DURING THIS THANKSGIVING MONTH WE WILL CONCENTRATE ON PRAYER, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON GIVING THANKS.
THIS WEEK WE WILL CONSIDER “THE PARADOX OF PRAYER.”
DAVID CAUGHT ONE PARADOX WHEN HE SAID:
WHEN I CONSIDER THE HEAVENS…
WHAT IS MAN THAT THOU ART MINDFUL OF HIM?
God is AWESOME
and yet
DESIRES INTIMACY WITH US
This is one of the two paradoxes
we will ponder and practice this week.
Consider this short clip from Tim Keller:
His Spirit seems to be leading us on this journey —
is that not in itself an illustration of awesomeness and intimacy?
I think of how He led us to consider the ten lepers,
how all were thankful, but only one was in awe.
Let us continue our journey of thankfulness all month,
but also let us allow the thanks to lead us to awe.
When Jesus taught us to pray, He taught us to begin with awe:
“Our Father who art in heaven.”
This reminds me of Solomon’s warning:
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.
To draw near to listen rather than offer the sacrifice of fools for they do not know that they are doing evil.
Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God,
for God is in heaven and you are on earth.
Therefore let your words be few.
Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
Yet this same Solomon encourages us that God wants intimacy.
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
Song of Songs 2:14
Another paradox Keller mentions is that prayer is a
Struggle, A Battle!
And yet,
A Delight.
If your prayer life is lukewarm, as mine often is, let us help heat up one another this month, these 30 days of November, until it becomes a delight. I have been on the road and listened to the book, The War Room, on which the movie was based. (I have yet to see the movie.) I enjoyed this scene and found it on you-tube.
We can help each other on this blog turn duty to delight.
One log on a fire dies.
But together we can blaze.
On a personal note, thank you for your prayers. I had an encouraging conversation with the editor at Waterbrook on my Song of Songs manuscript. Now they pitch it to their owner, Random House. I’d be thankful for continued prayers in that process!
Thank you for your patience with our blog problems. You were so gracious and David and his team, as usual, were great. Let us know if we aren’t there yet and keep praying. It seems the devil often worms his way into the technical aspects, so pray for victory over that snake.
Sunday:
1. What stands out to you from the above and why?
2. Comment on the two paradoxes and how you see them in your prayer life.
Monday-Wednesday Bible Study
Prepare your heart with this:
I find the contrast between Ecclesiastes and The Song of Songs fascinating. Ecclesiastes is a sad poem, portraying a man who feared God but lacked intimacy with Him. That void in his life caused him to keep looking for meaning “under the sun,” and finding that to be in vain.
Yet he did fear God, knowing only the fool takes God lightly. In Ecclesiastes we see the importance of revering God, but in the Song, we see the importance of intimacy with God. We must do both!
3. Read Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
A. In verse 1, Solomon contrasts the man who listens to God to the one who goes to the Temple and offers “the sacrifice of fools.” (It might help you to consider Malachi 2:13-14 who were bringing sacrifices and making God angry.)
B. Why do you think it might be important to listen to God about your life before you begin petitioning Him?
C. What other warning is given in Ecclesiastes 5:2 and what reason is given?
D. One way to listen to God is by contemplating His Word — and then to take His Word an incorporate it into your prayer life in confession, thanks, or petition. Do this now with Ecclesiastes 5:1-2.
4. Practicing thankfulness that leads us to be in awe of God will also transform your prayer life. Continue doing that daily this week.
Here is one from me: Lord, thank You for the closeness I have with Sally, which is only because of You, considering how we were estranged for a season. Thank You for the beautiful weekend You gave us together, and for the GLORY of autumn which reminds us of Your GLORY, and how you are as faithful to us as the seasons You set in place.
The paradox is that an awesome God wants intimacy with us. He tells us to come to Him, for He wants to be with us, He wants to hear our voice. He is not offended by specific petitions, if they have been considered carefully, and submitted to His will. My friend Lyle was teasing me that I had “prayed a selfish prayer” when I prayed that Beth’s baby would come around her due date and not much earlier, “unless God had a better idea.” I admit I was thinking of my schedule, and Lyle may have been right! But I believe my merciful God worked it out for all. The baby came a week early, but Beth’s in-laws were free to come, and I could still come as planned. When I make a request, I have always learned to say, “Unless You have a better idea!” I liked what “Miss Clara” said in “The War Room.” God is bored by bland prayers — we must dare to be specific! But never ever should we demand — for we are on earth and He is in heaven, which is certainly a broader perspective!
