The Servant

“He said, ‘O, Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham.’ “ Genesis 24:12 

Abraham entrusted The Servant with a daunting task, the selection of a bride for his son Isaac. It would involve a perilous journey back to Abraham’s homeland, and the persuasion of a stranger to follow him back home to become the bride of man she had never seen. Little wonder that he prayed…

“Please grant me success today.”

This simple statement was not a request for more treasure. It was a prayer for God’s timing. He was asking God to allow him to be a part of a Divine appointment. He didn’t want to miss it or to be late for it. The word success carries the meaning of a meeting or a junction. The Servant was praying for God’s timing to be perfect, so that he would be at the right place to meet the right young lady, at the right time.

In God’s view of success, timing is everything. Missing God’s best is always a matter of being out of touch with God’s timing for your life. Getting ahead of God separates you from intimacy with God, as much as running away from God. Both reveal a spirit of independence. The Servant declared his dependency on God for success. NOW is the right time to get in step with God, and to meet with Him. Don’t wait too long.

The Servant, having observed his master’s response to life, followed Abraham’s lead and expressed his own dependency upon God.  When facing this overwhelming task, The Servant turned to God in prayer. Abraham had taught him well.

“Behold, I am standing by the spring…” Genesis 24:13

The Servant was on high alert for God’s answer to his prayer. His prayer had been one of child-like simplicity and humble expectation. His expectancy in prayer was reflected by his posture. He was standing up, looking over the horizon expecting the answer to come.

The woman The Servant had in mind for Isaac was not filled with a spirit of entitlement. He set a very high standard. The potential bride would not be lounging in her tent surrounded by servants meeting her needs. She would not be focused on having her needs met, but she would be a channel of blessing to someone she had never met.

The Servant asked God to lead him to a woman with ministry eyes, and a heart of hospitality. Her response to his need would reveal all about her character The Servant needed to know. It always does.

“’Drink , and I will water your camels also.’” Genesis 24:14b

 Ten camels hauling a great deal of merchandise in an arid climate require an enormous amount of water. Reports vary, but thirsty camels are able to drink between 25-50 U.S. gallons of water at one time.  But I digress.

The wife The Servant had in mind for his master’s son would not be a lazy woman. She would have to draw, haul and pour 250-500 gallons of water from a spring and into a trough until ten camels had their thirst quenched. The Servant prayed for a young woman with a servant’s heart, and a strong back.  

“’…May she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.’ “ Genesis 24:14c

Lovingkindess is not to be confused with benign benevolence. It reveals the powerful, passionate nature of the character of God. His lovingkindness is not provided because people deserve it, but because they need it, and they ask for it.

Answered prayers are intimate expressions of God’s lovingkindness. To those humble enough to ask, patient enough to wait, and expectant enough to watch, He reveals and releases His mercy to them.

NOTE TO SELF: You will never be more successful than your prayer life. God answers prayer. When you are prayerless, you are clueless. Who you are before God in private prayer is who you really are, no more no less. When you pray, you are calling upon God for the one thing you need most, His mercy. You don’t deserve it, but ask for it. You need it. Wait for it. Receive it. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Test

“Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’” Gen. 22:1

My cell phone provider released an advertising campaign that promoted their services with a persistent and effective question. It featured a man repeatedly asking into his phone, “Can you hear me now?” It resonated with consumers who had experienced being out of the range of a communication tower. Those who have had phone service interrupted while driving through a mountain range or a deep valley have repeated the same question over and over again.

God’s plan for prayer is all about communication with His children. He is not in need of communicating with them, in the sense that He is uninformed about them.  He already knows what they need. His children need to know, they need Him.

“Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Mt. 6:8

Prayer begins with God’s call to His children, not their cry to Him. Old Testament Scripture provides a powerful picture of God constantly calling out to His children, and His children turning a deaf ear to His voice. The New Testament reveals how God has placed His Spirit within the hearts of His children to remind them whose they are, and to cry out to Him on their behalf even when words fail them.

