God has given us instructions in His Word that prayer is something that every Christian needs to be doing.  Prayer is, simply put, the way we come to know God personally.  Earnest, honest prayer that is filled with praise, confession, thankfulness, and requests is what God desires.  Prayer also needs to be filled with times of solitude, to be free from distractions, so one can hear from God.

1) Is there ever a time we should not pray?  We had a couple of American friends visit us while we were living in Germany and we were out to eat, enjoying the local flammkuchen at a little eatery.  My friend ordered water because he didn't want to spend the money on soda and as the waitress opened the bottle and was about to pour, she told him that the bottle was going to be 6 Euro.  My friend, who didn't understand European customs, didn't remember that we had told him that water is not free in European restaurants.  He became upset and the waitress withdrew his order of water.  Instead she offered soda which was only 2 Euro.  He agreed to that.  However, you could tell that the waitress was visibly upset.  We apologized to her as best we could.  When she brought the flammkuchen to the table, we were about to pray aloud when I said, "I don't think we should pray.  I'm afraid that it would give this waitress a bad impression of Christians."  Now don't get me wrong I think it IS appropriate to pray in public but God reminds us that prayer can become sin.  In this instance we all agreed that praying publicly wasn't God-honoring in this situation.

2) Is there ever a time we should not pray?  I had a friend one time who had a severe debt and asked God to pay the debt for him.  He told everyone the exact amount and prayed fervently (personally, I don't think it's wise to publicly state an exact amount of money).   Within a week, God miraculously provided that money and more.  The person again broadcast the exact amount that God provided.  The reactions were predictable.  "Wow!"  "Prayer works."  "God is so good."  "Praise the Lord!" and so forth...   

I wonder what his friends who have been praying that God would work a miracle in their lives thought when God did not seemingly answer their prayers.  Maybe they were encouraged.  Maybe it lifted their faith.  Maybe it caused them to pray more.  

or 

Maybe it discouraged them.  Maybe they were like, "Why does he always get the breaks?  Why did God answer his prayers and not mine?"  Maybe they told themselves, "I guess I have to pray harder."  

I wonder what the reaction would have been if God had not provided the amount or the amount with extra to spare.  "Is God still good?"  "Does prayer still work?"

3) Finally, I believe that God can heal people.   God may choose to heal miraculously or he may heal slowly or he may heal at the hands of doctors.  Healing is a biblical concept.

My friend had fallen on an icy patch and went to see his physician who told him it would be 6-8 weeks before he would be pain free.  He was having severe pain and muscle spasms.  He believed he was going to lose his job because he could hardly move.  As he told me, just two days later, you can tell his pain was real.  He was almost in tears as he was describing what he was going thru.  When he was talking, I heard clearly in my mind, "You need to pray for him."  So when he finished I grabbed a couple more guys and we prayed for him on the spot.  I walked away thinking, "OK I did what God told me to do.  I was obedient. But nothing's gonna happen."

The next morning, I felt prompted to pray for him again and I did during my devotions.  Later that day, I texted him.  Here's the convo:

Me:  How did it go today?
Him:  Pain free and awesome, thanks for asking :-)
Me:  You're kidding! No pain?  The MD said 6-8 weeks.
Him:  No pain, no spasms, no discomfort, no kidding!
Me:  Wow!  So work was good?
Him:  It was great!

I was floored.  I told Karyn about his healing and I said, "this is scary.  God answered our prayers for his healing."  Karyn said, "why is that scary?"  I said, "because I obeyed and God healed.  What else does that mean God wants to do?"  

Later that week, I talked to my friend in person.  He said when he woke up the next day (the day after we prayed together) he got ready for work and had forgotten all about his pain until I texted him.  He said that it was then that he realized that God had healed him.  

When I heard of his healing, I had mixed emotions:

- I had doubt.  "Did God really do that?"  
- I had some fear.  "What else will happen if I pray?  Will God do it again?"   
 
but also

- I became more encouraged to pray right away with people in need.  

