Archives For Prayer

7 Things to Stop Worrying About

Phil —  March 13, 2013 — 4 Comments

Don't Worry Be Happy

Don’t worry be happy. What a bunch of bologna! One of our staff members shared in our staff meeting today that telling a worry-wart not to worry is like telling an alcoholic not to drink. It doesn’t do much good. Many people feel as if they cannot help but worry and as a result live in constant worry.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, “Do not be anxious about your life.” (Matthew 6:25) It is something easier said than done. All of us are prone to worry. It is a human inclination. The only way to overcome it is the power of God.

Worry is never going to be the answer. Worry will not help you overcome the challenge before you. It only will keep you from being productive and doing what God has called you to do. Maybe you have heard someone tell you not to worry yourself sick. Constant worry will wear you down and will have a negative impact upon our health. Worry will never produce positive results and will keep you from achieving what is worthwhile.

I know I told you that it does not do much good to tell you not to worry. Nevertheless, I wanted to share with you 7 things you can stop worrying about. There is no need to worry about these things. So if you need to worry, you can spend your time worrying about other things.

1) Stop worrying about the things you can’t control. Worry is not going to change these things. You can’t do anything about them, so spend your energy making a plan to deal with the situation.

2) Stop worrying about he things you can control. If you can control them, then why are you worrying about them? Do what you can do, and leave the results to God.

3) Stop worrying about what other people think about you. Often those who “don’t” are the ones who criticize the ones who “do.” The more worthwhile your work the more you will need to tolerate the scoffers. The best way to tolerate them is ignore them. In my morning devotion today, the religious leaders say to Jesus, “we know you are true and you do not care about anyone’s opinion.” (Mark 12:14) Jesus realized the only opinion that matter was the opinion of his Heavenly Father. He was going to live a life pleasing to him.

4) Stop worrying about the past. Maybe you made mistakes. Maybe you said things that you would rather forget about. Remember those things are in the past and not today. Today is a new day. This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) Today is not yesterday. It’s a fresh start!

5) Stop worrying about the future. Jesus says, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” (Matthew 6:34) Make the most of today. When you live God’s will in the present he takes care of the future. Too often we allow the future to paralyze our present.

6) Stop worrying about the unknown. Maybe you worry about what might happen. Most of the time what we think might happen rarely ever happens. When Barbara and I were considering the call to New Jersey there were many things we concerned about. But we realized most of our concerns were about uncertainties. Those uncertainties were as much of a reality in New Jersey as in they are Illinois. It doesn’t do much good to make decisions based on what might happen.

7) Stop worrying about your ability. Many of us are filled with self-doubt. We are not sure if we are up to the challenges before us. We question if we have what it takes. You need to know if God puts a challenge before you, he will equip you for it.

When you start to experience worry consider the Apostle Paul who gives some great direction. This is what he says: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

In other words, instead of worrying try praying. Talk with God about what is going on in your heart and mind. The important thing is to express your anxiety. Expose it to the light, because it is in the darkness anxiety grows. Call out the demon of worry that is haunting you. Worry comes straight from the pit of hell. Rebuke it as not being from God.

When the worry is exposed, then let God then do his thing. He will give you peace that surpasses all understanding. In other words you will not fully understand why you have this peace about you. It surpasses understanding. The text also says he will guard you and protect your heart and mind from worry. I teach you about this, but the only way you will experience it is to try it for yourself.

Worry is the opposite of trusting in God. The equation is “more Jesus” = “less worry.” The opposite is “less Jesus” = “more worry.” The more we encounter Jesus, the less worry will be an issue.

A final thing I want to say is get busy. It is hard to worry when you are at work. In sports, I find that it is a lot harder being a spectator than it is being a player. It is much more an emotional roller-coaster when you are watching the game instead of playing in the game. When you are in the game you are focused on what you need to do to achieve the victory. The spectator on the other hand is not in the game and sits on pins as needles as their favorite team contends for the championship. It is amazing how when you get to the work God is calling you to, the worry melts away the anxiety.

So where do you struggle with worry? How has God helped you overcome worry? I would love to hear about it.

