uplifted

1 Tim. 2:8
I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.

Lifting hands in prayer and worship is a common practice throughout the Christian world (other faiths, as well). In the Bible, the word for “thanksgiving,” is literally, “lift up your hands.”

When we lift up our hands we show God there is nothing in them and all that we receive comes from him. When we lift up our hands it’s as if we are pointing out a magnificent work of art and saying, “Wow!”

God is magnificent. God is good. I lift my hands to his majesty.

Pray with hands uplifted today.

Spirit power

following the lead of the Holy Spirit brings power
saying all you need is the Holy Spirit brings trouble
what's the difference?

without ceasing

1 Thess. 5:17
Pray without ceasing.

In the King James English language, this is the second shortest verse in the Bible. How simple and how challenging. Keeping constantly in touch with God (simple instruction) and actually doing it (challenge).

Why would we want to neglect God in prayer? Only if there is something we don’t want to talk with him about and then we need him even more.

Pray every hour on the hour today (for example, you can set a watch countdown alarm).

strive

Col. 4:12
Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.

It is not unheard of for someone to be “wrestling” with God. We even hear of a match with Jacob (Genesis 32). Yet, this wrestling in prayer sound like it is a fervent struggle bringing someone else before God. It is overwhelming to think of the love Epaphras must possess to spend all his time in prayer for others. Maybe this is why the name “Epaphras” means beloved!

Who are you striving to prayer for lately?

vow

Col 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

What does it mean to be “devoted”? To “devote” comes from the Latin word meaning, “to vow.” Devoting yourself to something is not just a casual assent. It is a vow. A promise. We are told to be very careful with what we promise with God. Can you promise to speak with him regularly and follow through with it?

Think of prayer as a vow during this week.

worry

Philippians 4:6
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

When you pray worry goes away. When you don’t pray, worry stays, gets shoved in the subconscious, or you become hardened. Any way you look at it, it is totally logical to not to worry about anything and pray about it, instead.

If it is a matter that you don’t have any influence over, your prayer will bring strength. If it is a matter you do have influence over, then joining with God as your partner will only help.

What do you and God need to consider today?

need

Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

There are times when you feel overwhelmed because there is so much need in the world. You can become cynical and jaded. Or you can pray.

Praying for other brothers and sisters in Christ around the world is a way to stay connected as family. With the Holy Spirit taking charge, we know our reception is excellent no matter where.

Pray for Christians in China today.

challenge

Ephesians 1:16
I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

Who are you thinking about when you read the verse above? Chances are it is someone dear to you who brightens up your life. What if it is a co-worker who makes your day miserable? What if it is a nosy relative? How can that be?

Think about this. The person who forces us to be more patient and forgiving is a person who is doing us a favor. We are growing in our Christlike character in part, due to an environment they are helping to create. So, pray away!

Who can you give thanks for today who expands your graciousness?

"hidden" clues to Jesus

does Jesus reveal anything about himself when you consider the natural world?

being prayed for

2 Corinthians 1:11
And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.

It is a humbling experience to realize your life is enhanced by the prayers of others. You don’t spend too much time getting too impressed by what you are accomplishing when you have the knowledge of others holding you in prayer, let alone knowing the Holy Spirit is lifting you up even if there is no one else.

Give humble thanks today for people you know are praying for you.

Spirit

1 Cor. 14:13
So anyone who speaks in tongues should pray also for the ability to interpret what has been said.

Speaking in tongues is a spiritual discipline for some Christians. It has the paradox of focusing on God by abandoning focus. God can encourage and strengthen our faith using this discipline and we do well to pray to understand if we do pray in this way.

Speaking in tongues or not, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you this day.

spouse

1 Cor. 7:5
Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Intimacy between husbands and wives is a gift from an intimate God. There are times that we focus on the Lord so strongly that all other connections fade into the background. This is not to be an extended time, however, as our bond encompasses all of who we are, and provides strength, as well as fulfillment of desire.

Pray for married couples in your circle of friends.

family

1 Cor. 1:4
I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.

When our loved ones trust in Jesus and follow him, this brings joy and blessing to us and a sense of being on the same team together. We often thank God for those we love, and we know the more they love God the more they share his love with us. To desire this is not as selfish as it is an accurate reflection on reality.

