Reassure Me that your Promises are for Me.

The Sixth in a Series of Life Changing Prayer Requests.

What can we do when we doubt promises given to us in scripture?

•  Examine scripture.  Be sure you know what God promises and know to whom these promises were given.   When Paul was teaching in Berea; ” they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (Acts 17:11 ESV)

•  Observe how God is working now and how He has worked in the past.  John the Baptist had a time in his life when he doubted the role of Jesus.  “[2] Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples [3] and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” [4] And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: [5] the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” (Matthew 11:2-5 ESV)

• PRAY AND ASK GOD  to:

      Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared.  Psalm 119:38 (ESV)

       Reassure me that your promises are for me, for I trust and revere you. (TLB)

       Fulfill your promise to your servant,  … (NIV)

       Establish Your word to Your servant, ….(NKJV)

• Finally, be patient.  “[8] But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [9] The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:8-9 ESV)

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Turn My Eyes From ….

The Fifth in a Series of Life Changing Prayer Requests.

We are constantly being bombarded with worthless and inappropriate visual images.  We see things on TV, the Internet, billboards, movies, and in real life situations that turn our focus from the Lord to worthless, harmful, or self-destructive thoughts and actions. Our focus needs to be turned back to the Lord.

We need to be praying: Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. Psalm 119:37

When we are focused on God and His Word we can live the life He wants us to be living.

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Oh how I love your law!

The Fourth in a Series of Life Changing Prayer Requests.

In Psalm 119:97 the Psalmist emphatically expressed his love for God’s word when he said, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.”

Is that your (my) testimony?

It is so easy to get caught up in “earning a living” that our focus becomes “selfish gain.”  We subconsciously place our faith and security in money (material things) rather than in God and His Word.

I suspect many of us need to be praying, “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!” (Psalm 119:36 ESV)

The Message says it this way, “Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot.”

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Lead Me

The Third in a Series of Life Changing Prayer Requests.

A very familiar Psalm begins with:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:1-3 ESV)

The psalmist recognized that the Lord was his shepherd. We should be praying for the same guidance for our lives.

Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Psalm 119:35

We need to be asking God to lead us to where He wants us to be, not to where we want to go.

For you are my rock and my fortress; and  for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; (Psalm 31:3 ESV)

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Give Me Understanding

The Second in a Series of Life Changing Prayer Requests.

What good is reading scripture if we don’t understand what we are reading?

There is a story in Acts 8 of a court official of the queen of the Ethiopians traveling back to Ethiopia after worshiping in Jerusalem. “He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”

At times we may find ourselves in a similar situation.  We are reading scripture but we do not understand what we are reading.  We need guidance.  Psalm 119:34 would be a good prayer to pray.

Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.  Psalm 119:34 ESV

Without a doubt, God is able to answer our prayers and give us the understanding we need to live the life he has planned for us to live.

For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; (Proverbs 2:6 ESV)

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The First in a Series of Life Changing Prayer Requests.

Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.  Psalm 119:33

Who is your teacher?  Who do you go to for instruction, help, understanding, advice, wisdom and council?

My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:2 ESV)

Pray and ask the Lord to be your teacher.  Be attentive to all that He is saying to you.  Like the Psalmist, commit to make application of all that the Lord is teaching you today and for the rest of your life.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)

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I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.

Psalm 50:11

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‘Ah, Lord God!  It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm.  Nothing is to hard for you.

Jeremiah 32:17

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Recently I was having difficulty publishing my blogs to Facebook and Twitter.  At the same time multiple duplicate emails were being sent out to subscribers of my blogs.  These technology issues were “driving me crazy.”

Did God care about my challenges with technology?

In the midst of dealing with these technology issues, I was reminded of the phrase, “Do not be anxious about anything.”

I know this verse well, and I know where it is found in scripture.

Philippians 4:6-7 …. 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.

“….do not be anxious about anything ….”

I needed to replace my anxiety about these technology issues with prayer.  I needed to have an attitude of thanksgiving.  I needed to turn all the details of my frustrations over to God.

What did I get in return?  A sense of peace.  I am not expected to understand how this happens.  All I am expected to know is that God wants to replace my anxiety with His peace.

Was there a promise to fix all the technology issues?  No, the only promise was that I would experience the peace of God.  However, if you are reading this blog, the technology issues were resolved. Awesome!

Are you anxious about something?   Try Philippians 4:6-7.

Biblical principles work.

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Be teachable. There is much to learn.

We all face many important questions every day – questions about the future, questions about right and wrong, questions about personal problems.  The world seems to be definite about only one thing: we cannot be definite about anything!  So where do we find answers for life’s problems?

I believe the Bible has definite answers to life’s questions.

Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!  Psalm 119:12

We all need to understand that there is a huge difference between man’s opinions and God’s Word.  We need to be going to the Bible for answers to life’s questions.

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.   1 Thessalonians 2:13

A suggested prayer for today:  Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth;  unite my heart to fear your name.  Psalm 86:11

Remember that the Word of God has an inherent power to change.

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