5. Read Psalm 37:1-7
A. Read all seven verses and see if you can find a reoccurring pattern. If so, what is it?
B. What must come first before you express the specific desires of your heart to God?
C. Cautiously and reverently, petition God here.
6. Another paradox of prayer is that it is a struggle, yet can become a delight. If you have had an experience of delight, share it briefly here.
7. Remember to be sharing your thanks and letting them lead you into awe.
Thursday-Friday Message
I’m excited to introduce you to an Alpha video — a ministry that has been changing lives around the world for decades. God has anointed this ministry, a ministry that may seem quite simple (a meal, a short video, and small groups) but has THE POWER OF GOD ALL OVER IT. Lives are being changed. It is a ministry bathed in prayer, a ministry open to all denominations, and in India alone this year 50,000 new groups were meeting. We have experienced it with our church plant and are also seeing God move. As one of our attendees told his wife “In the beginning of the Alpha course I didn’t believe in God and now I do.” (I love particularly the closing illustration in this video and want us to practice this.)
8. Share your notes and comments.
9. Nicky said that he writes down questions and waits for answers and records both. Try it.
10. Keep letting your thanksgiving lead you to awe.
Saturday
11. What is your take-a-way and why?
143 comments
A thanksgiving that is leading me to AWE. It’s going to be Sunday’s blog, but God orchestrated this last week with an individual that gave me insight into prayer, into a parable that has always confused me. He led — for you and for me!
5. Read Psalm 37:1-7
5. Read Psalm 37:1-7
A. Read all seven verses and see if you can find a reoccurring pattern. If so, what is it?
Fret not toward evil doers and the one who prospers in his way.
B. What must come first before you express the specific desires of your heart to God? To turn from fretting and then Trust Him, delight in Him, commit my way to Him, and be still before Him.
C. Cautiously and reverently, petition God here.
Lord your timing again on this blog-oh how thankful I am you are as faithful as the seasons for I have been unfaithful yet you are faithful. I confess I have been fretting these past two weeks in regard to this new assignment at school. Lord I confess I have clung to my approval idol for too long in this and it has caused me to be irritable at home and to sin against my family and I have sinned against you! Help me turn this morning-now..I want to sense your presence more in this battle-more in my time with you. Come in a mighty way and protect my heart from arrogance and pride and from turning to my idol again. Help me not to back away from You but to delight in you-I need You to bring your word to mind today. I need your kisses for your love is sweeter than wine.
6. Another paradox of prayer is that it is a struggle, yet can become a delight. If you have had an experience of delight, share it briefly here.
So I tend to ‘stuff’ and process before I go to Him and pray..One of my struggles in prayer is that I don’t process with Him-I stuff first. I don’t understand myself-my heart is too complex for me to figure out and I am a child in this paradox of prayer. So after a week of stuffing God came to me in the night and I sensed he wanted me to be still instead of pouring out what I have stuffed, so I did..I didn’t know how to pray..I just sat still. The windows were open and the wind stirred up strong and I sensed His presence this comfort overwhelmed me and my focus shifted from me to Him. His tenderness and mightiness led me to confession which was sweet and His delight in me fueled this delight inside for Him..I was dancing in the trinity-that is the only way I can describe it. He brought scriptures to mind and pictures of The Song came to mind-of Him riding with her out of the wilderness-then more praise and thankfulness came out. The conundrum of His power in the wind yet His intimate love for me melted me. He came and cleared up the stream again. Just long for this delight in Him in prayer to happen more often than this-or do I? If I did I would set more time aside to be still and listen!! Oh my wicked heart-only He knows it yet He Loves me…I so cling to that in this journey of growing in my prayer life with you all!
Oh Rebecca, a sweet, sweet kiss form the King! Encourages me in His love just to hear about it!
Rebecca, I read this yesterday and again today. It is beautiful how He came to you in the night…love how you heard the wind and sensed His presence and comfort and “my focus shifted from me to Him…I was dancing in the trinity…”
D. One way to listen to God is by contemplating His Word — and then to take His Word an incorporate it into your prayer life in confession, thanks, or petition. Do this now with Ecclesiastes 5:1-2.
Father I wonder at your mercy, that you’ve made a way for sinful me to draw near to perfectly holy You. Search me and reveal to me the wicked ways in me. Thank you that You do this in increments, so that I am overcome with grace and not utterly undone by seeing how truly bad I am all at once.
