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How quickly do you give up on prayer?

In a culture of instant satisfaction the thought of committing to long-term prayer seems foreign. We have free two-day shipping on packages from across the world, we have instant food, and we can even watch an entire season of TV in one sitting.

I do not have evidence to support this, but I would assume most of us are great at praying fervently for a specific need or situation for a few days, but we don’t continue praying longer than that. If God hasn’t shown up in a day or two, like the Amazon package we ordered, then all seems lost and we give up on prayer. We throw our hands up and say that God hasn’t answered us. God rarely works on our timetable. Prayer takes time and intentionality as it shapes our hearts and transforms us into the likeness of Jesus. 

In this passage we see that the angel Gabriel visits Zechariah to announce that his wife will become pregnant with John the Baptist. Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for years for a child and now in their old age, the prayer seems more like a distant wish than a reality. 

When Gabriel appears to Zechariah he says, “your prayer has been heard.” There are times in life when we wonder if our prayers are heard. Your prayer might not be answered with a “yes” from God but you can trust that your prayer has been heard.

Here are a few encouragements for your prayer life as you spend time with God. 

Prayer Must Be Honest

Prayer should be a honest and open conversation with God, but some fall into the scripted prayers that only thank God for the day and our food. I’m grateful for food and I’m thankful that I have another day to live on mission with my family, but prayer should be deeper than that. Think of prayer as an ongoing conversation with God. Let Him know if you are mad, joyful, broken, or confused. He can handle your frustrations. After all, He is God.

Prayer Must Be Persistent

Your passion for change or opportunities should bring you to prayer each day. Voice your prayers with passion and hope as you seek answers, comfort, or wisdom from God. Don’t give up after a few days of prayer – commit to pray for this area until God moves or He moves your heart.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

In the Bible we see that Abraham waited 25 years for his promised son to be born. David waited over 15 years from the time he was anointed in the pasture until he was the king in the palace. Nehemiah prayed for five months before he was able to return to his home country to rebuild the walls. Don’t quit praying when your prayer hasn’t been answered on your timeline. Pray for God’s timing to be revealed and God’s will to be done. 

Prayer Must Be Consistent

Prayer is a spiritual discipline for us to strengthen through consistent obedience. We pray when we are in times of plenty and in times of need. We pray to celebrate and to mourn. We pray to lift up our praises and requests. Prayer should be present in your daily life. I would suggest coming up with a way for you to capture your prayer that keeps you in a rhythm of praying each day. I prefer journaling in a Moleskine notebook or on my Macbook with the Day One App.

Apply: 

• Is something weighing down on you? 
• Are you honest, persistent, and consistent in communicating with God? 
• How can you prioritize prayer today? 

Respond:

God, we thank you that you are approachable. Through Jesus we have access to you. Your Spirit goes before us on our behalf – even when we don’t know what we should pray. Help us to pray more honestly, more persistently, and more consistently this week. Amen.

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The F260 NT Bible reading plan and HEAR Journal method is from Replicate Ministries. 

During the Christmas season there are many decorations people put up and traditions that people partake in. Each December homes and businesses will decorate Christmas trees with stars and lights, give presents to loved ones, and pass out candy canes. Millions will partake in Christmas traditions, but do we know what these traditions symbolize? 

This post begins a series of posts on the meaning of some of the popular Christmas traditions and symbols that we use each year. I pray that this series will help us to understand how and why we celebrate Christmas. And there is no better place to begin than with the Christmas tree. 

Christmas trees are synonymous with Christmas. They are found in airports, restaurants, stores, government buildings, parks, and homes across America. Many trees are decorated with lights, ornaments, and topped with a star. Christians and non-Christians love putting up Christmas trees to celebrate the season. 

Christmas trees are awesome, but why do we use them? 

Christmas trees are evergreen trees that do not “die” in winter, which represented life in the ancient world. Evergreens were used in pagan practices and became associated with Christmas during the Middle Ages through missionaries spreading the Gospel. Germany used the first evergreens as Christmas trees in the 1500s, and the reformer of the protestant faith, Martin Luther, has been credited with inventing Christmas trees, even though there isn’t much historical evidence of him beginning the practice. 

Today an evergreen Christmas tree symbolize Jesus’ eternal love for humanity and the eternal life found in Jesus. John 3:16 says, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Christmas trees are a reminder that God’s love is eternal and that through Jesus’ sacrifice and death on a tree (the cross) we have eternal life in Him. Jesus’ earthly mission was to redeem humanity through His life, death, burial, and resurrection.

Christmas trees are a festive reminder that Jesus’ eternal love brings us eternal life. 

Live It: 

• How can you incorporate the meaning of a Christmas tree with your Christmas traditions? 
• Have you surrendered your life to Jesus? 

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After Jesus interacts with the woman at the well he returned to Cana of Galilee where he turned water into wine. Apparently, news of this miracle spread into the region. As Jesus entered the town people began to share that this miracle worker was returning. 

There was a royal official in Galilee whose son was sick in Capernaum. The man’s boy was on the verge of dying. This man heard that the miracle worker was coming into town, so he found Jesus and pleaded with him to come with him and to heal his son. 

Jesus’ response seems insensitive when he responded with, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe” (Jn 4:48). There is a possibility that this man would have been a Gentile, while this isn’t clear in the account. His belief in Jesus extended only to Jesus as a miracle worker. The context of this statement communicates that Jesus was not a magician who would automatically heal people but that he was capable of more than physical healing. Jesus told the man that his boy would live and continued on his way. The royal official believed in Jesus’ word and went to see his son. 

The next day one of the royal official’s servants came and reported that his son was miraculously healed at one in the afternoon. John 4:53 says, “The father realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole household” (John 4:53). The official believed in Jesus’ word then came to believe in Jesus. 

There are many people who look to Jesus as a lucky charm or genie – someone they can run to when there is a problem to solve, but walk away when their life is ok. This view is called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Simply put, people believe that God wants everyone to be happy and nice to others and God doesn’t care about the particulars in your life, as long as you are good, and He will jump into action when there is a problem to resolve.

While this sounds like a great view to have, it isn’t correct theology. God is concerned with your daily life and God doesn’t exists just to make your daily life better or free of pain. 

The royal official approached Jesus with a belief that Jesus could physically heal his son’s sickness. The next day the royal official came to a belief in Jesus as the Messiah who spiritually heals the sickness of sin. 

Many people are looking for a miracle, a physical healing, or a new opportunity. There are times where God heals miraculously, but Jesus is always ready, willing, and able to spiritually heal anyone who comes to Him.

Spiritual healing – one that rids us from the stain of sin and sting of death – is a greater healing than any other physical or financial healing that we could ever experience. 

Live It: 

• Are you a follower of Jesus or do you only run to Jesus when you want him to fix a problem? 
• How can you live with a reliance on the Lordship of Jesus? 

Christ Chronological:  John 4:46-54