Prayer, it’s not as hard as you think!

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Probably one of the first prayers we all remember!

From this point on, most of us have it in grained in us that  prayer is/needs to be a formal written or formally spoken recitation of the same verse(s) to qualify. Not so, God is with us all the time, whether we want Him to be or not. He hears all, sees, all and knows all. So why do we feel that prayer needs to be so formal?

I’ve found that some of my best prayer time has occurred in some of the most unusual places! Like my morning shower, building a campfire, hiking, driving to work, that 4 a.m. wake up whisper from Him, etc. He’s always there, listening and waiting so why not?

Some of my prayers are long conversations with Him, and some are just…God, HELP, I need you! Sometimes he answers right away, sometime He answers loudly, but more often than not, it is a soft, quiet voice and it is always when He knows it’s the right time to answer. We don’t like that part because we live in a society of instant gratification, so we want the answer immediately after we ask the question. God doesn’t work that way! He has the plan, He makes the rules, and He’s always in control.

Prayer, it’s one of the core principles in the Bible. You can’t go a chapter without a reference to the need to pray, the need to talk to God and more so, the need to listen. Too often we are too busy “speaking” to hear God when he does talk to us. We are too busy talking to hear the answer when He gives it to us! Then we’re upset when we feel He isn’t answering or He’s taking too long to answer us.

In scouting, we have a native American story we tell, that is a perfect example of this. I’ll paraphrase it, but it goes something like this:

There was a brave hunter out on his own, hunting for his family. While he was near the river, a storm started brewing. It began to rain and the river began to flood. He prayed to the “Great Spirit” to protect him. A rabbit came by and said to him, “follow me and I’ll lead you to safe ground”. The brave said, No, I’ve prayed to the Great Spirit and he’ll protect me.” The water continued to rise and he climbed up on a rock to be out of the water. A deer came by and said, “climb onto my back and I’ll take you to safer round.” Once again, the brave said “No, I’ve prayed to the Great Spirit and he will protect me.” Now the water continued to rise and the brave had to climb to the top of a tree to stay out of the raging water. An otter swam up to him and said, “Grab onto my tail and I’ll swim you to safety”. He again said “NO, the Great Spirit will surely keep me safe!” The waters continued to rise and at last just as the water was about to sweep him away, a hawk flew to the brave and said, “Grab hold of my talons and I’ll fly you to dry land!” The stubborn brave said “No, I’m sure the Great Spirit will save me, I’ve been praying to him throughout the storm”. The waters continued to rise and the brave went under the water and he died, when he met the Great Spirit, he asked, “Why did you not answer me when I prayed to you for safety?” The Great Spirit, just looked at him and said, “Who do you think sent the rabbit, the deer, the otter and the hawk?”

How often are we like this brave? The Lord, answers us, many times we are just too “noisy” to hear the answer, or He’s giving us the answer we need to hear, but don’t want to. Let’s look at two examples from the Bible, one that shows the result of a prayerful life and one that shows the results of stopping prayer.

Probably one of the most prayerful people in the Old Testament is David.  The Psalms are some of the greatest heartfelt prayers!  The Psalms provide great examples of prayers for many situations, for comfort, forgiveness, praise and thanksgiving, and more.

As for examples of stopping prayer,  just look at the Israelites in general.  Every time they stayed in prayer the Lord blessed them with prosperity and happiness. Then they would “forget” and go back to worshiping idols, living lives like they wanted and not as God instructed. When this happened God was very hard on them.  He’d bring famine, war, and exile.

Prayer is such an important part of our Christian life, it is our most intimate time with the Lord.  When we slip away from prayer we are missing out on a renewal of our spirit by our time spent with Him.

The Living Word – “The Bible”

The Bible – the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

It is kept alive by the working of the Holy Spirit within us.

The more I read, the more it amazed me! I found situations and applications that are as relevant today as they were back in the days they were written.

They were dealing with the same issues, falling away from faith and God, deceit, oppression, corrupt politicians, unfair  taxation, stealing, adultery, lies, the poor, the hungry, and the lost.  You could go on and on and find so many similarities.

But the encouraging thing is, there are answers to these issues!  The bible has answers and they are the true answers.  God has told us how we can solve these issues.  The answer lies in Him and comes thru our saving by Jesus Christ!  If we read and  learn He will give us the insight, the power and the tools to make lasting changes to this world. The trouble is, that is a very big “IF” for man.  We know the right thing, but we don’t always do it.

Let’s look at this scripture:  Hebrews 4:12 – 13  For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

The Bible helps form us into who God ultimately wants us to be.  It’s the instruction book, it has the answers and it also tells how we will be judged in His eyes at the final judgment.

How much better the world and we would be if we could just live up to some of these:

The Beatitudes – Matthew 5

3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.