My thoughts run wild so much of the time, I do long for every mediation of my heart to be an offering, only You can make that so, change my heart Lord.
I don’t want to run at the mouth before you, but I confess more often I don’t talk enough to You, help me understand what is good and right and true. As I look to You and Your word, let me see what you want me to see, so that I might glorify You, let me hope in You and may my hope spill over onto others who bear Your image.
When I need a “pick me up” this is what I listen to:
http://youtu.be/hjZ_IlP9c5A
What childlike faith!
4. Practicing thankfulness that leads us to be in awe of God will also transform your prayer life. Continue doing that daily this week.
I am so grateful that God is in control, that nothing escapes His care and attention, as our pastor said recently there isn’t one maverick molecule in the universe!
The more I absorb this, the more I abide, the less I am stressing about whatever is happening. We’ve have been absorbed in ministry lately, there has been practical ways for us to help some hurting people around us lately. We’ve been pushed past what feels comfortable and so many things lately have not gone as planned, I truly feel peaceful in spite of it all!
It is amazing!
You are My Hiding Place is my song this morning:
You are my hiding place
You always fill my heart
With songs of deliverance
Whenever I am afraid
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
Let the weak say
I am strong
In the strength of the Lord
You are my hiding place
You always fill my heart
With songs of deliverance
Whenever I am afraid
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
Let the weak say I am strong
In the strength of the Lord
I will trust in You
Chris, you are in my prayers as you travel today and over the next week(s?)!
Wonderful song to have in your heart as you fly today, Chris. I so love that one. Praying for you! We’ll be looking forward to hearing of your journey and time with your sons.
5. Read Psalm 37:1-7
A. Read all seven verses and see if you can find a reoccurring pattern. If so, what is it? “Fret not” “…in the Lord…and…” “…to the Lord…and…” “…before the Lord…and…” There is a reoccurring them, worded differently but boiled down to, trusting in the Lord and not fretting.
B. What must come first before you express the specific desires of your heart to God?
From these verses is says “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” There is a tendency to turn this into a manipulation (like the Israelites in Isaiah 58), but with the reoccurring theme being trust … the delighting in the Lord becomes a refining process, if I delight in the Lord, I seek Him, I meditate on Him, I find my true joy there in His presence and gift of grace. Then my own desires change and I become more content with what is given by His sovereign hand. So, in conjunction with Ecclesiastes and Malachi, I let my words be few, I seek Him first, trust Him, repent of hidden sins revealed to me, I delight in Him and what is “left” is my heart righted before God to pour out and specifically request, “unless He has a better idea.”
C. Cautiously and reverently, petition God here.
C. Cautiously and reverently, petition God here. So many things, God, and to be reverent means to not “laundry list” you with all the things I think need to be fixed….Foremost on my heart, God, is my heart, would you mold me, instill Your love in me…especially towards my children. Soften their hearts to be drawn to you, may I love them well, that they would see a reflection of you in me, not in any measure of “success” on my part, but by me decreasing and you increasing, by the change you have made in me…. That you preserver our relationships through the years, to let them feel safe coming to me (and my husband) and to keep seeking…. Give me boldness Lord, to be “fully convinced in my own mind” and trusting you for the interruptions. Your will will often not be on my itinerary! Let me see with your eyes and be interruptible and trust you for that step of faith when it comes….
Lord, all my requests come down to my own heart, to be soft, to trust you, to be bold in steps of faith, to lean on your everlasting arms and not my own strength… God help me.
Prayer should be more listening and less talking. In the silence He speaks. Lord help me to listen. Help me to quiet my soul from all that concerns me and get to the heart of what concerns You.
http://youtu.be/EAqKj9toFo4
Are you all satisfied with the blog now technically? Are you having any problems getting on or posting or linking?
It seems to work better than before in some ways. (security hasn’t triggered when I’ve used multiple quotation marks, which is nice. And when I copy/pasted song lyrics, they didn’t need editing, as they did before). Just wondering if we will have the formatting options ( bold, italic etc.) again? I don’t have them anymore.
I don’t see the options of bolding, quoting, linking etc. that were there before. I really hadn’t been having any serious problems before though.!
I tried to edit the above post and could not, Dee.
5. Read Psalm 37:1-7
A. Read all seven verses and see if you can find a reoccurring pattern.
If so, what is it?