Prayer begins in the heart of God before the faintest cry comes out of the mouths of His children. The act of prayer is proof positive that The Father is always calling to His children. They are not always listening. When God called Abraham, he responded, “Here I am.” His answer reveals the essence of prayer. God calls His children. His children respond to Him.

Recently, I heard Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana share how he became a Christian. His simple statement revealed the call of God, and man’s cry for redemption.

“I didn’t’ find God. He found me.” Gov. Bobby Jindal

It is in prayer that God reveals His will. God desires His will to be done. More to the point, He desires for His children to desire to do His will. Jesus didn’t debate or fight with The Father. He embraced God’s will. He didn’t resist it.

“Not My will, but Yours be done." ~Jesus, Lk. 22:43

Prayer warriors engage in spiritual warfare, but don’t fight with God. They show up to obey His will, not their own. Like solders on call to the voice of their commander, they make the only proper response to a call from God. They respond with total availability, and immediate obedience. Abraham responded to God’s call with an immediate, “Here I am.”  He didn’t’ say, “Can I put you on hold?

When I entered the ministry almost 50 years ago, I remember hearing preachers remind their people to “Keep short accounts with God.” They urged them to allow no distance, no gap, no delay between hearing from God, and obeying Him.  

When there is a lapse or a gap in obedience, it is not to be ignored. It is to be confessed. This truth never gets old. Disobedience never ages well. Pray and obey.

When Abraham showed up at the sound of God’s voice, he did not know what God had in mind for him. He only knew that he was on God’s mind, and he was in God’s hands. Nothing else mattered to him. Nothing else should ever matter to us.

What was the test?  It was not a True / False question. It was multiple choice. Abraham had to choose between trusting God and resisting God. True belief is always a matter of absolute obedience. God tested Abraham. Abraham trusted God.

“Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering.” V. 2

“Your only son” reveals God’s view of man-made effort. He doesn’t recognize it. Abraham had two sons. One was the son he had made, Ishmael. The other was the son God had given him, Isaac. There is a huge difference between a good idea, and God’s idea. Man’s plan is no substitute for God’s will.  

Abraham faced a soul-wrenching dilemma. He had to trust God to protect the son God had given him, or fight God to protect the promise God had made to him. Abraham chose to obey God, by trusting Him. His obedience turned out for the best, but it looked like it was the worst thing he could do. It often does.

NOTE TO SELF: Obedience often looks like the worst thing you can do. Look at it through the eyes of faith, not the eyes of fear. Pray and obey. There is no other way. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Intercessor

“Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech.” Genesis 20:17 

Abraham, a patriarch, prophet and prayer warrior was not immune from the fear of man. This form of fear was a particular weakness of his life. Fear of God is the only cure for it.  Praying for a man he had wronged, restored health to Abimelech, but it strengthened faith in Abraham.

Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the capacity to stand in the presence of fear and overcome it. Prayer invites The Presence of God to into any fearful crisis or confrontation. Abraham was a man of God who was in need of prayer. When he prayed, he stood firm. When he did not pray, he strayed.

Fear of man was not a sudden fright that came upon Abraham like a bump in the night. This kind of fear occupied his thoughts day and night. He was always planning and scheming to find a painless path through life to avoid any messy confrontations.

When it came to his “sister” Sarah, Abraham had convinced himself that a half-truth was not a lie. Full of the fear of man, Abraham tried to avoid a bump in the road, by kicking his wife off the bus. Like a moth to a flame, Abraham’s prayerless fear invited The Lord to step in to put the fear of God in him.

Passing his wife off as his sister, and handing her over to become Abimelech’s bride invited God’s intervention. Sin always does. Abraham’s fear blinded him to his sinful behavior, but sin is never hidden from God’s eyes. The innocent Abimelech appealed to God for mercy.  He received it.

