The Urge to Pray

Praying is a difficult task for many believers, due to the weakness of the flesh and the sinfulness of our hearts.  

But what a re-assurance it is to know that many others having been ‘holding the ropes’ of prayer for us. It is in this way that we battle successfully against the powers of darkness and their evil onslaughts against us.  That's why, and for many genuine believers, praying is so difficult, a struggle.  

Yet, the truly amazing thing is that God, by His Spirit, gives us the urge to pray at different times, and when this happens, we must follow this urge and come before the Throne of Grace in prayer.  At such times, I have found myself having greater liberty in prayer. When you feel the urge to pray, then pray; for this is God’s Spirit at work prompting you to bring whatever is in your heart to Him.

Never postpone the urge to pray when God sends it.  Who knows just what God is intending to do through His servants and children when He urges them to pray. When the urge comes, whatever else you may be doing, pray. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY - and especially when our loving Father urges us to do so.

God So Far Away.

There are times when Christians feel that the Lord is far away from them, times when He seems so distant, times when your prayers do not seem to get beyond the ceiling.  You’ve had that experience, as we have.  Maybe you’re having it at the present time.

I came across this very challenging statement from Ravi Zacharias: "I think the reason we sometimes have the false sense that God is so far away is because that is where we have put him. We have kept him at a distance, and then when we are in need and call on him in prayer, we wonder where he is. He is exactly where we left him.”

If you cannot find God, where did you last leave Him?  When you were last with Him, where did you put Him?  Don’t take these too seriously, but they do have a point, do they not?  If God seems far away from us, it’s not His fault.  Like the fallen axe head in 2 Kgs.6:1-7, to find the Lord you have to return to where you ‘lost’ Him, and you’ll probably find that He’s there waiting for you. 

There's another way of looking at this situation. If God seems far away from you, who moved? You or God? Has God changed His commitment to you? Or have you changed your commitment to Him? These are very challenging questions, are they not?

I think we need to pause and stay with this point for a while.  We tend to read over points like this without stopping and meditating on what they imply for us as Christians.  Stay with this for a moment, and examine your own heart in the light of this truth.  Allow the truth to impact your own soul, and stay before it until it does.  This is called ‘doing business with the Lord.’

Pray On!

It’s amazing how much the Lord teaches us about Himself when we’re faced with an illness as serious as cancer.  He proves His faithfulness in every situation.  He demonstrates that however things appear to the contrary, we can still cast our burdens on Him (1 Pet.5:7), and not be disappointed.  In fact, we feel ourselves being carried along, upborne, and blessed.  He manifests Himself to us in various ways – in normal ways through the kindness and support of Christian people and also, as a testimony to God’s common grace, of non-Christian people.  He also demonstrates His love for us in much more personal ways, as when He draws really near to us by His Spirit and assures us that we are His children by new birth and also by adoption (we’re doubly His!).  During family devotions when He comes right into our room and leaves the unspeakable impression that we have been in the presence of the great King Who is our Father, we know we are His and He is ours (Song of Songs 2:16; 6:3; 7:10).  How sweet are these precious lessons.  What He teaches us in the dark places and in the valleys of life cannot be learned out of a book or even by listening to sermons.

But it’s also amazing how much He teaches us about ourselves – and most of that is not always nice; but it’s needed.  One of the big lessons He has taught us is that head belief will certainly not get an individual through the challenge of a life-threatening illness.  Having all the right words and repeating them will just not ‘cut it’ when faced with the ultimate.  We need more than that.

What we need, however, are the right beliefs that have found their way into the heart, beliefs that have warmed the heart and melted the heart, and beliefs that have motivated the will to give our all to the Saviour.  It is the head that understands (and we need biblical understanding), but it is with the heart that we believe. “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom.10:10).

Looked at from another angle, Jesus is our Prophet, Priest and King.  True faith lays hold of a whole Christ.  So true faith is believing Christ as our Prophet, trusting Christ as our Priest and submitting to Christ as our King.  All three must be present otherwise we have ‘faith’ in only a partial Christ – which is no faith at all.  When all three are present, our head, our heart and our will are all engaged in our faith.  And remember, no one who has submitted to Christ the King will live in daily disobedience to Him.

