Here is something we can all try. In E.M. Bounds book The Complete Book of Prayer, he quotes a gentleman that has a great “tactic” of prayer. I think it would do our community and world good if we employed something similar.
Sir Thomas Browne wrote, “I purpose to take occasion of praying upon the sight of any church which I may pass, that God may be worshipped there in spirit, and that souls may be saved there; to pray daily for my sick patients and the patients of other physicians; at my entrance into any home to say, “May the peace of God dwell here;” after hearing a sermon, to pray for a blessing on God’s truth…upon the sight of a deformed person, to pray God to give them wholeness of soul, and by an by to give them the beauty of the resurrection.”
We should put these things into practice. It reminds me of what the Apostle Paul said, “Pray without ceasing”.
The Levites labored for the Lord nearly night and day. They were in charge of the tabernacle and its service. To be a Levite was not an easy labor job. It was often a hard task considering they sacrificed animals daily. It was not for the weak stomached.
In the book of Joshua, Joshua is dividing the land for the Israelites inheritance. One tribe would get one place, another would get another piece of choice land. What did the Levites inherit? Nothing physical!
Here these great men, served the Lord daily and administered the rites of worship, yet they inherited nothing…well, nothing but GOD!
Joshua 13:33 records, “But to the tribe of Levi Moses had given no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as He had said to them.”
The Levites had no inheritance but God Himself! I believe God is enough for them and for us! So often, we think in terms of a temporal blessing or inheritance. I would rather have God Himself than a piece of land! God is more than enough.
So, what do you long for? Are you in a pursuit for more?
Chasing dreams and buying possessions Even climbing the ladder of your profession
What is it you live for? Is it this constant pursuit of more?
Not more of God, but more things Filling our treasures for that is our dream
Why do we do this? Why do we pursue? The wrong things daily, that won’t satisfy you.
A little of this, a little of that So people will envy the place you are at
Is it stuff we are after or the position we can have? Is it prestige we long for and the recognition we can grab?
In light of eternity, does this really matter? When life is over, can we take it to the hereafter?
Is it the temporal things that we truly love? Or would you say, “that God Himself is enough?”
Some may be thinking about their boss on the job, their spouse at home, or even, in some families, it might be the kids. The question, however, is directed to the spiritual aspects of your life. Are you in control or is God in control?
As human beings, we like to be in charge…in control of our own lives. We don’t like to live our life for someone else. We may think, “It is my life I can do as I please.” That statement is true. You can do whatever you please, but we should be doing what pleases God not us.
The fall of man came because man did what was pleasing to himself. In fact, Satan fell from Heaven because he wanted to live his own life. We were born into sin because of what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. We now have to endure the tempting of the pride of life. We have to suppress our desire to live a life of our own will.
John the Baptist said, “That I may decrease so He can increase.”
What a powerful statement! This sums up the whole definition of surrender. As a child of God, we know longer seek to live for our own wills but God’s will. We should seek to die to ourselves, our plans, our own agendas, our pleasures and take up God’s life and plans.
Man’s problems today can all be traced to the fact that people do not want to give up any part of themselves to God. Christians have a hard time laying down their pride, to submit to the leadership of God. We can say that we love God. We can work for His kingdom. We can pray and read our Bible and still not be submitted to Him.
How can you tell when someone has surrendered to God? Humility and servant hood. They humble themselves and care nothing about who gets credit for their service. They lay down the pleasures of this life so that they can walk in God’s life. Evidence of a surrendered Christian is seen in the reflection of Christ in the believer. They don’t tout spirituality they just walk in Christ’s love.
Surrender your life to Christ. Give up everything to Him. Quit worrying about what God can do for you and think of what you can do for Him. Lay down your pleasures, your will and all that is in you and walk in humility. God blesses those who are surrendered to Him.