- I had my faith lifted.

There may be people who heard of my friend's healing who may have also asked themselves, "Why won't God heal me?  I have asked God numerous times and nothing has changed."  Maybe his healing caused them to feel discouraged.  

Yet...

Who knows the mind of God?  
Who can understand the ways He works?  
Who can bring an accusation before God?

These are all definitively unanswerable in my mind.  

Still, I will pray.
I continue to attempt to understand, trust and believe.  
I try to rejoice with those who have their prayers answered.
I mourn with those who don't seemingly have their prayers answered.

Yet, even in my imperfection and weakness, I point to God.  What we see can't be all there is...

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

We’re all hypocrites at one time or another.

Nothing frustrates me more as a father than when my kids ignore an order.

“Pick up your clothes.”

“Clear the table.”

“Stop fighting with your sister!”

These commands are usually met with less than humble acquiescence. A roll of the eyes. A shrug of the shoulder. Or my favorite – “huh?” Life would be so much easier if you would just do what you’re told! (Don’t mock, when you’re a parent, you’ll say it, too).

Only problem is, no one hates to be told what to do more than me.

“Erik, can you fold those towels and put them in the linen closet?”

“Hey babe, I need you to run down to the store and pick up some milk.”

“Would you mind getting the neighbor’s extension ladder and hanging the blind in that second story window?”

“In a minute!” (When I’ve made you wait long enough so that it feels like my idea instead of your directive).

God knows this about us, too (go figure). That’s why He sent Jesus.

Not because His “rules,” His righteousness, His holiness, His way of doing things no longer mattered. But because He knew that “do this” or “stop that” commands never did anything to change our heart. Even those who succumb to attempts at honoring every edict simply become self-righteous in the process.

In Jesus death and resurrection, God offers us a core change not a detailed checklist. He undermines our instinctive rebellion toward rules and directives, and transforms the heart. He neuters our desire to become our own saviors, to seek the accolades of others and earn our place in His Kingdom.

Not just in a past moment where we prayed a prayer, walked an aisle, raised a hand, or filled out a commitment card. Every moment of every day.

Our salvation is His work.

Our perfection is His work.

Not rules to live by (you can stop bristling). New desires. New heart. New life.

“Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it?” –Galatians 3:2-4 MSG

This is a post from Rev. Erik Cooper.  For the original post, go here:  http://beyondtherisk.com/2012/07/30/stop-telling-me-what-to-do/

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

You, however, are not controlled by the sinful nature but are in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. … For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. (Romans 8:9, 14)

Said George: "You know we are on a wrong track altogether. We must not think of the things we could do with, but only of the things that we can't do without." -Three Men in a Boat: To say nothing of the Dog, by Jerome K. Jerome.

To understand Paul’s take on the Holy Spirit, we first need a lesson in filters. In your car, an air-intake system feeds the engine’s compressors. That system takes in both air and everything floating in it—pollen, bugs, dirt, everything. That’s why we need an air filter. It prevents all those fragments from clogging the engine.

What works for car engines works for spiritual engines, too. We also have an intake system, complete with filters that decide what we take in and what we filter out. For instance, if I believe in reincarnation, then my experience of the natural world will filter through that belief. Childhood wounds will filter adult conversations and relationships. Our filters determine what gets to our “engines.”