This lesson was reinforced to us during this period of challenge.  How true it is.  And how necessary it is when we come to pray.  Praying with the mind only is not enough; nor is praying only with the heart, or with the will (however that may be done!).  That’s why we need that knowledge of God that comes only from the Bible.  But if our hearts are cold when we approach the Lord, then of what use are right words?  And if we are not motivated to surrender our all, our life, to Him, then the mind and heart roles are redundant.

Remember what old John Bunyan said: In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.  Make sure your prayer comes right from your heart.  Charles H. Spurgeon added: “Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.”  So be deeply encouraged, and pray on.  Let us come as whole persons to a whole Christ and we’ll see even greater things happen.

               Are we weak and heavy laden,

               Cumbered with a load of care?

               Precious Saviour, still our refuge;

               Take it to the Lord in prayer.

               Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

               Take it to the Lord in prayer!

               In his arms he'll take and shield thee;

               Thou wilt find a solace there.

Wise Words from Whitefield

These words from the conclusion of one of Rev. George Whitefield's sermons is given here for your encouragement. The call is to follow Christ fully, or wholeheartedly, as Caleb of old did. There is no one better to follow than He. Give your heart and life to Him, and He will be with you forever. Meet with Him frequently in prayer and in the Gospel. You are on the victory side, remember. Our Saviour has trodden down every opposition to us, and all we have to face in this world are the mere dregs of Satanic attack. That does not mean that we will not know suffering for Christ's sake. Those who stand close to Christ when the world's brick-bats start flying are very likely to get hit. But let us not be afraid. His promises to us are "Yea and Amen." Not only has He bruised Satan's head, so will you and I.
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Let us, therefore, not be weary of well-doing; for we shall reap an eternal harvest of comfort, if we faint not. Dare, dare, my dear brethren in Christ, to follow the Captain of your salvation, who was made perfect through sufferings. The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head. Fear not men. Be not too much cast down at the deceitfulness of your hearts. Fear not devils; you shall get the victory even over them. The Lord Jesus has engaged to make you more than conquerors over all. Plead with you Savior, plead: plead the promise in the tent. Wrestle, wrestle with God in prayer.

If it has been given you to believe, fear not if it should also be given you to suffer. Be not any wise terrified by your adversaries; the king of the church has them all in a chain: be kind to them, pray for them; but fear them not. The Lord will yet bring back his ark; though at present driven into the wilderness; and Satan like lightening shall fall from heaven.

Are there any enemies of God here? The promise of the text encourages me to bid you defiance: the seed of the woman, the ever-blessed Jesus, shall bruise the serpent’s head. What signifies all your malice? You are only raging waves of the sea, foaming out your own shame. For you, without repentance, is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. The Lord Jesus sits in heaven, ruling over all, and causing all things to work for his children’s good: he laughs you to scorn: he hath you in the utmost derision, and therefore so will I. Who are you that persecute the children of the ever blessed God? Though a poor stripling, the Lord Jesus, the seed of the woman, will enable me to bruise your heads.

The LORD Is My Shepherd

The great Baptist preacher of nineteenth century London, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, wrote the following words on Ps.23:1, "The Lord is my shepherd." “What condescension is this, that the infinite Lord assumes towards his people the office and character of a Shepherd! It should be the subject of grateful admiration that the great God allows himself to be compared to anything which will set forth his great love and care for his own people.”

Isn’t that lovely? The Lord’s deep humility is seen in His becoming the One Who shepherds us, pastors us, Whom is “our Shield and Defender.” He places Himself between us and danger, and fends off the enemy. He leads us to where our souls are fed and nourished and restored. This is the Good Shepherd Who laid down His life for us (1 Jn.3:16). We sing with Philip P. Bliss, “Hallelujah! What a Saviour!”

Our hearts ought to know no reserve when we praise and worship such a Redeemer. And His Father, and ours, allows Himself to be compared to a lowly shepherd, one who loves and cares for the sheep. He understands our needs, you know. The care He has for His own children, for you and for me, should be the subject of our never-dying praise and gratitude. Our hearts should be enlarged with the holiest worship of such a great Shepherd. As His sheep, we are owned by Him; if we were wolves or goats or wild animals, then we would have an altogether different owner, one not nearly so loving and kind. He owns us; we are not our own; we were bought with a price – the precious blood of Christ (1 Cor.6:20). Our Owner sets great store on us, views us a precious in His sight, and takes great delight in us.