To not fret and rely on God. He will conquer all. Trust in Him.
B. What must come first before you express the specific desires of your heart to God?
I need to be thankful for His guidance and mercy. Not fretful. I need to trust, commit, delight, and be still before the Lord.
C. Cautiously and reverently, petition God here.
Thank you Lord Jesus for the miracles in our lives. We may not see them, in focus, everyday. You may be working behind the scenes propping us up when we need that. You know exactly what we need, Lord. We need to trust and have childlike faith. Once we accept you, there’s no turning back. No matter what. We don’t need to concern ourselves with those who are evil, or who are trying to do evil things in our lives. We need to have faith that you will take care of those problems. Sometimes it’s a waiting game and we don’t like to be patient, but it is necessary. Sometimes we know after-the-fact how you’ve worked in our lives. Help us be thankful for those times as we look back on them. Just this week you have given me a platform in which to share whatever I want to share. I will make sure to stand for you when that sharing occurs next week, dear Jesus. The world needs to know you. Amen.
Dee, I still am unable to edit. Also, on my iPhone the comment space will not expand and I can’t scroll up and down to see what I have written or questions to be answered.
Dee, I, too, cannot enlarge nor scroll in the text box on my iPad or iPhone…
D. One way to listen to God is by contemplating His Word – and then to take His Word and incorporate it into your prayer life in confession, thanks, or petition. Do this now with Ecclesiastes 5:1-2.
Lord, I know that it is out of the overflow of my heart that my mouth speaks…how I need you to pull so many weeds that are in my heart and have taken root there! When I am ignoring or even feeding what is not right and growing in my heart, and then I come to You to talk, or read Your Word, or go to church and participate in anything there, I am behaving like a fool doing those things when my heart isn’t right. I would even ask You to help me with the tone of my voice when I speak to my husband – how complacent I have become in how I speak to him! Actually, every word that comes out of my mouth, at any time of day and in every place is said before You because You hear…am I talking to gain approval or to air my own opinions? Are my words insincere because they don’t match what is in my thoughts at the time? Help me to remember that You are a Holy God in heaven, and I am truly of the earth…I can be earthly, and unspiritual, and worldly, and I need to be so much better at just listening, first to You, and then to others, and to ask for Your guidance in what to say.
6. Another paradox of prayer is that it is a struggle, yet can become a delight. If you have had an experience of delight, share it briefly here. He helps. I pray so many times, really a cry of the heart, when I know my heart is hardened in my reaction and I need His whisper to “help” to change my vision, to soften that which ushers in self and more self…. I see again and again His hand guiding. Softening my heart. Showing me my sin to repent and rest in Him. It is a delight to see His hand so active in “small” ways.
7. Remember to be sharing your thanks and letting them lead you into awe.
These answers to prayer turn my heart to awe and help me trust in Him more. So many things…. I am grateful, beyond words, that He has softened my mad-mama heart. I still have struggles, but just yesterday I was in awe of His leading and guiding in discipline with my young children, only He could soften a heart like mine to be receptive to s different way of doing things, to be calm. He is revealing the beauty in me, His beauty that He created and out there….
I am blown away by this (paraphrasing): prayer is the most important activity in our lives. It is why we were made. We were made for a love relationship. Prayer is communication and the more communication we have the more relationship we have.
I am seeing afresh this morning. I get distracted by the mystery of prayer and the unknowns about it but this state to (above) says it all.
Other notes:
Why do we pray?
The presence of God – prayer is like the soul breathing, it quenches our thirst.
The peace of God. Phil 4:7- do not worry, instead prayer which will then give you the peace of God.
For perspective. Giving thanks gives perspective of who God is and what He has done.
The power of God. Prayer shows the power of God. It may all be chalked up to coincidence but someone once said, when I pray “coincidences” happen, when I don’t pray, they don’t.
This was a heart probing statement. How I often do I pray “safe”? Because deep, deep down, Iam afraid that if God doesn’t say yes I will look the fool, or worse my soul will be disappointed in His power…. Ironically, though the more I pray safe, the less of His power I see. Yes, we should always pray with submission to His ways, His will, but are my safe prayers due to that? Or because I am afraid? Yea….. I see fear in me. =(
Or I do not trust that He will love me enough to bless me specifically…?