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Prayer Works

Phil —  February 21, 2013 — 27 Comments

It was a cold Tuesday morning at 6:30am in downtown St. Charles. The wind blowing off the river made the air bitter. Eight brave souls gathered to pray and circle a city block in faith for God’s providence and provision. We prayed together with Jake and Caitlin Marten for Jake’s new printing business.

Jake had recently invested in a new printer to take the next step in his new business. But seemingly this deal was going bad. He had sent the money, but no printer was coming. Everything appeared like he was a victim of fraud. Jake was bitter. He was angry. He was withdrawn.

After listening to the Circle Maker message series for 4 weeks, Jake had dismissed the idea of drawing a prayer circle around his business. But he was humbled and the anxiety was beginning to overwhelm.

One Sunday night while Jake volunteered and served at Lord of Life’s Youth Hangout. The topic for the night was the Circle Maker message series. In that moment Jake knew what he had to do. It was to start praying circles around his business. So he made the commitment to pray each morning at 6:30am for the next week. He would circle the city block 7 times in prayer each day for 7 days.

The next morning Jake and Caitlin were there circling the block around the old Burger Drugstore and Harris Bank. And soon others would join in as well. The funny thing was that God soon expanded Jake’s prayers beyond the printer alone. He began to see needs and opportunities that he had not seen before. The bitterness and the anxiety were turned to compassion and mercy. As much as God was changing the circumstances, God was changing Jake’s heart. He started not to pray just for his business, but for the other businesses around. Most importantly he began to pray for the people he had sent his money to. He prayed for other people to come to know Jesus through his business.

Things started happening. The lines of communication began to open. Previously, he would make phone calls and send emails with no response. Now he was getting answers. There were still problems with getting the order filled, but the picture was more clear. Seemingly, progress was being made. He didn’t have the new printer yet, but he had something more valuable and that was a new heart.

Today, as I write this, Jake has received notice that the printer is being shipped. Here is a picture of it:

printer to ship

I would love to tell you that he has received it. But we are believing in faith that God has already answered that prayer. We give God thanks and praise for his goodness. We give him glory for the victory.

At Lord of Life we have identified 7 prayer circles for our church which I identified in a previous email. There are bold prayers and we are believing God for the answers for those prayers.

Believing in faith, I want to invite to join us in prayer each Sunday at 7:30am during the remaining season of Lent. We will lift these 7 prayers up to the Lord, along with other burdens upon our heart. One of the 7 prayers is that Lord of Life would be a house of prayer and this is the start of that. Regardless of the weather being wind, rain, sleet, or snow we will persistently call upon our Savior in faith.

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Persistent Prayer

Phil —  January 29, 2013 — 2 Comments

Persistent Prayer

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’ ” Luke 18:1–5 (NLT)

We live in a world of instant gratification. All sorts of answers are on our smart phones at this tip of our fingers. Instant meals are cooked in microwaves. You can be reading a new book in seconds on a Kindle or Nook.

We think prayer will work the same. Fold your hands and bow your head. Pray your prayer and God will answer. But then you wait. Nothing happens. You think to yourself, “that didn’t work.” You give up.

But what do we learn from the story above?

Don’t give up and get discouraged.

Jesus says you should always pray and never give up. Always is a long time! He tells the story of the widow to emphasize his point.

As you think about your own persistence in prayer, how persistent have you prayed? Have you ever prayed through the night? Have you ever fasted as you prayed? Have you enlisted others to pray with you? Have you shared your prayer on your connection card on Sunday morning? Have you got on your knees and bowed before the Lord? How intensely and how long have you prayed?

Too often our prayers are so nonchalant. Do we look to emulate the intensity of Jesus in his prayers? He would often rise early before the sun had risen to pray. He would sweat blood as he cried out in anguish to the Father while in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Ask for what is promised

The widow was entitled to justice. That is what she wanted. That is what she asked for. It was nothing more than was promised to her by the government.

When we read God’s Word, there are more than 3000 promises in the Scripture. If we circled and claimed one of those promises a day, it would take us more than 8 years to claim them all. It is time to start praying the Bible instead of just reading it.

If we are claiming the promises of God, there is no reason to give up. God will hear and God will answer. Have faith that God is already answering that prayer.

God cares more about your heart than your words.

The widow kept coming to the judge. She didn’t follow any proper procedure when going to the judge. She just kept coming before him. But she was intentional in her request.