Brothers and sisters, we belong to Christ. And the One Who is our shepherd is the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us cultivate this sense of total dependence on Him for everything, yea, for life itself. Spurgeon remarks that the sweetest monosyllable in this verse is the word My. The LORD is my shepherd.

Can you say that? Do you know Him as your shepherd? Has He become your shepherd? Have you trusted Him personally? Are you living for Him? Is He your everything, and is He your all? Have you come to Him and asked Him to make you one of His sheep?

If you have, then you will know that He loves you, cares for you, watches over you, leads and guide you, and has your best and eternal interest at heart. Whatever your present circumstances might be, the LORD is with you and by His Spirit lives in you. The words are in the present tense, which means that these things are true for you at every moment and in every circumstance. Did you realise that? At this very moment in your life’s experience, the LORD is with you. You are under His loving and constant care.

When living with cancer, there are few truths that are more precious to the Christian believer. When everything seems to be blackness and gloom, to look up to this wonderful Shepherd is the greatest privilege of all. When you wonder what is going to happen to you, and whether or not you will live or die, this Psalm is the God-provided antidote. When you question what will become of your family and loved-ones, you turn your eyes to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and cast yourself on Him. Why? Because He cares for you (1 Pet.5:7). Jesus Christ cares for you! He is more than able to supply all your needs both now and forever. That’s our hope and stay amidst life’s troubles.

God Answers Prayer

How encouraging it is to know that our prayers are not ineffective, though we might not always realise this. Parents pray earnestly for the conversion of their children, and God answers their prayers, one now and one at another time. But He is faithful, and will keep His covenant promises made to parents concerning the salvation of their children.

Sometimes we can despair that our offspring, whatever their age, do not place themselves under the means of grace; for example, they refuse to attend church and they dislike the preaching of the Gospel. But do not despair. For our great almighty Redeemer God, these are not essential, though very desirable. “God is spirit” (Jn.4:24), remember. That means that He is invisible so He can creep up on unsuspecting sinners and reduce them to tearful repentance, bringing them to saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

So do not despair. God is sovereign, and we must always hold out the certainty that he will act to bring our children to saving faith in Christ in His time and in His way. We can tend to get all caught up about formal religion, but to no good purpose. Let God be God, and He will yet surprise us.

This is our conviction. Having one son unsaved is a grave burden to both of us. We long, as you do, for the salvation of all your family members, and whilst they are commanded in Scripture to repent and believe the Gospel, their current rebellion does not rule God out of the picture. We were all rebellious sinners once, but that did not prevent the gracious Lord dealing with us in mercy. And when you consider the end of those who die without Christ, the thought is utterly distressing. Hence, believing prayer to the Lord Who can break into such situations is our great hope and consolation. All Christian parents hope and trust that their children will all be in the Kingdom of God before they leave this scene of time.

So pray on for the salvation of your own families. Plead with the Lord to save them, bringing all the arguments you can think about in your prayer. Remember as you pray that Christ loves them with an everlasting love, and died for them. He has purchased redemption for them and all they have to do to make it their own is to humbly receive it. There is nothing more for them to do, and what we are to do is to bring them before the Lord in prayer continually. And He hears and answers prayer. And when the urge to pray comes, stop everything (if possible) and pray because this is the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

Let me encourage you. God has answered your prayers for Margaret and me in the most tangible of ways; in fact, the evidence is there to see. If God answers your prayers for Margaret, then be confident that He will answer your prayers for your children and other loved-ones. So, as C. H. Spurgeon once said, “Pray, and let God do the worrying.”

Praying Aloud - Is This a Problem Today?

Did you ever wonder why you find it difficult to pray out loud?  Ever wonder why you cannot pray aloud while others can with ease?  Do you think you’re not a Christian because you cannot pray aloud?

Some Christians think like this, and you could argue that this does point to a spiritual problem.  There are Christians who have never once prayed aloud, either in a prayer meeting or even at home. 

But here’s what we have found: there’s nothing like deep, real, pressing, life-threatening trouble to get you a-praying.  Margaret never prayed aloud in any prayer meeting, and only once at home when she was faced by a particularly trying situation.  But that was it. 

