"Where Are the Men and Women of Prayer?"

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:16, “[Redeem] the time for the days are evil.” We live in exciting times. More people are alive today than any previous generation. The opportunity to impact our world for Christ has never been greater. We have all the resources we need. But there’s one disturbing question, “Where are the workers?”

Jesus said that the solution to enough workers for the harvest is found in prayer (Mt. 9:37-38). But that presents another problem. Where are the men and women of prayer?

Too many of us have become so busy that we have no time for God. It’s impossible to have an intimate relationship with anyone without sufficient time with that person. How much more true is that with God? We long to spend time with those we love. Therefore, if you truly love God, you will desire to spend time alone with Him sharing your heart and allowing Him to share His heart with you.

This may be the greatest hindrance of this generation of pastors. We have become “professional” ministers and learned well how to produce “quality” programs. But we’ve forgotten the secret chamber of prayer. We often entertain but seldom convict. We draw crowds to our buildings but few to our Savior. We’ve learned the art of developing partnerships, but lost the passion to know the one Partner that really matters.

The Father longs to spend time with His children. He calls to us. Steal away and make time to meet with Him. If there is any hindrance to your intimacy with God, identify it, confess it, and repent of it. Determine in your heart that you long to know Him, really know Him, more than anything in life. He will come to you. He will meet with you. Don’t allow any obstacle to keep you from such intimacy with God.

–Adapted from Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry (Chapter 37, Hindrances to Effective Prayer by Sammy Tippit).

"A Renewed Mind"

We may say a person has an ulterior motive, there are strings attached, they are in it for the money, they have a hidden agenda, it is not what it seems, or it seems too good to be true. We are naturally skeptical people when it comes to changing our mind about someone or something we do not trust. Have you ever attempted to help someone only to have them skeptically turn down your offer? Have you ever doubted a salesman’s pitch as you were determining to make a major purchase? Have you ever needed to change your mind about someone who proved to be more trustworthy than you initially thought? Have you noticed that it is nearly impossible to fully appreciate the value of someone or something until you understand and trust them/it? For this to occur we typically must change the way in which we view them or think about it.

Pastor Fred Luter shared a message in Convocation on Wednesday about “The Importance of Having a Renewed Mind”. Using Philippians 2:5-8, he reminded all of us that we are being tempted to sin every day by the enemy who has many effective tactics in his bag of tricks. The only way we can stand against his attacks is to have a mind like Jesus. With a renewed mind I am capable of realizing the over-whelming value of what Jesus has accomplished for me through His death. My response should be nothing short of sacrificing my life for Him and living every day for His purposes. Just as Jesus humbly chose to become one of us, my choices should be those that make my Father in heaven pleased. A renewed mind allows me to realize that there are consequences connected to every choice I make. The Cross meant suffering and shame for Jesus. With a renewed mind, I am able to reflect on the message of the Cross unlike those whose minds are still darkened. Many of us Christians fail to appreciate how blessed we are to have access to a renewed mind. We attempt life through our own understanding.

So if you are a Christ-follower, yet find your spiritual walk somewhat dry and passionless, you may need to renew your mind. If you will change your mind, Jesus will change your heart. It is a heart problem! Did Jesus have an ulterior motive; does His message seem too good to be true? Until one renews their mind about who He is and what He has done, Jesus cannot be fully appreciated as Lord and Savior! If you want to grow in your worship and appreciation of Jesus Christ, simply learn more about Him through studying the Bible and then meditate on what you learn…”A Renewed Mind”! Spend some time in prayer right now, asking God to help you renew your mind.

"You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had." Phil. 2:5 NLT

"When God Calls"

Imagine you get a personal phone call from Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. asking you for a favor. Let’s say he asks you to come to his office right away so that he can talk to you about something very important. He tells you not to worry about your class schedule; he can have his secretary take care of that for the rest of the day. He is adamant about needing you there immediately because the window of opportunity is small. Do you drop everything and go? Are you excited about the possibility of sitting in his office and visiting with him about how you can help him? Or do you share with him that you are busy and do not have any free time until tomorrow afternoon? What about simply not showing up at his office and ignoring his request? What if he called you personally every day for a week…would you go meet with him?

