Hello world... We're still hanging in there. We had one large tree come down but it landed in the driveway and missed our house. I have many co-workers that were not so lucky. Ike was not nice to the trees around here.
We don't have any power. However, our local power company expects to have us up this week. Those further east in Conroe could be without power for 2-4 weeks.
We have one generator that we switch back and forth from the well pump to the refrigerator. It's like camping all over again.
We thank God that we're doing well and praying for those close by that are not doing so well. Keep the Houston area in your prayers.
Grace and peace y'all.
Tony
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Matthew 6:13 (ESV)
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Here Jesus asks us to pray that our Father not lead us into temptation. However, this is exactly what the Holy Spirit did to Jesus at the beginning of His ministry.
Matthew 4:1 (ESV)
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
We also know that we are going to be tempted throughout the day. Just turn on the TV, listen to the radio, walk out the front door and you are faced with temptation. We live in a fallen world with temptation at every turn. What does it mean to ask God not to lead us into temptation? Even if we were to move into the desert we could never evade the temptations in our own minds.
There are avoidable temptations. Maybe this prayer is for God to help keep us from walking down the slippery slope of temptations that we could and should avoid.
We don't have to watch those TV programs or movies that put impure thoughts in our heads, ready to pop out when we least expect it. We don't have to let ourselves dwell on thoughts of envy, anger, or lust but we do.
The second half of this verse is a prayer for our Father to carry us through the temptations we do face. These are temptations from the evil in our own hearts and temptations from Satan himself.
This part of the Lord's prayer is a great reminder that we cannot face the temptations of this world alone. We are promised that we will not face any temptation that is beyond our ability. However, we are are also taught that we must wear the full armor of God to resist the schemes of the devil. We can never be so cavalier as to think we can resist the evil in this world on our own.
Jesus added this last verse because evil is real, Satan is real, and we need our Father's protection.
P.S. Are you protecting your own children?
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Matthew 6:12 (ESV)
12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
My debts are already forgiven. This is the message of the New Testament. Good News! The debt you owe has been paid. So why is Jesus teaching me to ask for forgiveness of my debts when He has already covered these debts on the cross?
When Jesus died on the cross, he did pay the eternal price for my debts. If I claim Jesus as my Lord and believe he rose from the dead for my justification, then I am saved from eternal death into eternal life. However, I still manage to sin everyday. I still manage to choose my way over God's ways in my thoughts and actions. My eternal destiny is secure, but my fellowship with my Lord and my fellowship with my brother and sisters in Christ is hindered.
1 John 1:5-10 (ESV)
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
I think where I often fail in this part of my prayer life is meditating long enough for God to reveal to me where I am missing the mark. When I do take the time to listen to God's Spirit in me, He does remind me were I fall short of the glory of God. For me, these usually fall into the categories of pride and selfishness.
Psalms 139:23-24 (ESV)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
Prior to thinking about this post and thinking about what to write, I probably would have told you that I don't have a hard time with forgiving others. I don't lay awake at night harboring ill will towards anyone for a wrong that's been done to me. I'm an extremely easy going guy and I let most things run off my back. If I do get upset, I get over it quickly.
However, this word "debt" is interesting. If I truly forgive someone of a debt (a wrong done to me) then the next time they offend me, shouldn't my reaction be the same as if it is the first time they've offended me? My problem is, if someone does me wrong a second time, I still remember the first time and I am doubly offended. Did I really forgive that first debt?
For example, a co-worker upsets me by saying something brash and condescending. I'm upset but because it's my nature, I get over it and I don't dwell on it. However, a month later this person says or does something again that irritates me. It's not just the latest incident that gets under my skin. It's that incident and all the previous incidents. It's not one debt but an accumulation of debt. I've never really wiped clean the previous debt.
I don't know about you, but I don't think under my own power I can really give someone a clean slate over and over, whether I tell myself I forgive them or not. Each wrong is still accumulated in my thought process. The debt increases, it never really returns to zero.
Just as the clearing of my debt to God is only possible by the grace of God, my ability to erase the debt caused when others hurt me is also only available by the grace of God.
