Category: Prayer

Nehemiah Devotion Chapter 2, Day 5

I had not told anyone about the plans God had put in my heart for Jerusalem.
(Nehemiah 2:12)

WP Neh Dev 2-5 walk at night

Nehemiah got to town and one might imagine him jumping in and getting to work. But that’s not what happened. Nehemiah takes his time. He walks around the rubble. And he tells no one about the plan God laid on his heart.

He spent time with the people. He probably heard their discouraging stories. He saw the overwhelming nature of the task.

God needed Nehemiah to take all of that in. It’s one thing to draw up a plan from a distance, but quite another to see what needs to be done close up and personally.

There were times in Jesus’ ministry when even though he knew the heart of God and what needed to be done, he pulled away from the crowd to be alone with his Father.

The more time I spend with Nehemiah, the more I see a man who leaned hard on God.

How’s your “leaning” going?

Nehemiah Devotions Chapter 2, Day 3

The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” (Nehemiah 2:4, NLT)

WP Neh Devo time passing

Six months. One hundred eighty days, give or take a few, Nehemiah opened his eyes and wondered if today would be the day.

He trusted God each to be laying the ground work. And each day he prayed to be ready.

And the time had arrived.

Nehemiah opened his mouth and shared his heart with the king and queen. He laid it out. He said needed. He had prayed for favor and kindness.

And that’s exactly what he got.

I can’t begin to what had been going on in the heart and mind of the king. Was he just having a day of benevolence? In the six months that Nehemiah waited had something happened to endear Nehemiah to the king making the favor expressed as natural as the sun coming up in the morning?

I don’t know. I am just convinced that Nehemiah was seeing God’s greatness unfold before his eyes. If God could do that then there’s nothing he can’t be trusted with.

Nehemiah knew that. Do we?

WP Neh Dev 2-3 Prov 3 5-6

Nehemiah Devotions: Chapter 2, Day 1

WP Neh Devo time passing
Monday
Text: Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. (Nehemiah 2:1, NLT)

We start our thoughts this week with Nehemiah roughly six months later. Did you catch that? Chapter one begins in late autumn and chapter picks back up in early spring.

What’s up with that? The need was great. Nehemiah’s response had been intense. I would have expected God to move immediately. Wouldn’t you?

But the success Nehemiah prayed for, the favor of the king, needed time to unfold.

God works that way. God doesn’t always answer the way we want or expect. We need to trust that God is working even when we can’t, don’t, or won’t see it. God is never late.

Have you experienced a time when God answered your prayer with an instant “yes”? How about a definite “no”? Can you trust him to be working when there is not instant answer?

SP Neh 2 waiting with clock

Second only to suffering, waiting may be the greatest teacher and trainer in godliness, maturity, and genuine spirituality that most of us ever encounter. ~Richard Hendrix

Sermon Seeds: Nehemiah Prays

SP Nehemiah more than just a wall

In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign,[a] I was at the fortress of Susa. 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem.

3 They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”

4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.

Within Nehemiah’s brief account, there are twelve prayers. Prayer bookends the story. One might (and should) determine prayer is important to the process.

I read once that there are many things you can accomplish after you pray, but there should be nothing you do until you pray.

Having that thought this week, as I prepared for the message, has impacted my thinking and my praying.

I wonder what it will do for you.

Sermon Seeds: Pursue the Things that Make for Peace

SP ephesians 4-3

Did you have a role in your family?

I was the peacemaker.

I’ve never outgrown it.

In an effort to “keep the peace” I have downplayed, ignored, and avoided. I believed the mantra, “Peace at any price.”

The problem is, that’s not peace.

And it’s way to high a price.

Sometimes it takes “wrestling” with the issue to find the blessing. Jacob learned that lesson (you’ll find the story in Genesis 32:22-32).

I don’t know about you, but I’m not finding much peace or unity these days.

I see a lot of taking sides.