“Lord, will you slay a nation, even though blameless?...In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” Genesis 20:4-5

Abraham’s private, personal fear became a public scandal. All sin eventually does.  God required Abimelech to restore Sarah back to her husband, and He called Abraham to intercede for the healing of Abimelech’s family.Private sin always leads to public humiliation, and some form of restitution. Sin has a price.

“Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live.” Genesis 20:7

By calling Abraham to intercede for a man he had wronged, God called Abraham back to Himself.  Abraham’s fear of God increased when was standing in The Presence of God. When he stood face to face with an intimidating man, Abraham’s thoughts blinded him to Almighty God standing with him. This only happens EVERY TIME.

“I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. Besides, she actually is my sister, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife…when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is the kindness which you will show to me…say of me, ‘He is my brother.” Genesis 20:11-13

Fear of man intimidated a God-ordained prophet like Abraham into a major lapse of discernment. Two words were at the heart of Abraham’s problem. “I thought.”  Abraham’s thoughts had a way of racing through his mind and filling his heart with fear. Can I get a witness?

Prayerless thoughts always do this. Thinking about man is a poor substitute for praying to God. One leads to intimidation by man. The other leads to intimacy with God.

Another glimpse into Abraham’s fear is found in his powers of rationalization. Even though he was forced to admit he was wrong publicly, Abraham couldn’t resist defending himself on a technicality.  In making a fine point. Abraham missed the point. Rationalization isn’t repentance. It is flirting with a flame.

“Besides, she actually is my sister…” v. 12

It is this kind of stinking thinking that got Abraham in trouble in the first place. He may have been sorry for getting caught, but he hadn’t repented of what he had done. Abraham remained a work in progress. So are we all.

NOTE TO SELF:  Your faith will be strengthened by praying your way through crises and confrontations, real or imagined. Your fear increases by thinking your way through them. Stop thinking and start praying. Thinking focuses on what man can do to you. Praying magnifies God who is with you. Prayer magnifies your faith, and shrinks your fear. Place your fear in God’s hands. He transforms it into faith. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

“A man who is intimate with God is not intimidated by man.” Leonard Ravenhill

The Equation

“So Abraham said to God, ‘May Ishmael live under your special blessing!’” Genesis 17:18

Changing Abram’s name to Abraham did not change his heart, or solve the math problem he faced. When God promised to provide Abraham a son and an heir borne by his wife Sarah, “he laughed to himself in disbelief.” V. 17

God’s promise to Abraham was impossible to believe. It did not ignite Abraham’s faith. It revealed his disbelief.  Abraham bowed his body to the ground, showing an outward posture of submission, but his heart was in rebellion to God.

Abraham was trying to figure out a monumental math problem. He added up all the numbers, but lost his confidence in God’s capacity to do the math.

“’How could I become a father at the age of 100?’ he thought. ‘And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?’” V. 17b

Facing the monumental, Abraham was in need of a miracle. God gave him a math lesson. Faith always adds God to The Equation. God’s Presence is always greater than the sum of the parts. What did Abraham do? He prayed.

Abraham did not pray with great faith, but he brought God what little bit of faith he had. Abraham was still depending on God to use what he had already brought to the table. He asked God to make an exception of his son Ishmael, and give him a special blessing. God had other plans.

Abraham’s form of faith was trapped in his past. God intended to do something new. Hagar cried for her child, in the wilderness, and was heard by God. Abraham’s prayer for Ishmael reached God’s ears too. Both parents prayed for their child. God heard and answered their prayers. He still does. Still, The Father had more in mind.

Believing prayer opens the door of the heart of a child of God to receive His plan for their lives.  The child may begin praying with their own plan in mind, but believing prayer doesn’t end until The Father’s will is in their heart. Prayer adds God to The Equation. When adding up His promises, don’t forget to carry The One.

Abraham’s prayer was not based on his confidence in God’s resources. It was generated by an assessment of his assets. He already had a son. He prayed God would bless the one he had.

