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Praise Thursday

The Locks of Prayer

God has given us rules to help our prayer life and battle plan be successful.

Stephen and Alex have categorized these biblical principles into the locks and keys of prayer.  The locks are things that can bring down or muddy our prayer life.  The keys give prayer a boost beyond any earthly limits.

There are ten locks:
1. Praying without knowing God through Jesus (John 14:6)
Like people who don’t share much common ground in a relationship have a hard time keeping conversations going, those who haven’t believed in God for the forgiveness of their sins cannot expect God to feel obligated to respond.

2. Praying from an unrepentant heart (Psalms 103:14)
God looks at our hearts and He knows when we are broken by our sin. Being broken by our sin isn’t the problem. The real trouble comes when our hearts aren’t broken by sin at all, and when we’re cold and indifferent toward His word and our transgressions.

3. Praying for show (Matthew 6:5)
“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites.” Public prayers that have not been seasoned by private prayers are hardly worth the hot air it takes to speak them. Don’t forget that when you’re leading others in prayer, you’re still praying to the audience of One.

4. Praying repetitive, empty words. (Matthew 6:7-8)
Prayer can be off the cuff, it can be written out and read word for word, it can be so deep and heartfelt that out only comes out as single syllables. The thing that makes prayer a string of wasted words is when we talk and talk but we’re not listening to anything we’re saying.

5. Prayers not prayed (James 4:2)
The most ineffective prayers are the ones we never even take the time to pray. How many times do we just ‘motor’ past God, not even braking for direction or advice? We’re too busy or in too much of a hurry to seek His counsel. We mean to pray; we thought about praying; we just never got to work it in to our schedule.

6. Praying with a lustful heart (James 4:3)
If lust, greed, bitterness or pride are our motives to request something, then God will not be pleased to respond. Like a wise parent with a pushy child, God knows what to give us for our good, and what not to give us for our good as well. If we love Him most, He takes delight in giving us good things.

7. Praying while mistreating your spouse (1 Peter 3:7)
When we’re not treating our spouses with respect, God makes a special mention of that as an inhibitor to prayer. How can we expect to be at unity with God while sowing disunity throughout our homes? Being ugly to our spouses is a backbreaker in prayer.

8. Praying while ignoring the poor (Prov 21:13)
When you show compassion to those in need, God shows favor on your request. But the opposite is true as well. If you snub the poor and destitute like they’re less than human, an eyesore, or invisible, expect to feel a blockage in your prayer.

9- Praying with bitterness in your heart toward someone (Mark 11:25-26)
It’s sinful to receive God’s forgiveness then consider ourselves exempt from ‘forgiving if we have anything against someone.’ Bitterness is a toxin that’s not only harmful to us spirtually, mentally, and physically, but it also poisons the effectiveness of prayer and the full experience of our relationship with God.

10- Praying with a faithless heart (Hebrews 11:6)
Whenever we don’t trust someone’s ability to do something a breach clouds that relationship. We should ask in faith without doubting because anyone who doubts is driven and tossed by the wind. Lukewarm belief is the weakest form of prayer, and doubt locks us out of our prayer closet.

Here’s the prayer from the end of the chapter…
“Lord , reveal to me anything that is hindering my prayer life, and help me get rid of it quickly. IF there is any arrogance in me, pretense, manipulation, bitterness, ruthlessness, or a lack of faith in You, Forgive and cleanse me Lord. Lord I forgive those who have wronged me as you have forgiven me, I thank You for your kindness and patience, I am tired of being the one who is blocking myself from being as close to You as possible, and receiving what You desire to give me. Unhinge me, I pray, from any locks of prayer. Open me up so You can work, without hindrance, through me.
In Jesus’ name, amen.

Thanks for listening!
-Lilly

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Postures of Prayer

 

Can our posture intensify our praying?
Can we study the word to see how our postures can help us?
There are 7 different postures we can look at…

1. Bowing: this is a physical expression of honor and allegiance; the act of bowing is associated with worship.  Just the bowing of our heads alone communicates that we are addressing the One to whom we’ve pledged our loyalty.

Bowing also sometimes is called dropping to our knees: Solomon’s prayer in 2 Chronicles 6:13 is given as he knelt down in front of the entire congregation of Israel.  Daniel kept kneeling three times a day despite the risk.  Philippians 2:10 reminds us that one day, every knee will bow before Christ.

