“Again, I say to you if two or more of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in Heaven.” Matthew 18:19
Some people have an ear for music. Some people think they can sing. Uniting the two may make a joyful noise without producing the sound of music. Let me explain.
During my first pastorate, I observed our new worship leader moving people around in the choir. By the pained expressions on their faces, they were not happy. They were living proof of, “We Shall Not Be Moved.” It was an awkward moment, as he positioned them next to people they had never met, and perhaps didn’t even like. After all, this was a Baptist church.
The worship leader had an unusual ability to hear individual voices even when they were embedded in a larger group. He was concerned with the sound the choir would make, not the feelings of those in the choir. To improve their sound, he was placing people next to someone with a stronger voice, or who possessed the ability to sing on key. He sought to bring the best out of each individual, while improving the corporate sound. The results were amazing.
As the choir kept singing, I could see on their faces a growing confidence, and I could hear a different sound. It was not unison, but it was united. They were not all singing the same note, but they were making harmony. It was no longer a group of soloists. It was a concert of many voices singing together under the leader of one person. Their voices were blending together as they yielded to one another. Trust me, this was a modern miracle and a vast improvement over the sound of fifty cats fighting their way out of a big burlap bag.
At the National Revival Symposium, hosted by Byron Paulus and Life Action Ministries, I was challenged by the words of Bob Bakke regarding the power of united prayer. He referenced Matthew 18:19 and said,
“United prayer is important to God. There is an authority and a power of God that is not given to an individual.” Bob Bakke
Spiritual Awakenings have always been marked by concerts of prayer. Prayer may begin in the heart of one man, one woman, or one young person. Before long, God begins to maneuver praying people into positions or relationships and call them to pray together for Spiritual Awakening with greater power than they could ever generate by themselves. Together they encourage one another to believe God for what often seems unbelievable, and to settle for nothing less than revival.
“Nothing less than a culturally transforming revival – a great awakening – is an acceptable goal. It resets the moral virtue of a nation from the inside out, not the top down.” Doug Small
Believing prayer asks God for Spiritual Awakening. God begins an Awakening by saturating your heart with His Presence. As you linger in His Presence, He resets the climate of moral virtue in your house, the church house, the schoolhouse, the state house, and the White House. The Bible is clear. God hears His children when they pray, and He answers when they ask.
“Ask, and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7: 7
The Father does not require a greater sound of prayer to generate a deeper concern for His children’s requests. His desire for a concert of prayer is meant to encourage His children to remain obedient, and to keep asking, seeking and knocking, even when they feel like they might be the only person praying. The Father is not holding out on His children. He is calling them to come together before Him in prayer. He desires for them to experience Spiritual Awakening together.
“How much more, will your Father who is in Heaven give what is good to those who ask Him.” Matthew 7:11
In July of 1995, I ventured into months of preparation for my first marathon. Many mornings I rose before dawn to log the 500 miles I needed to be ready for race day. Dodging skunks, enduring the extreme Texas temperatures, and generally plodding through the dark, I often thought, “I must be the only idiot doing this.” How wrong I was.
When I showed up on race day in Dallas, on a beautiful, sunny morning in December, I was met by thousands of idiots who were determined to run over 26 miles in 19 degree weather.
I sometimes joke and say, “I ran two marathons that day. My first and my last.” But I digress.
Note to Self: It is hard to see in the dark. Remember, the thousands of runners preparing for race day couldn’t see each other in the dark. Apply what you learned from running to praying. The sounds of the enemy can be intimidating, when you try to fight as a single prayer warrior. Don’t give into the temptation to stop asking, seeking and knocking on behalf of the next Great Awakening. Concerts of prayer have a way of turning on the light and reminding you, that you are part of a huge army, and you never fight alone. Unite your voice with millions of other prayer warriors and raise your prayer to The Father. Run to the battle line, and stand next to The Champion. Keep asking. Keep seeking. Keep knocking. Settle for nothing less than the next Great Awakening. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The H.O.P.E.