Ken Davis brought us a challenge on Monday during Convocation (watch it online if you missed it! Ken Davis). If God clearly and miraculously revealed Himself to you and called on you to do something for Him…how long would it take you obey? We were reminded that God speaks to us every day. When God comes near and speaks to us we are standing on holy ground. God promises to build His Kingdom but He chooses to use our lives to do the work. Moses was a less than capable ordinary guy empowered by an extraordinary God. For every excuse Moses gave as to why he could not do the job, God reminded him that it wasn’t about his abilities…it was all about God’s abilities! “God will never ask you to do anything He hasn’t first prepared you to do.”

God wants us to experience live to its fullest. Full life is directly connected to our level of obedience when God calls. We cannot do our own thing, ignore God’s call, and assume we should enjoy the blessings of being fully alive. How often do we believe we should be given more blessings than we already have? Is God loving when He tells us “NO”? Is it right for God to withhold from me when I refuse to obey His call? Which excuse am I using to ignore God’s call to me? “Who am I?; How should I explain who You are God?; What if they don’t believe me?; What if they won’t listen?; What if they doubt me?; What if…?” God tells us “You can’t…but I can!” Will you trust Him?

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” John 14:21 NLT

"Choosing Friends"

How much thought have you given to choosing friends? Should we be concerned about those we spend great amounts of time with?

• "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence." (George Washington) 
• "When you choose your friends, don't be short-changed by choosing personality over character." (W. Somerset Maugham) 
• “A good friend will always stab you in the front.” (Oscar Wilde) 
• "Don’t make friends who are comfortable to be with. Make friends who will force you to lever yourself up." (Thomas J. Watson)

Is it true that friends can help make you into more than you are but that they can also break you and prevent you from becoming what you could be? This appears to be a valid consideration for all of us to process.

Is it really possible that the choice of friends made by Amnon, king David's son, is what led to his murder? In 2 Samuel 13 we find the story that our Convocation speaker, Pastor Jentezen Franklin, used to sharpen us with on Wednesday. He has challenged us to reflect on the importance of surrounding ourselves with the right kind of people. Young ladies were challenged to protect themselves from young men who do not have God's ways in mind, and likewise for young men regarding young ladies. How many of us really believe this subject is that critical today? We often do not see ourselves choosing friends that could ever be like Jonadab ("a very shrewd man"). Do we really believe that a choice of friends could lead to our murder (that's pretty drastic isn't it?). Isn't it possible that we could change that person who may be a little rough around the edges, after all we always have fun times when they are around! "I don't think I need to stay away from them, it's not like I will become like them." Aren't we entitled to unbridled fun during this time in life? We can always get serious later, right? Is it realistic for us to to say to someone "I like you, but I love Jesus!", and then put some distance between us and them? Is it OK to be alone for a season...aren't we missing out?

We were reminded by Pastor Franklin, that the enemy always wins the battle when we get on his turf...in the darkness of sin. "Sin is not your friend, but it will disguise itself as such." The problem is that we often do not realize when we are in his house! The solution is to have friends that will warn us! Will you honestly consider the dangers of having the wrong friends? Consider your behavior, have your friends changed you over the last 6 months? Your call.


"A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray." Prov. 12:26

"Steven Furtick: How to Approach God"

It’s common practice to teach your kids to say "please" and then "thank you" when they have requests. It’s considered proper protocol. And when talking to adults, it is. But with God, things are a little bit different.

God has a protocol for how He wants to be approached. And it starts with thanksgiving:

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5

With God, "thank you" should always come before "please." The first thing that needs to come out of my mouth in prayer and worship needs to be praise for who God is and what He has done. Not just instructions for what I want or even need Him to do.

Thank you is the key that opens the door to God’s house. There’s a lot of reasons for this, but more than anything, it’s about perspective.

If you thank God for everything before you ask Him for anything, it makes you realize you deserve nothing. It gives you the worldview that but for the grace of God, you would be in hell. And in turn, it makes you even more thankful because you’re not. And because God still answers your prayers.

Additionally, starting with "thank you" is just practical. When we start with praise, we establish the goodness and greatness of God right off the bat. Now all of our subsequent prayers and complaints can be answered by a good and great God who can both respond to us and who wants to.

It’s impossible to be self-absorbed and God-conscious at the same time. Realign your perspective in prayer today.