God doesn’t want us to babble prayers before him for the sake of praying. He wants us to bear our heart. He wants us to be real with him. Don’t fill your prayers with fluff, because he already knows what is on your heart. Don’t worry about having the right words or the right formula to your prayers. If Jesus had cared about having the right formula for your prayers, he would have honored the Pharisees. But the ones he honored where the ones who broke standard procedure. It was the friends of the paralytic man who cut a hole in the roof of the house where Jesus was. This was certainly not standard procedure, but these were the ones Jesus healed.

Persistent repentance is as important as persistent prayer

A final point I take from this story is that persistent repentance is as important as persistent prayer. Often it is because of our hidden sin that we are not in a place to yet handle God’s abundant blessing. Sometimes we need to have our sin dealt with before God will do what God wants to do. If you have prayed, and God does not seem like he is responding then look inward. Ask what in your life may need to change. Where in your life are you not living in the way God intends? Then ask God for forgiveness and the help of the Holy Spirit to change that area of your life. Ask for him to create in you a clean heart and right spirit.

In the end, prayer is not so much about our circumstances, but it is about us. Prayer will often change us and transform us ever so much more than our circumstances.

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What are Your Prayer Circles?

Phil —  January 15, 2013 — 2 Comments

Circle Maker Message Series

Last Sunday I encouraged you to pray boldly. Remember we have a God who makes the impossible possible. The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians that, “God is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.” (Ephesians 3:20)

With that in mind, our Board of Elders at Lord of Life identified 7 bold prayers for us to ask together as a church. Knowing the promises of God, these are 7 miracles we are going to keep circling. These prayers are:

  1. Lord of Life will become a House of Prayer that draws people from the ends of the earth and sends them out to the mission field.
  2. Lord of Life will be a place for every hurting marriage to find healing and where God would save each one from divorce.
  3. Lord of Life will be a Disciple Making Church that continues the work of Christ with 300 Discipleship Commitments.
  4. Lord of Life will model Stewardship by using our gifts wisely in accordance with God’s will and will be debt free.
  5. Lord of Life will plant two churches in the next 10 years.
  6. Lord of Life will average 600+ in worship regularly.
  7. Lord of Life parking lot will be resurfaced

Please join me in praying for God to accomplish all these things and more. We have to remember that we are often short-sighted when it comes to the things of God.

I also have a second assignment for you. Your assignment is to create your own 7 prayer circles. What are 7 promises of God, that you can take to him and believe him for. Write them down. Start praying. See what God does. Remember that God’s promises don’t have expiration dates.

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Praying with Greater Faith

Phil —  January 8, 2013 — 1 Comment

Circle Maker Message Series

We find a story in Matthew 20:29-33 where Jesus was traveling from Jericho to Jerusalem. There are two blind men sitting alongside the road. This was the moment they had been waiting for. The healer was coming. Would he heal them?

They cry out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

The people along the road tell these men to be quiet. But that just makes the men shout louder over all the noise. They want Jesus to hear them. They need Jesus to hear them. And hear them he does.

But Jesus response is a curious response. He doesn’t heal them right away. He asks them a question. “What do you want me to do for you?”

Isn’t it obvious? They want Jesus to heal them. Jesus of course knows this. Jesus does not ask this question because he isn’t aware of their need. Jesus is in fact more aware of the blind men’s need than they are themselves. Jesus recognizes their need runs deeper than their physical blindness alone.

The blind men had asked for God’s mercy. It was a vague and ambiguous request. But Jesus wanted them to define what that mercy looked like. They said, “give us our sight.”

Then Jesus healed them. With Jesus all things are possible, but he cannot answer a prayer not prayed. Over and over again, throughout the pages of Scripture, I see God challenging us to ask more of him. We ask God to bless us, but we don’t define what that looks like. Because of our lack of faith, we don’t want to set ourselves up for disappointment. We fear if we ask too much, then God will say no or that he would not be able to come through.

By just asking for mercy, the blind men were giving Jesus a way out. He could have come short of healing their blindness and just gave them some money. It would have answered their request for mercy. But Jesus wanted them to verbalize the deepest desire of their heart. “Give us our eyesight!” He wanted to give them a greater gift than physical eyesight alone. He wanted to give them the gift of faith. He wanted them to know that if you ask according to God’s will, it will be given.