Recently I was challenged by the words of Bob Bakke. He was one of the featured speakers at the National Revival Symposium, hosted by Life Action Ministries in Buchanan, Michigan. This summit on Spiritual Awakening was led, by Byron Paulus. The line up included Bill Elliff, Richard Owen Roberts, Michael Catt, Brent Brooks, Doug Small, and Dave Butts.
Distilling the messages of these men down to a few brief words does not do their presentations justice, but my primary take away from one of Bob Bakke’s challenges was this.
“Live in the hope that God can bring Spiritual Awakening.
If there is no hope you will not pray. Hope is such a powerful drive to our actions. Introduce the theology of hope to your church and to your community.” Bob Bakke
At t the request of my pastor, I am preparing to preach on prayer, as our congregation celebrates the fifth anniversary of our birth as a church. I have been driven to focus on “The Role of Prayer in Spiritual Awakening. As I reflect on the firm foundation of a healthy church, I have been reminded of the priorities in building a home. Many rooms are optional, but I agree with my friend.
“The foundation of the church is prayer.” Bill Elliff
Prayer begins with a need for corrected vision. Night Vision Goggles and corrective lenses of prayer allow you to see with fresh insight, what God has done in the past when His people have called on His name. The promises of His Presence are still true.
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8
“There have been cataclysmic occasions when God has stepped in to move a nation back from the brink of destruction. The movements last approximately 30 years, but have a shadow of influence over 50 years.” Bob Bakke
What is H.O.P.E.? It is Having Our Perspective Elevated.
Hope for the next Great Awakening begins with your first prayer for it. Prayer takes your helpless desperation for awakening and turns it into a hopeful expectation of awakening.
“When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is to set them a-praying.” Matthew Henry
What is H.O.P.E.? It is Having Our Prayers Expanded.
Know your Bible, and the evidence of past movements of God during the times of…
· The Bondage
· The Exodus
· The Judges
· The Nation
· The Captivity
· The Remnant
Know your nation’s history and church history.
· The First Great Awakening was described as a
“Surprising Work of God” by Jonathan Edwards. Pray for God to surprise you with another one.
· The 2nd Great Awakening took place in American during the late 18th & early 19th Century. It was influenced by a movement of God among the Ulster Scots in Europe, and swept the western frontier of the United States including Kentucky.
· The Fulton Street Prayer Revival of 1857 came on the heels of a national financial disaster, and out of population of 30 million, one million came to Christ.
· The Welsh Revival of the Early 20th Century led to a world wide movement of students who believed they would see the entire world turn to Christ in their life-time.
· The Jesus Revolution of the late 1960’s to early 1970’s was birthed in the midst of the chaos, confusion and corruption of a cultural revolution. No one saw it coming.
On the world scene, there are more Christians in China than Communists. Cambodia is experiencing a movement of God.
Christians in Muslim nations are facing a crisis of belief. Eleven Christians are martyred for their faith every hour of every day.
What is H.O.P.E.? It is Having Our Prayers Exceeded
· What are you praying for that is impossible?
· Are you praying for revival or survival?
· What are you praying for that without Awakening, it is not even possible to survive as a family, a church, a community or a country?
This question was one of the flashing warning lights on the dashboard of the church during the waning days of The Jesus Revolution. “If God took His Holy Spirit out of the contemporary church, would it make a difference, or would most of its work just continue uninterrupted?”
Note to Self: Answered prayer is the purpose of believing prayer. If you have no hope, you won’t pray for Spiritual Awakening. You are helpless, not hopeless. If you are hopeless, you may pray for The Rapture, but if you admit you are helpless, you will pray for Awakening. Your helplessness will birth an Awakening. Your hoplelessness will kill it. Have hope!
“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” James 5: 16
“I don’t pray because I am holy. I pray because I am not.” Doug Small
In times long past, God has released sovereign, cataclysmic manifestations of His Presence. Why not now?
There have been great nations, mighty cities, small town and obscure communities where God has invaded. Why not here?