When Abraham heard the promise of God, he had a good idea. It just wasn’t God’s idea. Abraham asked God to bless the son he had. He held no expectation of God giving him another son. He considered the idea laughable when God said Sarah would be the instrument of His grace.

Abraham’s prayer for Ishmael was answered. If The Father waited for pure motives, and clear insight from His children before He answered their prayers, there would a lot less answered prayer. The Father takes the tiniest seed of faith His children bring to Him, and He makes something great out of it.

“As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked.” V. 20

The Father expects His children to be overwhelmed by the math of His promises. When they can’t figure out the problem, they would be wise to add Him to The Equation. He is always greater than the sum of the parts, and He makes the most out of the tiniest seed of faith.

God’s grace causes man’s resources to shrivel in comparison to His generosity. Too often prayer is based upon God’s children figuring out what they can do by themselves, and giving God the glory for it. This neither increases their faith nor honors God.Two words come to mind. STOP IT!

Abraham’s prayer for Ishmael was answered because he asked. God’s grace was poured out on Abraham even when he didn’t. This is the beauty of answered prayer. The Father longs to give more to His children than they could possibly imagine. Pray!

“’But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.’  When God had finished speaking, He left Abraham.” V. 22

NOTE TO SELF: When God is silent, He is not speechless.  Allow His promises to continue to speak to your heart. What He has promised to you in His Word, He will deliver to you, in His time. The air of prayer breathes new life into the promises of God. When you are in the waiting room, don’t take matters into your own hands. You may live to regret what you have done. When the deepest thoughts and concerns of your heart don’t add up, release them into The Father’s hands. Prayer adds Him to The Equation. Do the math. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Initiator

“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great.’ Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me…” Genesis 15:1-2

The initiation of prayer is the greatest misconception about prayer. Prayer is the highest form of communication. It is initiated by God, not by man. Prayer is not just a good idea that has come to your mind. Prayer has always been God’s idea.

When the proverbial light bulb goes off in your brain, and you being to pray, you are responding to a call of God. He turned on the light because He was weary of watching you sit in the dark.

When you pray, you are not giving God information. He already knows what is on your mind. He wants you to place what is on your mind into His hands. When you draw near to God in prayer, you will discover He has been calling to you much longer than you have been listening to Him.

This passage reveals God as The Initiator. He came to Abram in a vision to calm his anxious thoughts. Abram had been worrying about the promise of God. Obsessed with the promise, Abram had missed The Presence.

God had promised to make a great nation through Abram, but without an heir to succeed him, there wasn’t much power in the promise. Abram began to do the math in his head. No matter how he figured it, the numbers just didn’t add up. One is still the loneliest number when God is left out of the equation.

The Patriarch would not be the last man to confuse God’s delay with God’s denial. Faith’s greatest battleground is the waiting room. Fear arises in the strongest of hearts when the delivery of a promise of God is delayed.

Fear screams for you to take matters into your own hands, and to fight for the survival of a promise of God. All the screaming and scheming in the world will not breathe life into a promise. Only God can do that.

Man-made creations postpone the promise of God. They are like counterfeit currency of the real thing. They lead to spiritual bankruptcy, and have long-lasting consequences.

The Risen Christ interrupted a conversation between two disciples totally overwhelmed by the events surrounding the crucifixion. Jesus took the initiative to engage them in conversation. These discouraged disciples even resented it when He did. They had not been praying to God. They had been talking to one another about the crisis. The more they talked about it the greater their crisis became. Jesus stepped in to heal their hearts with His Presence. He made sense out of it once they placed it in His hands. He still does.

“While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them…And He said to them, ‘What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?’ “ Luke 24:17

God promised Abram that He would be a shield to him, and that his reward would be great. Rather than stand confidently behind the shield of faith in God, Abram began to race ahead of God. As his mind raced to figure out how God was going to fulfill the promise, God stepped in to turn Abram’s eyes of faith back to Him.