There seems to be a greater desire to be right than to be related

Perhaps we would do well to make this our prayer:

SP bind us prayer

Curing A Quickaholic

I’m an ESFP with ADD. I like things to move along at a pretty swift pace. I don’t like glitches in my plans. I am not a fan of detours. I loathe meetings that drag on unnecessarily.

In the terminology of Sue Monk Kidd, I’m a textbook “Quickaholic.”

WP kidd when the heart waits

I recently purchased Ms. Kidd’s book When the Heart Waits from our local library book sale. When I read a non-fiction book, I am an underliner and write-in-the-margins kind of reader. I’m only about twenty pages in and I think I’m going to need a new pen.

The author describes a time of retreat at an Abby. She took a walk and saw a monk sitting very still under a tree, the picture of tranquility. She approached him later and asked how he could sit there and do nothing. Here was his response: “Well, there’s the problem right there…You’ve bought into the cultural myth that when you’re waiting you’re doing nothing…When you’re waiting, you’re not doing nothing. You’re allowing your soul to grow up. If you can’t be still and wait, you can’t become what God created you to be.” (When the Heart Waits, page 22)

I couldn’t read any further. For one, my eyes were full of tears. It was one of those revelatory moments that hits you simultaneously in your gut and brain, taking your breath away.

I get it God.

Those five years I spent out on the farm, caring for a woman who never spoke my name, who never wanted me there, were your plan. It was no different than when you planted your people in a hostile foreign land and told them to put down roots–literally plant and make babies. In that same chapter (Jeremiah 29) you assured them that even though it made no sense, you had a plan.

No sooner had I regained my composure but my cell phone chimed, notifying me of an incoming email. It was from a writer friend. A friend who has been through a painful ministry journey of his own. A friend I contacted recently about a book I thought we could write together. A book about calling, healing, and hope. He wants to do it, is excited about it.

But you knew that God.

WP broken clock

When I thought you were doing nothing, that I was doing nothing, you were weaving your plan together.

And none of it happened quickly.

You are never in a hurry.

Loving and long-suffering God, continue to heal me of my tendency to short-cut and short-circuit your plans. Thank you. Keep teaching me and using me. Amen.

WP clock with key

Sermon Seeds: Faith and Foundation

SP faith blocks

I’ve been meditating all week on Bible verses about faith. Here are a few:

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Heb. 11:1

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Heb. 11:6

So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. Ro. 10:17

SP faith roots

And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:22-24

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” Lk 17:5

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Tim. 4:7

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. James 2:17 NLT

What I’m about to tell you is true. If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, it is enough. Matthew 17:20

So, how is your faith today? Growing? Fading? Active? Passive?

Today as I was reflecting and preparing for Sunday’s message, I realized I’ve been pretty comfortable with where my faith has been. You can translate that as stagnant. I don’t feel good about either of those words. I went to front of our sanctuary and knelt in prayer. And wept.

I talk about the great things God wants to do in this church, in the lives of this body of believers, in this community…in me. But am I willing to step into that growth, willing to take on the changes for me? That’s scarey…and it’s all good. God’s promise and plan shouldn’t be a fearful thing.

So this revelation is going to cost me. Bonhoeffer wrote that there is no cheap grace…the same is true of faith.

This thing we call faith is the foundation for everything we build your spiritual life upon. We need to make sure it’s rock steady.

WP faith foundation

Bumper Snicker Revelation

WP spring road
Driving around town, admiring the greening of the world around me reminded me of another trip around town and the lesson I learned

That day, as I started to pull away from work, I was enjoying the gorgeous sunshine and blue sky. My regular road home wound over rolling hills with forests on each side. Each season brought its own brand of beauty. Today it was the green of spring. I smiled and breathed deeply of growth and change.

Not long down the road my smile faded as I pulled up to a long line of cars barely crawling at about 25mph (on a 55mph state route). As the road dipped, I saw the reason for our slowing: a huge piece of farm equipment lumbered down the road.  I was going nowhere fast.

WP following tractor

It’s not uncommon to come upon machinery on this road, and the sizes and speeds all vary.  Sometimes the slowdown could also be a horse and buggy, in no hurry to get anywhere.  I love where I live, so I see the buggies and machinery as a normal part of the journey..

