"And Jesus Stood ..."

Last Sunday, we had as invited guests in our morning church service,
 the veterans of a local Legion,
 who came with the pageantry associated with Remembrance Day. 

What stood out to me and played over and over in my mind was the part of the presentation when someone was instructed to read the names of the Legions' veterans who had died this year. 

The names were called out one by one, and then these words were spoken ..

"They do not answer, they do not answer."  

The words haunted me and in my mind I visualized a very different scenario. 

Every day there are estimated to be as many as 450 Christians who are martyred for their faith. 

Every day!
That is one every three minutes.

Are they forgotten? 

In my mind I see each one as they step over death's threshold into Life. 

Jesus rises to His feet, 

even as He did for the church's first martyr, Stephen, 

and He calls out their name. 

No need to turn to His Father and say ...

'They do not answer."  

For there is a joyous, victorious, answering cry,

 "I am here!" 

before they fall to their knees to worship the one for whom they  died. 

This Sunday* is International Day of Prayer 
for the Persecuted Christians.  

Will we remember those who die for their faith?

 Pray for those are are living in danger today, 

knowing that if they testify of their faith 

it could cost them everything they hold dear in this earthly life?   

Will we remember their families who are left trying to survive without their loved one - 

spouses left to be a single parent in difficult, even impossible situations, 

children who must now grow up without the love and guidance of one or both their  parents. 

We enjoy our freedom in the lap of luxury, how easy it is to forget the privilege that is ours.  

It is not our right, it could one day change and we too called to be faithful  in the face of martyrdom.  

Will someone pray for us ? 

   "Remember the prisoners as if chained with them

—those who are mistreated—

since you yourselves are in the body also." 

Hebrews 13:3

* There are several days in November given as the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted church, but the day we pray is not so important as that we remember to pray - every day. 

How Big is your Faith?

There is a tree that is only mentioned once in the bible, the Mulberry Tree.
(If you would like to see a picture of a Mulberry tree you can see one here)


Luke 17:6 records the words of Jesus... "If you have faith as a mustard seed you can say to this mulberry tree,'Be pulled out by the roots and be planted in the sea' .. and it would obey you."

Jesus spoke those words in answer to his disciples request... "Increase our faith."

A friend of mine called yesterday with happy news. She had just become a new grandmother!
Almost nine months ago she called me telling me her daughter was pregnant -- and my faith immediately responded - I BELIEVED in nine months a baby would appear!

I thought about how often as I walk through a day do I exercise faith --- I plant a tiny seed and have faith that it will grow into whatever the picture is on the package it came in.
I need faith every time I sit down on my computer -- the whole thing seems like magic to me -- but I have faith that when I push on the little letter buttons my thoughts will be sent out into space and YOU will be sitting there reading what I wrote!

So the question is not whether or not I have the capacity to 'believe' what I do not yet see.. but where do I direct my faith.

Every time Jesus spoke He always used words that were most descriptive of the truth He was presenting.

I love the contrast in the word picture He used to respond to His disciples qustion about faith.

The mustard seed -- the smallest seed of the herbs
and
The mulberry tree - a huge tree growing up to 130'


I did a little research on the mulberry tree and found more interesting details pertaining to this tree. It is very fast growing, it is very hardy - growing in most any soil caring little if the soil is poor or dry. Its root system spreads out ...and it is almost impossible to kill. You can cut it down, drill holes in its stump, fill the holes with Roundup concentrate and it will come back without missing a beat, bigger and better than before!


Two words intrigue me in this verse recording Jesus' answer regarding 'faith'.... "OBEY YOU" . That is something we don't often consider , do we? We bring our requests before God ...and hope that God will hear and give us -- the thing we have asked. And we are told in scripture to pray in this way ....
But this verse , it says that we can speak and the 'mulberry tree' will obey US !!

So what is Jesus saying? If we have a tweeny bit of faith, we can uproot the biggest problem and transplant it in the midst of the sea where it is - not just cut down threatening to grow again - but removed to where it is gone forever!

I will not be going around speaking TO my 'Mulberry Tree' problems or concerns, but I am reminded that when I pray, things happen !!!
God said so!!!!
********

Prayer Worrier or Prayer Warrior ?

Yes.. you read the title right ! I think there really are prayer worriers and prayer warriors. Which one are you ??