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Matthew 6:11 (ESV)
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
This part of the prayer lesson is often difficult for me. We're not taught by this world to just ask for what we need today. What about all my inevitable future needs, like medical expenses, retirement savings, and college tuition for my four children? How can I only be concerned about just today with all of tomorrow crashing down on me?
Clearly, one of the principles Jesus is teaching His disciples is to focus on today and not to worry about tomorrow. He makes this point more directly just a few verses further down.
Matthew 6:34 (ESV)
34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
The other difficulty I have with this lesson however, is the principle of total dependency on God. I'm often not too concerned about my basic needs today. Today I have a full pantry and refrigerator, I have a job, and I know I have a safe place to sleep tonight. As I come to the Father with my needs, what I need just to survive is not on my mind.
Sure, there may be times where that day is in crisis. However, once the crises passes, I quickly fall into a self-sufficient mind set. It's this self-sufficient mind set that causes a majority of my prayer life problems. In fact, it not only hinders my prayers when I pray, it often leads me to not pray at all.
I know that the very air I breathe each day is a gift from God. I know that anything but total dependency on Him for my daily spiritual, mental, and physical needs is idolatry. I know that depending on myself and the circumstances around me is building my house on sand. I just need to get that knowledge from my brain to be ingrained in my heart.
Deuteronomy 6:4-6 (ESV)
4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
I can't get this knowledge from my head to my heart on my own. This is why we need to pray for our daily bread. Not only for our daily physical needs, but for our daily Bread of Life.
John 6:35 (ESV)
35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
We have the promise, that if we pray for this Bread, our Father will move His word from our head to our heart.
Luke 11:13 (ESV)
13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
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Matthew 6:10 (ESV)
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus gives the disciples a very interesting instruction in His lesson on prayer. He tells them to pray for God's kingdom to come and God's will to be done on earth just like it is in heaven. What does it mean to pray for God's kingdom to come?
The Pharisees in Jesus day were also looking for God's kingdom to come but they did not recognize it when it arrived. They were looking for an earthly kingdom and a king to throw out the evil gentiles. I think we Christians today often fail to see the kingdom in our midst as well. We can be just as wrapped up in our "religion" as the Pharisees in Jesus' day.
Luke 17:20-21 (ESV)
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, 21 nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."
When we pray, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, we're not asking for God's kingdom to come down to earth, as it is already here. Maybe this prayer is asking God to open our spiritual eyes and see His kingdom in our midst. How would my prayer life be affected if I really believed and lived like the kingdom of God was here and now?
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Matthew 6:9 (ESV)
9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
We all have different people we communicate with during the day. We have our boss, co-workers, friends, spouses, children and our own parents to name just a few. The way we communicate with each person depends on our relationship with that person. When I talk to my boss I'm more reserved and professional than when I talk to my wife (hopefully).
I think for prayer to work right, we have to understand our relationship to God, or at least what that relationship should be. Jesus' first lesson in this prayer he is teaching His disciples, is that God is our Father and God is to be reverenced as holy.
This seems simple enough. However, "father" can have many different meanings depending on your own experiences. We all have our own earthly father and part of our perception of a "father" is based on this experience. You could have a great father or you could have a father that only brought you pain.
Whatever type of father you have, he's not God. He's failed you at some point. If your a dad like me, you've failed your own children at some point, like me. So what is a perfect heavenly father like?
Our heavenly Father is a Father that waits for us to turn to Him from our worldly pursuits, and we when we do, He rushes to us to pour out His love and grace.
Luke 15:20-24 (ESV)
20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22 But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.
In this parable, the wayward son finally realizes that the life he has chosen has left him feeding slop to pigs and he would be better off as a servant in his father's house. What he finds is a father that runs to embrace and kiss him when he sees his son coming in the distance. He does not find a father that says "I told you so." He does not find a father that is holding a grudge for ruining his good family name. He does not get accepted back on probationary terms. He is received back unconditionally and even has a party thrown in his name.
When I come to my heavenly Father to pray, who am I coming to? Am I coming as a spoiled child that just wants Dad to fix all of my problems? Am I afraid to come to Him at all because I know I have disappointed Him? Am I coming to Him because I'm a rule follower and that's what I'm supposed to do (see big brother in passage above)? Or, am I coming humbly back to my Father, because I know I cannot do this life on my own?