Imagine Jesus asking you: “what do you want me to do for you?” How would you respond? What would you say? Would you be able to spell out the promises, miracles, dreams that God has put on your heart? Many of us would not know what to say. We don’t know what we want for ourselves or what God would want for us. Those blind men where physically blind, but we are spiritually blind.

Ask! Don’t fear asking the wrong thing. If you ask the wrong thing God will let you know. Prayer is not so much about changing God. God uses prayer to change us.

Starting this Sunday we will begin a 4 week message series on prayer called the Circle Maker. It is all about circling the promises of God in our lives and claiming them by faith. It is about being bold and courageous in what we ask of God because we serve a God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. It is about believing God for greater things. Join us this Sunday at 8:30am or 10am!

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Adding Relevance to Your Prayers

admin —  August 16, 2012 — 5 Comments

When we learned to pray we learned to ask God to bless mommy, daddy, brothers and sisters, grandparents, friends, teachers, and any other people we could think of. It was the first step in learning to pray. But as we mature, the content of our prayers mature as well.

Over the years I have asked God to bless me and others. I cannot begin to count how many times I have made this petition. But I will confess that more often than not I have prayed this prayer because I did not know exactly what to pray. I didn’t know how I wanted God to bless, so I left it up to God to determine. I am thankful for the promise in Romans 8:26 where it says God helps us in our weakness. He tells us when we don’t know what to pray the Holy Spirit will intercede with groans that words cannot express.

What does it mean to bless? It is a sort of vague and ambiguous request. It is a prayer prayed out of weakness. It is lacking in boldness and courage. It is short-sighted to all God wants to do for us.

I would challenge you to never again ask God to simply bless. I would challenge you that God desires more specific and focused prayers from us. He doesn’t want us to simply ask for blessing. He wants us to define what that blessing looks like. And I will share with you six reasons I believe this to be true.

1) It demonstrates faith. I wonder if we are reluctant to be bold in our requests before God because we doubt his ability to deliver. God is honored with bold prayers. Don’t be fearful of asking for too much or for the wrong thing. God will tell you “no” when he needs to tell you no. Remember God is the ruler over all and he possesses everything. Nothing is impossible with him.

2) It reveals your heart, priorities, and future. When you pray specific prayers, you have to put some thought to it. It shows where your mind has focused its attention. You will wrestle with what is important to you. The things we are praying about today point us to our future. God knows the bigger your prayers, the bigger challenges he will be able to trust you with.

3) Praying specific prayers keeps your prayer life relevant. Specific prayers keep it real. You are praying about what matters. You are praying about your hopes and your dreams. You will be praying about the challenges you face in your daily life along with the mission God has put before you. Vague prayers easily lose their connection and application to our lives. We end up giving up on prayer because our prayers do not seem to have bearing on our experience.

4) Specific prayer gives God the opportunity to answer. How do you know God has answered a prayer when you ask him to bless you? What exactly does that look like? When you pray a specific prayer you can say, “Yes, God answered that prayer.” Or you can say, “No, God has not answered that prayer.” The answer, or lack of answer, will be clear. God wants to answer your prayers if you ask him. Consider James 4:2: “You don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.”

5) When God answers it builds faith in your heart. You see God come through in small ways, you will start to believe him for bigger and better things. But if you do not see the answers to the prayer because you did not give God the opportunity to answer, you will miss that faith building opportunity.

6) Specific prayers give God the glory. That is what it is about. He is worthy of all praise. He answers our prayers for his glory. When you pray a specific prayer you give God a target to shoot for and when he hits the bullseye, people will cheer. He is giving you the opportunity to be a platform from which he makes his love, mercy, and grace known. He desires we be bold and specific with our prayers for him to reveal his might.

I offer to you a challenge. The challenge is to write out 3 specific prayers you are praying right now. Put God to the test. See what he will do. Keep them in a journal, notebook, or on your computer. Pray these prayers every day for the next 30 days.

Share these prayers with others. Share them with your spouse. Share them with your small group. Share them with me. Add your prayers in the comments section. I will leave mine there for you to pray for me. I would appreciate it very much.

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