And yet, I have seen His hand! He has answered prayers, sometimes immediately, but I find myself still hesitant to call on Him for specific things, for my benefit! I am not worthy to ask?!?! Or perhaps because I know my heart is selfish and so I let the enemy convince me that my requests are bad, selfish, sinful…
Nicky ended by saying a good principle to remember is Thanks, Sorry, Please for prayer. I want to listen again.
Nicky included this quote from Corrie ten Boom: when you’re riding a train and goes into a tunnel and all goes dark, you don’t toss your ticket and jump off, you sit still and trust the driver.
Jill — I’m so glad you liked the Alpha video!!!
The words of David in Psalm 8 as he ponders creation, God, and man…I love this song by Rich Mullins:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhGOosxTLrY
The Color Green. (Hope this posting of link works)
5. Read Psalm 37:1-7
A. Read all seven verses and see if you can find a reoccurring pattern. If so, what is it?
Fretting for a time because of evildoers, then returning to a place of trusting in the Lord. I can choose to fret, or trust in, delight in…the Lord…commit myself to Him…be still before Him.
B. What must come first before you express the specific desires of your heart to God?
I need to quit fretting over what someone else is doing. Maybe he or she is actually doing something wrong, and maybe it is my opinion or inaccurate perception that they are. I have found that the first thing I need to do, after I usually tell God all about the other person, is to admit that I am a sinner too. Better then to leave that person to God for Him to deal with because He knows their heart. These verses tell me to trust Him, to keep doing good, to live as His little sheep in the pasture He has provided, to wait patiently for Him to act.
C. Cautiously and reverently, petition God here.
Lord, I’m looking out my window right now as I compose my prayer to You…Lord, I have been so blessed these past days and weeks by the beauty of Your Creation…You know how much I love Fall…I could just breathe in the colors and sights and smells and I marvel at the beauty of this earth, fallen though it is, it is still wondrously beautiful. Yet Lord, I know You know how troubled in my spirit I have been…I desire intimacy with You yet so often fail to spend the necessary time with You that intimacy takes…always feeling so rushed, hurried, and busy…yet I am missing You and I feel deep down that I am not really living my life for You but more for myself…I have made such an idol out of comfort…my personal comfort…Lord I want somehow to serve You but I don’t know where to start, how to understand what my gifts are that You have given me and how to use them…I need You to show me please Lord…being a Christian has to be more than going to church on Sunday, going to Bible studies…I want more but at my core I know I am selfish and I often feel like the servant who took his talent and buried it in the ground…why do I feel so fearful about stepping out in faith, telling myself that I can’t possibly do this or do that, I’m not smart enough, not talented enough…but see I’m focused on me and not You…Your power is demonstrated in weakness and that is what I must want others to see…You, not me. Lord, I don’t want to just feel adrift in the stream of life, just being carried along…I am asking You to give me direction for my life and to overcome the greatest, deepest fear that I have, deep down, and You know what that is. Please, Lord, I don’t want to be afraid anymore. Amen.
Susan, you just expressed my prayers. Thank you. I smiled when I read the line Lord I am looking out y window right now. Ann V.’s prompt for thanksgiving today is 3 gifts from your window. Smile.
One thing that stands out this morning:
Nicky Gumbel-what a blessing! One can tell that he is a man of prayer. Very humbling considering my erratic prayer life yet I do not feel condemned-just challenged to cultivate my prayer life. Keep it honest. God wants to hear what you have to say not what you think He wants you to say. Keep it simple. Keep it up.
Though I haven’t been good about posting, I am still reading often. This topic is dear to my heart! My take away is two-fold. First the movie War room was a blessing and that clip of the lukewarm coffee is wonderful. I am so glad I have a reading/prayer room to go to!!! That is good for communing with God and in my desperate times, as well. God is faithful and I have many answered prayers and then there are some questions that just go unanswered.The video from the Alpha series is also a great replay afor me. I went through the program once. Yes, Ernema, keep it simple and keep it up sums it up. He blessed me with his approach.
I am grateful also today for a special phone call with my daughter. We have had seasons of turmoil and I am thankful for her and our special rapport. God bless you, sisters.
Thanks for your input into the tech troubles, your encouragement on the Alpha video, and sharing your thanks as well.
I have learned so much from the study I’m posting tomorrow and already reaping rewards in my prayer life — excited for you to see it.
I loved the Alpha video so much tht I sent a link for it to my pastor, hoping she will at least use parts of it with our church.
Good, Deanna. Alpha seems to be so impactful. 50,000 new groups in India this year!