Now, what was it that got her a-praying?  Cancer.  Can you understand why she thanks God for her cancer?  It got her meeting with the Lord in a way that neither of us knew before. 

You see, God has His own way of getting us to take our Christian lives and profession seriously.  When He really touches us, we’ll pray.  Remember when Saul was converted on the road to Damascus?  How did the disciples know he really was a Christian?  They said, “Look! He’s praying” (Ac.9:11).  Prayer is the cry of the living child of God.   Prayer is how the child of God communicates with his/her heavenly Father.  It is how we enjoy communion with our Lord. 

But look.  Be very careful when you say you can’t pray aloud.  God has His own effective ways of getting us a-praying.  We can take either the easier way, or be faced with a much more difficult way.  But either way, the sheer blessedness of communion with our Saviour is worth it all.  To be in His presence, and know it, is a rare blessing.  To know that you and the Lord are actually speaking to each other – He through his Word to us, and we in our prayers to Him, is a blessing not to be missed.  To sit silently in His holy presence is both an uncomfortable thing and an encouraging thing.  To know “the love of Christ being poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who is given to us” – well, the only thing better than that is heaven itself (Rom.5:5).  To be filled “joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pet.1:8), well, that’s amazing.  You just cannot describe what it’s like.  Words fail you.  It is so magnificent and awe-inspiring that language proves useless to tell what it’s like.

And when God visits you in some such way, then you’ll know spiritual delights that you never thought it was possible for you to know and experience.  

Praying Properly (4)

The True Goal of Prayer: the pleasure of God (1 Kgs 3:10-14).  Would you have said this is the true goal of prayer?  Would you have said that when you come into the presence of the Lord and bring to Him your desires and wants and needs, the pleasure of God is your goal?  You know when the Lord is pleased with your prayer, He grants you your requests.  God was pleased with Solomon's prayer.  He asked for a hearing heart and the ability to discern between good and evil.  He got these (vvs 11-12), but He was given more; the Lord also gave him what he did not ask for (v.13).

You know, there is something very pleasing when you bring pleasure to someone you want to please.  It thrills your soul to know you've please that other.  And when that other is the Lord Himself, my, the pleasure you experience is indescribable.

Why pray?  To please the Lord.  "Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever."  When we glorify Him, we please Him.  Glorifying Him is much more than just saying, "And to Him be all the glory." It is about bringing pleasure to His heart.  True prayer pleases God.  There is no greater lure to prayer than God's sheer generosity.

When you bow before God in prayer, set your heart and mind to pleasing Him in all you say.  Remember, He knows your heart.  Be focused upon Him.  Seek Him.  Lift Him high.  Make sure your prayers please Him; for if they do, they will be answered.

Praying Properly (3)

The true anxiety of prayer: the people of God, (1 Kgs 3:7b-9).  When the Lord said to Solomon, "Ask what I should give you" (v.5), His Word was both a gracious invitation and an inevitable test.  He was being invited to come with big requests and to 'ask anything.'  Here's the challenging point: your response to such an invitation reveals who you really are.  Your true spiritual character comes out when you are given such an invitation.  How?  Because we either act on it as it stands, or else we just do not believe that the Lord is serious and is making such a gracious offer to weak believers like us.

Also, what we ask for reveals what is most important to us.  Whah!  What Solomon asked for revealed what was important to him.  He asked the Lord for a 'hearing heart' and the ability to discern between good and evil, so that he could rule the people of God well.  He wanted his entire being to be geared toward pleasing God through serving Him well.  What was it that drove Solomon's prayer?  The well-being of others; in this case, God's people.  He was anxious over the people of God, and that motivated his prayer.

It was the same with Moses.  When he saw the burdens under which his fellow Hebrews were living/existing,   he was moved to pray for their deliverance, little knowing that God would use him as the answer to his own prayer.  Lesson: be very careful what you ask for - you might get it!  His prayer was not asking God to advance his own political career; it was Israel's need for deliverance, regardless of cost to himself, that drove him.  In Solomon's case, his prayer was driven by the need for a discerning heart to rule the people of God.  His was a holy anxiety, concern over the well-being of God's redeemed people.