God hears and answers the cries of His children when they pray to Him. If you believe in God, you believe in revival. Revival in a word is, “God.” Revival is nothing less than the manifest Presence of God saturating a community. Why not pray, “Father, we are helpless without You. Please surprise us with Your Presence and stay with us. In the name of Jesus, Amen.”
The Cover
“My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” James 5:19-20
The Book of James doesn’t give much encouragement to the concept of sinless perfection. There is a very clear indication of the need for sinners in the early church to turn around and face the truth. They had a tendency to stray and wander into error. Believers with soul-saving grace were responsible to turn each other back to the truth at the first sign of straying from it.
The dashboard of a car is filled with all kinds of warning lights, bells, and symbols. It is never wise to put tape over a flashing light on the dashboard, and hope for the best. Check the engine.
When you hear a person speaking error, they have been contemplating it for a long time. Ignoring what they are saying is like putting tape over their mouth. It will not stop them from straying. Check their heart.
“Stray” refers to error of thought that reveals itself in action. Stinking thinking has always led to poor choices. The initiation of straying is preceded by the contemplation of error.
The Book of James calls for the turning of a sinner “from the error of his way.” This is an appeal for a covering, not a cover up. “Cover” refers to the hindering of the knowledge of a thing, or a crashing wave covering a boat. To cover means to veil or hide sin from prying eyes and gossiping tongues, but it can also mean a wave crashing into the side of wayward ship. Sometimes that is what is needed to put it back on course.
Hiding sin by hiding the truth rarely ends well, but exposing sin to those who are not in a position to pardon it, only compounds the error. Those who are unable to play a part in the solution for sin do not need to be included in the pollution of it.
This kind of covering requires a turnaround on the part of the sinner who is straying. “Sin” is described as missing the mark. The sinner has not only missed the bulls-eye; he has missed the target. Pointing it out to the sinner, should take place without moving the target closer to the sinner. Moving the target would be lowering God’s standard. That is a cover up, not a covering.
A turnaround on the part of the sinner begins with full disclosure to the right person, not an indecent exposure to the wrong people. The circle of a public confession of sin should never be any wider than the circle of the offense. Keep it tight.
The early church was not an ancient expression of “The Jerry Springer Show.” Wide-open exposure of sin rarely brings true confession and genuine repentance, just shame and resentment. The call to cover a sinner was not a matter of covering up their sin. It was a challenge to tell a sinner their pants were unzipped without shouting it from the housetops.
NOTE TO SELF: You are never more like Jesus than when you pray for someone who is in error. It prepares your heart to do something about it. Confronting sin without praying for the sinner is usually a race to judgment, not a path to pardon. Slow down the race. Show some grace. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” I Peter 4:8
The Renewal
“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.” James 5:17-18
Wisdom comes from making the right application of Biblical truth, and having the humility to learn the right lesson after making the wrong decision. The fool keeps hearing the truth and learning the wrong lesson. It is in the nature of man to be both wise and foolish.
Fools rush through life politely ignoring God. They are seldom right, but they are never in doubt. Don’t confuse them with the facts or the truth. Their minds are already made up.
When I asked Jesus into my heart, my brains didn’t fall out, nor did I take on the mantle of infallibility. Making mistakes is what I do best. Wisdom is making the best out of a wrong decision, by learning the right lesson from it. When I pray for wisdom, God answers my prayer. When I go it alone, I am in the company of a fool. Elijah was my brother from another mother.
“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.” On any given day, Elijah could pray like a wise man, or stray from God, and play the fool. When he focused his eyes on and aligned his will with the will of God, he was a force of nature, and a fearless man of God. When Elijah focused on the threats of his enemies, his faith in God would evaporate under the heat of the fear of man or woman.
The roller coaster ride of emotion is one of the things we share with the nature of Elijah. At the pinnacle of answered prayer, Elijah was vulnerable to attack. Gaining a great victory did not make him immune from sliding down the mountain into the valley of despair. It set him up for it. Be warned. It can happen to you.
“Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life…” I Kings 19:1-3
One of the positive expressions of the nature of Elijah was his capacity to be persistent in prayer. It didn’t matter if he was praying for the judgment of drought, or the sweet relief of rain. He returned and renewed his call to God as the one source for both. Learn this lesson. Elijah got over himself, and his fear, by getting with God, repeatedly.
“Then he prayed again…” denotes a renewal or repetition of the action. The action is prayer. Effective prayer is believing prayer.
“Prayed” reveals how Elijah pointed his faith to the right person. Only God can deliver the answer to believing prayer.
“Again” suggests the repetition or the renewal of the action until there is an answer from God, and no one else.
Note to Self: The point is this. If Elijah can do this, you can do this. Place your faith in God. Put your prayers before Him. Trust Him for the answer. REPEAT. Wear the hatred of your enemies as a badge of honor, not a sign of failure. When God answers your prayers, they will not be happy about it. Remember. They can’t kill a dead man. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, or prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.” Samuel Chadwick
The Earnest
“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” James 5:16
Effective prayer is a display of energy. Prayer is not a play on words or a display of eloquence. It is energized piety flowing from a hot heart, and a keen mind, and on mission for God.
The effective prayer is an earnest prayer. For the mission of prayer to be effective, there must be an admission of helplessness. The effectiveness of the prayer is directly related to the expression of helplessness, not hopelessness.
Without being forgiven, a man cannot be righteous. There is no forgiveness without the remission of sins, and where there is sin, there is no righteousness. The effective prayer is not based on the word-smithed eloquence of the one who is praying. On the contrary, many times words get in the way of most prayers. The less said the better. Prayer comes from the heart, not the lips.
The Hebrews recognized a righteous man by his outward expressions of praying, giving and fasting. Jesus didn’t disagree with these standards. He deepened them by identifying a righteous man by his motive for doing all three. Jesus took great pains to draw a distinction between the man who prayed in public to hide his private sin, and the man who prayed in public to expose his private sin. Jesus sided with the publican who prayed these simple words.
"But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18:13-14
Where there is an earnestness to be forgiven, there will be effectiveness. God hears the prayer of the humble, and He is moved by their humility, not their eloquence, to answer their prayers.
I attended a National Revival Symposium, hosted at the Life Action Ministries headquarters in Buchanan, Michigan, and conducted by their ONE CRY team. One of the speakers, Richard Owen Roberts, was asked the question. “Do you have any regrets in ministry?” His response was, “The seasons when I lacked moral earnestness.” He went on to explain.
“Christ described Nathanael as a man who knew ‘no guile.’ This means a man with no fishhooks, with no practice of deceit. When you use a fishhook you disguise it. You want the fish to think you are there to feed them, but you are there to feed yourself. Be the man who is genuine, morally earnest. You are what you say you are. You are not deceiving them. You live what you proclaim. Never talk above your own practice.”
I was intrigued by his choice of words, almost as much as his level of transparency. “Moral earnestness” is not a combination of words that flows from contemporary church vocabulary. Perhaps it should. Effective and earnest prayer is marked by it.
“Elijah…prayed earnestly that it would not rain…” v.17
Prayer is not wishing for a fantasy to come true. Prayer is having the faith to put a request before God, in the name of Jesus. The truth is we don’t know how to pray, as we should. We need help to even express our helplessness.
“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;” Romans 8:26
Earnest prayer is an admission of our helplessness, not our hopelessness. This kind of prayer takes hope and puts trust in God to answer the request in accordance with His will for our lives. Earnest prayer is believing prayer.
“Earnestly prayed” means Elijah “prayed with prayer.” He didn’t go to God as a hopeless last resort. He went to God as his first choice, knowing God was his only source of help. He prayed believing. Jesus said to do the pray the same way.
