Psalms of Discipleship. Principle #13 (Prayer). Apirl 6, 2013

Hello my dear friends! On occasion, we can find ourselves facing impossible circumstances. These impossible events can either become stepping stones to an even greater faith or the stones that cause even deeper wounds. By God's grace I am learning to cast my cares upon Him, especially the ones that are impossible.

Growing with you,

Denny

Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #13

Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life

Key Scripture: 1 Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me; For I am afflicted and needy. 2 Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You. 3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, For to You I cry all day long. 4 Make glad the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. 6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; And give heed to the voice of my supplications! 7 In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You, For You will answer me. Psalm 86:1-7

Core Value: Prayer

"This one is going to take a miracle!” Have you ever allowed these words to enter your heart and come out of your mouth? Perhaps you were facing a financial crisis or were emotionally reeling from a severely wounded relationship that had crashed and burned right in front of you. Maybe you had lost your way and had no clue on how to get to where you needed to go. All that you knew was your hope for a good outcome was running on fumes and at any time you were ready to give in and give up in your “day of trouble.” When we are in trouble, there is no better time to offer up our impossible circumstances with impossible prayers to the God who makes all things possible.

Principle #13 & Personal Application: Quality disciples present their impossible needs to the only One who can answer impossible prayers.

• We pray impossible prayers when we are afflicted and needy

• We pray impossible prayers to a God we cannot see but by faith we know He is listening

• We pray impossible prayers when our circumstances are far greater than our ability to fix them

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

What impossible prayer am I asking from the Lord?

Has it been my habit to pray prayers that I can answer or have I been praying prayers that will take a miracle?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You that when I pray, You hear my heart: the words that are spoken as well as the secret cries stored away in the depths of my soul. No matter my circumstance, You have promised to answer me.

The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…

Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service—Evangelism
Dr. Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2013 All rights reserved.

You can learn how to live as a Quality Disciple and a DiscipleMaker4Jesus by visiting my website at www.dennybates.com and my teaching blog at http://www.dennybates.com/#!blog/c1a4e

Psalms of Discipleship. Principle #45 (Prayer). December 14, 2012

Hello my dear friends! Have you ever faced a time in your life where your prayers seemed to rise no further than the ceiling and bounce right back at you? Have you ever prayed so much and after praying you actually felt worse than better? Chances are, we have all experienced these kind of feelings on our journey. Here is today's comfort: the Psalmist did too. After all of his praying, he confessed in a most transparent way: "My soul refused to be comforted."

As you continue to celebrate Advent this year, may this be a season of comfort for your soul.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Denny

Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #45

Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life

Key Scripture: 1 My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud; My voice rises to God, and He will hear me. 2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness; My soul refused to be comforted. Psalm 77:1-2

Core Value: Prayer

How long do you pray before it’s time to give up and do something different? Great question. Seldom, an easy answer. Do you pray until you get the answer you want or do you pray until the Lord leads you to pray in another direction? Do you pray in faith or are your prayers measured by “success?”

Again, great questions and challenging answers. Perhaps, prayer is not about getting what you want from God but it serves as a vehicle in which God gets from you what He wants.

Maybe its about surrender and submission. Maybe what He wants from you is patience and faith. Maybe the trouble you are facing is nothing more than God’s way of getting your attention.

Maybe the practice of prayer is the bridge to connecting to a God who cannot be seen but desires to be trusted, even when prayer does not seem to be “working.”

Principle #45 & Personal Application: Quality disciples cry out to the Lord during times of trouble, even when it seems that God is not listening.

Note: the Psalmist speaks for many of us as he experiences the feelings of discouragement to disappointment to deliverance. In this portion of the Psalm, he shares about his concern that in spite of his prayers, he still is without comfort. Faith in God (in His character and in His Word), not faith in our circumstances or even in our prayers is the key to trusting in the Lord.

