiah also found that the Levites had not received their portion of the tithes and therefore had neglected the temple. He rebuked the officials who had allowed this and ordered the Levites back to work in the temple. He reminded the people to bring their tithes. Nehemiah did this because he loved the Lord’s house.
“Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this also, O my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love.” Nehemiah 13:22
Nehemiah rebuked the people for doing business on the Sabbath, closed the gates, and warned those bringing goods to remove them on the Sabbath. (Nehemiah 13:12-18) He was concerned that God’s wrath would come upon the people for their disrespect of God’s commandment.
“Remember them, O my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.” Nehemiah 13:29 “Remember me with favor, O my God.” Nehemiah 13:30b
The last recorded deed of Nehemiah was his dealing with mixed marriages in Judah and the priesthood. This greatly disturbed this man of prayer and he rebuked the offenders strongly, even beating and pulling out the hair of some of them! (Nehemiah 13:25) He made them swear not to give their daughters or allow their sons to marry outside the nation of faith. He reminded them of Solomon’s sin. Wise leaders take action! They are “remembered with favor” by the Lord! Would that be your prayer today?
Faith and prayer
Scripture reading for April 13: 2 Kings 18-21
In 1980, my wife and I were caught in a financial crisis beyond our ability to handle or fix. We had borrowed money to buy land and equipment and build our farming business and interest rates had more than doubled. Many neighbors had lost farms to the banks and creditors because they were unable to pay and our situation looked bad. We had rededicated our lives to the Lord just a few years earlier and as we studied the Word of God, we knew we needed to humble ourselves, repent, and ask God for His mercy. Mary and I knelt by our bed and did just that in an act of faith and humility.
Hezekiah, one of the kings of Judah, was a man of faith. Scripture says that he “held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow Him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.” (2nd Kings 18:5-6) Because he trusted the Lord, the Lord was with him and he was successful in all he did. One of his first moves was to destroy the bronze snake that Moses had built to stop the plague of serpents in the desert. God’s people had made an idol of it and were burning incense to it! (2nd Kings 18:4)
Hezekiah was tested by the Assyrians. He rebelled against the king of Assyria, the military power of that day, and would not serve him. Assyria captured Samaria and Israel (the ten tribes) in Hezekiah’s sixth year. In Hezekiah’s fourteenth year, Sennacherib, king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. (2nd Kings 18:13) Hezekiah tried to buy off the king of Assyria with gold from the temple, but a large army showed up surrounding Jerusalem. Hezekiah was told of this situation and he immediately went to the temple in a humbled posture to seek the help of God. As he prayed for help, God sent word by the prophet Isaiah that God would intervene and deliver them! (2nd Kings 19:6-7) Hezekiah’s faith lead him to a humble appeal to the Lord of Heaven. Solomon had prayed earlier at the dedication of the temple for people who were at war and would cry out to God that God would hear and answer! (1st Kings 8:44-45)
What are you facing today that seems like a mountain? Go to God in prayer! Let your faith move you to prayer. Go humbly to confess how your own sinful actions led to the trouble. Go expecting God to hear and answer you! The answer is already on the way! By the way, eight years after we prayed, my wife and I were debt-free! Faith and prayer gives direction and patience!
Learning to rely on God
Scripture reading for August 23rd: 2nd Corinthians 1, Psalm 18, Proverbs 13
2nd Corinthians 1: 8-11 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God Who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”
As believers, we don’t get a pass on suffering or persecution. Paul and his ministry team went through a trial where they despaired of life itself. They felt under the sentence of death and that there was no escape. However, God strengthened them and delivered them from the deadly peril. It was Paul’s faith in God that caused him to declare that God would do it again as well. But Paul encouraged the believers to pray for them and bring help as many agreed together. This would bring thanksgiving from those helped through the prayers. Prayer is an amazing help and comfort to those in despairing trials. God is faithful to hear and answer us and those praying for us and with us. To Him be all glory in heaven and on earth!
Psalm 18:4-6 “The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry to Him reached His ears.”
Prayer: Father God, thank You for the testimony of these who have gone before me and have suffered in great despair. Your promise of hearing our prayers and delivering us brings comfort and faith. I pray for those in my life that I know are going through despairing trials and what looks hopeless. Use me to pray for them and to encourage them that You are faithful. Thank You for Your amazing faithfulness to us!
Proverbs 13:21 “Disaster pursues sinners, but the righteous are rewarded with good.”
Forgiveness of others not optional!
Scripture reading for April 13th: Matthew 6, Psalm 74, Proverbs 12
Matthew 6: 7-13 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, Your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will Your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Jesus continued to teach His disciples about how to live the blessed life of His kingdom, beginning now on earth and continuing forever. He was the Way to the Father and He taught His disciples how to approach the Father and seek Him for their daily needs, forgiveness of sins, and protection from their adversary, Satan and his schemes. He gave them a simple pattern of prayer, approaching God through a relationship of child to Father. It was a humble attitude of worship, dependence and faith in His kingdom, power and provision. He cautioned them about one possible trap, that of forgiving others. If they wanted their sins forgiven by God’s grace, they must give grace to those offending them. If this request from the merciful Father was ignored or refused, their own forgiveness could not happen!
Psalm 74:12-13 “Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by Your might; You broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.”
Prayer: Father God, in heaven, You are Holy, Holy, Holy! I humbly acknowledge my need of daily bread, forgiveness of sins, and protection from the evil one and his schemes. You are my Father and King, working salvation among all the lost. Help me to demonstrate Your grace to others who have offended me. I want nothing to block Your mercy in my life and to keep me from the path of eternal life.
Proverbs 12:28 “In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.”
Blessing sowed–blessings reaped!
Scripture reading for March 2nd: Acts 28, Psalm 44, Proverbs 13
Acts 28:7-10 “Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him healed him. And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.”
Paul and the 275 on board the ship were all safe on an island and wintered there. Soon after escaping the shipwreck, the chief man of this island took Paul and several from his party into his house and showed them hospitality for three days. During this time, Paul found out Publius had a sick father. He asked to go pray for him and God healed him. This brought people from all over the island to receive prayer and God healed them. When they were ready to set sail after winter, these islanders loaded Paul and those of his party with all they needed for their journey! The law of sowing and reaping is demonstrated here! Bless and you will be blessed–abundantly! We give You thanks forever and ever!
Psalm 44:7-8 “But You have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to Your Name forever.”
Prayer: Father God, thank You for showing such love for the lost that You would even send one of Your servants to them through such a manner as this: a prisoner on a ship that wrecked! Thank You for the healings and many who were blessed with the Gospel message in that remote place. Thank You that the law of sowing and reaping holds true. May I always sow blessings and our Lord bring in a harvest!
Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”