“And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matthew 21:22
Note to Self: You can’t expect your prayers to be effective, when you are not earnest. The most earnest are the most forgiven. Two things break The Father’s heart, rebellion and repentance. When you pray from a forgiven heart, you bring Him your brokenness, and He turns it into effectiveness. Earnest prayer comes from your heart, not your mouth. The Father can tell the difference between a prayer that is prayed, and a prayer that is displayed. To be earnest and to be effective, you must be forgiven. Admit your helplessness. Never replace it with hopelessness. When you pray, you play to The Father’s strength. Prayer turns your weakness into effectiveness. Be earnest about it. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Forgiven
“Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.” James 5:14-15
Sixty –four years of attending prayer meetings have revealed a pattern to them that may explain their disappearance. No one ever survives them. Eventually everyone dies.
Asking for prayer requests at a typical Baptist prayer meeting, or sitting through the open assembly of a Senior Adult Sunday School Department requires a strong stomach, and smelling salts. The gruesome details and gory stories are the verbal equivalent of shock and awe. The first liar doesn’t have a chance.
As the sharing intensifies each request for prayer is met with a follow-up “I can top that” bombshell. When the one sharing the request hears the gasps from the crowd, and observes a shaking of heads, the sharer nods in satisfaction, knowing his work is finished here. He reaches for another cup of coffee, and a donut, but rarely hits his knees.
Unfortunately grim satisfaction is a poor substitute for intense intercession. A brief prayer covering a multitude of ailments may be an expression of moral exhaustion, but it is not Biblical intercession. Bless their hearts.
James reveals the content of a prayer meeting to be something quite different. In one brief statement the Scripture reveals…
· Admitting need
· Calling elders
· Believing prayer
· Anointing oil
· Restoring health
· Raising up
· Forgiving sin
The requests for prayer in the early church were not embellished in front of those who gasped at them. They were placed before men who would get a grip on them. The elders were not men who ran the church, but interceded for the church. They placed their prayers of intercession before The Father. A need would not be enshrined on a black board, or kept on a prayer list never to be answered or removed.
With the anointing of oil, and believing prayer the elders would intercede before The Father and expect their prayers to be heard and answered. Anything less glorifies a victim mentality in the prayer room. What is needed is a spirit of victory in the war room. Believing prayer turns a battleground into holy ground. This only happens…EVERY TIME.
When Jesus healed people, He was stunned at their level of unbelief. In His eyes, the greater miracle was the forgiveness of sin, not the healing of illness. Don’t take my word for it. Hear Him.
“ And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief.” Mark 6:5-6
“Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins have been forgiven you,' or to say, 'Get up and walk '? "But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,"-- He said to the paralytic-- "I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home." Luke 5:23-24
James and Jesus point towards the forgiveness of sins as the key answer to believing prayer. Enduring physical illness pales in significance to experiencing spiritual separation from The Father. Jesus did not value temporary healing, over eternal forgiveness. Don’t change His price tags.
Believing prayer includes interceding for sinners to be forgiven of sin, not just to be healed of illness. Intercessors do not place a temporary bandaid over a sinner’s heart. They pray for a heart transplant, and a complete transformation to take place, in the name of Jesus.
Many times illness or disease puts a person in touch with their own mortality, and leads them to an awareness of their need to be healed spiritually, as well as physically. The real need is for the disease of sin to let go of its grip on the life of a person. To be forgiven describes the joy when a debt is removed and no longer owed, or a disease runs its course and leaves a person’s body. To be forgiven is to know healing, indeed!
Note to Self: The elders of the early church brought people before The Father, in the name of The Son to be healed at every level of their need. Follow their lead. With or without olive oil, never settle for praying for people to experience anything less than what it means to be forgiven. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Cheerful
“Is anyone among you cheerful? He is to sing praises.” James 5:13b
“Cheerful” is not a word that I usually associate with the Book of James. Wedged among the thorny warnings to “weep and howl” and to have “the patience of Job” is this beautifully scented word. In a world filled with the thorns of challenges, chaos, confusion, and critics, the church produces the rose of cheerfulness.
Cheerfulness is one part goodness, and one part passion. Christian cheerfulness joins together the power of heat, fierceness and rage and with goodness converts them into courageous passion marked by an expression of joy.
Cheerfulness is your heart enflamed with the courage to overcome. When you are cheerful, you stay in the battle with a smile on your face and the will to win in your heart. In every sense of the word, it describes “The Happy Warrior.”