• In times of crisis we raise our voice to the Lord

• In times of crisis we expect God to hear us

• In times of crisis we seek the Lord, even during the darkest of times and even if we do not receive instant relief

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

Have I ever prayed to the Lord where I felt no different inside my heart?

What reasons come to mind on why God delays in answering some of my prayers?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, may I always trust You, even when I do not see a change in my circumstances.

The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…
Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service—Evangelism

Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2012 All rights reserved.

www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blogspot.com/

Dr. Denny Bates | Leading with Quality in Mind

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Psalms of Discipleship. Principle #37 (Grace) October 6, 2012

Hello my dear friends! Today's Psalms of Discipleship addresses one of our greatest needs: hope. Hope is what fuels us to keep on pressing on. Hope is what gets us out of bed on a rainy Monday morning. And hope is what helps us keep the right perspective when life's circumstances are not going our way. May we learn the secret to life: to fix our hope on the Lord.

Resting in Jesus,

Denny Bates


Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #37

Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life

Key Scripture: 5 For You are my hope; O Lord GOD, You are my confidence from my youth. 6 By You I have been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother's womb; My praise is continually of You. 7 I have become a marvel to many, For You are my strong refuge. Psalm 71:5-7

Core Value: Grace

Has there ever been a time in your life when you were without hope? Perhaps you were experiencing a severe famine of a depleted bank account or maybe you were in the middle of a perfect storm of crushing circumstances that left you weary and hopeless?

Here is an important life principle that disciples of Jesus must not only know about, but practice it too. We must quit hoping in others, we must quit hoping that our problems will go away. We even must quit hoping in ourselves. We must place our hope in the Lord.

Principle #37 & Personal Application: Quality disciples have a hope that is fixed upon the Lord.

When we hope in the Lord . . .

• We place our confidence in Him: “You are my confidence from my youth”

• We give our unending praise to Him: “My praise is continually of You”

• We become an encouragement to others: “I have become a marvel to many”

• We find our strong refuge in Him: “For You are my strong refuge”

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

What has been going on in my life where I have been able to place my hope in the Lord?

Can I think of a circumstance where others were encouraged by my faith in the Lord?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are my hope, O Lord, my God. You are my confidence. By Your grace You have sustained me from my birth. My praise shall be continually of You. Because of Your grace at work in my life, I have become a marvel to many as I have found safety in You, my strong refuge.

The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…
Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service—Evangelism

Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2012 All rights reserved.

www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blogspot.com/

Looking for a way to jump start your devotional life? Try Psalms of Discipleship: A One Year Journey with the Shepherd. Click on this link for how you can order your copy today (Print or pdf ebook).

http://www.dennybates.com/#!a-one-year-journey-with-the-shepherd/c6pu

Psalms of Discipleship. Principle #33 (Prayer). September 8, 2012

Hello my dear friends! Why do we pray? Is it to simply "get" things from God and have Him at our beckoned call, or is there a greater purpose in prayer? Prayer, biblical prayer, is more than having a punch list where we check off our prayer requests. Prayer is all about intimacy between the Creator and His creation. It is not a monologue. It is a dialogue. Prayer is the "air" we breathe when we come into His presence. In today's Psalms of Discipleship we discover a man who is facing impossible circumstances. In response, he turns to the only One who has the power (and love) to help.

Praying to a Great God who answers great prayers,

Denny


Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #33

Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life

Key Scripture: 13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, at an acceptable time; O God, in the greatness of Your lovingkindness, Answer me with Your saving truth. 14 Deliver me from the mire and do not let me sink; May I be delivered from my foes and from the deep waters. 15 May the flood of water not overflow me Nor the deep swallow me up, Nor the pit shut its mouth on me. 16 Answer me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me, Psalm 69:13-16

Core Value: Prayer

Is your faith founded upon having life go well with you by extending to you pleasant circumstances? Is your faith in your ability to have enough faith in you? Or is your faith centered on the character of God? Is your faith directed to the One who has the power to transform you and your impossible circumstances? These are all great questions of process. For the Psalmist, he directed his prayer to the Lord. Note this: the more he talked about prayer AND prayed, the greater his testimony of faith became.