NOTE TO SELF: Stop trying to help God out of a jam. Every time you try to help God out, you place more faith in yourself than you do in God. Prayer gives the Holy Spirit the elbowroom He needs to prepare you to receive the promise of God. Stop rushing the process. Embrace it. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Altar

There he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the Lord.” Genesis 12:8

Before Abram was renamed Abraham, he was the recipient of a call of God upon his life. He was 75 years old, when he heard God tell him to abandon everything that was familiar to him.

“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3

A call from God remains unanswered until it is obeyed. Faith feeds on obedience. Fear breathes new life into disobedience. The sacrifice of abandoning a familiar life often appears greater than the blessing of the faith life. Appearances can be deceiving. A great leap of faith is simply the first step of obedience. Take it.

Five years ago, my wife, Dana, and I ventured into an unknown land. After discussing a step of faith for a year we finally obeyed God’s call to launch our prayer ministry. We call it TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

Dana was the first to hear from God concerning this new adventure of faith. She was in the middle of a fight with cancer, and I was in the middle of a building program. She called her battle with cancer, her “Great Adventure.” I called the construction project everything but a child of God. You can easily see why she heard God’s call before I did. But I digress.

One night I was sitting at the kitchen table at my Dad’s home. He asked me, “What has God said to you about your prayer ministry?” I answered, “I believe He wants me to do it.” He said, “Have your resigned your church?” I said, “No.” He said, “When God speaks, you may want to think about being obedient.” Feeling like a 16 year old who had broken curfew, I could only say, “You’re right.” Long story short, I resigned my pastorate and five years later we are still on a journey of faith to share with people the simple message of TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!   

Abram’s first step of obedience was his greatest step of faith. Immediate obedience is the only way to respond to a call of God. Anything less is delayed obedience, and that is simply a clever synonym for disobedience. Don’t play word games with God. Pray and obey. There is no other way. Stop searching for it.

“So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him…thus they came to the land of Canaan….The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ So he built an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him.”  V. 4-7

Continuous revival is nothing less than continued obedience. Expecting God to increase His blessing upon you or improve His communication with you while you are living in a state of rebellion with Him is a fool’s fantasy.

Abram obeyed God the first time he heard Him speak. Then he heard from God again. This should come as no surprise. God wants to communicate with you, more than you want to communicate with Him. Obedience removes any interference.

Nothing improves your hearing like obeying God the first time you hear Him speak to you. Waiting for a fresh word from God while breathing the stale air of disobedience will never refresh your soul or improve your hearing.

Abram continued on into the land and built another altar to the Lord. When God blessed Abram with the gift of the land of Israel, Scripture records, he called upon the name of The Lord in prayer.

“There he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.” V. 8

The Altar consumes a sacrifice. It doesn’t magnify it. Grateful prayer expresses overwhelming gratitude for God’s blessing. It doesn’t whine about the cost of the sacrifice. Prayer abandons everything that looks valuable to you, in order to receive everything that is of value to God. Don’t change the price tags.

NOTE TO SELF: Plan A: Your immediate obedience creates a healthy climate of communication between you and God. Abandon all hope in Plan B. Obey God the first time you hear Him speak. Daily read His Word and you will hear from Him every day. Hearing from God requires a response. Studying and discussing His Word aren’t obedience. His Word is not merely a source of information. It is for inspiration and implementation. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

“When God speaks, you may want to think about being obedient.” Don Miller

The Walk

“Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” Genesis 5:24

When I was a boy I heard an old preacher explain this unique text by saying, “Enoch and God took long walks together. At the end of the day after one of their walks God said to Enoch, ‘It is closer to My house than it is to yours. Just come on home with Me.’” The older I get, his explanation of the translation of Enoch makes more and more sense to me.