While it is important to know the mercy and grace of my Father, it is just as important not to forget that He is holy. How often have I taken my parents for granted? How often have I thought I was smarter than my old man. Yes, God is a merciful and gracious Father that His Spirit within me calls "Daddy". However, He is a holy and righteous God that I should come to with exaltation and praise.
Psalms 99:5 (ESV)
5 Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!
If I want my prayers to move from superficial to real, I have to know with whom I am talking.
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There are quite a few spiritual disciplines where I struggle. One of them, a rather important one, is prayer. I don't struggle all the time and I don't struggle in all kinds of prayer. But overall I have to rate my prayer life a C- at best.
I have no problems praying out loud in a group. However, I can always find an excuse to not pray out loud when it's just me and my wife. It makes no sense.
I am terrible when it comes to prayer lists. Often as I read the requests it feels like I'm just reading a list off to God and it's not coming from my heart. Sometimes, a certain request will resonate with me and it will feel more personal. However, it's inconsistent and the next time I read through the list I may feel nothing. This leads to not bothering to read through the list at all.
At night as I lay down to sleep, if I'm having trouble getting to sleep all I have to do is start praying. The next thing you know, I'm out like a light. I sometimes do the same thing with my wife at night. I don't know if either my wife or God appreciate my dozing off in the middle of our conversations. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
So what do I do about this spiritual weakness?
I'm going to try to go back to the basics. What better place to start than the prayer given by Jesus to his disciples when they too may have been struggling with prayer.
Luke 11:1 (ESV)
1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."
Jesus' disciples came to Him and asked that He teach them to pray. Did they want Jesus to teach them because they wanted to be more like the disciples of John the Baptist? Or, did they see Jesus often go off by himself and pray for hours to the Father and did they desire that kind of relationship with God that Jesus modeled for them everyday.
Why do I want learn to pray? Is it so I can become a prayer warrior? Or am I really craving a closer relationship with my Father?
I hope it's the latter.
Join me on this series of posts as I search my own heart and look at the prayer that Jesus gave to His disciples when they asked Him, "Lord, teach us to pray."
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Psalms 6:1-10 (ESV)
1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to the Sheminith. A Psalm of David. O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. 3 My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long? 4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love. 5 For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise? 6 I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. 7 My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes. 8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 9 The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer. 10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
It has been a while since my spirit has grieved like David talks about in this Psalm. However, I have been there. Maybe not with men wanting to kill me, but certainly with Satan wanting to destroy me and my family.
It's interesting to note that in many of David's psalms of distress, he starts with painful and fearful laments, but he ends with confidence and encouragement. He knows God is still listening and God will answer his prayers. I think that's how God wants us to come to him.
God wants us to lay it all out there, our pain, our sorrow, our fears, and our doubts. As we pour out our hearts, if we also take the time to pause and just listen, God is faithful to respond. Your worldly troubles will probably not vanish instantly, although they may, but God's Spirit will comfort you, so you too can end your prayer with confidence, encouragement, and praise.
I do wonder, does God respond when we hold back? If I talk to Him like an acquaintance, that I don't want to bother with how much I really hurt, will I be able to receive His comforting presence? Or, will He hold back, until I bring Him everything?
Father, forgive me for my unfaithfulness, and sometimes my pride, that keeps me from pouring out my heart to you. Thank you for always being faithful, for always hearing my plea, and for accepting my insufficient prayers.
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Psalms 5:3 (ESV)
3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
David is confident that God hears his prayers. He knows God is listening and he is confident that God will answer. He prepares a sacrifices and watches for God's answer.
Is this how I pray? Do I pray with the confidence that God is listening? Do I sacrifice to God each morning and then watch for His answers?
If you were to ask me, my intellectual answer will be that I know God hears my prayers. However, I question how my faith matches that belief. If I really had faith that the God of the universe is listening, praying without ceasing would be much easier.
How about that morning sacrifice?
Romans 12:1 (ESV)
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Each and every morning I should present myself again to God as a living sacrifice. I need to give each day to him.
