A Forgetful Heart is an Ungrateful Heart

Things weren't going my way. Driving alone in the car I desperately began to pray, "God, what are you doing? What am I doing wrong?" It was more of a frustrated plea to God as I questioned His timing and motive.

You're probably thinking Laurie, you talked to God that way? Yes, but God already knew my frustration and the thoughts that were running through my head. By expressing it to Him I was directing my "out of tune" heart back to the Master Musician who could then tune me back to Truth.

Then Sings my Soul!

Prayer and praise are to very important parts of a Christian’s devotional life.  Have you even been so burdened or overwhelmed by your circumstances that you didn’t know how to pray or what to ask for?  On the other hand, have you ever been so excited and thankful for answered prayer that it was hard to sit still and pray?  Singing is a way to express each of these emotions in a way that is worshipful to God. God loves to hear the praise of His people, and when you pray back His Word to him, it is a sweet-smelling sacrifice of praise to Him.   Psalm 92:1 says, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto thy name, O most high.”

God-Centered Prayer

How many of us would love to have confidence when we pray that God hears us, and not only that He hears us, but that we know that we are going to have the things that we have asked? God says that we can have this unwavering faith in His Word:

“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request that we have of Him” (1 John 5:14-15)

The key to this faith is God-centered prayer. If prayer is not God-centered then we have no business trying to muster up faith, positive thinking, and expectation that God will give what we have asked. This attitude will only produce disillusionment and discouragement because we don't see God doing what we want. Prayer must be built on the solid foundation of the will of God. How may I know the will of God? God's revealed Word contains his complete and perfect will for us and has everything that we need to live a life of godliness. (2 Tim.3:16, 2 Pet.1:3)  This is God-centered prayer.  God's Word is the authority of our prayers: not us.

What is the opposite of God-centered prayer? Man-centered prayer. We live in a society where even Christians live and pray in a very self-centered way. We have a desire or a motive, so we pray expecting God to grant our request when we have not even the first clue what God has to say about our request in his Word. Then, we go about boasting and blaspheming the name of God when we say that we feel like God is leading us to do or ask for something without any clear basis for our request in His Word. We make ourselves out to be God and expect Him to act like our puppet.  We blaspheme the name of God to the people who are watching by making Him to be a liar because he does not do the things we ask. We ask with wrong self made motives to consume it on our lust. (James 4:2-3)

    

If we pray on the basis of His Word and His authority then we can pray with absolute confidence that we are going to have the things that we ask of him. The result is that God is glorified because he has answered our prayers and His Word has come alive!!!

 When I was single and unmarried I was urged to pray, expecting with confidence, for a husband.  I liked the idea very much and tried to think positively and pray this way and talk to others about my faith in God giving me a husband.  But deep inside I lacked confidence because this was just a desire of mine and I had nothing concrete in Scripture to base my request on, or to suppose that God was going to answer it. God showed me through His Word that His ultimate desire for my life is for me to know Him. The request for me to know Christ was definitely something I knew He wanted for my life. So I prayed in surrender, “Lord God, if I can know you better by being single, then I want to be single and if I can know you better being married then I want to be married.” In just a few weeks after praying that prayer God led me to my husband Michael.  Then the process began of knowing Christ even better through marriage.  God did not give me a husband because I claimed a promise that He would.  As much as I wanted to find one in Scripture, I could not.  But He gave me the desire of my heart because I delighted in Him.  I was willing to know Him better, no matter what that looked like.

-Christina (Jalbert) Priest

 Christina (Jalbert) Priest is 28-years-old, the wife of a wonderful man of God, Michael, and the mother of two adorable boys, Josiah and Noah. Chrissie inspired A Passion for Jesus ministries into existence and has continued to encouraged Christians of all ages to love God with all their heart. 

Impacting Friends for Eternity

Praying for Friends

I would love to say that I always loved praying for my friends. But I can’t. In fact, I can say just the opposite. There was a time I dreaded praying for people - especially in a group setting. I was so afraid of what my friends would think if I said the wrong thing. I mean, really, it would be embarrassing!

For such a long time I thought that prayer was something that I did because that’s what my family did before we ate, when we had family devotions and before we went to bed. Nothing really important, we were just thanking God for the day, our lives, what He had given us, etc. I really didn’t understand why we prayed. But when I finally understood I began to pray in earnest for those I loved. My family. I had friends, but never really thought to pray for them. After all, they were just friends, what would they need prayer for? They seemed fine to me.

