Thursday, December 11, 2008

Trusting God to complete the mission He has called you to do



I was recently reading one of my favorite passages of the Bible – Jesus calming the sea (Luke 8:22-25).  As I read it I thought about how Jesus had told the disciples that they were going to reach the other side. He didn’t say, ‘let’s see how far we can go and if we can’t make it, then we’ll forget about it.’  No, Jesus said, ‘Let’s go to the other side of the lake.’  They would get to the other side of the lake, no question.

After saying this Jesus lay down and went to sleep.  The storm came in.  Not just a typical lake storm which the fishermen were used to, but such a storm that they felt they were in great peril and feared that they would die.  And in the midst of the howling wind, beating waves and frantic movement all about while fishermen trying to bail the water out of the small boat, Jesus slept.  It wasn’t because He was unconcerned that the storm had arisen or seemed to be totally unaware of the terror the disciples were experiencing that He continued His peaceful sleep.  He could peacefully rest because He knew that they were going to get to the other side, no matter what came up to attempt to slow them down or stop them.

At times in my life, even though I was confident that Jesus had called me to something or promised that He was going to do something in ministry, I have felt that He was ignoring me or was unconcerned that I was seeing little happen in connection to His promises or call…I have felt disappointed that it seemed that He was asleep on the job.  The Lord reminded me again through this passage that when He has said that He will do something, He will do it and I simply need to rest in Him.  I am not get anxious or impatient but must always wait in great faith that what He said He will do, He will do. 

If He has given you promises regarding using you to help to bring the gospel to your campus and to help develop a movement of students, administrators and faculty that will make a difference for Christ on your campus, then you must trust that He will do it. You must trust Him, no matter how great the storm is all around and no matter how sound asleep He may seem right now!  If He said He would do it, He will do it!

During the upcoming holidays, please take some time to ask God to show you His promises for you this coming semester.  Ask Him to place His plans in your mind and on your heart and direct you to do what will best bring about His glory on your campus.  Continue to ask Him to lead you to other believers at your campus to whom He has given the same call, the same dream for making His Name known among your classmates.

Even though we are taking a break from the coaching tips until the beginning of next semester, I will stay in touch with you with details about the Winter Bible Conference.  As soon as I know more details about the cost and the possibility of some of the travel expenses being paid for I will contact you.  I hope to see you there.  Continue in prayer that the Lord will provide the finances for you to go!  Raising funds for conferences  will guide you in seeking financial support from others for the conference. 

Good luck on your tests.  Enjoy the holidays! 

Monday, December 1, 2008

The Basics of Prayer



I just came across this summary of prayer and I thought it might be helpful to you to use to give someone an overview of what prayer is.  If I were to write a “summary” of prayer, it would end up being a 3 MB-sized document!  This New Life staff person managed to do a basic overview in less than a page – how I wish I had his ability!  Of course, it doesn’t cover everything, but it answers the questions a new or young believer may have about prayer.

THE BASICS OF PRAYER   
Eric Swanson

Prayer is simply conversing with God.  It is the God-given means to communicate our thoughts, desires, concerns and worship to Him.

1)  We can pray about anything, at any time, in any place. (Philippians 4:6-7)

2)  We can know that God always hears and grants requests that are according to His will.  (1 John 5:14-15)

3)  When we are praying for something that we’re not certain is God’s will, we can still pray in faith.  Praying in faith is not merely positive thinking.  It means that we believe God can answer our request and we are praying that He will answer but we trust Him to answer it only if it is His will.

4)  God doesn’t always answer our prayers in the way we pray for them to be answered.  He always answers according to His will.  Just as a good father doesn’t give everything a child asks for, so God uses His wisdom in how He answers our requests.  To those requests that would be good for us now, He answers, “yes”.  To those things that would eventually hurt us or not further His plan for us, He answers, “no”.  To those requests that would be good for us, but in the future, He answers, “wait”.  God sometimes grants us our desire but not our specific request.

                “Yes” – Mark 10:46-52
                “No” – Mark 10:35, 40
                “Wait” – Genesis 15:2-5
                “Desire”- He will fulfill our general ‘desire’ but does not always fulfill our specific “request” – Psalm 37:4, Romans 1:9-13

5)  Prayer is not just the means to get what we want but the means for God to give us what He wants.  There are four types of prayer mentioned in the Bible.

                Adoration – praising and worshipping God for who He is.  Psalm 145:1-6
                Confession – telling God about ourselves, our sins, our fears, our thoughts.  1 John 1:9
                Thanksgiving – thanking God for what He has given you or has done in your life. Ephesians 5:20
                Supplication – praying for ourselves and others.  Matthew 7:7,8

                (Note that of the four types of prayer, only one of the types is dependent on answers.)

Possible hindrances to effective prayer:
                Unconfessed sin – Psalm 66:18, Mark 11:25
                Wrong motives – James 4:2,3
                Distorted relationships with people – 1 Peter 3:7b
                Lack of perseverance – Luke 18:1-8
                Lack of faith – James 1:6-8, Romans 10:17

Which of the above might be hindering your prayers?