Category: Daily Prayers

 

 

In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
–Mark 1:35

Have you heard the story about the newly promoted colonel? He was settling into his makeshift office when he saw a private heading his direction. Wanting to look busier than he was, the colonel picked up the telephone and pretended to be in a conversation: “Yes, General; I think that’s an excellent plan, sir. We’ll have to meet soon to discuss things in more detail. Thank you, General. Goodbye.” He hung up the phone and turned to the private. “What do you want?”

The private stammered, “Well, sir, I’ve been assigned to hook up your telephone.”

Most of us treat prayer as a one-way conversation. We talk to God as if there’s nobody on the other end of the line. But prayer is two-way communication: we speak to God, and God speaks to us. This week, we’re going to talk about how to listen to God and what He wants to say to us.

I’ll admit that over the years, I’ve had a lot of questions about prayer: If God has a sovereign plan for my life, then why should I bother to pray at all? Why does God take His time answering some of my prayers? Why did He answer that person’s prayer but not mine?

Yet all my questions and excuses melt away when I look at the example of Jesus Christ. Mark 1 recounts the busiest recorded day in Jesus’s ministry. He spent the entire day teaching, casting out demons, and meeting with people individually. He crawled into bed very late that night. But notice what happened the next day: “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there” (v. 35).

Jesus could’ve come up with a lot of reasons to hit the snooze button that morning. He could’ve said, “Father, I know this is the time I usually meet with You, but I had a busy day working for You yesterday. Surely You want Me to catch up on My sleep.” But for Jesus, prayer wasn’t a nicety; it was a necessity. You see, Jesus didn’t pray only when His back was up against the wall. Isn’t that what we do? We pray when a crisis comes. But Jesus prayed at all times. And if prayer was essential for the perfect Son of God, how much more important is it for us? Jesus was sold out to prayer not only so He could speak to God but also so He could listen to God.

 

 

But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Philippians 1:12-14)

Paul had a special relationship with the Christians in Philippi; they were not only part of a church he founded, but they were also his friends. Sometimes our friends are confused at what God is doing in our life – and sometimes we are even more confused! In Philippians 1:12-14, Paul wanted to reassure the Philippians that God was doing good even when it looked bad.

When Paul was in Philippi, he was arrested and imprisoned. But God miraculously freed him, and he continued preaching the gospel (Acts 16:25-34). When Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he was in a jail in Rome. Paul’s Philippian friends were probably thinking, “God used a miracle to set Paul free before. Why doesn’t God do it now? Is He letting Paul down, or is Paul in sin?” In Philippians 1:12-14, Paul assured them that God’s blessing and power were still with him, even in prison – he was not out of God’s will.

Considering how God set Paul free in Philippi, we shouldn’t be surprised they wondered where the power of God was in Paul’s present imprisonment. If Paul wasn’t being advanced, that was all right – because his passion was to see the gospel advanced. Even though Paul was in prison, the circumstances around his imprisonment, and his manner during it, made it clear to everyone he was not just another prisoner, but he was an emissary of Jesus; this witness led to the conversion of many including his guards.

In fact, Paul’s imprisonment gave the Christians around him, who were not imprisoned, greater confidence and boldness, because they saw that Paul could have joy in the midst of adversity. They saw that God would take care of Paul and still use him even in prison. We also know this turned out for the furtherance of the gospel because during this time he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. When Paul was in bad circumstances, God was using him.

God didn’t waste Paul’s time in Rome. God never wastes our time, though we may waste it by not sensing God’s purpose for our lives in our present situation. Are you in a bad place – even a “prison” of some sort? God can use you right where you are, and He wants to. Stop thinking your situation must change before God’s power can be evident in your life. It can be evident right now.

God gave Paul the ability to see the good in a Roman prison – this God is with us!

 

This devotion builds on yesterday’s devotion.

 

The Lord said to Moses, “. . . I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.”
–Exodus 24:12

God communicates His will to us in various ways. Let’s look briefly at six ways God speaks to us, which we’ll study more in-depth in the coming weeks.

• God primarily speaks to us through His Word. When God wanted to reveal His plan for Israel, the laws by which they would live, He wrote those commandments on two stone tablets. God’s written Word guided the people of Israel, and His Word is still a primary means of discerning His direction for our lives.
• God speaks through prayer. We can do many things to determine God’s will after we have prayed, but there is nothing more important we can do until we have prayed.
• God speaks through special revelation, such as dreams, visions, and supernatural signs.
• God speaks through wise counselors. Proverbs 15:22 says, “Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed.”
• God speaks through circumstances. In Acts 20, Paul rerouted his trip to Syria when he learned about a plot to kill him. God used Paul’s circumstances to direct him.
• God speaks through our desires. Philippians 2:13 says, “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (NLT). Your passions and preferences could be desires God has placed in your heart to lead you in the way He wants you to go.

It’s a mistake to think God speaks in only one way. As C. S. Lewis wrote, “I don’t doubt that the Holy Spirit guides your decisions from within when you make them with the intention of pleasing God. The error [would] be to think that He speaks only within, whereas in reality He speaks also through Scripture, the Church, Christian friends, books, etc.” The truth is, God speaks to us in a variety of ways.

 

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8

Some things in life require a quick response—with others, we can wait. A sudden banging noise in your car or a bodily ailment that won’t go away may require an urgent answer. Other situations may not be urgent but are nonetheless puzzling. Our first thought is likely, “What does this mean, God?” In such cases, it pays to wait on the Lord.

The Babylonian exile of the Jews was, no doubt, a confusing time. The prophet Isaiah encouraged them to “seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6). Then God spoke: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (verse 8). He also said that He never sends forth His word (His will) without it accomplishing its purpose (verse 11). Whatever His will is, “you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace” (verse 12).

If you are in a situation you don’t understand, trust that God is accomplishing His will in your life. And rest in His joy and peace as you wait upon Him.

To wait on God is to live a life of desire toward Him, delight in Him, dependence on Him, and devotedness to Him.

 

In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in [Jesus Christ].
–Ephesians 1:8–9

When we talk about the will of God, what do we mean? The Bible uses the phrase “the will of God” in three distinct ways.

Sometimes “the will of God” refers to God’s providential will–the secret plan by which He governs everything that happens in the universe. Some people believe God has a perfect will and a permissive will. They say God’s perfect will is what He wishes would happen, and His permissive will is what actually happens when we mess up His perfect plan. But do you believe God is so impotent He can’t achieve His purpose? No, the Bible says God has one plan that was formulated before the foundation of the world. And Paul said in Ephesians 1:9 that, for the most part, God’s plan is a mystery. It’s in the mind of God. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.” That’s God’s providential plan.

On the other end of the spectrum is God’s preceptive will, the part of God’s will we can clearly understand from the precepts in Scripture. Do you realize that most of what we need to know about God’s will has been revealed in the Bible? For example, let’s say you’ve been praying for a mate, and God has brought the perfect person into your life–but he or she is not a Christian. Is it God’s will for you to marry that person? No. The Bible says, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14). It is never God’s will for you to marry an unbeliever–He’s already revealed that in His Word. God’s preceptive will is the part of God’s will that has been defined in Scripture.

Finally, when we talk about discovering God’s will, we’re usually talking about God’s plan for our personal lives. Does God really have a blueprint that governs every part of your life? Look at Psalm 139:13—14: “You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.” When you were in your mother’s womb, God wove you into the person you are–the color of your hair, the color of your eyes, your emotional makeup. Everything about you was according to God’s plan. Just think about all the details God had to orchestrate to get your father and mother together at the right time in order to produce your unique DNA code. God has a blueprint for our lives, and that ought to give us great assurance.