I married a cheerleader. Marrying Dana has proven to be a wise move on so many levels. When she put down her megaphone, she kept on cheering. I am grateful for her cheerful life, and encouraging words. I want to be like her when I grow up.
Cheerleaders have drifted a long way from the original intention of their initial invention. Their purpose was to inflame the crowd to raise their voices and shout their encouragement to the men engaged in the contest on the field. If the crowd roared loud enough it would intimidate their opponent and invigorate their home team. Sic Em Bears!
Cheerfulness is God’s gift to a discouraged church or a disheartened Christian. If you have it in your heart, praise God! Praise shouts out of your mouth what is in your heart. Praise is not a personal and private possession. Cheerfulness in your heart is a gift from God. Someone needs to hear it come out of your mouth.
Genuine praise and believing prayer play on the same team. They are inseparable friends, and their bond is forged by the trials of fire that come from a contest against a relentless enemy. Where you find one, you will find the other.
Recently I completed a four-week road trip, by driving across Michigan, and Indiana to catch a flight out of Chicago O’Hare to be able to reach my home in Fort Worth, Texas by midnight. I needed a GPS just to write that sentence. I was ready to go home, but the road was filled with rush hour traffic, unfamiliar signage, and unmerging angry motorists.
By the time I turned in my rental car, I was exhausted. I patted down my coat, and pant’s pockets and my phone was missing. I had been talking to Dana just before I pulled into Hertz, but somehow I was now separated from phone. Stress!
While the man with the little computer quizzed me in heavily accented English, I desperately searched the car for my phone, and gathered my luggage. It was a very small car, and yet, in the dark parking garage I could not find it. The man left after handing me my receipt, and standing there, all alone, by the car, I found myself saying out loud, “Really? This is how this trip is going to end?” It was not exactly praise, but it might have been a prayer. I am not sure. Don’t judge me, but you make the call.
I took one more stab at finding my phone, and there it was! Wedged tightly between the seats, I could barely pull it out. It couldn’t have been any harder to pull out, if I had hammered it into the crease. I was so relieved. I almost praised God. Don’t judge me.
I grabbed my suitcase, and I took off. In a flash, I realized I had left my briefcase in the car. At this point, I need to remind you, Dana wasn’t with me. I was dissolving into a heat rash of residual road rage, and low blood sugar. I grabbed my case, and took off to grab hold of the shuttle and enter the belly of the beast of baggage check-in, and the TSA security of Chicago O’Hare.
When I got to the ticket counter, I was pointed to Martin. He had just arrived on the job, and I was his first customer. He asked me the typical questions, and then surprised me by saying, “Do you believe in God?” He had been looking at my wedding ring. It has a Hebrew inscription, and he read it aloud, and then said, “I have been studying the cosmos, and I don’t believe it was an accident. What do you think?” I told him, “I believe God is The Creator.” His eyes widened and with an excited voice, he said, “I do too!”
What followed was a fascinating conversation with Martin over life and death. He had recently buried his mother, and was stunned not by the face of death, but the gift of life. He looked at the restless line of weary travellers, and said, “I know I need to get to them, but I need to tell you what I have been learning about God.” I listened, and when I had to finally leave, I said, “Martin, God knows your heart, and He hears your voice when you call to Him.” He said, “Do your really think so?” I said, “You can count on it. Talk to Him and He will hear you.” We shook hands and I moved on down the road, leaving Marin in God’s capable hands.
Note to Self: Often frustrating experiences and irritating people in life can get you down. Receive them as God’s little road signs to guide you to someone else He wants you to meet and to cheer up. If you had negotiated Chicago traffic with seamless precision, and gathered your belongings without a hitch, you would have missed Martin. You are here on earth to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever. You are not here on earth to make your way through it, without interruptions and Divine Appointments. Cheer up! God will make a way even when you get in the way. The earlier you see God’s road signs, and follow them to people seeking Him, the more cheerful you will be. Cheer up! TALK LESS! PRAY MORE.