6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things
against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

Teaching about Salt and Light

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Teaching about the Law

17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

These have been quoted by politicians, preachers, and everyday people, even used in song, but we just seem to drift and forget the message.  It’s so easy to say and so hard to follow, but there is a warning to us all in verses 17-19 that we really need to heed.

Even though, these seem so hard and we get concerned on the “how”, God will bless us if we truly make the attempt.  There is nothing that is impossible for Him.  We may not know how we can afford to feed the hungry, or how are we to get everything done
if I’m taking the time to comfort someone, or what are people going to think if I stand up for someone who is being put down or “bullied” because of their beliefs, what’s going to happen to me or my family.

Based on what he’s told us in verse 19 in Matthew 5, can we really afford to take not take the chance and make the attempt?

He tells us, he will be there and in the end, when it counts we will be judged by God the Father, not by man!

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to take my chances with God, I want to be spending a lot longer with Him than with man!

So my challenge to you this week is – start reading the Bible, it’s a much better “How to book” than anything ever written by man!

I’d like close with a quote from Halley’s Bible Handbook:

“Everybody ought to Read the Bible.  Everybody.  It is God’s Word.  It holds the Solution of Life.  It tells about the Best Friend mankind ever had, the Noblest, Kindest, Truest Man that ever trod this earth.

It is the Most Beautiful Story ever told.  It is the Best Guide to human conduct ever known. It gives a Meaning, and a Glow, and a Joy, and a Victory, and A Destiny, and a Glory to Life elsewhere unknown.” – Dr. Henry H. Halley

Next week:  Prayer – it’s not as hard as you think!

Living God’s Will…

Friends, there is a peace to be found in this faith. Think of it… aren’t there times when we think, if only I didn’t have to figure this all out myself? If only I could do it this way? If only I….you fill in the rest. Who’s putting that pressure on you? Family, friends, not necessarily… yourself – more likely…Satan most definitely.

There were many times in my life where I put the pressure on myself (for reference, read my testimony page). I needed to find a way to do this, I was the man of the house, the bread-winner. I could take care of everything, I’ll juggle the finances to make sure we have what we need. This plan was going fine, I thought, but I wasn’t really using my abilities to forward God’s plan. Then, God had enough, he was going to test me, test my faith. He threw a major illness into the “plan” to see how strong my faith was. Shaken? You better believe it! Learn from it? Over a period of almost 15 years, most definitely. You see, thank you God, I did have faith, maybe not the strong faith of someone like Abraham, Daniel or the Apostle Paul, but faith was there. He gave me much insight into His mighty power over those years and also put many angels in my path along the way, but eventually that faith has become rock solid. Did I stumble and fall along the way? Most definitely! Almost to the point of destruction, but my faith saved me. My surrender to Jesus Christ and to the will of God over my will is what really mattered.

I’ve found that by getting closer to God, praying, reading the word, worshipping, I’ve learned how to, how’s that phrase go, “Let go and let God”. He will take the burden off if you let Him. He will carry the load… if you let Him. “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest….For my yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light.”: Matthew 11:28 & 30.

Just look back into time in the Bible, look at how many times Israel and her leaders tried to do things themself. They were fine as long as they kept their eyes on God, but whenever they took their eyes off him and tried controlling things as man, they fell apart and several times God was about to destroy them forever, until they begged and prayed for forgiveness. And God in his almighty power always forgave and picked them back up. The same hold true for us today. God is always there, He always forgives as long as we keep our eyes on Him and we believe that we were saved by the precious blood of Jesus. In the New Testament there are so many great examples of the power of faith. Many times Jesus performed healing miracles because of someones faith.

Matthew 9: 2-8 Jesus heals the paralytic – 2 Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” 4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . .” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 And the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

Mark 5:25-34: 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

When we lose our faith we begin to live in fear and anxiety, and when we live in fear, we are leaving openings for the devil to work. He loves fear because fear brings doubt, and doubt clouds decisions and clouds our view of God.

Look at Peter in the New Testament during the storm!

Matthew 14:28-31: 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

This is something to pay attention to, work to strengthen your faith! It will give you a peace that will enable you to withstand anything this world will send at you! When you have faith and stop controlling, you start to see more clearly the plan God has for you, you stop living in the “you” and start living in the “He”. This is what He wants for us, let Him work his plan. If we keep our faith and we pray and give worship to Him, he guides us to the right path.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

His peace is the peace that I wish for everyone, for with His peace we can become more like Jesus. His peace makes us so much more Christ-like, we are slower to anger, more compassionate to others and we are fulfilling our mission of bringing the message of the Word to life through our actions.

May Christ’s peace come over you in this coming week and may it be a beacon of His love and example to others you meet. God bless you!

Next Week – “The Living Word!”

Why me, Murphy’s Law or Satan’s power?