When Your World Falls Apart

Praying for your family...

Praying for others can be a very exciting and passionate experience. When we pray for persecuted Christians, the President, a nation’s government, drug dealers and murderers, Hollywood, or revival in your city, we often feel like we are tackling head-on what really matters, chinking away at the big problems in our world, prayer by prayer.

But how often do we pray for those people in our lives that we see every day? The people who we live with day in and day out, who know our ugliest flaws as we know theirs, and who are often times the hardest  to love, and the hardest to forgive? How frequently to do we spend long, sacrificial hours, or even a dedicated number of MINUTES every single day praying for our family?

Praying for the Persecuted Church

Persecution? Like what happened to Peter and Paul? Yep. We don’t think of “Christian persecution” as something that takes place today, but in actuality, it is happening almost every hour! -things just as bad as what happened to Peter and Paul, actually, probably worse, due to the technology that we have now.
According to Mark Moore, founder of Province Community Church, “163,000 Christians die every year for their faith. Half of all the Christians who have ever died for their faith did so in this century alone, some 35 million!” (see http://markmoore.org/resources/essays/acts/persecution.pdf)

Persecution is a worldwide normality…

LAOS: On February 25 of last year, sixty-five Laotian Christians were driven away from their village after refusing to reject the Lord Jesus. Governmental Officials then destroyed the Christians crops. And local sources claim that the government plans to starve these Christians to death until they renounce Jesus Christ. http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Food-denied-to-65-Laotian-farmers-to-force-them-to-renounce-Christianity-20878.html

Egypt: Our news and media dubs the upheaval as “sectarian violence”, but in actuality, is persecution against God’s children.  On October 9, 2011, Egyptian Christians felt they had to do something against the outrageous violence against themselves. From 6-9 o’clock in the evening, the Christians held a peaceful protest. They sang hymns and were armed only with  candles and pictures of Jesus. The Muslim military responded by plowing tanks into the crowds of people. Twenty-four protesters and bystanders were killed. The Muslims followed those who were injured to the hospital, and even threatened to kill the hospital employees. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/10/us-egypt-copts-clashes-idUSTRE7981Q220111010

Uganda: December of last year, Pastor Umar was having an evangelical outreach. After everything was over, a group of men asked the Pastor if they could talk with him. Umar brought them in to the church when they suddenly poured acid on his face and back.  Umar lived through this attack, but his face is extremely disfigured and he has lost sight in one eye. Doctors are still struggling now to save the other. http://www.persecution.net/ug-2012-03-08.htm

Persecution is worldwide. Persecution is real. 

Persecution is happening right now!

What are we supposed to do about it? Many Christians do not know that Jesus Christ gave the responsibility to help the persecuted to us. Yes, us, Christians. The Church has the responsibility to help the persecuted. “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”  (1 Peter 4:8 NKJV.) This verse says that our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ must be above all things…above all things! That is our responsibility.

Hebrews 13:1-2 says, “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:1-2 NIV)

The context of those verses was that of extreme persecution. Christians had been forced to flee their homes and could only hope to find refuge somewhere else. The author was instructing the Hebrews to be hospitable to even though they didn’t know them. Why? - Simply because they were a part of the body of Christ. Check out what Paul said about the Macedonian churches in (2 Corinthians 8:3-4. I really like the way the NLT says it!) … they really understood that we are one body…the body of Christ.

For example, If your hand is on a stove burner, you probably wouldn’t reach the newspaper and flip through for a little bit, and then maybe eat some chips, and then perhaps try to remove your hand from the hot stove. No! Your hand is a part of you. Rather you would remove it right away! In the same way, the Christian church is to, “… above all things have fervent love for one another…” 

For many years, I never knew of the plight of Christians around the globe. But now I know. Do not let ignorance be an excuse to ignore the silent murders, rapes, kidnappings, and imprisonments that many Christians have suffered in this very decade. Do not be unaware that our hands are on the burner.