2. Lying prostrate
This could be like Ezra in Nehemiah 8:6 with your face to the ground (prostrate meaning still or not moving while lying down).

Jesus does this in Matthew 26 in the garden before his arrest.  Also in Revelation 1:17, John fell at his feet like a dead man when he saw Christ resurrected!

Just like prayer drives us lower to the ground in surrender, it can lift us up from our earthly existence.

3. Lifted hands
I Timothy 2:8 “I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without wrath and dissension.”

You can fall to your knees but also lift your hands.

4. Lifted eyes: this helps us set our sights on heaven

Jesus does this in John 11:41 and Luke 9:16.

5. Silence: Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that He is God.” When we are awed and amazed, we are often in silence.  Psalm 62:1 about our souls waiting in silence for Him, since He is our salvation.

God can hear our silent prayers.  Share story of Hannah from 1 Samuel 1:13.

6. Lifted voices: this is the opposite of silence, from Psalm 141 and Psalm 77.

7. Crying out: Psalm 55:17; this carries the idea of something intense and loud or even shrieking in pain.  This is something intense and loud, heavy and heartfelt.

John tells us in Revelation twenty times that the words being spoken in heaven are identified as a loud voice.

There’s a difference between the prayers we do when we’re on our back fighting sleep and the ones we do where we take a specific posture.  Posture is not mandatory or specifically prescribed, but can be deliberate.

Lord, take all of me – my hands, my eyes, my feet, my voice. Use all of these gifts you’ve given me so they return to you as clear expressions of my worship, love, devotion and submission.  I so easily lose sight of you going through the motions of religion.  Lord, turn even my posture of prayer into a means of steadying my wandering mind and opening my ears to YOUR voice.

Thanks for listening!
-Lilly

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Scheduled & spontaneous prayer

Battle-Plan-Hero-699x200

Today we continue our summer series on prayer, inspired by the book The Battle Plan for Prayer, from Alex and Stephen Kendrick.

Our thoughts today focus on both scheduled and spontaneous prayer.

SCHEDULED? There are times in life when we may be motivated to pray – but prayer should also be part of a daily schedule.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 reminds to “pray without ceasing.” That means never being far from the attitude of talking and listening to God.  Our goal is to make prayer a natural part of our thinking.  We pray in the quiet moments and in the chaos.

Prayer is an ongoing opportunity. It’s a critical part of the life of a believer.  A priority and a passion.

David made prayer a habit even as he was king (Psalm 55:17).  Daniel prayed to God three times a day, even when he knew it could cost him his life.  Jesus modeled the habit of prayer in Mark 1 and Luke 5.

We can do this.  We can schedule this.  Individual prayer, family prayer, small group prayer over coffee, etc.  When we want something bad enough, we will make time in our schedule to do it.  Jesus offers us eternal treasures from his Word. So let’s stop making excuses for not scheduling prayer!

Plan to spend time to be with the Lord and watch what He does with it in your life!

SPONTANEOUS? Sometimes unplanned events give us the chance to respond to life with prayer…at a moment’s notice.  This is how we engage with whatever comes at us.  We learn to use spontaneous prayers.

Psalm 32:6 says, “Let everyone who is Godly pray to You in a time when You may be found.”

What are those times? An unexpected blessing. A crisis for you or someone you know or care about. When you need wisdom and clarity in a financial situation.  When you need courage to share your faith.  Prayer can be an immediate reflex rather than a last resort.

What can prompt us to pray? Here some things we experience on a regular basis:

  • Newness – when we begin something new (project, relationship, year)
  • Needs – physical, emotional or spiritual needs; He is Jehovah Jirah, the God who provides. Matthew 6: 8-11 reminds us that He knows what we need even before we ask Him
  • Blessings – as God provides, protects, guides and forgives, thank Him!
  • Burdens – take these to the Lord and stop trying to solve them all on your own; this means not just your burdens, but those of your friends and family (Galatians 6:2)
  • Crisis – these are the life-changing events where we turn to Him; Psalm 50:15 says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble…I shall rescue you.”
  • Worries – we can turn worry into prayer. Philippians 4:6-7 and I Peter 5:7
  • Sin – anything related to sin should lead us to pray. Jesus instructed his disciples to pray when tempted.  We have to humble ourselves and confess our sin.  I John 1:19 reminds us that we can trust that He will forgive and cleanse us!

Our circumstances should launch our prayers.  We can pray for anything and everything!

With all of this in mind, our Word of the Day is spontaneous (spon-TAIN-ee-us), an adjective meaning something that arises from a momentary impulse.