I think ‘worry’ is the emotion that sits right next to our ‘concern’ button. We all appreciate people who are quickly concerned and eager to come along side someone who is suffering or in pain or going through a difficult time.
I don’t think it is possible to be a person with a caring heart and not be tempted to worry !

So how does worrying relate to prayer ?

What drives you to your knees quicker than worry ? Worry is an alarm clock meant to alert us that it is time to pray ! Many of us hear the alarm clock quick enough but we never turn it off… we try to pray over the aggravating sound of it !!

The Prayer Worrier

What does our prayer look like when we pray without turning off the alarm clock?
We pray the begging prayers, the pleading prayers, the prayers that never bring us more than a moment of peace -- the prayers that lack faith !

I had a friend named Carrie who was a great prayer worrier !
She had a heart for the suffering of others and she wanted everyone’s life to be happy – including her own ! She wore her ‘worry’ emotion on her sleeve where it was always ready for a quick response. While it would drive her to pray , five minutes later she was worrying the problem in her own strength, trying to find an answer, trying to think of how she could manipulate circumstances, people, and yes.. even God … to the end solution she was sure was the right one! I told her once that she needed to give her prayer concern to God then get a tall ladder and put that concern on a very high shelf and put the ladder away. It became a joke between us – this ladder that was so often put back up so she could reach that top shelf and take her concern down again !

I know that there are times when our burden is heavy and a quick prayer isn’t enough. I’m not talking about those times … but it is the ‘worrying’ kind of situations that we are often most reluctant to trust God to take care of.

The Prayer Warrior

In contrast, a prayer warrior prays with faith - the kind of prayer that comes out of knowing God’s heart and Word and is full of trust that He will hear and answer... His way , in His time. A prayer warrior knows the tactics of the enemy and is not taken in by them. A prayer warrior goes with confidence into the Holy of Holies to bring his request before God.

Heb 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

When I think of a prayer warrior, I often think of the ‘example’ of my granddaughter.
She was a precocious child , talking in sentences when she was 18 months old. Somehow- perhaps by over hearing her Mom who asked me to do her mending - she got the idea that I could fix anything. So when ever something was wrong… a hole in her pyjamas, a broken doll or toy, a torn blanket ….her immediate response was, “Nanna fix it!” and she would drag it to the front door to be ready for me the next time I came over!
I, of course, did all I could not to disappoint her faith in me !!!

I have often thought… God must feel the same way. He looks down at His children who are prayer worriers, those who never shut the alarm clock off… and wish they would just realize how powerful and willing He is to answer their prayers!
I think how His heart must swell , as mine did, with pride at a child that trusts Him so completely!
And He too is careful not to disappoint His prayer warrior’s trust that their prayers will be heard !!
1Pe 1:7 “That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ”

How often we think a prayer warrior is one who knows how to storm the gates of heaven! I think a prayer warrior is one whose heart is big in childlike trust ! One who hears the alarm clock at the first stroke of worry , and quickly reaches over to turn it off, and immediately seeks the God that has all the answers!

A prayer warrior makes sure his "whole armor" is in place, and then "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" is assured that he will "be strong in the Lord" who always has the victory over every battle !
(Eph .4:10-18)


*

A Roman Emperor

I found history in school boring when it concerned politics but fascinating when it centered on people. I love 'people watching'. No two people are ever the same, isn't it amazing? And yet we ARE all the same in how we think and feel and relate to the world around us. Have you ever thought about it, that if we weren't the same we could never learn from each other because one person's experiences would not be applicable to another ?

People's lives and experiences always interest me ....but there is an added fascination when those lives and experiences can be viewed through the lens of time.
For me, some of the preserved written accounts of events that happened thousands of years ago hold extreme value.

I came across one such account yesterday and while it wasn't new to me, it thrilled me again and I thought perhaps it might be a first read for some of you -- my friends online. I want to share it with you.

The following account was recorded by Justin Martyr , an early Church father, who lived 110-165 AD.
Think about it... the edict - that you are about to read - by a Roman Emperor was written about a hundred years after Jesus was crucified.

OK... here is it ....

The Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelus Antoninus Germanicus, Parthicus Armaticus, to the People of Rome and to the sacred Senate… Greeting…

I explained to you my grand design and what advantages I gained on the confines of Germany, with much labour and suffering , in consequence of the circumstance that I was surrounded by the enemy - I myself being shut up in Carnuntum by seventy-four cohorts, nine miles off.