Yesterday Dana and I raced across town to get to the ER after we received calls from both of my brothers.  Dad had experienced another one of his TIA strokes.  These mini-strokes always take a toll on Dad, and reveal once again how fragile his life can be. He turns 93 in another month, and it is getting harder and harder for him to bounce back from these frightening episodes.

 After his release from the hospital, at the end of a very long day, I took a short walk with my Dad. Making it from the car to his room at the retirement center has become a marathon. His once powerful legs have been reduced to a mere shadow of their former strength and his swift stride is now a slow, soft shuffle. Dad doesn’t talk much. He saves his breath for the walk. He needs every bit of it to get home.

 Dad quietly remarked at how slowly he was moving and how rubbery his legs felt. It took longer than usual, but he made it home. When he sat down on the couch, he was exhausted, but he had a peaceful expression on his face. He was at home, not in a hospital. Like the old song says, “Be it ever so humble. There is no place like home.”

Dad has walked with God for over 70 years. His walk was out-distanced by the 300 years Enoch walked with God. Still, Dad has given his all to maintain the same kind of intimate communication and consistent companionship Enoch must have had with God. So should we all.

One day my Dad will hear God call him home, and his heart will leap at the invitation. What brings sadness to my heart will bring gladness to his. The very thought of it pains me, but for my Dad, the longer he walks with God, the less he feels at home in this world. Yesterday I sensed the spirit of Enoch all over him. Home is closer than it has ever been. He hears God calling.

It is interesting to note that there are no recorded prayers of Enoch. Walking with God for over 300 years, he may have learned the secret of intimate communication with God. It is found in listening to God, not in talking to Him.

“Jesus died to make communication with The Father possible.” Billy Graham

 “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. “ Hebrews 11:5

In The School of Prayer, learning to walk is more important than learning to talk. As in life, so it is in prayer, walking precedes talking. When you do more talking than walking you will always trip over your tongue.

This should come as no surprise. Little children learn to walk by falling, and they learn to talk by listening. When they grow weary of being carried and watching others walk, they begin the process. By stepping out, falling down, and getting up their walking improves. Though painful, it is not personal. Everyone has to go through the process to make progress.

When little children are no longer satisfied with others speaking for them, they begin to speak for themselves. They repeat what they hear, not what they read.

“Faith comes by hearing.” Romans 10:17

The process of walking and talking takes time and effort, but the process leads to progress. It is not futile. It is rewarding. Seeking God through prayer is a rewarding experience when it involves more listening than talking.  

“And without faith is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 5:6

NOTE TO SELF: Start walking. Stop talking. You need all your breath to keep up with God. Don’t waste your breath trying to bring God up to speed.  He doesn’t need your advice. You need His sense of direction. You aren’t learning if you are talking. Start your walk with Him, by listening to Him, not talking to Him. If you want your talk to match your walk, TALK LESS! PRAY MORE! 

The Beginning

“Then men began to call upon the name of The Lord.” Genesis 4:26

Though hardly the first time men communicated with God, this passage of Scripture is often pointed out as the first time the act of prayer is recorded in the Bible. The Beginning of prayer in your life is the genesis of true communication.

“Prayer is the intimate communication between the Heavenly Father and His child.” Don Miller

When you begin to call upon the name of the Lord, it reveals a profound awareness of your need for God’s direction, protection and protection. An honest evaluation and clear recognition of your own limitations are the twin towers of wisdom and the beginning of prayer.

Prayerlessness is sin, and the prideful are prayerless. Taking pride in prayerlessness is childishness. A child rejects the aid of parent’s guiding hand with the petulant protest, “I do it myself.” You are called to be child-like, not childish. Big difference. Learn to recognize it and move on to maturity

Pride and praylessness are not fine wines that age well. They are a cancer that eats away at your soul until there is nothing left. Prayer cuts out pride and restores humility, and humility leads to healing.