This week I am lead to write based on my readings in the book of Daniel.

Daniel was one of the four Major Prophets. He was captured and exiled in Babylon. During his exile, he remained faithful to God and because of that faith was rewarded by God with the gift of prophetic vision. He is an example of dedication and commitment. His example can help us toward that God’s saving power also.

Why me? Oops, Murphy’s Law strikes again! How many times have you said either of those terms? Pretty common isn’t it? Did you ever stop to really think about the situation when you said them? For a long time I never did, but over the past months I’ve had occasion to stop and really think about it.

Why me? Pretty common phrase when things don’t go the way we really wanted isn’t it? It’s easy to throw out that question. For me, this most often occurs when I am really trying to do the right thing or wanting something special and it doesn’t go the way I want. Most times it can go just the opposite and something I thought was so “right” turned out to be so “wrong”!

When I stopped to think about it, what I wanted, ended up not to be what God wanted. I started with all the best intentions but in the end, it didn’t fit God’s plan for the situation or for me. Couldn’t see it at the time, but with the wonderful 20/20 vision that God give us it was crystal clear!

Same thing with Murphy’s Law, that joking way we put it when something happens to change the course of events in a manner we did not want to happen. It’s easy to blame Murphy for these things, when really it’s God’s way of kind of putting us in our place. He’s saying you’re playing My game and it’s going to be “My rules not yours!”

Here’s another thought to throw in the mix – Satan’s power! Did you ever consider that maybe; just maybe, Satan had a play in the events mentioned above? You see, Satan is always working; he’s always lurking around just looking for that small, small crack in our defenses to get a foothold. Once he has that foothold, he will do everything and anything to hang on and to exploit it to destroy us and to move us away from God’s love.

When we say “Why me?” or “… must have been Murphy’s Law” we are giving him that little opportunity. We are doubting, we are compromising, we are leaving that little opening for Satan to play with our minds.

How’s this tie in to Daniel? Well to give you a Cliff notes version, Daniel’s prophetic vision given him by God enabled him to rise to a position of honor and power in the Babylonian empire. Because of this some of the other leaders conspired against him and convinced the king to proclaim a law they knew Daniel could not obey. The penalty for disobedience was to be thrown into the lions’ den, a death sentence. Because of his courage to keep faithful to God throughout his exile, God spared his life and he came out of the lion’s den without a scratch. After this the king promoted him to an even higher position of authority because of his faith and commitment to his God.

Lesson – No matter what life throws at you keep your eyes, heart and mind focused on God. Follow Daniel’s example of uncompromising faith. Our future has been secured by Jesus Christ and our faith in Him. I have found that it is so important to keep my faith in God. He controls everything, He knows the outcome, He knows the purpose. We may think we do, but it will only be right if we are right with Him. By keeping my faith and focus on God, I have been able to find an inner peace in any circumstance. I may not like what’s happening, or feel comfortable with it, but I still have a peace in knowing that whatever it is or whatever the outcome God is with me and He will protect me.

May His peace come into your heart and be with you in this coming week.

Next week:  “Living God’s Will”

One of the “Ah Hah” moments …

Ephesians 2

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

The more I read this the more questions kept coming up. For years, I was trained in the liturgy, confession, communion, and penance to wipe the slate clean, praying to saints to intercede for me, the rosary and first Friday mass for indulgences, Holy day service, all of this to “work” my way to heaven! Sound familiar to any of you?

I believed that all of this “work” was necessary or I could not get to heaven. I’d be on the outside looking in. And to top it off, there still was no guarantee that I’d make it under these rules! I most likely would still not have worked good enough or hard enough to make it! I would most likely, at best, go to Purgatory; that ambiguous place in between Heaven and Hell. I would need other like minded good Catholics to pray me out! For once in Purgatory I could no longer do anything on my behalf, I would need the “intercession” of the Saints and the living to get me out!

Was I surprised and intrigued, when I started to read the Word.

Remember, as a born and raised Catholic, my religious education really ended with my confirmation probably around my 13th birthday. We did not have Sunday school or anything like that to continue learning. Read the Bible? We may have had a kids Bible from our 1st communion, but daily reading, that wasn’t even a thought, let alone a practice. Ring a bell to anyone?

When I read those verses in Ephesians and others like it, Wow! What a relief! God’s grace would save me! All I had to do was believe in Jesus, and that he shed his blood to save me from my sins. That was the easy part for I already did believe in Him! It didn’t matter how hard I worked… I was saved by God’s grace and my belief that Jesus.

It was as if all the heavy chains I was carrying were lifted from me! I felt so free!

This just made me want to read more; I needed to understand more, what other wonderful surprises awaited me in this book?

The journey begins…

READ THE BIBLE – IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

Next week:  Why me, Murphy’s Law or Satan’s Power