Thanks for listening!
-Joe

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God’s Answers to Prayer

Good afternoon! I hope you’re having a great day! Today on the show I talked about the 5 different answers that God has to your prayers.
We first must establish that ‘no’ is an answer to prayer, and there are two answers to prayer that God gives us that actually involve the answer of ‘no’.

1. “Yes. Immediately”.
Sometimes what we pray is exactly in line with God’s will, as well as his timing, and His answer will arrive on the spot. We also need to realize that God is answering our prayers before we even pray the prayer. He says that ‘before they call, I answer.” God is simply not bound by time. He may start answering prayers ten years before you pray it/ He is, now, preparing things for you through the prayers you have yet to pray.

2. “Yes, in due time.”
We need to understand that a delay is not a denial. This answer is basically a “yes, but you’re not ready for it yet.” God is working behind the scenes in your life, waiting for a more perfect moment to unveil His amazing ‘yes’. If it is a “yes, but not now’ answer, what He is giving us is the faith and patience to wait for the right time to arrive.

3. “Yes, so you’ll learn from it.”
Sometimes God gives us what we want because He knows that it will teach us a lesson. We’re much better off trusting God to give us what we need, when we need it, and when we’re ready for it. There are moments when, if God gave us what we asked for, we would one day regret it, and we would thank Him for saying ‘no’. We need to pray freely using the Luke method (or the Hillary Scott method) by saying ‘not my will be done, but yours’, which is sometimes the hardest thing to pray in tough situations.

Now we enter into the realm of the tough answers. No.
This #4 is a toughy to hear…

4. “No, because your heart isn’t right”
Sometimes a no isn’t a ‘wait’, sometimes it’s us asking and not receiving because we are asking with the wrong motives, so that we may spend it on our pleasures. This is insanely hard to hear, but it is very good to have our hearts aligned with God, and having our requests, again, focused not on our will, but His. God isn’t saying no forever, but He realizes that we are not in a position to appreciate the gift or to handle it well. Besides, if it’s not God’s will, do we really want it anyway?

5. “No. I’ve got a better plan.”
Obviously, God knows what is best for his children, and we know that He has a plan for us, it tells us that in Jeremiah 29:11. Sometimes we ask too small, confined by our own limits and knowledge, not thinking outside of what we’ve seen and experienced.
We pray for a handful when God wants to give us a houseful.
WE ARE ALLOWED TO PRAY BIG PRAYERS! Never be afraid to pray boldly and for big things. When we ask for big things, we need to realize that God may just choose to amaze us even further. That’s why praying ‘Lord, will you do immeasurably more than I could ever ask or imagine in this situation?” because we know that He is a powerful God that can do just that, which it tells us in Ephesians 3. One of my favorite verses.

Here’s the prayer for today…

“Father, my default has been to think You probably weren’t listening, and even if you were, You’d probably say no. I bow before you today – more convinced than ever that I am in wise, loving, caring, powerful hands. Convinced that I can trust you. Convinced that every ‘no’ is some way to an even better ‘yes’. You said You withhold no good thing from those who love You. Thank You for letting me ask, and thank you for letting me know that Your desire is truly for my ultimate good. May I trust You even more and pray with even greater faith knowing You want to be glorified through my answered prayers.
In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Thanks as always for listening! Pray boldly.
– Lilly

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Praises for shoe boxes, ACTS & festivals!

cultivate-it-1

A big show today on the Afternoon Drive!  We shared our monthly spotlight on Operation Christmas Child and also continued our focus on prayer. Then at 5pm, we joined the Big Blue Crew at the Danville-Howard Turkey Festival.

OCC is giving away hashtag shirts this month that say #WeMakeDisciples. It reminds us that the ministry of Operation Christmas Child does so much more than just deliver shoe boxes. They offer a 12-step discipleship course called The Greatest Journey. Find out more by clicking here.

Our prayer focus this week was on the types of prayer, namely the ACTS model of prayer. This stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. The book The Battle Plan for Prayer by Alex and Stephen Kendrick shares that you can approach God in any and all of these areas as needed.  They can provide a natural progression as you pray.

Adoration: prayer that praises and worships God (hallowed be thy name)

Confession: prayer that gets honest about sin and staying right with God (forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us)

Thanksgiving: God-directed, humbly expressed gratitude (thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever)

Supplication: asking for something from God; a petition or appeal (give us our daily bread; lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil)

We hope to see you at the Danville-Howard Turkey Festival – find out more here!