The leaders of God's people ought to exhibit a watchfulness over them; they ought to have a watchful worry that trembles for the welfare of the people of God and that always prays with one eye on their good.  And that ought also to drive us in our prayers.

Are you concerned about the low level of true spirituality there is in the church today?  Are you anxious about your own poor spirituality?  At the beginning of a new year (2013) is a good time to take spiritual stock of your own soul, and of that of your church.  Don't settle for second best either personally or for your church.  Seek the Lord and He will reveal to you what you need to do - for yourself and for your church.

Praying Properly (2)

The true incentive of prayer - the faithfulness of God (1 Kgs 3:6, 7a, 8).  When we begin our prayer, we must do as Solomon did - start not with our request, but with God's past faithfulness, with what He has done.  No better place to start.  Indeed, there's no other place to start.  What an incentive is here to speak to this great giving God.  Whilst we know in our heads God's liberality when it comes to blessing His children, we still come to Him as if He were an unwilling Father who is reluctant to give to His asking children.  But He is faithful - look at His track record.  His covenant faithlessness was experienced by Solomon's forefathers in ancient days.  He promised that Abraham's seed would be as great as the sand on the seashore, and Solomon now declares that God has kept His promise and has done just that!  Whatever promise the LORD has made, he has kept.

Tell me if you know of a greater incentive to prayer than this fact.  Solomon began with God's faithfulness, His dependability, His fidelity.  So must we.  Praise Him for His faithfulness.  This gives us confidence in prayer.

Why pray?  Because the One to Whom we pray is utterly faithful.  We can trust Him completely and in every situation.  Begin here.  Let me give you another little incentive to pray.  Just this week, my wife came under another strange Satanic attack.  He tormented her all afternoon, and refused to relent.  That is, until about tea-time when she experienced a lifting of her burden, and the rest of the evening was great.  Why did this happen?  Because someone had been praying for her at that moment.  It may have been a Christian friend in Northern Ireland, or England in far away places like India or Panama.  Someone unknown to us had uplifted her in prayer, and God answered.

Why did He do that?  Because that's the kind of God He is; and that's the kind of God and Father we have.

Trusting In The Lord

The other morning in our devotions, we read these marvellous words: “To trust in God is not a gamble, it’s a sure thing.”  We have proved this numerous times in the past, but definitely during the past four months.  As Hebrews tells us, “He who promised is faithful” (10:23).  When our Lord makes a promise to His children, one thing is sure – they can bank on it totally and absolutely.  After all, it is the Lord Who makes such a promise.  But look at what follows – the Maker of the promise is faithful. 

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is faithful.  We can rely totally upon Him.  He is as good as His Word.  We can stake our all, nay, our eternity, upon what He says by way of promise.  Our God is dependable in all things.  Oh, trust Him to see you through. As the old Gospel hymn puts it, “He is willing to aid you, He will carry you through.”  It assures us, “Ask the Saviour to help you...”  Jesus asked the blind man, “What do you want Me to do for you?”  What a question?  And written in words of one syllable so all can understand and ask Him.

Praying Properly (1)

When it comes to 'prayer,' the Old Testament has much to teach us. 1 Kings 3 may be described as a manual of prayer, or a 'how to' prayer book.  "At Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”" (v.5).  God is telling King Solomon to ask Him for something.  In fact  the verb 'ask' occurs eight times in verses.5, 10, 11, 13.  The LORD was satisfied with Solomon's request, so we can learn from these verses what true prayer is.  Dr Dale Ralph Davis gives us some needed help in this matter.

The true incentive to prayer - the generosity of God (vvs. 5b, 13, 14).  Our God is generous in His dealings with us.  He wants to give and give and give again.  "If you ask anything in My Name, I will give it to you," promised Jesus.  God was so pleased with what Solomon asked that He made him a open-ended promise to give whatever he asked.  It is to this same lavish and generous God that we, as Christian believers, come to when we pray.  When the minister says, 'Let us pray,' he is not just issuing religious words; he is calling the people of God to talk to the King.  And we are called to speak to Him because His generosity knows no limits.  He is 'the giving God.'  God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” (v.5).

