Praying Like Christ

Prayer is a key part of life with Christ but it is often misunderstood. To some it is a mystery. To some it is a duty. To some it is a burden. To others it is a way of life. To others it is a luxury if you have time for it. To others it is only an action for the weak. Some claim that it works and other can’t remember the last time a prayer request was answered.

It is in Jesus we find the answers to our questions about prayer. In Matthew 6:10, Jesus prays “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ” How could He pray that? Because He knew what things were like in heaven and what things were like on earth. He is our model. He is our guide. He is the only one who knows the pain of the world and the true reality of the Father. He understood how this world works and how God works in it. With this in mind what did Jesus do? He prayed. . . a lot.

When Failure Finds Us

In life there are times that failure finds us. It might be through a financial mistake, a disappointment in ministry, the end of a relationship, or a sin that seems to ruin our lives. Or maybe the failure is smaller like a minor car accident, a horrible outcome of a deacons' meeting, or a selfish act that demands that we apologize to another.  It may be our fault or something that is beyond our control. Whether our “failures” seem big or small we each must decide whether we will face them with God or without Him. 

Temptation the Familiar Foe

As we look at the people of scripture, the individuals around us, and at our own lives we see that temptation is everyone’s foe and unwanted companion. Even those best known for their service to God such as Abraham, Moses, David, and Peter struggled against temptation. In the words of the Apostle Paul, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. . . For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.(Romans 7:15, 18b, 19).

Even Christ was familiar with temptation. He was made like us in this way so that he, Christ:

Might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. .  . For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for ^the sins of the people. ^Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.(Hebrews 2:14b, 15, 17, 18)

In scripture the words that have been translated as “temptation” were at other times also translated as “test” or “trial.” The Greek word Peirazō was used in various scriptures to mean examine, submit another to a test, to learn the true nature or character of, to trap or tempt. (James 1:14, 2 Cor. 13:5; Matt. 16:1, Mark 1:13)^[1]

The New Testament forms of this word included peiráō (to try, to test, to put someone to the test, or to know by experience), peirasmós  (testing, temptation) and apeírastos (untried, without temptation). ^[2]

In the Old Testament in Genesis 22 we see a similar idea. Abraham was tested to see if he would obey and sacrifice his son Isaac. In the book of Job, Job was tempted and tested to turn against God in the midst of his suffering. In the book of Judges the Israelites had entered the Promised Land but all the ungodly inhabitants were not driven out. Judges 2:22 says, “I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the LORD and walk in it as their forefathers did.^”

The temptations of scripture were not merely situations where people could be drawn into moral or spiritual failure. There was a redemptive aspect to the temptation. It was an opportunity to show the condition and loyalty of one’s heart. Temptation was a crossroads where one could harden their heart against God and sin or move towards him and obey. In success their faith would be strengthened. In failure their sinful struggles could be revealed and surrendered anew to Christ. 

The next blog will consider how we are "Enticed by Our Desires."

---

^[1]James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament), electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), DBLG 4279, #1.

^[2]Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich and Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1985; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996), 822.

Spiritual Photosynthesis

The spiritual life is similar to that of a garden. It begins as just ordinary ground left to natural forces. That includes weeds, drought, insects, and other influences that seem to dominate it. But then comes a gardener. The purpose of the soil is changed and as the purpose changes specific preparations are needed.

Spiritual Act of Worship

2 Timothy 2:4 we see that “no one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer.” As we seek God with all of our heart and die to our own agendas, He will begin to guide us to where we need to invest our lives. Having a spouse is a beautiful part of life once we are directed to it by our “commanding officer”. Until then our duty is to chase wholeheartedly after God as only a single person can.

George Mueller’s Secret

To one who asked him the secret of his service, George Mueller said: “There was a day when I died, utterly died;” and, as he spoke, he bent lower and lower until he almost touched the floor—“died to George Muller, his opinions, preferences, tastes, and will—died to the world, its approval or censure—died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends—and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God.”

—British Weekly

Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers, electronic ed. (Garland TX: Bible Communications, 1979; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1997).

Making Room for the Things of God

Several years ago God got my attention. I was living my life in a way where the money coming in was equal to the money going out. Now for some that would be great compared to maybe what your finances look like right now, but God began to convict me. At the same time he began to convict my heart concerning my schedule. I was always working on something and had no extra time.

The Blessing of Times of Solitude

“Let them who cannot be alone beware of community.  He will only do harm to himself and to the community…But the reverse is also true: Let him who is not in community beware of being alone.  Only in the fellowship do we learn to be rightly alone and only in aloneness do we learn to live rightly in the fellowship.”   - D. Bonhoeffer

Solitude brings us into a situation where we sit before the God who knows everything about us. (Our habitual sins, our thought life, the idols of our heart.) We quiet our hearts. We clear our minds. We present ourselves. We may try at first to be someone we are not, but if we will remain in his presence consistently He will begin to show us who we really are.

Many Single Seminary Graduates

ATS, the Association of Theological Schools, is the largest accreditation organization for theological schools in North America. It is affiliated with 173 theological graduate schools. When looking at their data from graduate surveys since year 2000, 37% of the graduates who are leaving seminary and beginning ministry are single.[1] The data from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, one of the largest seminaries in the world, says the same.  It’s data since 2005 shows the annual numbers of single graduates at 37% to 40%.[2]

Finding God in the midst of Messy Relationships

Paul David Tripp writes:  "We all dream of the perfect relationship. You know, the one that is free of disagreement, conflict, communication difficulties, power battles, anger and control. We can envision what it would be like. The problem is, none of us ever get what we were once able to imagine. When we wake up from our dreams, we all are greeted by the reality that all of our relationships live in the same location - the fallen world, and all of our relationships are with the same kind of person - an imperfect human being."

To finish this good article on God's work in the midst of messy relationships go to - http://www.facebook.com/notes/paul-david-tripp/relationships-mercy-in-the-mess/326185340757069