Thanks for listening!
-Joe and Lilly

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The Definition of Prayer

Reading out of the book, “The Battle Plan for Prayer”, we talked today about the definition of prayer, and what prayer really is.
Check out some of the highlights below!

Prayer, at its heart, is communicating with God. Reverently, openly and sincerely.
We are interacting with the magnificent God of the universe.
We can’t forget that we’re in his presence when we pray

If we just understood what being in the presence of the Almighty is like, our minds wouldn’t wander.  We’d enter into awestruck worship.  Stunned and possibly speechless.

We need to realize that prayer is serious business – and we get that privilege because of Jesus. Jesus opened a new way for us to draw near to God through his death and the tearing of the veil.  It was the atoning blood of Christ that opened that channel (Hebrews 10:20).  His blood shields us from the consuming fire. Only through Christ are we safe with God.

The practical definition of prayer…Prayer is communion with God in order to…

1 – Intimately know, love and worship Him

Relationship and Worship are key to prayer.  We’re trying to know more about who He is and what He does. This helps us grow deeper in our love and respect for Him.  This is the “hallowed be Your name” part of the Lord’s Prayer.

 

2 – Understand and conform our lives to His will

Prayer doesn’t just change things, it changes us!  He works to align our hearts and minds to His.  This is the “your Kingdom come, your will be done.”

 

 

3 – Access and advance His kingdom, power and glory

When we pray, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” we are seeking to access God’s kingdom resources, for His mighty power to work on our behalf and for Him to reveal His glory in our situation. The last words of the Lord’s Prayer are not just for church and ceremony – they are to remind us that God is owner of all, ruler of all, and worthy of all (Romans 11:36). Prayer allows us to join God in what He is doing among the nations for His glory.

Prayer is not about prayer – it is about a PERSON.  God Himself. We get off track when we focus more on provision or protection rather than knowing and pleasing God.

“Help me abandon my own agendas and self assurance, wanting to be nowhere else but aligned with Your will.”

Thanks for listening!
-Lilly

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The Purpose of Prayer

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Today we continued our series on prayer, inspired by the book The Battle Plan for Prayer, from Stephen and Alex Kendrick.  Find out more about the book here.

Our focus this afternoon was the PURPOSE of prayer.  Here are some of the notes we shared:

Ultimately, all prayer is for the glory of God (John 14:13). Truly, the best answer He can give to any prayer is whatever answer brings Him the most glory.

What does glory mean?  The Hebrew word for glory, kabad (ka-VAHD) carries the idea of weight and importance, majesty and honor.

The ‘glory of the Lord’ is when God reveals a majestic or important glimpse of who he is. As the Kendrick brothers write, “He is unwrapping a measure of His identity.”  This happens several times in scripture:

  • One who has all authority in heaven and on earth doesn’t need us (Romans 9:20-24), so the mere fact that we’re here is a testimony to His glory.  His awesome glory as CREATOR – the galaxies and stars reveal his attributes as being the work of an awesome creator.  That’s their job!  (Psalm 19:1)
  • In Genesis 22, Abraham is tested when God asks him to sacrifice his son, Isaac.  To us as we read the story, we might be thinking, what is God doing?  But as Abraham is ready to sacrifice his son, he hears a rustling in the nearby brush – a ram, taking Isaac’s place.  God here is revealing His glory as our PROVIDER.
  • John 11 tells us the story of Lazarus, and Jesus saying that the man’s illness would be “for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”  And when Jesus revives Lazarus from the dead, he reveals His glory as the resurrection and the life.  This was a defining moment for Jesus.

Every prayer is a chance for us to witness His glory first-hand.  When He answers, He is letting us see what he is like.  Creator, Savior, Lord, Provider, Protector, Friend and Counselor.

…and what should be our response when He does reveal His glory? We worship him and glorify His name forever (Psalm 86:12).

Our second response is to tell others what He has done. Paul said (2 Corinthians 4:15) that the revelation of God’s grace should cause us to give abundant thanks to God, so that others may see and celebrate how God is glorified through His work through His people.

Of all the things prayer is and does, its greatest accomplishment and its greatest joy, is that it allows us, his beloved children, to be part of bringing him glory!

Our Word of the Day is a tribute to the Knox County Chapter of the American Red Cross and their 100th birthday tomorrow!

