Category Archives: Prayer

PRAYING GOD’S WAY – 12

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SPIRITUAL WISDOM AND INSIGHT

‭Ephesians 1:16-17 NLT‬
[16] “I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, [17] asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.”

What does Paul mean by ‘spiritual wisdom and insight’? I think he means the way we apply the knowledge and understanding the Holy Spirit has given us (of God, Jesus, and what they mean to us as we learn and receive the truth) through the Word, to the way we live.

Knowledge and understanding alone will not change our lives. We need the spiritual wisdom and insight that help us to apply these truths to our daily thinking and behaviour.

How can the knowledge of the facts about God and Jesus, and the understanding about what they have done for us, change us from selfish sinners to beloved children of God? Something must happen inside us to effect the change.

‭Romans 12:2 NLT‬
[2] “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

We also need the spiritual wisdom and insight to apply these truths as we navigate every test and trial along the way, to understand what is happening to us, why it is happening, and how to respond God’s way by applying His Word to each situation.

There are always two ways to deal with the adversities we face day by day. We can either react out of our old fleshly nature or we can choose to apply God’s wisdom from His Word. If we remember that wisdom is “doing what works”, then we must choose to do whatever helps us to achieve God’s goal for us…

‭Romans 8:29 NLT‬
[29] “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.“

This isn’t easy because we have an old nature that rebels against God’s way but… we also have the Holy Spirit in us who helps us overcome our old nature, and reinforces and grows God’s nature in us.

Paul says that step one is to change the way we think. What we say and do always follow what we think (believe). If we think that doing the wrong thing will work, we will do it.

The Bible is full of instructions about the wrong and right way to behave. For example, how must we respond to insults, or offences? Must we retaliate or must we forgive? We know the answer. Retaliation keeps hostility going; forgiveness brings an end to the issue.

So, we can ask for and apply the spiritual wisdom we and others need to overcome the obstacles we face along the way. Instead of escalating conflicts with others, or adding more sinful responses by our own reactions, we can grow in grace by applying the instructions of God’s word in difficult situations.

We have the Helper, the indwelling presence of God, who will give us insight to understand what is happening, wisdom to know how to respond, and the power to choose right, do right, and defuse whatever threatens to derail us if we ask Him. All we need to do is ask in faith.

‭James 1:5-6 NLT‬
[5] “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. [6] But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.”

The outcome, when we respond to difficulties in the right way, is amazing. We get to know God better! Imagine that! We get to know His character and His ways by working with Him instead of against Him in His desire to make us more like Jesus…

… And He works in us by showing how good He is in all our circumstances. He works good for us in EVERYTHING to get us where He wants us to go.

‭Romans 8:28-29 NLT‬
[28] “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. [29] For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

PRAYING GOD’S WAY – 11

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

‭Philippians 1:9-11 NLT‬
[9] “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. [10] For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. [11] May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.”

‘Knowledge and understanding’, are the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of our faith! Paul connects the ‘what’ and ‘why’ together as the foundation for our lives on earth as believers in Jesus. You see, despite the criticisms of unbelievers that our faith is based on myths, Jesus and His life and death are proven historical facts. His history is the knowledge we need about Him that is provided for us in the Gospel records.

Part of our knowledge of God, the three persons, is provided by experience. In Jesus high-priestly prayer, He describes eternal life as ‘knowing God’ and ‘knowing Him’.

‭John 17:3 NLT‬
[3] “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”

This knowledge implies that the experience we have of God in His interaction with us increases our love for and trust in Him as we find out more and more about Him and His ways. It’s the counterpart of the relationship between husband and wife. They get to know each other as they live together and interact with one another.

However, knowledge must lead to understanding. If we don’t understand why the Father sent the Son, and why the Son lived, died, and rose again, we will still remain in the dark about what we experience in our daily lives. Only when we are enlightened about the Holy Spirit’s work in us to help us overcome our sinful nature and become like Jesus will we learn to co-operate with Him. Our life experiences will begin to mean something, not just just random chance happenings but purposeful purifying and training for our eternal life with God.