The Suffering
“Is there anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray.” James 5:13
One of my least favorite locker room signs has always been, “No pain! No gain!” It pointed the way to a long, hard road, and the journey never ended well.
Every coach said something along the lines of, “I’m not here to hurt you. I am here to help you, BUT I am going to give you what you need, not what you want.” They promised my temporary pain would lead to ultimate victory. They promised me what they were doing to me was going to be good for me. They said, “Trust the process.” They didn’t tell me that pain couldn’t put in what God left out.
My athletic career reads like a Greek tragedy, so I write this from personal experience. Winning and losing both require a team effort. I admit, I learned a great deal more from losing, than I did from winning. If character is developed by losing then mine must be impeccable. Go team!
James asks what appears to be a rhetorical question, but it requires a response from you, and an answer from God. Suffering endlessly through a hopeless situation rarely develops character. It robs you of joy, and blinds you to the purpose of what seems to be an utterly senseless walk in the dark. Believing prayer provides you with a sense of direction when your face the senseless.
There is no question about it. Everyone who is carrying out genuine, authentic, Biblically based ministry today is enduring hardship, facing trouble, enduring affliction, or experiencing evil. The Biblical narrative reminds us that suffering is as much a part of the ministry as blessing. Ministry is not conducted in the absence of suffering. It is fulfilled in the face of it, and in spite of it.
“But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5
“Then he must pray!” Prayer is presented as a combination of two words. The Greek prefix is a preposition that changes the direction and the intention of the rest of the word. The second part of the word means, “I would wish.”
By adding the preposition to a word that already means, a wish or a prayer, a “Wish List” becomes a “Prayer List.” It turns the “I would wish” meaning of prayer away from fantasy and towards faith. Prayer refocuses the eyes of the child. Genuine prayer turns a selfish, self-absorbed child into an obedient child. Prayer transforms the act of prayer from “I would wish” into “Thy will be done.”
No matter how long it takes or how senseless the suffering may appear to be, prayer turns “I will” into “Thy will.” Believing prayer is not a matter of “I would wish.” It leads to “Thy will be done.” This only happens…EVERY TIME.
Note to Self: When you face suffering focus on the face of The Father, and come to Him in the name of The Son. Stop searching for answers by examining your own navel. When you pray remember the old song, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” You will find the words are still true. “Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Bond
“But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.” James 5:12
As a small boy, I loved to accompany my grandfather, George Washington Miller on his errands around the city of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. He had been a hard-working farmer, dairyman, and foreman of a road building crew during the Great Depression. Men called him, “Boss.”
In Granddad’s final years, he made his living as a carpenter. He could build anything from houses, to boats, to staircases, and he did it before the arrival of power tools. His “Pop-Eye” forearms were huge, and when he took me by the hand, to walk me safely across the street, mine would disappear into one of his massive, calloused hands. To a seven year old, he was a force of nature.
One day, Granddad Miller concluded a conversation with a restaurant owner in Downtown Bloom with a handshake. They had been discussing the cost of building a staircase, and when my Granddad gave the man a price they shook on it. No money was exchanged. No contracts were signed. Their word was their bond. Two men faced each other, and under the eyes of God, they gave their word to one another, and went to work. They didn’t go to a lawyer. One went back to his restaurant. The other went to the lumberyard to order the materials. I was impressed. So is The Father when His children still do it.
The Book of James contains some very strong language. Martin Luther, never a fan of the book, referred to it as, “A right strawy epistle.” In other words, it got under his skin, and itched in places where he didn’t want to scratch.
Among all the powerful admonitions in the brief, five chapters of James, none is more striking than, “But above all, brethren, do not swear.” The emphasis is not on refraining from cussing like a sailor, but it puts on notice anyone who has a penchant for over-promising and under-delivering.
Swearing “by heaven or by earth or with any other oath” refers to the habit of some people to try to strengthen a weak promise, or a losing argument by shoring it up with a stronger additive. “I swear to God” or “I swear on my mother’s grave” coming out of the mouth of a man who is a promise breaker will not transform him into a promise keeper.
