Will Just One Prayer Do?!?!

Luke 18:1

"Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up."

(Parable found in Luke 18:1-8)

How often do we think one prayer will do?  That if God doesn't answer it the first time we pray, He won't answer it at all?  How often do we overcomplicate prayer by thinking that with everything we need prayer for - ourselves or praying for other people, that talking to God once about it will suffice?  How often do we think we're becoming a burden or being a nuisance by constantly praying, asking, seeking God on a topic or two?

I know I've often thought and believed this, but oh how it is a lie! 

God wants us to ask! 

Does it not say is Matthew 7:7 to ask, seek, and knock?  Ask God.  Seek Him.  And talk to Him about it using His Word and continually knocking until the door is open?  Did Jesus not provide a parable for His disciples to not give up on praying and seeking God and His will no matter what?

If we gave into fully believing the lies earlier written wouldn't we in some ways be taking the control that we're trying to surrender to God back into our own hands? God wants us to continually commune with Him. He wants us to keep asking, seeking and knocking. Sometimes it is not the first prayer answered, but the hundredth. The fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much - persistent in all their ways. 

*Amy, the women's Director and a growing friend, whom I'm respecting more and more each day, here at Strong Tower, often says how thankful she is that her mum prayed the whole 10 years she (Amy) struggled with her addiction and didn't stop praying for her after nine years. How that we too need to hold steadfast in the Lord and trust in Him   Continue asking, seeking and knocking at His door. 

Pastor Michael Adams, the founder and pastor of Strong Tower, recently shared in class about how prayer isn't duty-bound, but that it's faith.  

Prayer is abiding in God and trusting in Him. Trusting that He'll answer our prayers and believing that He hears us. 

Romans 8:22-27 (NIV)

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God."

Prayer motivates our spirit and it gives permission for God to move. 

It is and can be a great struggle but it's also a great privilege. No matter how hard it is we should always continue to pray and hold onto God. He is our Rock and He's always listening.  He just wants us to open up to Him.  Why not start now?

NOTE (26 December 2013) 

* Amy is no longer at Strong Tower - this also means she is no longer the women's director either. Keep her in your prayers. 

Plugged In?!?!

(Saturday 20th of July 2013)

Sometimes in life we forget we need a main power source until we try to use an appliance or tool and wonder why it's not working. 

This happened last week with Audrey, Robyn and I. 

Whilst sanding on Thursday we realised that one of the sanders wasn't working and after a quick inspection we noticed that it wasn't plugged into the power point (outlet) inside. This was fixed immediately and sanding of the crosses was endeavoured by all three of us again.

 

How similar is this to our walk with God? We often get so caught up in the busyness of life that we don't stay connected to the Father, in every day happenings, and it's not until something that's out of our control or something that overwhelms us that we go running back to God and seeking His powerful and wise hand in our life.  Seeking His help. 

But this is not what it should be like. Not really. Because without staying connected to God, we try to use our own battery-powered abilities, instead of allowing God to charge us fully - who's waiting for us to plug into His source of life. 

It's through His word, the Bible, and talking to Him daily - surrendering every aspect of our life to him, that He is able to be a part of our life and it's the best thing we could do to surrender our lives and allow God to be Lord, Saviour, provider, strength, encourager, lover and healer, who has blessed us with an electrical current that nothing in this world could ever replicate. 

It's through Him alone we should find identity. And I know it is only Him that I need in this life alone.  He's my electrical current I'm going to continue to plug into, is He yours?

A Blurred Reality

(Friday 12th of July 2013)

In coming to America I was adamant that I'd never transition to the American of words. That I'd always keep the Australian-United Kingdom spelling with the included 'u'(s) and 's'(s) instead of 'z'(s). 

At first this was fairly easy to maintain, in fact I often became a little poignant when I saw an American spelt word and yes a little excited and prideful when on the rare occasion I saw an Australian spelled word. However over time the clarity of recognising and even writing the Australian UK words over the American spelled words began to blur and became harder to distinguish. 

When realising and pondering my immersion into American culture, including spelling, I began to realise how similar this is to our walk in life and our battle with temptations and sin.  When we first see something wrong or sinful we can clearly distinguish the right thing from the wrong thing. We try to justify it, realise it, and try get around it. But deep down we know it's sin. We know it's wrong but the moment we do it (sin) the less we can clearly distinguish and recognise the difference. 

The Australian Youth With A Mission's Dean of education (a position in YWAM's University of the Nations) Mark Brokenshire shared with the class I was sitting in when I was at YWAM Newcastle (New South Wales, Australia) in 2011, that sin was like a cliff edge.   

We try to see how close we can get to the cliff edge, wanting the excitement, the adrenaline, the view, but then getting super close to the edge, we take a wrong step and then we're gone. 

We can do that with temptations and simple things too. Trying to see how much we can dabble in in it - how close we can get to the edge of a cliff, thinking we're not really doing that bad a thing.  It's not as bad as something else, that someone else has done and as a result, we don't realise the cliff edge when it comes. 

We are so busy comparing ourselves to other people and trying to rationalise and justify that what we are doing isn't that bad, is that different to other peoples actions that we hit the cliff edge and before we know it we're going falling to our deaths. 

The more we sin, the more blurred the clarity of right from wrong becomes and the harder it will be to hear God as well.  It's like James 1:19 - 20 says 

"My Christian brothers you know everyone should listen much and speak little. He should be slow to anger. A man's anger does not allow him to be right with God."

Romans 6:12-13 also reiterates this with "In the same way count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Do not offer the parts of your body as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. 

Got does not want us to sin, therefore should we be tempted to even gamble with what is "sin" and what is not? 

It doesn't matter if other people are doing it, if it doesn't line up with God's Word, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit, or our conscience convicts us of it, even if it's only a little, - we should not even partake in a second of it. 

God asked us to be like Him and to be pure of heart and if we truly love Him and fear Him (out of reverence, respect and honour) we should obey Him and His directions whether it's from Him personally or a spiritual leader in our lives e.g. Pastor, teacher, law-enforcement, parents etc. 

They are all in leadership for a reason and as in Ephesians 6:1-9 says they have our best interest in mind and we have the responsibility to honour and a pay them with respect and reverence. 

It's truly our choice but Romans 6:12 says one brings life and one brings death. It's all in our hands. I know which one I'd choose.  How about you? 

Further readings - Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 19:16-30; Proverbs 21:16