God is always working in us to achieve His goal, a family of sons and daughters like His Son. He has planned for us to share with and under Jesus’ authority, in the administration of His rule over all the kingdoms on earth.

‭Daniel 7:27 NLT‬
[27] “Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey him.”

If our KNOWLEDGE of God, and especially of Jesus, is in the Gospels, then our UNDERSTANDING of the purpose of His coming is given to us in the letters written by the apostles under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Trouble is that much of the time, people interpret God’s Word from their own perspective instead of allowing the Word to interpret itself. I learned a valuable lesson at Bible College…

“The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.”

Now that’s a good way to approach our understanding of the Word!

So, knowledge and understanding are hand-in-glove. As we pray for ourselves and our fellow believers, let’s follow Paul’s pattern. Let’s pray as Paul prayed…

‭Ephesians 1:16-19 NLT‬
[16]…”I pray for you constantly, [17] asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. [18] I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. [19] I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him….”

PRAYING GOD’S WAY – 10

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SPECIFICS IN PRAYER

‭Romans 1:10-12 NLT‬
[10] “One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. [11] For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. [12] When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.”

We learn a great deal from Paul’s recorded prayers, about specific praying. Paul didn’t beat about the bush. He asked the Lord for what he wanted but… he also specified why he asked for what he wanted. “So that..” features in most of his prayers.

This aspect of prayer exposes some of the reasons for unanswered prayer. We have not examined the reason for our request and, unfortunately, according to James, our reasons are often selfish and lustful.

‭James 4:2-3 NLT‬
[2]… “You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. [3] And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”

James is rather blunt! Without a sincere and legitimate motive, our prayers reach no higher than the ceiling.

It seems that our prayers must include two important specific considerations, what we pray for and why we pray for what we ask. “Why am I asking God for this or that, or to do this or that?” is an essential part of our prayers.

This implies that the request part of our prayers cannot be willy-nilly random prayers but requests tied to a legitimate purpose, and that the purpose for which we pray is in harmony with God’s will.

Can you see, then, that God has invited us into a relationship with Himself that is meaningful and going somewhere?

Jesus epitomised this relationship in His interaction with the Father. Praying and doing the Father’s will were top priority in His life and He bent all His words and actions towards that purpose. His goal was to glorify His Father. He saw an opportunity to put His Father on display in every situation in His life.

‭‭John 9:1-3 NLT‬
[1] “As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. [2] “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” [3] “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.”

Jesus’ prayers were peppered with the desire for His Father’s will and His gratitude that the Father had heard Him. His “So that’s” would most definitely have been a vital part of His praying.

Imagine the transformation in our own lives, as well as in the lives of those for whom we pray and the situations for which we pray if we included well-thought-out “so that’s…” in our prayers!

PRAYING GOD’S WAY – 9

Prayer, ,

UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS

‭Colossians 1:9-10 NLT‬
[9] “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. [10] Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.”

Here is the first of the many prayers in Paul’s letters that give us glimpses into the way he prayed and the way God wants us to pray. In his prayers, he gives examples that help us understand how to pray.

We mostly learn to pray by listening to others pray. So, we continue in the mistakes others make instead of learning from the Bible itself.

As we have already noted, New Testament prayers are concerned with our ‘inner man’ more than with our outward circumstances because our lives now are a preparation for the life to come and a witness to the unbelieving world of God’s grace in us.

Let’s look for a moment at God’s goal for every believer. He is calling people into an intimate relationship with Himself to be a family and to administer His kingdom with Him. Therefore, to achieve His goal, He has a twofold training programme. He must teach us how to overcome our old sinful nature and He must mature us in obedience and submission so that we become like Jesus, His perfect Son.

If these are on His agenda for us in this life, then our prayers for ourselves and others must concentrate on accomplishing what He has designed us to be and to do.