This is why Paul makes such a strong case for the Spirit-filtered life as he describes the marks of this life in Romans 8. This is the shape of a life controlled by (filtered by) the Spirit of God:

1. We begin to think more of God than ourselves. It doesn’t happen overnight, but over time our worldview changes. We begin to see a bigger picture. We filter more and more of our decisions through God’s values and God’s desires. Our choices take on a less selfish, more Kingdom-minded quality.   
2. We will still experience the limits of sin. That’s what makes the life-changing message of forgiveness just as important for a Spirit-filled person as it does for one who just got saved. Spirit-filtered people value the practices of confession and repentance because they keep our spiritual engines running smoothly. We take time daily to pray with Paul, “Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Spirit-filled people are not perfectionists, but we energetically pursue the practice of perfect love—the ultimate mark of the Holy Spirit.  
3. We experience life on God’s terms. I once heard a personal trainer tell her new client during their first work-out together, “You are now a person with a routine.” I like that. Spirit-filtered people are people with a spiritual routine. We experience life on God’s terms and our calendars and checkbooks are filtered through the pleasures of God.
4. God will do the same thing in us that he did in Jesus. Jesus said we would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us (Acts 1:8), and that we’d do the things he did and more (John 14:12). Under the authority of the Holy Spirit, we have power to cast out demons, cure diseases, preach the gospel and heal the sick (Luke 9:1). Spirit-filtered people take that authority seriously.
5. We are delivered from the dead life and into son/daughter status. Because he lives, we live. A Spirit-filtered person does not interpret his experiences through the lens of death and rejection but through life and acceptance. After all, Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good; he came to make dead people live.
6. Our body will be as alive as Christ’s.  Everything we believe—our entire worldview as followers of Jesus – depends on the fact of Jesus being in the presence of God in the flesh on our behalf right now. Our flesh in heaven is a sure pledge that God is at peace with all who believe. And God’s Spirit in us is our assurance of His plan to give us access to all the powers of Heaven. We are as alive as Christ, right now, in the spiritual realm.

Where these marks are present in a follower of Jesus, life is different. We begin to see financial strain not as a roadblock but as a miracle in the making. Mistakes no longer define us because they have been filtered through forgiveness. Our stories of shame and guilt become a testament to grace. Brokenness becomes a pathway to peace. Death is a doorway to glory.

The Spirit-filtered life is characterized by an other-worldly perspective. This leaves us with a burning question: does my life reflect that perspective? What filters the things that flow into my spiritual engine? How do I interpret my experiences—as one bound by the spirits of this dark world, or as one led by the Spirit of God?

May you experience the pure joy and deep peace of a life filtered by the Holy Spirit.

This post is taken from Seedbed and is written by Carolyn Moore.  For the original post with comments, go to:  http://seedbed.com/feed/marks-of-the-spirit-filtered-life

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

I recently heard a story from a man who lives in a communist country.  He said at age 6, he had an unusual thought, "What is the purpose of my life?"  He was sitting at his kitchen table doing his homework when this thought came to him.  Next, he thought, “I’m going to grow up, go to high school, get a job, get married, have children and then my son is going to be sitting here doing homework and asking himself the same question.”   Being in a communist country, he had never heard of Jesus.  Yet, God was talking to him.

Statistics show that most people come to Christ when they are young.  

However, many people believe that talking to children about God’s offer of salvation is fruitless.  

I disagree (click here for a terrific resource to help you talk to your son about God).

I remember when I was about 5-years-old being outside playing with an ant hill.  I had a water hose and flooded the ant hill.  As I saw ants pouring out, some of them would gather into small pools and just lay there.  I started to feel some compassion and put a stick in some of the small pools so that the ants could walk on it to dry land.  I remember hearing inside my head, “do you want to try to save yourself or are you going to let Me save you?” 

What is interesting is the follow-up to both of these brief stories.    These questions were instigated by God.  God was creating an awareness of Himself in these young lives.   In the first boy’s life, he didn’t know the answer until someone talked to him about Jesus.  His brother told him, "I found God and his name is Jesus.  Would you like to become a follower of Jesus?"  He knew, in an instant, that Jesus was what/who he had been looking for to give him purpose, he just didn’t know His name. 

For me, God became real shortly after, as I thought about that question.  I remember playing with my toy cars on the sawdust floor while the evangelist spoke about Jesus.  I remember later talking to my parents and accepting Jesus into my life.  

What are these times of questioning, wonderings that others have told me about that they experienced as children?  It appears that these experiences cross cultural and socioeconomic boundaries. 