The same can be true of you as well. Look at your impossible circumstances and then look to the One who not only can work in your circumstances but who also can accomplish an even greater work . . . in you.

Principle #33 & Personal Application: Quality disciples offer their prayer for deliverance based not upon their circumstances, but upon the unchanging character of God.

• The prayer of faith is directed to the Lord.

• The prayer of faith is founded upon the greatness of the Lord’s lovingkindness.

• The prayer of faith is offered during the direst of circumstances where only God can deliver.

• The prayer of faith rests upon the kindness and compassion of the Lord.

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

When I am facing seemingly impossible circumstances, how does prayer help me trust the Lord more?

As I take time and mediate upon God’s character, what are some of His qualities that come to mind?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, may I always direct my prayers to You. May I always keep Your promises before me and may I always consider Your character when I am put to the test. May I always remember that I alone cannot deliver myself from my circumstances and that only You can help me.

The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…
Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service—Evangelism

Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2012 All rights reserved.

www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blogspot.com/

http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/dennybates

Psalms of Discipleship--Principle #35--Worship--September 10, 2011

Hello my dear friends! Today's Psalms of Discipleship will be an encouragement to all of us, no matter our where we are (or have been) in our journey with the Shepherd of the Psalms. We all have experienced great times as well as having gone through the dark waters of discouragement and personal failure. Thankfully, the Lord is present in each and every circumstance.

Learning as I go,

Denny

Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #35

Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life

Key Scripture: Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. Psalm 42:5

Core Value: Worship

In his classic novel, A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens targeted the tension between good and evil when he wrote these famous words:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”

Those same words could be written today as we seek to navigate dangerous waters. In our case, the tension is between trusting in the Lord or allowing fear of our circumstances take control of us. All that surrounded him disturbed the psalmist. Words like “despair” and “disturbed” had become a part of his vocabulary. Many people, even believers, fail to move on from these kinds of words. They surrender and settle for spiritual defeat. This was not the case with the psalmist. Instead, after showing his transparency and confessing his inner struggle, he made a choice to move on to a far healthier perspective. His circumstances, for the moment, had not changed but his vocabulary did. He goes from “despair” to “hope in God,” from “disturbed” to “I shall again praise Him.” He rests in the fact that the presence of the Lord will help him.

May we all be honest to God on how we really feel. But may we also, through grace, have the faith to hope in Him and praise Him, even in the most challenging of circumstances. For even in the worst of times we can experience the best of times if we are trusting Jesus to take care of us.

Principle #35 & Personal Application: The quality disciple has chosen to worship God even in the midst of challenging circumstances.

• Even when our soul is in despair and has become disturbed, worship of the Lord must be our first response.

• Our hope is not in our wisdom, nor in our human strength, and certainly it is not in the citadels of political power. Our hope must be in God.

• It requires faith, not faith in one’s self, but faith in God to praise and worship Him.

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

How can I begin to make the transition in my spiritual journey where praise and worship of God becomes my default setting (in other words, “my habit”) as I respond to Him when I face difficult circumstances?

Everyone goes through difficult times. Have I ever had an experience where I sensed the presence of the Lord as I began to praise and worship Him?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, there have been times in my life where my soul has been in despair and very disturbed. And yet, You have offered me grace. It is by Your grace that I can hope in my God. It is by faith where I can praise and worship You. May my life be marked as a disciple who has the habit of worshiping You.

PS. Thanks to all of you have given your input on a new project I am working on called Psalms of Discipleship: A One Year Journey With The Shepherd. I'm going to close out the survey on September 17. If you have not taken the opportunity to respond, please do so this week. It is ten questions in less than five minutes. This link will take you to the survey. Thanks again!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6HBT759

The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…
Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service—Evangelism

Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2011 All rights reserved.

www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blogspot.com/