“My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

Being full of yourself leads to taking your own advice, and it never ends well. From Genesis to Revelation the story of pride preceding poor choices and catastrophic consequences for individuals and nations is told over and over again.  Before you become a sermon illustration, or your nation becomes a footnote in history, show some humility. Surf’s up! Start praying.

“People have turned the tide of history because they prayed.” Billy Graham

This passage of Scripture indicates that a time came when men began to think more highly of God than they did of themselves. They feared ignoring the Lord more than calling out to Him. Genuine prayer is the cry of a needy child calling out to The Father and the whisper of a submitted servant yielding to his Lord.   

For centuries the Jews wove the name of Jehovah into the names of their children, as a daily reminder of His Presence. Believing prayer achieves the same thing. When parents guide their children into the practice of prayer, their children learn to practice His Presence.  When you call out His name in prayer, you find Him there.

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8

This practice of weaving God’s name into the names of their children must have been a powerful reminder to Jewish parents that a child was a gift from God, even when they were calling out their child’s name in frustration. For a child it must have been a constant reminder that wherever they went, God was there. They could never escape His Presence.

Calling upon the name of The Lord in prayer is the beginning of wisdom. When you fail to do it, you learn from painful, personal experience that mixing prayerlessness and pridefulness produces a poisonous potion. Read the warning labels.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” Proverbs 16:18

NOTE TO SELF: You are prideful when you persist in ignoring the warning labels. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid of a culture bent on rebellion. Prayerfully embrace the warnings and receive the wisdom. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Response

“’Yes. I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20

Providing children with a clear perspective of time is one of the challenges parents face when leading their little ones through a transition from childish impatience to mature expectancy.  It should come as no surprise that it doesn’t happen over night.

When our children were small, and knew a big day was coming, they would wake up every day with the question, “Is today the day?” Dana hit upon the concept of teaching them to look forward to the big day by counting sleeps. She would lead them through a count down night after night by telling them how many sleeps they had left before the Big Day. It worked for them, and we kept our sanity. Try it. You’ll thank me.

Over 2,000 years ago John heard the promise of Jesus. Many sleeps later the children of God still wake up with a child-like expectancy wondering if today could be The Day. What appears to be a delay does not diminish the promise. It only increases its value and intensifies the level of our expectancy.

The last promise of Jesus recorded in the Bible is followed by the last prayer of the Bible. Promises and prayers are as closely related as life is to a breath of fresh air.

Separating a prayer from a promise does not breathe new life into either one. The one who prays has no reason to hope for an answer if there is no promise of one.  Jesus said He is coming. He is the original Promise Keeper. Count on it.

The only recorded prayer of The Spirit in the Bible is “Come.” (V. 17) Jesus promises He is coming quickly. (V. 22a). John’s immediate response was “Amen. Come, Lord, Jesus.” (V.22b)

John’s prayer expresses complete agreement and energized expectancy.  They are two powerful signs of a prayer life focused on yielding to the will of God.  

The Response of every individual and any corporate body of believers should express the same spirit as John’s simple prayer. When the coming of Jesus appears to be a disruption of your personal plans or your denominational calendar, then the promise of Jesus has been hijacked and held hostage by your personal plans and your corporate program. Stop it!

Prayer keeps the promise of Jesus alive by breathing new life into it. Prayer focuses on the will of God, in the name of Jesus. In lifting up the name of Jesus, He realigns our hearts with God’s heart. His will becomes pre-eminent, and His desires become our desires. Anything less is public posturing, or a private delusion, but it is not prayer.

Recently I took part in a powerful prayer meeting in Louisiana. The sole purpose of this day of prayer and fasting for a nation in crisis was to call upon the name of Jesus, to seek The Father’s outpouring of His Spirit for the next Great Awakening. It began with individual prayers of repentance.

Over the next six hours prayers were intensified and purified under the magnifying glass of The Spirit of God.  Those who prayed or proclaimed a word were called upon to lift up only one name, the name of Jesus. They were asked to leave their egos and their logos at the door. There were no book tables, no t-shirt sales, and no concession stands. The focus was on Jesus. 

