I am pleased to announce the publication of my new book: IGNITING AN IMPASSIONED PRAYER LIFE – How to Develop the Energized, Extended, and Sustainable Life of Prayer You’ve Always Wanted. Do you wish you were more motivated to pray? Is your prayer life sporadic and...
Prayer, like most spiritual practices, is subject to a spectrum of opinion and conviction as to how it is best practiced. Prayer in a word, means different things to different people. Typically we associate prayer with some form of communication and personal encounter with God....
When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD… Numbers 11:2 (NIV) Why is prayer often the great omission when it comes to discussion of spiritual leadership? In my humble estimation the topic of leadership is the most frequent focus of...
“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Psalm 30:5 ESV
In the hours Jesus hung upon the cross fully absorbing His Father’s just judgment for the sins of the world, it must have seemed an eternity for those looking on who loved Him.
The day after laying Him to rest with their hopes and dreams, in a cold, dark tomb was undoubtedly wrought with grief and disillusionment as the implications of their loss began to sink in.
Little did they comprehend, as all of us in times when it seems God has forsaken us, that such affliction is only momentary compared to a lifetime of His favor which always triumphs with the dawn. Joy comes in the morning!
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
“Sometimes the cloud stayed only overnight and lifted the next morning. But day or night, when the cloud lifted, the people broke camp and moved on.” Numbers 9:21 NLT
When God led the Israelites for 40 years through the wilderness into the Promised Land they were guided by a cloud representing His tangible presence.
The place of blessing was under that cloud. So rather than launch out on their own asking God to bless what they were doing, they learned to abide under it and do what He was blessing.
It’s an important lesson in spiritual guidance, best summed up in the old Pentecostal saying “Stay under the spout where the glory comes out!” When God moves on, so should we.
“I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.” Ecclesiastes 3:14-15 NIV.
Observing these wild horses enjoying an afternoon nap, thoroughly satisfied with their lot in life, one cannot help but appreciate what a treasure it is when the God enables us to do the same.
The ability to be content, serve the Lord and others with gladness, eat our daily bread with love in our hearts toward all, and see the fruit of our labors, is as this verse states – a “gift of God!”
“Count your blessings; name them one by one. Count your blessings; see what God hath done!”
“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude.” Philippians 3:14-15 NAS
In matters of faith as in life, attitude is everything. This great egret brings to mind the phrase “straighten up and fly right” – good advice in light of the motivational maxim “your attitude determines your altitude.”
In flight, the plane’s orientation to the horizon is known as attitude, and monitoring its indicator is a constant requirement particularly in limited visibility conditions.
Those in pursuit of the upward call of God know that maintaining a faith-filled attitude is also critically important, especially when stormy times cloud our vision and distort our perspective.
“But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.” Matthew 24:43 NIV
The call to watch and pray is strongly encouraged throughout the Bible as a safeguard against evil, particularly at times when there is a sense of urgency and/or an awareness of being vulnerable.
The reality of this truth and the power released through its practice was driven home in dramatic fashion several years ago when our church was broken into under cover of darkness very early one morning.
It just so happened we had a prayer watch scheduled that day and a parishioner, the first to drive into the parking lot, so startled the thief, that they fled empty-handed out the back door. The security alarm indicated they had been in the building less than 3 minutes.
“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer!” (Isaiah 65:24 KJV)
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