And the enemy being at hand, the scouts pointed out to us and our general Pompeianus showed us that there was close on us a mass of a mixed multitude of 977,000 men, which indeed we saw, and I was shut up by this vast host, having with me only a battalion comprised of the first, tenth, double and marine legions.

Having then examined my own position and my host, with respect to the vast mass of barbarians and of the enemy, I quickly betook myself to prayer to the gods of my country .
But being disregarded by them I summoned those who among us go by the name of Christians.

And having made inquiry I discovered a great number and vast host of them and raged against them which was by no means becoming; for afterwards I learned their power.

Wherefore they began the battle, not by preparing weapons, nor arms nor bugles, for such preparation is hateful to them, on account of the God they bear about in their conscience.
Therefore it is probable that those whom we suppose to be atheists, have God as their ruling power entrenched in their conscience.
For having cast themselves on the ground, they prayed .. not only for me, but also for the whole army as it stood, that they might be delivered from the present thirst and famine, For during five days we had got no water, because there was none; for we were in the heart of Germany, and in the enemy’s territory.
And simultaneously with their casting themselves on the ground and praying to God (a God of whom I am ignorant), water poured from heaven, upon us most refreshingly cool, but upon the enemies of Rome a withering hail.
And immediately we recognized the presence of God following on the prayer – a God unconquerable and indestructible.

Founding upon this, then , let us pardon such as are Christians, lest they pray for and obtain such a weapon against ourselves. And I counsel that no such person be accused on the ground of his being a Christian.
But if any one be found laying to the charge of Christian that he is a Christian, I desire that it be made manifest that he who is accused as a Christian and acknowledges that he is one, is accused of nothing else than only this , that he is a Christian, that he who arraigns him be burned alive.

And I further desire that he who is entrusted with the government of the province shall not compel the Christian , who confesses and certifies such a matter, to retract, neither shall he commit him.

And I desire that these things be confirmed by a decree of the Senate. And I command this my edict to be published in the Forum of Trajan, in order that it may be read. The perfect Vitrsius Pollio will see that it be transmitted to all the provinces round about, and that no one who wishes to make use of or to posses it be hindered from obtaining a copy from the document I now publish.
(anteNicen Fathers Vol. I pg 187)

Do you realize to what extent this Emperor's desires were met ? To the degree that you and I thousands of years later are still not "hindered from obtaining a copy" of the document this Emperor published !!
I love how God preserved this record of His intervention on behalf of the prayers of His people. In the words of a Roman Emperor, our God is indeed "unconquerable and indestructible."
*****

Praying with Confidence

I love to memorize scripture, and when I lay awake at night I recite memorized portions in my mind – and often it puts me to sleep.
I have found that when you memorize scripture, repeating it over and over again to get it ‘stuck’ in your mind , sometimes a verse is suddenly illuminated in a way that you never saw it before.

Years ago I memorized the book of I John. It is one of my favourite books.
The teaching in verses 14 and 15 of the last chapter have been especially important to me - changing how I pray. These two verses expound on Mark 11:24.

Here in I John 5:14,15, John is talking about the confidence we can have in prayer. Not just the confidence that God is listening or that we know we can come ‘boldly’ before His throne. (Heb.4:16) What these verses are talking about is being confident that we will receive the answers we are seeking to our prayers.
Who wouldn’t want to have a guarantee that ALL their prayers would be granted!!

According to this passage it is possible!

What does it say?
It starts with the qualifying condition of the promise – IF we ask anything according to His will.
How do we learn to know someone’s will? We get to know them.

During my dating years, I did not know my husband’s ‘will’ very well. Now after being married for 42 years I know his will so well, I could predict his very words in a given situation or circumstance. Does that mean I don’t ask him about things? Of course not – knowing someone well does not negate communication , it enhances it!!
Knowing God’s character, knowing His will, helps us to know how to pray, to ask in the right way for the right things. ( James 4:2,3)

The verse continues… If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us…
Does God not always hear us when we pray ? yes of course -but the original Greek word for our English word ‘hear’ encompasses more than just ‘listening’ – the meaning also includes the action necessitated by what was heard. So what the verse is saying is “If we ask anything according to His will, He goes into action on our behalf!
And then ‘if we know that He hears us, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
There is another verse that carries the same promise as this passage. Jesus said , “Whatsoever you ask the Father in my name, He will give it to you !” ( John 16:23)
That does not mean that if we end our prayer with the words, “In Jesus’ name” that He promises to give us what we asked. In bible times, names were very important, much more important than they are today. A person’s ‘name’ was his character! So to ask in Jesus’ name – is to ask as He would ask , according to His character . or His will!