Ok, now don’t get discourages. We CAN HELP THE PERSECUTED! This brings me back to prayer. Of course, there are many ways to help the persecuted, but one way is to pray for them. Visit http://www.compassdirect.org/. Compassdirect has been known to have accurate news reports about the persecuted…reports that our media will not give us. Check them regularly and pray for those Christians. Take the information that you read about to your family, friends and church. Have them to pray to! God’s Word does say that, “…the… prayer of righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16 KJV)

In Foxes book of Martyrs, it was said, “Christ founded the church with a call to love one another, but those who claim His name have not always lived out that calling.” But I pray that those words would not characterize you and me. Let us put this call to “love one another” “above all things”. And may we never forget that our hands are still on the stove burner. 

-Elisha Sputo

Take up Your Sword and FIGHT!

"I was in a serious battle. Everything that was normally light and bright now seemed dark and dull. As I stood there in the darkness I felt I was in quicksand, knowing that if I didn't react and do something quick I would panic and drown.

"My battle wasn't taking place in the normal sense; this was a battle for my mind. The enemy was throwing accusations in my face. My emotions started spinning out of control as Satan's lies flooded my heart. Desperately, I tried rejecting them but my feeble attempts to ignore only cause the battle to rage more fiercely within. What a poor soldier I turned out to be! 

"Then, someone stepped to my side and offered a glistening, sharp edged sword. 'This is no ordinary sword. Listen to its promptings and be ready to use it wherever you go', he said.

Confessions of an ex-convict

Did you know I spent time in prison? No, this time I wasn't visiting Port Arthur but...I was in place that was just as dark and miserable. Instead of viewing crumbing remains of an ancient convict settlement, I was behind bars locked away in my own prison cell. Late into the night I would toss and turn in the misery of a guilty conscience. If only I had not commit the crime I wouldn't be in this horrid place. Would I ever be free again?

Then there was a day I will never forget...

"Laurie", a voice whispered to me from beyond my barred window. Startle, I cautiously approached the window. "What do you want?" My eyes strained to recognize the silhouetted figure in the moonlit night. He came closer but remained hidden in the shadows. "Laurie, the One I work for sent me to arrange for your release." 

"Here is the key to your cell...you are free to go."

I was free to go? Staring at the key I wondered if I really had the courage to use it. How strange it would've been for me to stay in such a place. I was free to go. Nothing could stop me...except myself. I didn't walk out of my prison cell that night nor did I find freedom until many years later. 

Now that you are entirely shocked that I am an ex-convict, I will explain my real predicament. My prison was one of spiritual bondage. Hidden sin had thrown me into solitary confinement while guilt held me in chains. Jesus handed me the key but pride kept me from escaping. In Psalm 139 David prayed, 

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. 

Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." 

The third aspect of prayer we are looking at today is confession. I used to be afraid to ask God to search me because of the guilt buried deep within my heart. Sin has a nasty way of creeping in to the unsuspecting heart, draining your zeal for God and keeping you in a self-made prison. Sin's greatest strength lies in secrecy. Is there sin in your life that no one is aware of? Are there things you are keeping from your parents? I use to think that if I confessed to God enough He would get off my back and that I would "feel" better but it never worked. I was still in that prison cell and I knew the only way out was to use that key.

"People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy." (Proverbs 28:13) Don't waste another day imprisoned to sin. Grab one your parents and tell them everything. I remember the first time I found courage to talk with my mom about my struggles...I did NOT tell her everything. Afterwards I felt even more miserable because I only told her enough to "make myself feel better". I had to go back a second time and this time I did tell her everything. As you go to prayer today remember the words of Jesus, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Don't remain in that prison cell but use the key of confession to walk through that door of freedom!

I know this is a tough thing to tackle so if you want to talk please feel free to send me an email: laurie@apassionforjesus.com 

A Weapon You Cannot Live Without

"A large army from Edom is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea. They are making good time which leaves us little time to prepare for the attack." The young messenger wiped the sweat off his forehead as he paused to catch his breath. He had travelled long and hard to warn the king of this approaching danger. Impatiently, he waited for the king's response but only silence filled the courtyard. A look of fear came over the king's face. This news could be fatal for the people in Judah. King Jehoshaphat began to pace the room.

"God, what am I going to do", he silently prayed. This was not the first time he stared death in the face. His thoughts drifted back to the time the enemy mistakenly thought he was the Israeli King. Their orders were to kill him but God supernaturally intervened when Jehoshaphat cried out to Him for help. Could it be that God wanted to show Himself strong once more? Turning to the messenger he knew what must be done. "Everyone in Judah must begin to fast. Have them gather in Jerusalem that we may seek the Lord's help".

