[MARCH 22] Texting God

Read: Colossians 1:3-12

"[We] do not cease to pray for you."

--Colossians 1:9

An article in the Washington Post told about a 15 year-old girl who sent and received 6,473 cell phone text messages in a single month, She says about her constant communication with friends, "I would die without it." And she is not alone. researchers say that US teens with cell phones average more than 2, 200 text messages a month.

To me, this ongoing digital conversation offers a remarkable illustration of what prayer could and should be like for every follower of Christ. Paul seemed to be constantly in an attitude of prayer for others: "[We] do not cease to pray for you" (Col. 1:9). Prying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit" (Eph. 6:18). "Pray without ceasing?" (1 Thess. 5:17). But how can we possibly do that?

Missionary Frank Laubach described his habit of "shooting" prayers at people as he encounters them during the course of each day. In a sense, he was "texting" God on their behalf, saying in constant communication with the Father. Laubach believed that prayer is the mightest force in the world, and said: "My part is to live in this hour in continuous inner conversation with god and in perfect responsiveness to His will." 

Pray without ceasing. Perhaps what Paul urged us to do can be done. --David McCasland

Give me a spirit of prayer, dear Lord,

That I may commune with Thee

As i travel along life's rugged road,

In Thy company always to be. --Dawe

REFLECT ON THIS:

Prayer should become as natural as breathing.

[FEBRUARY 18] Tell it All

Read: Psalm 62

"Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us" --Psalm 62:8

A clerk who helped me purchase a small digital voice recorder told me that he kept one just like it in his car when he worked in California. “When I began driving home after work I switched it on,” he said, “and I talked about everything that happened that day on the job, good and bad. When I pulled into my driveway, I hit the erase button.” Then he smiled. After telling everything to his voice recorder, he apparently had no need to go over the day’s problems with his wife or family.

It reminded me of how often I needlessly rehearse my disappointments and problems to others instead of telling them to God. The psalmist wrote: “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Ps. 62:8). Twice he spoke of waiting silently for God, his rock and salvation (vv.1-2,5-7).

While there is great comfort in sharing our difficulties with a friend, we miss the greatest help if we fail to bring them to the Lord. Joseph Scriven said it so well:

What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer! --David Mc Casland

 

REFLECT ON THIS:
No matter where we are, Jesus is only a prayer away.

[February 9] God Incidents

Read: Hebrews 11:1-10

"In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" 

--Philippians 4:6

In the normal course of providence, God works in and through creation, not despite it. For this reason, some answers to prayer are difficult to prove with certainty.

“Only faith vouches for the connection,” C. S. Lewis writes. “No empirical proof could establish it.” We believe a prayer has been answered not because of any scientific criteria proving it, but because we have faith.

Most of the ways we encounter God—nature, the Bible, the Lord’s Supper, the church, other people—include things we can touch. God’s own state, though, is the realm of spirit. Prayer reflects that difference between us.

Although we may ask God to intervene directly, it should not surprise us if He responds in a more hidden way in cooperation with our own choices. An alcoholic prays, “Lord, keep me from drink today.” The answer to that prayer will likely come from the inside—from a stiffening resolve or a cry for help to a loyal friend—rather than from some marvel like the magical disappearance of liquor bottles from a cabinet.

Whether God supernaturally intervenes or is giving us the power to obey Him, we trust His character. We see a true partnership, intimate and intertwined. --Philip Yancey

Help me to walk alright,

More by faith, less by sight;

Lead me with heavenly light--

Teach me thy way. --Ramsey

REFLECT ON THIS:

An important part of praying is a willingness to be part of the answer.

[JANUARY 5] Locked In

Read: 2 Timothy 2:1-10

"I suffer trouble... even to the point of chains; but the Word of God is not chained" --2 Timothy 2:9

Jean-Dominique Bauby’s memoir, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, describes his life after a massive stroke left him with a condition called “Locked-In Syndrome.” Although he was almost completely paralyzed, Bauby was able to write his book by blinking his left eyelid. An aide would recite a coded alphabet, until Bauby blinked to choose the letter of a word he was dictating. The book required about 200,000 blinks to write. Bauby used the only physical ability left him to communicate with others.

In 2 Timothy we read of Paul experiencing a different kind of “locked-in syndrome.” Under house arrest, the apostle learned that his execution might be imminent. With this in view, he told Timothy: “I suffer trouble... even to the point of chains; but the Word of God is not chained” (2 Tim. 2:9). In spite of his isolation, Paul welcomed visitors, wrote letters of encouragement, and rejoiced at the spread of God’s Word.

For some of us, circumstances may have isolated us from others. Lying in a hospital bed, serving time in a prison, or being a shut-in can make us feel that we are experiencing our own “locked-in syndrome.” If this is true for you, why not prayerfully reflect on some ways you can still reach out to others. --Dennis Fisher

Give me to serve in humble sphere,

I ask not aught beside!

Content to fill a little place,

If God be glorified. --Anon.

REFLECT ON THIS:

No deed is too small when done for Christ.

[JANUARY 3] Widening your Perspective

Read: Matthew 28:16-20

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations" 

--Matthew 28:19

A missionary and I were invited to lunch with David, a man in his late seventies who generously supported the missionary’s ministry. David was not able to visit the missionary’s country, but as he gave thanks for the food, he prayed with complete ease for the people, places, and situations there. Having prayed regularly for that ministry, he had no trouble mentioning specifics. David had a perspective on missions that extended beyond his own country of Singapore.

Our Lord Jesus commanded us to have a worldwide perspective on missions. When He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,... teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20), He was not asking us to buy an around-the-world ticket to do His bidding. We may not have the opportunity to travel much beyond our own birthplace, but we can be involved with what’s going on in the world without leaving our hometown.

But how? Is there an international student living near you? A family from another country who is trying to cope with life in a new country? Or just a lonely person whom you can cheer up? Sharing Jesus’ love with them is your way of crossing the oceans with the gospel. -- C.P. Hia

A Prayer: Lord, widen my world. 

I want to be a part of the work You are doing. 

Give me eyes to see as You see, hands to serve others, 

and a heart to share Your gospel. Amen.

REFLECT ON THIS:

If you look through the eyes of Jesus, you’ll see a needy world.