Centenarian, a noun meaning a person who has reached the age of 100, or pertaining to or having lived 100 years.

Marcy and Lilly called in from Kenyon’s Pierce Hall and the celebration…here are some photos:

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Thanks for listening!
– Joe

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Praise Thursday: Priority of Prayer

Good afternoon! It was a drizzle-filled one here in Mt. Vernon, but we continued our series on prayer today, and we talked about the priority of prayer!

Here’s some of the things we were talking about on the show today!
Prayer is:

  • The key to intimacy between Christ and us
  • Our interaction with our heavenly father like we would interact with an earthly father (Matthew 7: 9-11)
  • Human frailty, joined in communion with divine perfection
  • Too wonderful and important no to do it
  • A big deal to God so it should be a big deal to us

Praying isn’t easy because it requires us to pause and focus our thoughts; it requires us to rely less on self-sufficiency; it requires humility…but…

We need God, so we need to make it a priority!

Prayer should be first in the order of things (I Timothy 2: 1-8)

Jesus prioritized prayer above everything else; his disciples saw this consistently, so that may be why they asked him in Luke 11:1, “teach us how to pray.”

Jesus said in Mark 11:17 that “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations…”

Everything else that occupies the church’s time and energy will be lacking in power and blessing and the fragrance of God’s presence if prayer is not kept first.

We can’t make prayer an add-on or an afterthought…

We were never intended to live out the Christian life or accomplish his work on the earth in our own wisdom or strength.  The plan has ALWAYS been to rely on the Holy Spirit and live a life of obedience in prayer.

Acts 1:14 – a deep devotion to prayer was always connected to the success of the New Testament church.

Devoting yourself to something carries the idea of insisting and clinging to something. We see it again in Acts 2:42 and Acts 6:4.

Everywhere we turn, prayer should be there to meet us. When it does, scripture reminds us that we can expect these things to happen:

  • Evangelism of the lost (Colossians 4:3)
  • Cultivation of discipleship (John 17)
  • True Christian fellowship (Acts 2:42)
  • Wise decisions (James 1:5)
  • The overcoming of obstacles (Mark 11:22-24)
  • Needs met (Matthew 6:11)
  • Ignition of true worship (Matthew 6:13)
  • The sparking of revival (2 Chronicles 7:14)

“Father forgive us for relying on our wisdom, strength, energy and ideas rather than abiding in You and seeking You first. Help us lay aside anything that hinders us from pursuing Your best. Help us to prioritize prayer and devote ourselves to it in our personal lives, our families, and our churches. Make our churches truly houses of prayer for all nations. Revive us again, O Lord. Help us walk by Your strength  and bring You great glory in our generation.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Our word of the day today: inanition

noun || in-uh-NISH-un

the exhausted condition that results from lack of food and water
the absence or loss of social, moral, or intellectual vitality or vigor
Inanition describes a state of suffering from either a literal emptiness (of sustenance) or a metaphorical emptiness (of interest or energy), so it should come as no surprise that the word ultimately derives from the same idea in Latin. Inanition, which first appeared in Middle English in the 14th century as in-anisioun, can be traced back to the Latin verb inanire, meaning “to make empty,” which in turn comes from inanis (meaning “empty”). Another far more common descendant of inanis is inane. The family resemblance is clear: inane is used describe things lacking significance or substance.

Thanks for listening!
-Lilly

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Praise Thursday: Pattern for Prayer

Today I started the first week in our series on prayer! This week, I talked about the pattern for prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, and how that prayer contains the six basic elements that we should be including in our prayers.
Check it out below!

1. Pray boldly. We have no need that God can’t meet.
His resources are unlimited and His power is infinite.
2. Pray that God’s name will be revered and esteemed.
Give Him thanks, obey Him, and constantly be aware of His presence.
3. Pray that God’s kingdom will come in us and on Earth.
4. Ask God to meet our daily needs and the needs of those around us.
All that we are, have, and do comes from God.
5. Seek God’s forgiveness every single day.
6. Request that God protect us from temptation.
“Lord keep me from the inclination to sin when I have the opportunity, and the opportunity to sin when I have the inclination.”

Our word of the day today was slacktivism.
It’s a noun that means: actions taken to bring about political or social change but requiring only minimal commitment, effort, or risk. 
Slacktivism is a portmanteau formed from the terms slacker and activism. It is first recorded between 1995 and 2000.

Thanks for listening!
See you tomorrow for the NZ Top 10!
– Lilly

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