Last week, I visited my parents in Houston. One afternoon, my mom showed me an old loose-leaf notebook with recipes in it. It was a small black notebook that held recipes from my grandparents. Seemingly out of place was a quote from the great poet, Tennyson and a hand-written page containing, what I am assuming was thought from my grandfather.
On this page, written in red ink, he expounded on where life begins. It resonated with me, because it was as if it was written just for me. He has been gone a long time and I am not sure when this was written, but it was certainly for me in 2022. (Maybe it is written for you as well)
Life Begins
Of all the stupid, silly, useless, inexcusable habits – Regret is the tops.
Check up on yourself sometime and you’ll be astonished how much time is wasted in trying or wishing to undo something that is all finished beyond recall.
Regret is an enemy, and a very persistent one, as well as, a great time consumer.
Regret is useless – you can’t make things unhappen.
The only thing that binds you to an unhappy or unfortunate past is your own regret. Nobody else is going to care much about it.
The past is a closed chapter. The future is full of opportunities and possibilities, no matter whether you are forty or eighty.
Life begins at the very moment you cease to live in the past.
This is a challenge to all of us. The choices we have made in the past, are in the past. You cannot undo bad choices, but you can make a decision to make good choices in the future.
Philippians 3:13-14, “13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” CSB
If you are always looking back, you will never see what is ahead. Press on. Move forward. Let go of regrets and live.
I have shared this before, but as I continue to watch the lives of hurting people, it is more relevant today than ever. Most of us have a mask we wear. Hiding what is really lying on the inside of our hearts. To be free, we must remove the mask and the only way we can be free is through Jesus Christ. He heals what is behind the masks we wear.
I read this poem on Sunday. I pray it ministers to you today and causes you to think. Let Jesus have all the pain you are carrying on the inside. Cast your cares on Him for He cares for you.
The Mask Please don’t ask What’s behind the veil No one can really tell
What am I hiding? Why am I crying? What is it that I cannot tell? The Mask Please don’t ask
What I am covering up? Why I have had enough Enough of the pain Why is it always the same? My sin holds me down In it I am going to drown
The Mask Since you had to ask Shows me all smile When behind it all the while Is my hurt, my toil, my shame On the inside is nothing but pain
The Mask Please don’t ask I can’t take it off It’s all my fault I drowned my pain with sin I can’t get free within The Mask
The Mask It only hides the void in my soul I need someone else to take control Is there a savior? is there a God? Who on my soul will not trod? But take my pain, take my hurt Take my sin and give me some worth
The Mask Jesus I ask Take my life, take all of me Heal my pain so I can finally see This person behind the mask
DISCLAIMER: This is a lengthy article. Since, we are not having church because of the weather, I thought I would share what was on my heart for our message tonight.
Monday, we drove out to the Buffalo River area and gazed at the beauty of God’s creation. The rising bluffs that create a marvelous backdrop for the Buffalo River. The water was flowing freely, and the rapids were rushing, not turbulently, but at least steadily. I love this area of Arkansas. Truly, it is a gift from our Creator.
Sonya and I have frequented this area many times. In all four seasons, yet it is in winter that you notice the lack of life. The trees look dead. The leaves have fallen, the grass is brown, and apart from a smattering of evergreens, there is little color in the wintertime.
One thing we must remember, however, is that even though it looks lifeless, it doesn’t mean it’s dead. The trees are very much alive even though there are no leaves on their limbs. Winter, in itself, holds its own beauty. But one oft overlooked blessing in the cold season is that you can see things you never saw when the trees were teeming with life. With the tress full of leaves, you cannot see at a distance. The view is blocked. Therefore, the winter season produces a greater vision than the summertime.
In Psalm 42, the Psalmist is walking through a winter season of his life. He is missing the house of worship, being around God’s people, and we even catch a glimpse of his thought that perhaps God is absent during these moments. Things had changed drastically in his life. So much so that he reveals his heart is breaking because he misses the times of singing for joy and relishing the celebration.
