One of the most important elements of any relationship is communication, and prayer is the primary method for telling God. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we do not need to pray that much, because God already knows it all. It still must come from us. I have spent all my life knowing I should pray, but I really feel that lately my desire to pray has grown greatly. Another big change is what I pray for, and why I pray for it. This whole pursuit is likely due out of prayer, and prayer is what God laid on my heart over the past few days.
Prayer is a very common them in the bible, and it is for that reason that it become vital. One of the first things that comes to mind is the middle of these verses:
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
I find it so incredibly difficult to pray continually, but I have also found that when I feel in a near constant connecting with God is when I do the best pursuing him. I don't know how this might work for someone else, but I know that when I am in tune with it I feel that everything I think and say is what I am choosing to share with God.
The next piece of this pursuit is what I pray for. I have been to ask myself why I pray for things. Do I pray out of selfishness or selflessness. I have been reflecting on what I pray for over the last few days, and it has been very enlightening. I think that the selfless prayers are the ones most commonly answered, and the selfish ones are often not. I think my biggest new prayer has become: God help me follow the path you have laid out for me. I also pray something to the tune of: Help me pursue righteousness at all costs. The thing about the "at all costs" statement is that it has the potential to cost a lot. It is easy to say I will follow Jesus when it only costs a little, but when very difficult when you begin to see the true cost of such a prayer. When you truely surrender to God in this way you begin to see the costs start to add up, but you don't worry about how much it will cost. In the end you know it is worth it. Does it hurt? Yeah, and sometimes badly. I also spend a fair amount of time thanking God for all of the blessings, because when you look around there are always blessings to find. I pray for God's will, not mine. Jesus prayed this, and I think it is a great model for how to pray. Now the last element I find that is important is praying for his people. I am terrible at this, and I am working on it. I want to pray for people that need it, and don't know it. I know I need to put more of my prayer time towards this; Praying that people find God, and that the people of God are able to continue to follow God as well.
So what do you pray for and why? By all means pray for everything, but pray for things that follow the heart of God. Do you find yourself in true communion with God, or just on occasion? Why must we only pray at certain times? Why does prayer have to be hard? Are you will to ask God to pull out all the stops when it comes to your righteousness? Some of these prayers take great emotional effort to truly pray, but the value is beyond our comprehension. I want God to make me into the man he wants me to be, and lead me down the path that he has prepared for me at all costs, whether I like it or not. Will you?
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Obedience
"Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?" - Romans 6:16
Obedience is a word that I have pondered heavily over the several months, and it is the basis for my first tattoo. It is also what seems most important to God, and it is more then outward obedience. It is obedience to the very core of a person, which I will say is extremely difficult to pursue. People seem to think that just outward obedience is all that is required, but why not let obedience permeate all the way to your heart so that righteousness is what you display. I use to think that faith was enough, and I would say that a fair majority churches teach that faith is all that is necessary. I ask the question: why do you simply want to believe in something life changing rather then have y0ur life changed. Why remain as a slave to sin, especially a sin cycle? It almost feels as if caught in a deep dark hole, and satan likes it that way. The only person that can pull you out of the whole is Jesus, and that is only because he has already been to the bottom of the whole himself. Jesus provided a great way to live, and it requires tremendous effort. God has given us a great gift through the bible as well so that we stand a chance at pursuing him, and having a better life. The call is to obedience! God gives numerous examples of what pure obedience looks like, as well as what the consequences of a lack of obedience. What obedience looks like for you is different then what it looks like for me.
God is whispering (in reality yelling) in the corner. I once heard that Jesus is like a man at a party. He is yelling in the corner, but there are so many people around that you stand no chance of hearing anything more then faint whispers to clear the room. The first step is to hear the voice, and believe that it is the most important noise in the room. Then it becomes a matter of clearing the room of all of the extraneous noise. This is the hard part, because in some ways you like some of the noises. This is the obedience part, and clearing the room becomes more and more important. In this world it is probably impossible to get the room completely clear of the noises, but with a mostly clear room you will be able to hear what Jesus has to say. Jesus can say what voices should stay, and which should be given the boot. So if you already have faith, why not be obedient? It might be hard, but it is better.
So after having a seemingly deep understanding of what obedience means to me, I thought it appropriate to a constant reminder of obedience. The better piece of the tattoo is that is mirrored, so that it is only read in a mirror, and that is why it was first. Obedience now describes what I want out of life. I deeply desire to be obedient to the calling of Christ, and I know that obedience to Christ will make every aspect of my life better. I think tattoos are a great reminder of our desires, and my next one will have as much value as my obedience reminder.
Obedience is a word that I have pondered heavily over the several months, and it is the basis for my first tattoo. It is also what seems most important to God, and it is more then outward obedience. It is obedience to the very core of a person, which I will say is extremely difficult to pursue. People seem to think that just outward obedience is all that is required, but why not let obedience permeate all the way to your heart so that righteousness is what you display. I use to think that faith was enough, and I would say that a fair majority churches teach that faith is all that is necessary. I ask the question: why do you simply want to believe in something life changing rather then have y0ur life changed. Why remain as a slave to sin, especially a sin cycle? It almost feels as if caught in a deep dark hole, and satan likes it that way. The only person that can pull you out of the whole is Jesus, and that is only because he has already been to the bottom of the whole himself. Jesus provided a great way to live, and it requires tremendous effort. God has given us a great gift through the bible as well so that we stand a chance at pursuing him, and having a better life. The call is to obedience! God gives numerous examples of what pure obedience looks like, as well as what the consequences of a lack of obedience. What obedience looks like for you is different then what it looks like for me.God is whispering (in reality yelling) in the corner. I once heard that Jesus is like a man at a party. He is yelling in the corner, but there are so many people around that you stand no chance of hearing anything more then faint whispers to clear the room. The first step is to hear the voice, and believe that it is the most important noise in the room. Then it becomes a matter of clearing the room of all of the extraneous noise. This is the hard part, because in some ways you like some of the noises. This is the obedience part, and clearing the room becomes more and more important. In this world it is probably impossible to get the room completely clear of the noises, but with a mostly clear room you will be able to hear what Jesus has to say. Jesus can say what voices should stay, and which should be given the boot. So if you already have faith, why not be obedient? It might be hard, but it is better.
So after having a seemingly deep understanding of what obedience means to me, I thought it appropriate to a constant reminder of obedience. The better piece of the tattoo is that is mirrored, so that it is only read in a mirror, and that is why it was first. Obedience now describes what I want out of life. I deeply desire to be obedient to the calling of Christ, and I know that obedience to Christ will make every aspect of my life better. I think tattoos are a great reminder of our desires, and my next one will have as much value as my obedience reminder.
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