Warm greetings to each one of you, my friends!
Has there ever been a time in your life where your circumstances seemed impossible to overcome and you wanted to just give up, give in, give to God your official "resignation" from the battle and surrender and quit?
I assume that most of us, if not all of us, have become so discouraged with the weight of life's burdens, that we either take matters into our own hands and quickly discover we are ill-equipped to solve it; or we wait for the Lord to do something....and we wait....and we wait...and we wait some more; thinking out loud, "Lord have you forgotten about me and what I am going through?"
That, my friends, is a great and honest question. We are not alone; even the Psalmist wondered the same thing too. It is a question that our Lord does not shy away from answering in this week's Psalms of Discipleship.
Learning (and waiting) on the journey with you,
Denny
Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #21
Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life
Key Scripture: 1 How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, 4 And my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. Psalm 13:1-4
Core Value: Prayer
Why are we to pray? Christians are to pray because God has told them to do it. But in addition, God knows how much each believer needs to have a life bathed in prayer. Prayer is the conduit to one receiving answers to one’s prayers. One must have confidence, not in what one is asking for, but confidence in the God one is asking to help (1 Jn. 5:14-15). The battle before the disciple is a serious one. Oswald Sanders reminds us that, “We are engaged in a relentless spiritual warfare that knows no truce. Our foes are unseen and intangible, but they are powerful. Against them only spiritual weapons will prevail . . . The fulcrum on which defeat or victory turns is our ability to pray aright and make intelligent use of our weapons. Jesus nowhere envisages His church in retreat” (Spiritual Discipleship 1994, p. 108).
God wants to answer the prayers of His children! One’s prayer requests do not have to be a “wish list” for God to examine and forget about. The promise is sure: the disciple can have confidence in approaching God and ask Him for anything according to His will. He will hear the disciple’s request and He will also give the disciple what they need. As one takes the step and mentors a person in prayer, it is important that one’s confidence in God’s ability to hear and answer prayers is conveyed to this person. The making of a quality disciple always is framed by confidence in God’s wonderful promises revealed in His perfect Word.
Principle #21 & Personal Application: The quality disciple will pray, even though the circumstances of life are crushing.
• There is a commitment to pray even when it seems God has forgotten us.
• There is a commitment to pray even when there is great sorrow in our heart.
• There is a commitment to pray even when it seems the enemy is winning.
• There is a commitment to pray even when it seems the enemy is gloating.
• There is a commitment to pray knowing that unless God answers our prayer, we will perish.
Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…
How do I convince myself to pray when it seems all hope is lost?
What is my approach to prayer when I am not getting an answer fast enough?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You have promised to never leave me or forsake me. You have promised me Your presence—even when I can’t “see” You or “feel” You. May I not become impatient with You when my life circumstances are crushing me. May those same circumstances instead deepen my prayer relationship with You.
The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…
Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service—Evangelism
Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2010 All rights reserved.
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