The Whole Night

 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.  And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles…

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never spent an entire night in prayer.  I have trouble spending more than about 15 minutes in prayer, and that’s on a good day! 

Notice what came after this entire night of conversation with his Father.

Jesus chose those who would follow him, those whom he would disciple. 

This was a serious decision Jesus was about to make, that of calling those to leave what they were doing and follow after him and what he was doing – which was going about his Father’s business.

There are things that require more than a “Help me, Lord” type of prayer.  Prayer sometimes requires time to talk to God, but also time to listen to what God says, and to acquire his direction. 

If we only pray to make our petitions known to him, we are missing out on the fellowship of prayer, where he talks back to us.  If we only pray to pour out our complaints to him, we are missing out on the comfort he gives by singing, whispering, and loving us with his presence.

When you are able and can carve out the time, actually SPEND a long time in prayer and sit still and listen. 

Then when you make a move, when you choose a path, or when you reach out to others, your movements, routes, and decisions will be birthed out of your “phone conference” with the Almighty – at his directive.

You might be surprised at the effectiveness of that long time spent in prayer...

A-S-K

Matthew 7 – a great verse on prayer – one we like to quote and see in action!

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 

As I was growing up, I thought this verse meant if I asked, I would receive that which I asked for. If I sought I would find that which I was looking for, and if I knocked, the door I was knocking on would open to me…and life would be grand!

That’s NOT what this verse says. 

Yes, we will receive, we will find, and doors will open.  But we have to accept that which he gives (sometimes it’s grace to endure a while longer), be surprised with what he shows us that we find (sometimes it’s not what we were seeking for at all – but rather was he wants to reveal to us), and enter the door He opens (and not the one we pushed on.)

This is the reality of a true relationship of a daughter with her father, a son with his dad.  He comes to him and asks for a $20 bill but the father has wisdom to know if he’s ready to spend that wisely, or if $5 will be sufficient…for now. 

God wants us to ask, seek, and knock.  And he promises to meet our needs.  But we have to learn to TRUST him and his answers, his direction, and his open doors.

This takes time, believing in his Word as the one and only truth, and faith that he is a good heavenly Father that does not give us a snake when we ask for a fish.

Today…ask.  Today…seek. Today…knock.  Then receive…find…and walk into his presence.

Picture Perfect

Psalm 61:

Hear my cry, O God;

Give heed to my prayer.

From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For You have been a refuge for me,

A tower of strength against the enemy.

Let me dwell in Your tent forever;

Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. 

Look at the imagery in these verses: 

a huge rock higher than you, a rock with a cave that hides you and is a place of refuge, and then just past that – a strong tower where you can run for safety when being pursued – and just below that – a tent where you can sleep at night away from all harm – and finally – wings that spread out over you for guidance and protection.

I’d like to paint that picture, if I knew how. But imagine a landscape full of big rocks, caves, towers, tents and then wings covering the entire place.  Don’t you want to live there?

You can, when you pray and acknowledge that God is all of these things for you…and more.

Today…when your heart is faint…ask to be lead by God to one of these places of protection and shelter.

The Day...and the Night

Psalm 42:8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime;

And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life.

There’s another verse in the bible that says God calls out the stars at night and even names them, lining them up to light the dark sky.  God has control over the darkness of night and the light of the day.

Here in this verse God calls and commands something else – His lovingkindness in the daytime. In other words, what he says goes.  And what he says is loving.  And what he says is kind.  

If you are hearing anything other than that, it’s not God that’s speaking to you!

Once the day is gone, and the night settles in, then he sends a song.  

Both your daytime and nighttime are blessed with his love and his melodies.

And the verse ends with saying that these two things – lovingkindness and a song – are the bookends to a day that is offered up in prayer to the “God of my life.”

Today…look for his lovingkindness toward you, listen for the song, and let your prayer flow from that experience.

But...

Psalm 13 is a prayer for help when in trouble. David prayed a lot of these prayers, because David was in trouble a lot!

How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

We are invited to pour out our hearts to God.  We can be honest about our thoughts and feelings. Maybe we feel lost and think God is silent when we talk to him.  Or perhaps we feel defeated and unable to get up and fight.

However, when we pour out our hearts in anguish to God, there should always be a transition in our prayer time, after the moans and groans…

It comes in this prayer after the “But…”

David recalls God’s lovingkindness, his salvation and his bountiful gifts that God has given David, and it causes him to switch from moaning to rejoicing…from sorrow to singing.

It’s okay to cry, wail, and weep.  It’s good for the soul. But we don’t have to stay there.  Once we’ve poured it all out, then it’s time to offer up praise. 

Both petition and praise need to be present, because without praise, the petitions are just burdens we carry to God and then pick up again and carry around.

And that’s heavy.

Today…pour out your heart…then listen for the song…and sing it.

In the Morning

Psalm 5 says,

Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my groaning. Heed to the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray. In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.

I love this!

This prayer is prayed in the morning.  It’s a plea for help.

Sometimes we go through an entire day without acknowledging our need for God or asking him for anything, until the end of a bad day full of mishaps, at which time we collapse onto the sofa and sigh, wondering, “Where are you, God?”

If we remember to pray in the morning, then we have the opportunity and privilege of “eagerly” watching for the answer throughout the day.  But if we fail to look up in the morning, we may not see or realize God’s love that he pours on us minute…by minute.

Mornings are busy at my house.  Very often, I’m up and running within minutes after my eyes open.  And many times I race around without asking and receiving His help, which makes for a tiresome, long day.

When I choose to stop and look up, voice my petitions and praise, it causes me, and reminds me, to expect an answer to come.

Today…start off with a prayer…and end the day with a praise.

Now Bless Him

 So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name…Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the Lord your God.” And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, and bowed low and did homage to the Lord and to the king. (I Chronicles 29)

Sometimes our prayers are ones that others hear, as we are asked to pray aloud, or a group of people needs prayer over an upcoming event or situation.  Such is the case here, when David prayed.

This prayer is full of nothing but praise to God for his greatness, his power, his victory, his majesty, his might, his name, etc.  And then David gives thanks.

I believe this is one of the greatest prayers we can pray, and it’s the most effective.  When we remind ourselves, and those who are hearing us pray, of the goodness of our Father, somehow everything else lays to rest in our minds because we feel at peace in knowing what a faithful God we serve.

At the end of the prayer, David speaks to those who heard him pray aloud and instructs them to “Now bless the Lord your God.”

A strong prayer of faith, spoken aloud where ears can here, prompts others to follow suit.

And this pleases the Lord.

Today…don’t shrink away or shake your head “no,” when asked to pray.  Consider it a chance and an opportunity to praise God and cause others to do the same.