I know very few Christians who haven’t told me about some type of experience of hearing questions in their head as kids (sometimes as adults) and then later after becoming a Christian, knew it was God speaking to them. 

A final thought.  Most Christians are acquainted with the story of the five missionaries killed in Ecuador in the 1950’s.  In fact, this martyrdom was made into a popular movie, End of the Spear.  A little know part of this story is that when the last missionary was killed, their murderers saw lights in the jungle, lights that they had never seen before and questioned themselves about who these missionaries were.  God was creating an awareness of Himself by having them see these lights.  After several of these murderers became Christians, it became apparent to them that God allowed them to see the Angels ushering the missionaries into heaven.  

So, as you are reading this, let me encourage you to be the kind of man who tells children (and those who have never heard the name of Jesus) about Jesus.  

Volunteer at children's camp.  I recall fondly those times when I was in a cabin in the woods with 6 or so boys, talking about Jesus and answering their questions and them sharing about their lives.  Late at nite, when laying in bunk beds, boys want to talk.  Walking down a creek looking for crawdads is a great time to talk about God.  God talks to boys and boys want to talk about God.

Volunteer at your Children's Church.  Mentor a boy.  Be an example of a godly man.  These boys need to know that Jesus is the answer for their broken, hurting homes.  Jesus can heal their families.  A boy can say "yes" to Jesus and become the man that God intended for him to be.

So, let boys know about Jesus.  You never know, he just might have been playing with an ant hill.

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

(Continued from yesterday)

As the sons of these two men grew up, they each went their respective ways, moving to various parts of the country.  The difference was, the pastor's sons wanted to return to see their father.  The sons, all leaders in their own right in different parts of the country, enjoyed their father's advice, steadiness, humble strength and faith in God.  

The cattleman's sons did not want to see their father.  

In fact, they did their best to avoid him.  

Unfortunately, when they would visit their father, it wasn't uncommon for the cattleman and his sons to physically as well as verbally fight each other.  They would argue over cattle, land, money, food.  The cattleman's sons also had trouble in staying married to their first wives.  They and their children experienced the pain of separation, divorce, remarriage, anger, suspicion and the like.

So, now, we are getting to the end of our story.  What happened to these two men?  These men chose different paths for themselves and their family experienced the consequences of these men's choices.  

The cattleman died.  He didn't experience a long illness.  Just one day, he was no longer part of this earth.  The world woke up one morning and he did not.  The land and the cattle that he once owned were divided and sold.  His sons avoided each other.   The sensuality that the cattleman pursued, led to disjointed, isolated, marginally spiritual offspring.  His children rarely got together.  When they did, peace did not rule their relationships.

The pastor lived a long life.  He outlived the cattleman by a good 20 years.  His children stayed faithful to their spouses.  Interestingly, the years after the cattleman died became very rich for the pastor.  God's blessings increased exponentially.  God increased his faithfulness with abundance.  The pastor enjoyed his children, his grandchildren and quite a few great-grandchildren.  The pastor had made several, quiet, steady investments over the years and he found that he was experiencing the most financial success he had ever had.  He needed nothing.  God gave him all he needed and more.  

More importantly, the pastor enjoyed the spiritual success of his progeny.  Several of them followed in his footsteps and went into full-time ministry.  The other children became integral parts of their respective churches, supporting God's work both inside and outside the church.  All became leaders in their community/profession.  The pastor was able to see his heritage for several generations.  God blessed him with the opportunity to see that his steadiness, and his pursuit of "God first" paid off with eternal rewards.  

You see not only did this pastor and his progeny do well, but many of the people who were affected by his ministry over the years were blessed by this pastor's steadiness and quiet confidence in God's ability to care for his children.

However, just when it seems like a story is over, God does something amazing.  Just when you think you have God all figured out, He moves.  Tomorrow we will  discuss Esau Redeemed.

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.