Of all the lessons in this verse, watching may be the toughest. At least it is for me. Maybe it is a faith issue again. However, even if I believe God is listening, I often wonder if I really expect God to answer my prayers.
It's not that I don't think God is active in this world or capable of directly answering my prayers. It's just that rather than expect an answer, I expect no answer. It's like if I expect no answer, I will never be disappointed.
David sacrifices and then watches. Watching here denotes an expectation. He's prayed to God and watches in expectation for God to answer His prayers.
I wonder how often I miss God's answers because I do not watch expectantly for His answer.
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Psalms 4:3 (ESV)
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.
In my devotional, this Psalm about confidence in God hearing my prayers, made me think of when it appears God is not listening.
God loves me, he has set me apart, he hears me when I call to him. However, sometimes he doesn't intervene when I'm struggling. Sometimes, I think He anxiously watches me struggle, as He purposely holds himself back. He knows that, sometimes, I need to endure the disappointment and feel the pain in order to grow.
This year my oldest son participated in baseball tryouts for the first time. His only previous experience with baseball had been playing with me in the yard and tee ball about five years ago. He did great under the circumstances. But for a little boy that is a perfectionist, he struggled.
As I watched, I knew it was painful for him. I knew every missed catch and every missed swing discouraged him. However, I also knew he had to learn from the experience. He had to learn more than baseball that night. He had to learn how to struggle and get back up and try again.
I wanted nothing more than to be out on that field with him. I wanted to hug him after every misstep and tell him it would be ok. I had to hold myself back for his sake. At the end of the tryouts, while I know he was discouraged, I was proud. My little boy had struggled through disappointment, picked himself up, and kept going.
So, when I'm struggling and I'm wondering why God is not making all of my issues vanish before my eyes, it may be because He is holding himself back for my sake. I only hope I can make Him proud when I struggle and I am able to keep going by leaning on His promise. His promise that I am set apart and He does hear me when I call to Him.
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About six years ago, I was sitting with my then four-year old son watching TV. On the screen they showed one of the recently captured terrorist. His hair was ruffled, his eyes were puffy, and he looked like an overall wreck. To me, he looked like he was breathing, so he looked like he was doing too well. My four-year old on the other hand, he asks, "Do you think that man knows that God loves him?"
Wow. I remember thinking back then how awesome it was that God can speak directly to your heart through your own child. I'd like to say that I've been praying for terrorists for the past six years but that would be a lie. My epiphany on loving my enemies lasted all of a day or two.
How can I love someone that would kill innocent women and children? How can I love someone, that if I was ever in the wrong place, at the wrong time, they would kill me and my family because I'm an American or because I worship Jesus and not Allah? How could God ask me to do that?
I guess maybe...because the cross is bigger than their sin...and without the cross...my sin is just as great.
I blogroll this site called, There's Something Deep Inside. On it there's a post about this site called, Adopt a Terrorist for Prayer. This brought back memories of when God spoke to me about loving my enemies through the innocent eyes of my son
Now this is radical Christianity.
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When my dad had leukemia I really struggled with how to pray. At first I prayed for God to heal my dad. However, as the prognosis worsened I struggled with this request. I wanted God to heal my dad but reality was that he was going to die.
My prayers became more limited. I prayed for strength for my mom. I prayed for comfort for my dad as he suffered through treatments and the other ill effects caused by the disease.
These are important things to pray for when a loved one is hurt. However, I still wanted God to heal my dad. Why did I not continue to pray for complete healing?
I've thought a lot about this since my dad's death.
Why do we sometimes hold back from our prayers to ask God for a miracle? In my case, I think I was afraid to put my faith on the line. I was so certain that my dad's time had come. If I prayed for healing and it did not come, what did that say about my faith? What did it say about God?
If I had continued to pray for my dad's complete recovery, I don't think that would have swayed God and brought us the miracle we all wanted.
So why pray for the impossible?
Because God is El Shaddai, Lord Almighty. God spoke and the universe was created. Nothing is impossible for God.
What if God had healed my dad? Because I had stopped praying for the impossible, I would have missed having a miracle answer my prayer.
God knows what you desire and what you need. Why pray for the impossible? Because God is going to do great and impossible things. Don't miss out on the blessing of the impossible prayer being answered when it happens.
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