Start with "thank you." And then move on to "please."

by Steven Furtick

Ascribe Glory to the LORD

Ever been in a situation where you just don't seem to have the desire to worship God anymore? Simple solution: don't try. As human beings, we are given the privilege of free will--to act and respond. Hence, we simply cannot outwardly express our worship to God if it does not exist inwardly. For example, if a water bottle is empty, one cannot pour a single drop of water from it unless he first refills it. Therefore, instead of trying to muster "water" from your "empty bottle," try to fill your empty bottle with His Word and let worship overflow as a natural response to Him!

Psalm 29 centers on calling the Israelites to ascribe glory to the Lord. In efforts of leading the Israelites to worship, David provides a context in which the Israelites can respond. Verses 3-9 are an account of the power and awesomeness of God's voice. The voice of the Lord is over the waters, thunders, is powerful, is full of majesty, breaks the cedars, makes Lebanon skip like a calf, flashes forth flames of fire, shakes the wilderness, makes the deer give birth, and strips the forest bare (Ps. 29:3-9). In essence, David is trying to remind the Israelites that God is and will forever be enthroned over all things because He is the King of all kings. By His voice alone, God is able to make His will come true!

In response to God's omnipotence and God's sovereignty as revealed in His Word, let us meditate upon His majesty and allow worship to naturally flow out of us--to ascribe glory and strength to Him, to ascribe to the Lord glory due his name! 

(Revelation 4:11) “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Knowing God vs. Seeing God

We live in a day when electronic communications rule. We have the ability to email, text, tweet, Facebook, blog, Skype, etc. (does anyone know what a pager is?). I did not get text capability until about two years ago, thinking I wouldn't like it...now I don't know how I got by without it! I thought it would damage my ability to know how to have meaningful conversations on the phone, let alone have quality face to face conversations. But I have since discovered that texting can enhance our communication options. (I still believe time spent together is priority and that we should practice quality phone skills!)

Working in the Prayer Center, I am able to communicate with many people using digital tools. It truly helps as I try to encourage as many people as possible in a meaningful way. At the same time I also realize that it can appear somewhat impersonal to have prayer with/for someone through e-mail or text. I would much rather sit with the person, look at their face, experience their emotions, and allow them to receive a touch of God's love through my being with them personally. 

We would all agree that a relationship has a better chance of developing into one of quality as people have more time spent with each other. Chances are you know the people sitting next to you in class better than the average student who sits across the room. Clearly there will be levels of friendship within any group of people simply because we cannot spend the same amount of time with everyone. How well do we really know people? Do we simply know something about most of our friends?

Louie Giglio shared with us today that there is a difference between information and revelation, that knowing about someone or something is not the same as knowing them intimately and personally. Many of us know a great amount of information about God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have experienced a few really cool spiritual moments. We know about Sanctification, Justification, Redemption, Atonement, Glorification, all of the Omni's, Heaven, Hell, Rapture, Millennium...you get the point! The question on the table is: Has God revealed Himself to you personally? Did you find yourself without words to speak when you realized you were in the Creator's presence? Have you experienced what it is to worship such a holy, awesome God? For the men out there - have you ever been overcome with tears that you couldn't explain? Ladies, have you experienced His arms wrapping around you and the security of being in His grasp? When you walk into His throne-room, is it familiar territory? 

God wants to reveal Himself to us, but He will not do so if He knows we are not longing for Him to do so! Will you allow God to "ruin" you as in Isaiah 6:5  “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”  Let's not limit our relationship with this great God to "digital communication." Let us seek an audience with Him and allow Him to invade our space in all of His Glory...we will never be the same again!

Wholly Holy

(I Thess. 5:23)

Now may the God of peace himself sanctfu you completely, and may your whole spirit and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

" ....for the disparity beween Jesus' beauty and my brokeness is overwhelming to me at times.

But as the God of peace, you're making me wholly holy, changing me through and through.

And I will actively surrender to the very active ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whom I'm sealed, with whom I'm indwelt, and through whom I will be safely delivered into your presence. I pray in your faithful name. Amen."

Everyday Prayers

Scotty Smith

Lord, help us learn to be Holy !

Dr. Charles Hughes
Pastor for Prayer