News spread rapidly and the people of Judah assembled together in from of the new courtyard at the Temple of the Lord. The crowd restlessly waited to see what their king was going to do. Jehoshaphat solemnly stood before them He lifted up his voice to Heaven to beg for deliverance...it was their only hope.

"O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! Now the armies of Ammon, Moah, and Mount Seir are coming to invade our lands. They have come to throw us out of your land. Oh our God, won't you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack. We don't know what to do, but are looking to you for help!"

The king's earnest prayer was met with silence from the Lord. His eyes scanned the anxious crowd as He wondered if anyone had received a message from God. Slowly a man made his way to the front of the crowd. Jehoshaphat then knew that God had sent his spirit on this man.

"My name is Jahaziel and this is God's response to our prayers. Don't be afraid or discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is nor yours, but God's. Tomorrow, march out against them but you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord's victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you!" Responding to the Lord, King Jehoshaphat and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem bowed low with their faces to the ground, worshipping and praising the Lord.

Early the next morning, the army gathered together for the battle at hand. After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. "Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!" At the sound of praises, the approaching troops began to turn on themselves and fight each other. The Lord had sent a spirit of confusion into their midst and utterly destroyed the enemy!

There is a weapon you and I cannot live without...it is the weapon of praise. I love this story found in 2 Chronicles 20. To me, it is a beautiful spiritual analogy of our daily lives. Praise is our strong defense. It not only ushers in the presence of God but brings protection against the enemy of discouragement, fear, and depression. As you spend time in prayer today remember these words...

 "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, 

and into his courts with praise." (Psalm 100:4)

Our Lifeline

“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.” (Samuel Chadwick)

Why is prayer such a struggle for the majority of Christians? Perhaps it is because prayer is our lifeline. Without prayer the Word of God will just be dry and boring. Without prayer you cannot experience the presence of God. Prayer...moves us to do what we cannot achieve in our own strength. It helps us to see what God sees, accomplish what He wills us to do, defeat the enemy, and change the world for Jesus Christ. (just thinking about it gets me excited!) 

When the Impossible Becomes Possible

Before Jesus died He gathered His disciples together for one last talk. (you can read about it in John 13-16) The disciples were greatly troubled as Jesus soberly explained why He must go away and leave them.  I cannot imagine what it would've been like to have been one of the disciples that night; the foot washing, the sobering meal, and the troubling news of betrayal and death. That night the Lord gave them an impossible mission...

"So I give you a new commandment; Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other...If you love me, obey my commandments. Abide in me and I in you...I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love." (commands from John 13-16)

A "Green Chair Chat" with God

In my little blue room I have this ugly green chair. Although it has seen better days I'm quite fond of the little chair. It has witness many counseling sessions and has been a welcoming spot for all my friends who come to visit. But when I'm alone, the little green chair is my place of prayer. This chair has been wet with tears time and time again as I've visited the throne room of Heaven.

As I knelt by my green chair one morning my mind drifted from prayer onto the cares of the day. Finally I snapped back to earth with the realization that I was suppose to be talking with God. I bowed my head once more, letting my mouth lead the way while my heart trailed way behind. But as I prayed, the nagging thoughts echoed words of condemnation...

The Secret Place

"And now about prayer. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you." (Matthew 6:5-6, NLT) 

Imagine receiving an invitation to spend the day with someone you greatly admire and love. What would be going through your mind? Obviously you would probably be wondering, "What do I wear?!" A millisecond later you'd be pondering, "What are we going to do together? Where will we go? What will we talk about?" You and I have a need to be loved and cherished which is why I want to deliver a special invitation to you...the One who loves you wants to spent time with you today!

The Sin of Prayerlessness

“In whom (Christ) we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him” (Ephesians 3:12 KJV). The death of Jesus destroyed the barrier between the Holiness of God and the sinful state of man. The curtain that separated mankind from the holy of holies was torn in two, declaring to the world that the price of sin had been paid in full (Matthew 27:51-52). On the cross, Jesus Christ stretched out His hand to the world and with the other, He grasped the throne room of heaven declaring, “It is finished.” Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ we now have direct access to the Father.