Pray for the faith of family members.

two more prayer thoughts

Note: I am catching up after a trip. Here are two.

Romans 8:26
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

Notice this verse doesn’t say, “When we do not know what we ought to pray for?” Does this mean we never know what we ought to pray for? I think that is exactly what it means.

There are prayers we leave out that we forgot about. There are things to pray about that we aren’t aware of. When we come to God in prayer, there is more going on than we realize. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit’s got us covered.

Give thanks to the Holy Spirit throughout the day today.

Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

If we are faithful in prayer, then we will be joyful in hope and patient in affliction. It’s funny how that works out.

Make a list of your greatest hopes.

two

Acts 22:17
After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance.

There are times when prayer is so consuming that you lose track of time and place. In this particular trance, Jesus appears to Paul. To pray with such intensity that you lose focus of the world around doesn’t guarantee Jesus will show up visibly. There had to be a reason Paul needed to see Jesus at this time.

Yet, know for all of us, as we pray, Jesus is present.

Find a quiet time and place and pray with unusual intensity today.


Acts 28:8
As it happened, Publius’s father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him.

By being used to heal Publius’ father, all the sick of the island of Malta came to Paul for healing. Publius happened to be a VIP. Heal his dad and the word gets out. I don’t think Paul did the healing for publicity. The guy was sick and needed healing. Yet, God uses the situation for further blessing.

Pray for a celebrity who is sick.

free

Acts 16:25
Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

Having spent some time in prison ministry, I have seen how prison life can be excruciatingly monotonous. Hurry up and wait. Paul and Silas put their time to good use. At 12 a.m.!! A little evening worship never hurt anyone. Actually, as Paul wrote, later, “in Christ we are free.” What prison?

Pray at midnight tonight.

women of faith

Acts 16:13
On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there.

Luke, the author of Acts, accompanied Paul on some of his journeys. This makes eyewitness accounts so detailed. Here we see women meeting for worship and prayer, a scandal in the day for Jews, Greeks, and Romans. The Christian influence in these cultures when it comes to women is astounding, light years ahead of anything else witnessed in the ancient world at the time.

Pray for the women of faith around you.

ministry

Acts 14:23
Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

Paul and Barnabas appointed leaders for the churches they started. Notice their prayers are for the churches to be led by God. In other words, it is not their place to be overly enmeshed with the church as if its future will somehow be about them and not God. Can we hand over ministries we have been part of to God’s care?

Pray for a ministry you are involved in.

how can the Church best influence society?

in the first two centuries the Christian church was rejected and respected as it swept through the Greco-Roman world with radical love and holiness...
Same thing happens today when Christians are Christian

how much?

Acts 13:3
So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.

How much prayer is necessary? You can never have enough since prayer can easily accompany action in any given situation. We pray more when we desire to connect more. It’s not to say you will always hear exactly what God wants you to do, but it does make it more likely you will be open to hearing more clearly with less your agenda clouding the wisdom.

Pray before you are thinking, while you are thinking, and after you are thinking.

understanding the Bible in under an hour

what is the Bible really all about?
a description

can be downloaded at ITunes "Christcast"

prison

Acts 12:5
But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

It is such a powerful experience to have people pray for you during challenging times. Many a Christian in impossible situations has had their faith strengthened and hope secured. When we pray together as a church, we connect with brothers and sisters in the faith who are undergoing extreme hardship, especially in places of persecution today.

Pray for Christians in prison because of their faith. See www.persecution.com

vision

Acts 11:5
5 “I was in the town of Joppa,” he said, “and while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners from the sky. And it came right down to me.”

In prayer we are open to seeing in our mind what God has in mind. A vision is an extraordinary visualization that occurs when we are awake. A dream occurs when we are sleeping. I have never had a vision like Peter’s. Then again, this is some vision. After all, this pretty much changed the way God’s people look at the world for the rest of eternity.

Envision what your life might be like if you gave God an extra 20 minutes of attention every day.

offering

Acts 10:4
Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel. And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!

Little do we know how pleased and honored God is when we pray. It may seem routine and rote to us, but to God our prayers are like sweet music to his ears. Perhaps it is a bit like parents of a teenager getting unsolicited conversation from their son/daughter. Maybe, not even asking for something!!

When you pray today, think of it as an offering to God.