Another part of the delay, other than just snailing behind the bouncy mammoth on wheels, is the road. There’s limited opportunity to pass on this stretch of road.  The traffic is constant, with few sections where a brave soul can pass.

This afternoon there was no passing.  The guy in the car ahead of me didn’t hesitate to express his frustration about the situation.  His arms flailed, and he jerked across the center line checking on whether he could pass.  This behavior was interspersed with long periods of laying on his horn.  I must confess, the longer I followed him, the more I found myself snickering at his exasperation.

I kept my distance from the erratic driver. Then I noticed a green oval sticker on his bumper.  I eased a little closer to be sure I read it correctly. Sure enough.  The sticker contained one word: Pray.  It hit me so funny at first I burst into laughter. Really?  “Hey buddy, did you forget your faith?  Your fickleness is showing, and it’s not becoming of your witness.”

Then I got one of those nudges from the Spirit.  You know the kind.  It sounds like your mother, or teacher.  It starts simply with a throat clearing—just enough to get your attention, if you’re paying attention. The throat clearing is then followed by The Look.  Now, I’m not sure how the Spirit manages to give a look, but the feeling is just the same. I was caught and I knew it.

So I did the one thing I probably should have started with, the one thing I was being silently asked to do all along: I prayed.  I prayed the driver would be safe.  I prayed other drivers would drive safely and intelligently.  Then I asked for forgiveness.  How dare I question this guy’s faith?  In my attitude I threw a stone when I had no right.  My fickleness hangs out way more than I care to admit.

I guess that’s why I never put any Christian symbols or stickers on my car.  Maybe that’s why I laughed so hard and quick.  Mr. Impatient’s behavior was too familiar.  Oh sure, with nowhere to be, I was cruising that afternoon, peaceful and unruffled. But what if I had been late for something very important? I imagine it would look quite different and definitely not flattering to my faith.

A “pray” sticker on my car, needs to be on the dashboard, not the bumper.  I wonder if I can find one that says, “Pray first. Laugh later.”  I’ll be looking!

Prayerful Thoughts: With All My Heart

11 Teach me your ways, O Lord,
    that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
    so that I may honor you.
12 With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.
    I will give glory to your name forever,
13 for your love for me is very great.
    You have rescued me from the depths of death. (Psalm 86:11-13)

WP heart divided by nothing

I love finding something cool and unexpected when I’m looking for something else.

The scripture I quoted above is one of my favorites…and an often prayed prayer. I know the disastrous consequences of a divided heart.

So in my search I came across the pic above. I didn’t get it at first. I never was very good with fractions. (Picture me laughing at myself here.)

Heart divided by nothing.

I love it. I would almost tattoo that one! (Don’t tell my daughters.) Why? Because that is the prayer of my heart.

And the really good news is found in Ezekiel 19:11: And I will give them singleness of heart (aka: undivided) and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart. (NLT)

And with a heart like that, we can live ever, only, all for Him.

WP ever only all for thee

Who did you come to see?

WP risen

He is risen. He is risen indeed.

The women came to the tomb to care for his body. They came out of love. They came in their grief. They did not expect To be told he was not there. They definitely did not expect to be told he was alive!

In the gospel of John we find the account of Mary’s encounter with the risen Jesus. He asks her why she is weeping. She’s confused, by the empty tomb and the absurdity of the question. She wants to know where Jesus is. He asks again and asks who she is looking for. Still unaware she answers that she wants to know where they have taken his body. She’s thinking this has to be a cruel joke.

Then Jesus speaks her name. And she knows. All doubt, all fear, all confusion is instantly and totally erased. She runs to tell the others.

I’ve just seen Jesus.

We will see who we are looking for.

Who will you look for this Resurrection morning?

Jesus, Messiah, the Christ. The King. The risen Lord. The breaker of bread. The living water. The light of the world. The way, the truth, the life.

Will you hear him speak your name?

He is risen. He is risen indeed!