We Pray Wednesday: Spiritual Security

Spiritual Security

We love to be safe.  Whether in our cars, homes, or work, we like knowing that we won’t have to worry about things happening to us that can injure or harm us.  We make sure we lock our doors and set our security systems before going to bed at night, because we do not want to worry about anything while we are sleeping.  When we get in our cars, we buckle our seat belts for safety in case an accident occurs.  We have metal detectors in airports, stadiums, and government buildings because we want to know that we will be secure inside.  Some businesses even have armed guards to deter incidents from occurring with their customers.  All of these can be titled under one word: SECURITY. 

How often do we think about having spiritual security?  Do we protect ourselves from the spiritual warfare that is happening around us daily, that we cannot see?One of the ways to have spiritual security is to pray daily for God’s protection from the enemy.  The devil has a daily plan for us.  He wants to put traps and temptation in our daily path to cause us to sin and to destroy our lives.  We need to have our spiritual security measures in place daily to keep us safe from his temptations.

1.  Pray for the strength to flee from temptation.

God put into everyone of our bodies a chemical known as adrenalin.  This is sometimes called the “fight or flight instinct”.  Many times, after someone has used part of their adrenalin in a stressful situation, they become very tired from the extra energy that they have expended.  We need to pray for the strength to continue to flee the temptations that came in our lives.  It’s unusual that we as Christians want to use only half of our spiritual adrenalin: the part that says to stand and fight.  We need to realize that fleeing from the dangers of sin does not make us less of a Christian.  In I Corinthians 10:13 the Bible says “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”  We need to realize that we cannot always handle the temptations, but we can pray for the strength to help us flee.

2.  Pray for a spiritual wall of protection from the enemy.

In the book of Nehemiah, the city of Jerusalem had the wall torn down and the gates burned with fire.  The enemy was able to go into the city at any time and do whatever the wanted to do to the people.  When Nehemiah went to rebuild the wall, the enemy began to be upset with him because he was building up protection from them.  This is what we should do for ourselves and our loved ones.  We should daily pray that God would give us spiritual protection from the enemy’s attack.  The devil will use other’s words and actions to get in and begin to destroy us.

3.  Pray that the devil will never get a place in your life.

The best security measures are used to keep those that should not be inside, out.  Security plans are not usually started with, “Okay, after the intruder has been here for a while, then we will try to figure out how to make him leave.”  That is very poor security plan!  Anyone who would use that plan in the security world, would not be useful.  Many Christians try this spiritual security measure with the enemy and cannot figure out why it doesn’t work.  We need to daily pray for the Holy Spirit to show us where we have a weak spot in our spiritual security.  If the Holy Spirit shows this to us, we need to call out to God to help us get the intruder out of our lives before it becomes almost impossible to make him leave.  If we give the devil a foothold in our lives, he will not be content until he has built a stronghold.

We Pray Wednesday: How to pray for your Children

                Psalms 127:1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. 

                When my children were just babies, my wife and I took turns praying with them every night before they went to bed.  We still continue this tradition now and my children are now 15,13, and 6.  We began to pray for some specific things that God would do in their lives.  These are a few things that all parents should pray for their children on a daily basis that God will do in their lives.  This is not an exhaustive list by any means.  Every situation is different, but we should go to God for our children daily.  There have also been times in their lives that they were dealing with some specific issues that we prayed about until God has answered our prayers in these matters. 

1.  SALVATION

                It is my hope that every Godly parent would pray this for their child until God answers the prayer.  This is the most important thing that can happen in a person's life.  It's a matter of eternal life and death.  After they have been saved, you can begin to thank God for answering the prayer.

2.  SPOUSE

                The second most important decision that a child makes in their life is whothey marry.  This means that we should pray that God brings the right person into their life at the right time for them to marry.  We should also pray that their spouse is saved and trusting God to bring along the right person for them to marry.

3.  WILL OF GOD FOR THEM

                We as parents should pray daily that our children would do God's will no matter what God wants them to do.  We should be careful not to direct them toward something that we think they would enjoy, or that would make them secure financially.  We should show them that God always has the best for them if they will believe and follow His leading.

4.  WISDOM

                The best way for a child to be wise is not by school or book knowledge, but by reading and receiving knowledge from THE BOOK every day.  The wisdom of God is far better than any piece of paper that they receive from a school.  This does not mean education is unimportant, but the wisdom of God is the most important.

5.  PURITY

                We should pray daily for the purity ofour children.  Purity is not just being pure of body, but also of mind and spirit.  This will not happen by accident.  We must be vigilant of what they are seeing, doing and listening to on a daily basis.

6.  PROTECTION

                We should daily pray that God will protect our children physically, spiritually, and emotionally.  In this world that we live in, we cannot know everything that may happen to them on a daily basis.  God, however, does know what is coming, and our daily prayers for them could mean the difference between a tragedy and a miracle.

7.  LOVE FOR GOD AND HIS WORD

                If we as parents will love God and His Word, our children will have a taste also.  We must also ask God to give them a desire for it so that they will love it, follow it, and obey it their entire life.

8.  HATE SIN AND BE CAUGHT WHEN THEY DO SIN

                This is hard to pray for because your child may get in more trouble than others.  This will, however, keep them from having a lot of the guilt and baggage later on in life.  If they also hate sin, they will see it as sin, stay away from it, and go in the right direction.