Paul’s written prayer for the Colossians Church has these elements in it.

  1. He prays for knowledge and understanding. How important these are in our journey through this life! If we don’t know what God is doing and if we don’t understand why He is doing what He is doing in us, our lives will continue to be a chaotic muddle.

Our first step in this journey, then, is get where God is going with us so that we learn to cooperate, not fight against, our circumstances and His work in us through them.

  1. He prays for good fruit. Fruit means the visible evidence of the root and nature of the tree. When we are rooted in Jesus, we bear the fruit of our new lives in Christ in two ways; by the work of God’s Spirit in us, who changes the way we relate to God, to others, and to ourselves…

‭Galatians 5:22-23 NLT‬
[22] “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

…And by the way we pass on this new life to others. We sow the seeds of God’s Word into other lives and they, in turn, take root, grow, and produce fruit.

  1. He anticipates growth and maturity in believers. When believers understand who they are and why they are here, and cooperate with God in His work of growing mature sons in His family, God accomplishes His purpose in us and He is glorified.

Our role in prayer, then, is to partner with God in His programme. Instead of praying ‘circumstancial’ prayers, always caught up in the moment and battling our issues, we begin to understand what God is doing and work with Him through faith and patience, praying ‘amens’ to His promises and trusting Him for the grace to persevere.

‭2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT‬
[20] “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”

‭2 Peter 1:4 NLT‬
[4] “And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

When we understand this process, our prayers for our everyday circumstances will fit into God’s programme and enable our trust in Him to grow us as He graciously meets our needs on our journey.

PRAYING GOD’S WAY – 8

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SPIRITUAL GIFTS

‭1 Corinthians 1:4-9 NLT‬
[4] “I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. [5] Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. [6] This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. [7] Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. [8] He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. [9] God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.“

Spiritual gifts are an essential part of our loving service to our fellow believers. Through the ministry of gifted people, the people in the church are moved along the path towards spiritual maturity.

Paul had every confidence that his words of correction about their spiritual gifts would help them to restore order and move them along towards maturity. Using their gifts was not about them. It was about the function of togetherness for the benefit of everyone.

The giftedness of the people had become a flash point for controversy, competition and conflict rather than an expression of God’s love through their corporate ministry. Paul needed to remind them that their spiritual gifts were given by the Holy Spirit, not according to their choice. The gifts were to benefit the church, not to elevate the human channel.

No doubt, as Paul presented the pattern for the origin and use of spiritual gifts, he was also giving us the pattern for our prayers.

Are spiritual gifts for everyone or just for some?

‭1 Corinthians 12:7 NLT‬
[7] A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

No one is excluded from the role if helping each other. We all have a part to play in the growth and maturing of Christ’s body. No matter how insignificant we may think our gift is, we must function in our place in the body, otherwise there will be gaps in the process of maturing.

On the other hand, no one gift is more important than another. We must not judge ourselves or others by our own standards. The Holy Spirit decides who gets what gift, but they all fit together in a glorious mosaic of God’s wisdom and power.

Is it right for us to ask for spiritual gifts? According to Paul, ” Yes,” as long as we remember that the Holy Spirit chooses our gifts for us. Our desire for a specific gift is for the benefit of the body, not for our benefit and can only be of value to the body if it is used soaked in God’s love. Any other attitude or motive will defeat the purpose of its use.

So, then, prayer and the gifts we have received from the Spirit are closely intertwined. We appreciate and value our gifts and the gifts of the body. We ask the Lord to keep us humble and obedient as we function together as a unit. We use our gifts to benefit others, not to elevate ourselves. We pray for those to whom we minister, that they will be blessed and matured in their faith and behaviour as we do life together as Christ’s body in the world.

This is the way the church works, just like a human body, each cell working in harmony with every other cell, doing its unique job so that the whole body is healthy and functioning as it was designed to do.

‭Ephesians 4:11-13, 15-16 NLT‬
[11] “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. [12] Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. [13] This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ….
[15] Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. [16] He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”