The Prayer Project

Peace …….. is so elusive at times. I have found my sense of it besieged as of late.

“Freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, obsession, etc …. a state of tranquility or serenity.”

A simple, personal definition yet it rarely truly applies to me even though The Scriptures give us countless promises that God will grant us peace or that we are to be at peace in our whole being. My personal times with the Lord are always a little unpredictable. Sometimes they focus on solely prayer, sometimes repentance, but most recently God has focused them on PEACE. 

That may seem like a strange thing for God to put in front of me, but its so vital. When there is no peace in my being I am a horrible worshipper; a tempermental husband and father; and a raging egotistic leader. So, in short order, when my soul finds no peace the world around me is denied it and the relationships in my life from family to friends to the Divine are impacted. 

Psalm 48:9-10 says:

“We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of Your temple. As Your name, O God, so praise reaches to the ends of the earth.”

That word “thought” originally meant “to wait for or to have a silent peace”. So that verse could read like this: “We have waited in silent peace BECAUSE of Your steadfast love, O God…..” 

That verse spoke volumes to me this week. In the midst of the temple, I am to place the STEADFAST LOVE of GOD in my thoughts and heart in such a way that it gives me a patient and silent peace. THEN my praise will rise in such a way that it will reach as far as the very name of God Himself! 

There’s another huge thing in that passage: “in the midst of Your temple.”

That little, tiny clause has BIG meaning for me as a believer because it means that not only should I meditate on God’s steadfast love in the midst of the physical temple (church) but also in the midst of the spiritual temple (my body or being). In my heart should be rooted the nature of God’s love that in every part of my day I am constantly thinking about it so deeply that I find that silent peace in the very CENTER of His temple in me. God has chosen to rest His glory not just in buildings made by man, but in the very being of man himself (which is why Paul was so passionate about the body being treated like the Holy Temple of God). If I’m going to get my peace back, I’m going to have to stop striving for it and instead spend more my time and more of MYSELF thinking on the STEADFAST LOVE OF GOD!

We always talk about God’s grace and its power (though I doubt if we truly understand the fullness of that power) but have you ever thought about the HOPE of grace? Romans 6:14 says:

“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

The rule of sin and the claim that it holds on us is broken not by spiritual laws or religious rules but by GRACE. The difference that is inferred in that statement is huge! The Law assumes our failure and enslavement to sin with no hope except the arduous task of perfect obedience. Grace, however, assumes freedom and assumes that we WILL overcome our sin through the power of Christ. The Law says follow because if you don’t you are damned. Grace says follow because you WERE damned but are now REDEEMED! As I try to reach out and grasp a true and cleansing repentance in my life; I am finding a great HOPE in the grace of God. Through it I am free to walk out of the dominion of sin and into the abundant life Christ has for me. Will you join me?

Total time in prayer this week: 1 hour

A little over 12 months ago in the midst of great success I found myself virtually bankrupt spiritually. These dry bones has spent YEARS focusing on the products of ministry and spirituality without staying grounded in the grace and love and power of our Great Sustainer. My spirit was poor and my body was literally falling apart from borderline chronic illness. I’m not sure if anyone but wife knew the fullness of my physical struggles and I’m not sure that anyone but Jesus knew how cold and dark my heart was. Those days of despair are long gone now and It’s a testimony to the never-ending grace of God and to the power that spiritual healing can have on our physical beings. 

It began through God showing me my uttermost need to connect with Him through deep, daily dedicated prayer. He has shown me that the ability to lead His church, to worship Him, and to love those around me comes not from my own power or talents or abilities but INSTEAD from the overflow of HIS LIFE IN ME! HIS life…… in me. HIS grace…. in me. HIS mercy…. in me. John the Baptist once told his followers to not be dismayed that people were starting to give Jesus more attention than Him. He said, “I must decrease so that He may increase.” 

I realize now that in order to experience the abundance of life that is found in Christ, I must continually decrease so that He may increase IN ME. I have a long way to go but God has given me three areas (drawn from Isaiah) that I must now strive to let Him build inside of my heart and life:

1. Cleansing Repentance - I’m tired and done with seeking repentance just enough to rid me of my guilt. I want God’s grace to CLEANSE me and I want to live in the freedom of knowing that I don’t have to keep turing back to sin over and over again. I choose now to turn instead towards the love, grace, and mercy of Christ.

2. Transformative Discipleship - I desire to not just learn about God and His Word but to be CHANGED by it. I want to take it in and let it come back out through the beauty of a life lived in closer fellowship and obedience to God.

3. Reconciling Activism - I feel the tug of the Spirit on my heart to free my faith from my politics. God is calling me to feel a compassion and to exercise justice for those who are hurting and are disadvantaged in this world. This may very well be the hardest part of my journey and the longest one.

If you’re battling spiritually, then my encouragement to you is to STOP and begin the process of DECREASING so that God can pour Himself into your life in a powerful way!