We Pray Wednesday: Commitment to Prayer

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We have all probably heard this many times in the past couple days and have thought to ourselves that it doesn’t feel much different than the last one.  This is probably true; however, this is a time that most of us look back and make goals for things that we would like to change in the new year.  Whether it be work, church, family, or personal, we make “resolutions” to change things in our lives.  If we are honest with ourselves, most of these “resolutions” don’t last for a significant amount of time before we go back to the ways things used to be.  Rather than make resolutions, let us make commitments to God concerning our spiritual well-being.  The great thing about God is that there is always the opportunity to start anew - God always offers us a new day and is long suffering with us, no matter what has gone before.

One area of spiritual well-being that we should commit to God is to talk to Him daily.  Talking to God seems like it should be as easy as falling off a log, but often it can feel more like climbing a cliff. In order to keep this commitment to Him, here are 10 tips to help.

1. Choose a specific place to pray away from distractions so you can concentrate. Ringing phones and crying children will sabotage your "quiet time" before it gets started.

2. Pray at the same time every day, if at all possible. Make it part of your regular routine and it will become habit. Write it into your schedule and then treat it just like a daily appointment.

3. Pray out loud. Many people can pray under their breath or in their minds for long periods and still maintain intensity, but for most of us it's a quick ticket to dreamland. When we pray out loud we have to form intelligent sentences. We have to concentrate more on what we're praying about.

4. Keep a note pad handy so you can jot down different things that come to mind while you're before the Lord. Sometimes you'll get great ideas totally unrelated to what you've been praying about. If you jot them down you can quickly get back to the topic at hand without being too distracted.

5. Make a list to keep track of your prayer needs. This can be done several ways. Prayer needs can be listed by category like "Church," "Family," or "Unsaved friends." Or they may be listed by the days of the week. Each day you pray for a different set of needs.

6. Redeem time for praying out of unused corners of your schedule. Those who have to drive to work can use the time talking with the Lord instead of screaming at traffic (just don't close your eyes!). Busy homemakers can combine prayer with housework, especially if the task doesn't require a lot of concentration. Joggers, swimmers and cyclists can use their workout time for prayer.

7. Change the pace during your prayer time. Include praise, thanksgiving and singing as well as petition. Spend some of your time reflecting on the Scripture, meditating on it and digesting its meaning.

8. Keep a prayer journal. Keep track of what you prayed for and when you prayed for it. Leave a space to jot down the answer when it comes. This will help you to keep alert to God's answer so you can thank Him promptly. Sometimes prayer answers come in the back door and you don't want them to slip by you.

9. Pray with someone else. Though some prayers can only be said in solitude, there will be times when you'll want to join hearts with another person in prayer. If you commit to a prayer meeting on a regular basis, the accountability can really help build consistency.

10. Pray one-sentence prayers. If the thought of laboring over a topic wears you out, pray short, sincere prayers instead. A sentence or two may be all that's needed to exhaust the topic for you for the time being. If so, just move on to the next item without feeling guilty for your brevity.

We Pray Wednesday: How to Pray for your Pastor (Part 1)

How to Pray for your Pastor (Part 1)

                One of the people that need our prayers more than any other person that you may know would be a pastor.  Pastors bear their own burdens and the burdens of the many members of their church.  They wear many different hats and sometimes several at the same time.  These men of God need our prayers daily and sometimes several times daily.  This list is not a completelist nor is this thought original with me by any means.  Here are several things we need to pray daily for our pastor.  It may take time to pray through the entire list every day, but praying for some of them over a period of time will be beneficial to your pastor and to you.

1.  Pray that your pastor will love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. Pray that God’s Spirit will work in his heart in power and that he will value and follow biblical priorities.

2.  Pray that your pastor will cultivate strong character and uncompromising integrity. Pray that his testimony will be genuine and that he will never do anything that he would need to hide from others.

3.  Pray for his personal walk with God—that his soul and spirit will be nourished and strengthened in his quiet time with God, beyond his sermon preparation. Pray that he will spend more time in the Word of God than in reading books and articles.

4.  Pray that your pastor will counsel and teach with discernment through the wise use of Scripture and faith in God’s power to work. Pray that he will be protected from the effects of sinful or negative attitudes that he encounters as he counsels.

5.  Pray for God to protect your pastor’s marriage and keep it strong as a model of Christ’s relationship with the Church. Pray that your pastor will tenderly cherish and lead his wife and that she will respect and encourage her husband, submitting to his leadership.

6.  Pray for God to heal any hurts that your pastor has suffered in the ministry. Pray that he will serve the Lord with gladness and encourage the congregation to worship God with a joyful, surrendered spirit.

7.  Pray for your pastor’s children and especially that the pressures of the ministry will not discourage or embitter them. Pray that your pastor will provide godly leadership in the home, not based on fear of what others will think, but according to scriptural truth.

8.  Pray for God to protect your pastor from the wiles of Satan. Pray that he will not be corrupted as he rubs shoulders with the world in the course of ministry.

9.  Pray that God will build a hedge of protection around your pastor’s marriage and that he and his wife will be aware of the potential for any improper relationships. Pray that their family time will be protected.

10.  Pray that God to guard his heart concerning the use of free time. Pray that he will be morally pure and that he will wear the armor of God so that he will not fall into sexual temptation.