The Psalmist then begins to question, “Why am I so discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?” Have you been there before? Walked through a winter season of depression?
Our tendency in those seasons is to focus on the gloom of the winter. No sign of life. Things look and feel dead or at least, as if the presence of God has escaped us. This is when the Psalmist changes his perspective. Why am I discouraged and feel so sad? Yet, I will hope in God! I will praise Him again! He is no longer looking at the lifeless winter, but the God who is full of life. When our season feels like a long winter, we have to change the way we see things. We have to look up, rather than around.
In verse 8, the writer gives us the greatest shot of hope while also giving us instruction.
“But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.” -Psalm 42:8 NLT-
The Psalmist shows us that God is always pouring His unfailing love on us. This gives us a reason for living. But here comes our response to that unfailing love. It should cause us to have a song in our heart. “Through each night I sing His songs.” When we are embraced by the unfailing love of God, we should have a song. It gives us a reason to sing.
Our next instruction tells us that if we are in winter and lack life, we need to pray to God. “Praying to God who gives me life.” Life comes when we are connected to Him in prayer. In Psalm 43:4 it tells us that we should build our altar to God, who is our source of joy. These verses remind us of the power of prayer to get us through the gloomy season.
As I was thinking on these verses, it sparked a way that we need to pray when we need life. I’m not talking about our next breath, but rather life in our soul, spiritual life. If that is what you need, try patterning your prayer this way:
LISTEN TO GOD
Psalm 46:10 tells us to “be still and know that He is God…” We must slow down our lives long enough to listen to His voice. Listening for Him to calm us, lead us, and draw us to Him.
In his book, Getting Your Life Back, John Eldredge writes about the One Minute Pause. Taking just 60 seconds to stop, breathe, and listen to Him. During the One Minute Pause, Eldredge says it is a time to release to God whatever is weighing us down. He gives a couple of questions to ask that will help us focus during these 60 seconds. Simply, ask and listen.
1. What do I need to let go of? (What is weighing me down?)
Pause and give it to God. Let it go.
2. What do I need from God today?
Pause and ask Him for it.
Eldredge encourages everyone to do this multiple times throughout the day. I challenge you to make this a part of your daily life.
INTERCEDE FOR OTHERS
Nothing helps us take the focus off of our own situations like praying for others who are in need. The Bible is emphatic about our need to “stand in the gap” for others. (Ezekiel 22:30, I Timothy 2:1-2, Matthew 5:44, Ephesians 6:18)
If you have trouble finding things to pray about, just take this summary from the verses mentioned above.
The nation and our leaders
Other believers
Family and Friends
People who are going through hardship
Our enemies
There are needs all around us, and the way to breathe life into your winter season is to focus on the needs of others. If you focus on their needs, it will help you to not be glued to all the troubles you are walking through.
FOR YOURSELF
The Bible does tell us that we are to pray for ourselves. It is not unselfish. We are instructed to pray for our own needs.
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (I Peter 5:7 NLT)
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” (Philippians 4:6 NLT)
“Commit your future to the Lord.” (Psalm 37:5 NET)
The word commit in Psalm 37:5 carries the idea of rolling your burden onto the Lord. It pictures a camel loaded down with cargo, kneeling down, and rolling to its side to unload its weight. This means that we are literally to roll our burdens off on to God. We do this by praying for our own needs.
EXALT THE LORD
Remember, the Psalmist in Psalm 42:8 said that he sang songs throughout the night. We are also told in other places that we are to exalt the Lord. It is during our time of prayer that we should take time to worship the Lord for who He is and give thanks for what He has done. The Apostle Paul connected letting our requests being made known to God and giving thanks. When we are thankful for what He has done, it helps us have faith for things He hasn’t down yet.
Friends, I encourage you to build an altar and pray to the God who gives us life.
Listen to God Intercede for others For Yourself Exalt the Lord.
When you do these things, you will find clarity and spiritual life even in your winter seasons.
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