Have you ever noticed that when you learn something, God is very faithful to give you opportunity to test it? He brings a situation or circumstance your way that exercises you to use your new found understanding.

When I was studying this passage and believed that I understood what was meant, God did bring a situation across my path that allowed me to work this out in a practical way.

I had a good friend, Heather. We shared our joys and sorrows and our heartaches.
She had been going through a very difficult time with a teenage daughter. She and her husband decided that they needed to pull her out of the public school where she had become entrenched in the wrong crowd. They wanted to put her into a Christian private school , and finally her daughter agreed to the change.
Heather inquired at the school and found that there were only 4 available spots in her daughter’s grade and there was a waiting list of 80 students. It looked hopeless but she asked if I would pray with her that somehow her daughter would get in. I readily agreed!
And so I began to pray that God would work a miracle so Heather’s daughter would be accepted. But my prayer seemed to be bouncing back down off the ceiling.
I felt I was praying from a selfish perspective. There were 80 families praying the same prayer Heather and I were praying, all hoping that THEIR child would get in. I questioned -- what if another child needed the spot more than my friend’s daughter? What if my friend’s daughter would not even benefit from the school ?
I was definitely not praying with confidence.
I thought of my I John passage, and considered how could I pray according to God’s will.
I reasoned …. God knows exactly which of the 80 children need the spot the most, which ones would be positively affected from the experience… and surely God could choose better than we could.
I called Heather and explained to her what I had been thinking and asked if she would be willing to pray that God choose the four children who were most deserving and who would benefit the most from attending the school. Perhaps her daughter would be one of them , perhaps not. She was immediately agreeable and so we changed how we prayed.
My confidence level soared amazingly !! I KNEW I was praying according to God’s will, therefore I KNEW according to I John 5:14,15 that He would answer my prayer. I was no longer anxious, no longer fearing that Heather’s daughter would not get in. My trust that God would choose well was unwavering.

We prayed and waited.
About a week later, Heather called me. There was a lilt in her voice! “She got in!!” she informed me.

How excited we were! And there was an added blessing to the answer to our prayer. Because of the way we had prayed we also knew that Heather’s daughter would benefit from the school and that it was God’s will that she go there.

Since that time - before I pray I consider what God’s will would be – how can I pray that I have confidence that I am asking according to His will?
Praying in this way is only possible if you have found that level of trust that overrides your own personal interests and you are willing to summit to God’s greater wisdom and plan over your own.
I know that while I may think I know what is best and how things should come out… I really know nothing when it comes to the big picture and I have learned to be thankful that I can pray “thy will be done, not mine!”
Jesus prayed that way… should I do less?

Next time you have a deep concern or worry or crisis to pray about , consider first I John 5:14,15 and think how you can ask according to His will !!
And then pray with confidence!!

Pray Without Ceasing

Have you ever stopped to count how many relationships you have? And have you ever stopped to think about how each one is unique and unlike any other?

So also for each of us, our relationship with God is ‘special’ and unlike any other. I love the song “In the Garden” and especially the line….”and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known!!”
Our prayer-life comes out of our relationship with God and therefore is also intensely personal.
I used to read books about ‘How to Pray’ and listen to teaching on the subject… but in the end found that no amount of teaching ‘made’ me a good prayer. It is just like any other relationships - it grew as I got to know the One I was praying to.

As individual as our prayer life may be… there is one thing that all ‘happy’ prayers have in common.
Faith.
“Without FAITH it is impossible to please God…for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him.” (Heb.11:6)
If you do a quick bible search of passages talking about prayer, you will find they all talk about this operative ingredient - faith.

Bible faith is never the self-convinced, name-it-claim-it, mind over matter, kind of faith that some people teach.
The faith that the bible talks about is ‘simple child-like trust’.
Trust that says “I know you see me, I know you hear Me, I know you love me, I know there is nothing You cannot do.”