Every attempt was made to honor the name of Jesus and to lift Him up, and to avoid stealing His glory. All promotion of personal ministries, websites, or projects was discouraged. The vast majority of the participants complied. Two didn’t. It was noticeable.

Sensing the flinching of The Spirit when the name of Jesus is used for self-promotion is a huge breakthrough in prayer meetings of this kind. The leader gently rebuked the departure from the protocol of the event and all prayer and praise was redirected to Jesus. Thanks, Doug Stringer for your tender heart and the gracious way you honored the jealousy of The Spirit for the name of Jesus.

The Response: Louisiana was not an end of a journey. It was another baby step toward the kind of prayer movement that will prepare the way for the next Great Awakening.  This observation in no way dishonors the epic effort made by Steve Brown to coordinate this prayer meeting. Thanks, Steve.

The Response prayer meetings of the future will face intense opposition as they are planned, promoted and presented. The attacks will be from friend and foe.

There will be friendly fire from holier than thou types who cannot bear to pray with anyone who is not in 100% agreement with their perfect position. I have a word for them.

“Discernment is God’s call to intercession, never fault-finding.” Oswald Chambers

There will also be persistent protests from the radical rage-aholics who are not interested in framing an honest debate, but are totally driven by a desire to annihilate truth from the public square.  Let them come. “The Spirit and The Bride say, ‘Come.” We should have the same prayer on our lips that is in The Spirit’s heart. While protestors march on the grounds of The Response let us pray it will become holy ground for them.

To my visionary friend, David Lane, who has given his heart and soul to birth The Response prayer meetings, I have this brief word. Stay on the wall.  Nehemiah did & finished the task God gave him to do. Don’t be distracted. Thanks, David.

NOTE TO SELF: Great Awakenings should come with a WARNING LABEL: Rough road ahead. Don’t brake for protestors. Drive around them & TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Hallelujahs

“ ’Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.’  And a second time they said, ‘Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER.’ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying ‘Amen. Hallelujah!’ And a voice came from the throne saying, ‘Give praise to our God, all you His bondservants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.’ Then I heard something like the voice of the great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord God, the Almighty reigns.’ “ Revelation 19:1-10

The Apostle John heard one majestic multitude shouting four hallelujahs with one voice. The sound rolled through the air of Heaven like soul-stirring thunder. One author described this passage as…

 “This graphic prayer of praise…the manifest vindication of the moral order, the indisputable triumph of the Kingdom of God.” Hebert Lockyer

Fifty years after the experience, I still recall the night my father took me to hear “Handel’s Messiah” being performed by a massive choir at the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. When they came to “The Hallelujah Chorus” everyone stood. It was a breath-taking moment for me, and I recall seeing tears stream down the face of my father. Hallelujah, indeed.

When I was in seminary, my professor friend and mentor, Dr. Curtis Vaughan made a statement in class that triggered my memory of that experience at FBC, Dallas.

“Hallelujah is the sweetest word in the English language, even if it is Hebrew.” Dr. Curtis Vaughan

These four hallelujahs in Heaven should inspire powerful hallelujahs on earth from the small and the great. In Heaven, prayer leads to praise. The same should be true on earth.

Hallelujah means “Praise The Lord.” It is not a magic phrase, a lucky charm or a password to serenity. Like breathing, prayer and praise are a way of life, in Heaven and on earth.

Where there is prayer, there should be praise. When your prayer focuses more on the crisis than The Christ, then praise evaporates from your soul, as panic surges into your heart.

NOTE TO SELF: Discovering the definition of praise should never turn into a dissection of it. Praise is not explained. It is experienced. The experience of praise is not found in the definition, but in the application. When you pray, you are practicing The Presence of Jesus. Consistent companionship with Jesus leads you to praise, not panic. Lean into His yoke and you discover God’s will. Let The Hallelujahs begin. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!