And He's saying exactly the same to you and to me this very day.  Come with your mouth filled with requests and let your requests be made known unto God.  Pray without ceasing  says Paul.  Why?  Because the God to Whom you pray is anxious to give to you whatever you ask in Christ's Name.  So keep on praying.

God Is No Man’s Debtor

God is no man’s debtor, and He richly rewards those who diligently seek him.  It is a blessed thing just to be in His presence in prayer, to look on His Face and to behold His glory.  It is the greatest sweetness to meet with Christ on earth; what must it be like to be with Him in heaven forever?  To experience the sweetness of our Saviour is not to be missed, and the Lord sometimes has to bring His children into uninvited situations where they experience that spiritual sweetness in their own hearts.  Just to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings is the nearest thing to heaven on earth.  To know that deep, deep contentment with all that God has brought in our lives is far above rubies.  An old Puritan preacher wrote a book entitled, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment; and it is a rare jewel.  But to taste something of it is something to be coveted above wealth. 

And that’s what Christ has done for us.  And He can do the same for you, if you ask Him.  But let me add this caveat: Be careful what you ask God for, for you might just get it.

Satan Hates Believers

This is true!  The devil hates God's children!  He is out to devour them.  He wants to discourage them big time.

My wife and I are finding this just now.  She was being attacked in her mind by the devil in recent days.  On Thursday, 13th Dec 2012, she was feeling a bit sickly and unwell.  But  she was exposed to attack after attack from Satan. This came in the form of doubts; she is to have more treatment and the evil one said to her that she will never make it.  So bad was it that she thought she was going to take heart attack.  She thought she was losing her mind.  It is also interesting that this has happened to her after each time she witnessed to Christ.  These devilish attacks have pounded her.

Let me give you another little incentive to pray.  Also this week, my wife came under another strange satanic attack.  He tormented her all afternoon, and refused to relent.  That is, until about tea-time when she experienced a lifting of her burden, and the rest of the evening was great.  

Why did this happen?  Because someone, somewhere, perhaps one of you, had been praying for her at that moment.  It may have been a Christian friend in Northern Ireland, or England or in far away places like India or Panama.  Someone unknown to us had uplifted her in prayer, and God answered.

That's the kind of God He is; and that's the kind of God and Father we have.  We can trust Him implicitly.

God Hears Prayer.

The big thing that has impressed itself upon us throughout this challenging time is the sheer undeserved goodness of God to sinful people like us.  Had He not been gracious to us, we could never have come through this ordeal as well as we have.  Never forget that He is the gracious God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the whole world.  He deals in grace with rebels like us, and in that alone is our security and hope.

Pray on, dear prayer partners, pray on.  God hears your prayers; and He answers them.

Think on this: the fact that you have been earnest in prayer for **** should encourage you to go on praying for those for whom you are concerned.  Your have entered the holy place these past few weeks; stay there and bring all your concerns to Him.  The Lord has blessed you as you have spent time with Him, and the more time we spend with Him, the more we have the capacity for divine blessing.  Bring your concerns for loved-ones who are not saved to the same prayer answering God, and then “Stand back and see the salvation of the Lord.” 

Thank you once again for your prayers for ****.  Paul’s command is still valid – to “pray without ceasing.”

Our Never-failing Friend

The amazing thing is that people are wondering why **** is still so joyful and enjoys so much peace as she does. We know why – God in Christ lives in her heart and His life is overflowing through her.  The circumstances would depress anyone, so the reason for her joy and peace lies elsewhere.  How wonderful it is to face the unknown and uncertain future confident that God has already been there and He will take her by the hand and led her on.

God is good – I never tire of saying this.  He is our never-failing Friend, the One Who promised through His Son that He would “never leave us nor forsake us.” With Him, we can take it one day at a time, and leave everything in His loving hands.  It is truly amazing what He can do in and for those who have surrendered their lives to Him.

Now is not the time to ease up in your prayers.  There is still “more land to be taken,” and by God’s grace we will come through triumphantly.

Prohibited Prayer

Satan will use anything and anyone to keep a man off his knees.  R. M. McCheyne said, "What a man is on his knees before God, that he is and no more."  We're not much, are we?  Someone also said, "If you want to humiliate a minister, ask him about his prayer life."  How truly devoted is he to the Christ whom he preaches and offers to the lost?  How much does he love the Saviour (Jn.21:15-19)?  What are his real priorities in ministry?