“But above all” is the bell ringer in this passage of Scripture. The Word of God places a very high priority on the word of the people of God. They are to be known as people that can be trusted. Their word is their bond, and their only vocabulary is truth. As the kids used to say, before the adults started saying it, “WORD!”
Keeping one’s word is not a New Testament concept. King David described the citizen of Zion as a person who “Honors those who fear the Lord; He swears to his own hurt and does not change.” (Psalm 15:4)
Note to Self: Discovering that keeping your word is going to cost you more than you originally thought is not a loophole to any verbal contract you make with your wife, your children, your church or your neighbor. Keeping your word is simply an expression of the quality of The Bond you have with Jesus.
When you pray, you are leaning into the yoke with Jesus. The more you pray, the less you say. Don’t over promise to others what Jesus is going to have to underwrite, to make good on your word. It is a form of name-dropping and insulting to Him.
Keep your word when you give it, because you have made Jesus a part of it. He is your witness to every word spoken, and every promise given. Before you speak to others, pray to Him. When you pray you are like a child raising your hand to ask permission before you speak. Pray it before you say it. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Complaint
“But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.” James 5:12
As a small boy, I loved to accompany my grandfather, George Washington Miller on his errands around the city of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. He had been a hard-working farmer, dairyman, and foreman of a road building crew during the Great Depression. Men called him, “Boss.”
In Granddad’s final years, he made his living as a carpenter. He could build anything from houses, to boats, to staircases, and he did it before the arrival of power tools. His “Pop-Eye” forearms were huge, and when he took me by the hand, to walk me safely across the street, mine would disappear into one of his massive, calloused hands. To a seven year old, he was a force of nature.
One day, Granddad Miller concluded a conversation with a restaurant owner in Downtown Bloom with a handshake. They had been discussing the cost of building a staircase, and when my Granddad gave the man a price they shook on it. No money was exchanged. No contracts were signed. Their word was their bond. Two men faced each other, and under the eyes of God, they gave their word to one another, and went to work. They didn’t go to a lawyer. One went back to his restaurant. The other went to the lumberyard to order the materials. I was impressed. So is The Father when His children still do it.
The Book of James contains some very strong language. Martin Luther, never a fan of the book, referred to it as, “A right strawy epistle.” In other words, it got under his skin, and itched in places where he didn’t want to scratch.
Among all the powerful admonitions in the brief, five chapters of James, none is more striking than, “But above all, brethren, do not swear.” The emphasis is not on refraining from cussing like a sailor, but it puts on notice anyone who has a penchant for over-promising and under-delivering.
Swearing “by heaven or by earth or with any other oath” refers to the habit of some people to try to strengthen a weak promise, or a losing argument by shoring it up with a stronger additive. “I swear to God” or “I swear on my mother’s grave” coming out of the mouth of a man who is a promise breaker will not transform him into a promise keeper.
“But above all” is the bell ringer in this passage of Scripture. The Word of God places a very high priority on the word of the people of God. They are to be known as people that can be trusted. Their word is their bond, and their only vocabulary is truth. As the kids used to say, before the adults started saying it, “WORD!”
Keeping one’s word is not a New Testament concept. King David described the citizen of Zion as a person who “Honors those who fear the Lord; He swears to his own hurt and does not change.” (Psalm 15:4)
Note to Self: Discovering that keeping your word is going to cost you more than you originally thought is not a loophole to any verbal contract you make with your wife, your children, your church or your neighbor. Keeping your word is simply an expression of the quality of The Bond you have with Jesus.
When you pray, you are leaning into the yoke with Jesus. The more you pray, the less you say. Don’t over promise to others what Jesus is going to have to underwrite, to make good on your word. It is a form of name-dropping and insulting to Him.
Keep your word when you give it, because you have made Jesus a part of it. He is your witness to every word spoken, and every promise given. Before you speak to others, pray to Him. When you pray you are like a child raising your hand to ask permission before you speak. Pray it before you say it. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!