Trust has its roots deep into dependency which is the secret to “pray without ceasing” as we are taught to do in I Thess. 5:17.
It is only as we learn to live in this constant place of trust, depending on Him every moment of the day that it becomes as natural as breathing for God to be continually in our thoughts.

I admire some people’s eloquent prayers that are poetry in expression – but I am so glad that that is not what God demands. He is our Father waiting for us to look up to Him to voice our needs, our questions, our requests, our joys, sorrows, and thankfulness.
There is really nothing that we think or do that is not important to Him. Is that not amazing?

Learning to pray out of simple trusting is a difficult lesson for most of us, because it is ‘upside down’ to the natural order of our physical world.
When we are born physically we begin our physical life completely dependent and then are taught to become independent as we mature.
When we are born spiritually we begin our new life totally independent and then must learn to become dependant as we mature.

The more I learn to trust, the more I see answers to my prayers.
Listening to people talk about their answers to prayers is something I love – it always encourages me.
I would like to share a couple of my answers to prayer, hoping that they encourage you!

I think the fastest answer to prayer I ever had was one morning when I was on my way to work. I love to pray out loud while I am driving – no one can hear me and no one interrupts me. On this particular morning my heart was lifted up in praise and thankfulness and my words flowed – I was oblivious to what was around me.
A sudden desire to be perfect before Him welled up within me and I prayed, “O Lord, reveal to me any hidden sin. If there is anything I need to be corrected for, please correct me!”
The words were barely out of my mouth before I heart a siren behind me, and my heart sank as I looked into my rear view mirror. A police car!
I was speeding through a school zone… and was duly corrected!
While I did not enjoy getting a ticket, I drove away feeling loved – My Father cared enough to discipline me when I needed it!

The memory of one answer to prayer still warms my heart.
One morning when I was at work a girl friend walked into my work room. She was going through a particularly difficult time in her life – personal as well as health issues, she had been diagnosed with cancer.
A dress hanging on my ‘to-do’ rack caught her eye she exclaimed in delight, “Oh, I love that dress! Is it just in here for stock repair?” I replied regretfully that it was sold, that a lady had bought it yesterday on condition that I could repair a very small tear in it. It was the only dress like it in the store.
I had not seen Darlene’s eyes light up for a long time and seeing her disappointment in not being able to buy the dress pained my heart. I wanted her to have this dress if it would give her even a moment of joy.
My heart swelled and I said, “It may be sold, but I am going to pray that God give you the dress.” Her eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t really believe God could do that for her. I wasn’t sure how He could do it either, since the lady and her husband who bought the dress both loved it as much as my friend.
Darlene left and I prayed. “Lord, I feel so sorry for Darlene and what she is going through and she needs something to cheer her up. Can you somehow get this dress for her to show her You are real and care about her?”
Later that day a staff member came for the dress. I looked up and asked, “The lady came to pick it up?” The answer was in the affirmative.
A few minutes later I got a call to come to ladies wear. There was a problem.
I came out to find the lady and her husband standing at the cash counter. The lady was irate! She was holding the dress and said, “I could never wear this dress the way it is repaired. It looks terrible!! You said it would hardy be visible, but this is worse than it was before you fixed it!”
Her husband standing beside her wore a bewildered expression. He kept saying, “But you can’t even see it!!”
No one could calm the wife down. The flaw in the dress was HUGE in her eyes and no one could convince her it was so small that no one would ever see it. She was adamant - she wanted her money back!
I smiled all the way back to my work room.
When my friend came in I told her “The dress is yours, God wanted you to have it!”
She could not believe that God would do that for her. It was an important step in her finding Jesus as her Saviour before she died a couple of years later.

Knowing that God cares enough to answer not only my ‘little’ prayers as well as my ‘big’ requests proves to me how big God really is , how truly intimate His relationship with me is!!

Did you need to be reminded today of how much God yearns to share your daily walk?
Have you become too busy with ‘things’ and ‘stuff’ and have pushed Him into the background of your life?
I like what someone once said, “If God is far away, guess who moved?”
If you are close to God…you know the delights that are there….. If you know you are not as close as you could be, run into His arms --- He is waiting and will welcome you.
Talk to Him today!

(tomorrow - The Secret to Praying with Confidence!)