Perhaps we are much too full of our own importance for God to use us.  Perhaps self-righteousness has taken a hold of us that we would not be prepared to admit.  Perhaps we imagine that by performing well in the pulpit, our own or someone else's, we are pleasing the Lord.  Are we?  Is ministry just about performance?  How much do we really depend upon God's anointing when we preach, and how much on ourselves? 

We need to dedicate ourselves to doing serious business with God if we are see any move of His Spirit.  But we are not prepared to do what it takes to make this a reality.  We're too busy at other things.  We need to de-clutter our lives of all that does not allow us to do that very thing.

This is surely enough to be going on with for now.  We will continue this dialogue with a view to making the necessary changes in our lives so that we reflect more closely the pattern set out in Scripture.

Pray For Us.

Please pray for Northern Ireland.  Our people are still held in the grip of republican terrorism.  Lives are still be controlled by these thugs.  Former security force personnel are again carrying their personal protective weapons (PPWs) and the old security measures are being practiced again.

The devil is controlling these gangsters, but he has done something else, perhaps more serious - he has blinded the eyes of our political leaders so that they will not see what is really happening in Ulster today.

Please do not be taken in by all the very positive publicity about out land that is being produced by people who are extremely keen to hold on to their very well paid jobs as politicians.  Terrorists incidents take place on a daily basis.  Wives are as concerned about for safety of their husbands as ever they were.

And no one seems to care about them.  You can show your care by praying for this land in all its darkness and depressiveness.  Don't be surprised if republican terrorists launch a 'terrorist spectacular' when the UK City of Culture - Londonderry - commences in a few weeks time.  People in the city are already worried about such an eventuality occurring.

Pray for us.

Trying the Broken Cisterns

It can be somewhat frustrating when we cannot discern what it is that God is doing in our lives.  We feel that we are being held in suspense by our Father.  The Psalmist David found that, you know, and so have his countless servants throughout the running centuries. God is mysterious, and His doings are equally mysterious.  

In such times, what are we to do?  We are to do the only thing it is proper for us to do in these circumstances, and that it to repose our lives confidently in His Word.  What else have we?  He is faithful Who promised.  We cast ourselves and our burdens unreservedly upon His grace and mercy.

Now, the last thing we ought to do, and the first thing we are often tempted to do, is to look for the consolations of the world.  How foolish that would be!  It is vanity to look to the empty and perverse world to help and succour us when in difficulties.  The world has absolutely nothing to offer.  Indeed, this is exactly what worldlings do - they look around them everywhere to find something from the world that will mitigate their miseries.  But there's nothing there.  At times of difficulty, they may drown their sorrows with alcohol, but they still have them when they sober up.  They may use some kind of escapism, yet that is OK only for the short time they have 'escaped.'  But they still have to return to the real world.

No, the world and its ways have nothing to offer the child of God.  They mock us, deride us, and make fun of us. 

I tried the broken cisterns, Lord,
 But, ah, the waters failed!
E’en as I stooped to drink they fled,
 And mocked me as I wailed.

The world’s broken cisterns have nothing to offer the child of God when he or she is going through life-threatening difficulties.  We have all tried them, and some of us have seen through them.  Even the positive thinking attitude, while good so far as it goes, is inadequate, and I’ve seen people being devastated by this outlook.

However, we have found something that does work in all circumstances – having a positive faith in Christ the sovereign Lord and Comforter of the weak.  It’s not just about being positive; it’s about being positive in Christ; it’s about being positive in Him because of Who He is – the One Who suffered and bled and died for us, and Who rose again on the third day to demonstrate that the Father had accepted all He had done on the Cross and therefore accepts all who trust in Him.

God's Strength In Weakness

Our God is good and His goodness knows no end.  Praise Him constantly for being What and Who He is.  You know, it is at a time of testing that you really do prove the Lord.  In a sense, anybody can say they are a Christian; but when you are thrown back upon the Saviour, and knowing that you have been forgiven, you can rest assured. 

I have no help but Thine; nor do I need
Another arm save Thine to lean upon;
It is enough, my Lord, enough indeed;
My strength is in Thy might, Thy might alone.

This is our confidence, and in this confident we rest.