But I Don't Know What To Say

When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.

Matthew 6:7 

 

Praying is one of the most intimidating things we can do most times.  Why? Because we aren't sure what to say or how to say it or whether we are using the right words in the right order or we're just not sure how to pray.  I've received quite a number of emails asking about praying and prayer and how to do it "right".  

 

Let me be plain, if you don't pray because you don't know what words to use, pray anyway, God knows your heart, so you're not trying to impress anyone with your words.  Be honest with Him.  Answer this question: How do you talk with your best friend? And I'll bet even they don't know as much about you as God does who loves you in spite of yourself.

 

Prayer, and this has been discussed before, is a conversation.  The best description of pray I have yet found is by a monk named Francois Fenelon:

  

"Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one’s heart, its pleasures and its pains, to a dear friend. 

 

Tell Him your troubles, that He may comfort you; 

tell Him your joys, that He may sober them; 

tell Him your longings, the He may purify them; 

tell Him your dislikes, that He may help you conquer them, 

talk to Him of your temptations, that He may shield you from them; 

lay bare your indifference to good, your depraved tastes for evil, you instability. 

Tell Him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity tempts you to be insincere, how pride disguises you to yourself and others. 

 

If you pour out all you weaknesses, needs, and troubles there will be no lack of what to say. You will never exhaust the subject. It is continually being renewed. People who have no secrets from each other never want for subjects of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back; neither do they seek for something to say. They talk out of the abundance of the heart, without consideration they say what they think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved, conversation with God."

 

 

 

Be Genuine!

Therefore, humble yourselves under God’s power so that he may raise you up at the right time.

1 Peter 5:6 

 

I like words.  I like finding out how they came to be and I enjoy writing them (although Auto-correct and I are not on speaking terms currently).  When I read today's verse, the word "Humble" stuck out for me.  So after some careful and diligent research, I discovered that the word translated as "humble" means: "to have a modest opinion of oneself; to behave in an assuming manner."  In other words, "Be genuine under God's power so that He may raise you up at the right time."

 

Be genuine!  Be authentic! Be real! Be honest!  Sounds easy, doesn't it? We all know people who seem to be chameleons changing according to the crowd.  But God has called us to be genuine!

 

Genuinely Care.

Genuinely pray!

Genuinely listen!

Genuinely speak!

Genuinely love each other!

 

One of my favorite authors shared a thought I found profound: "Religious stuff doesn't make us better...it makes us more religious."  Being "religious" is not genuine.  It is not authentic!

 

 

Cleaning Our Perspective.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Hebrews 13:8

 

I must confess that almost all of these devotionals are written as self-talk, reminding myself of just how awesome God is and just how I miss out on that fact more often than not.  Take today's verse for example.  When I read this verse (for the umpteenth time so far in this lifetime), I was struck with the fact that I need to clean up my perspective!

 

Here's something I need to deal with: Yesterday will never return! Let it go!

You see, I tend to cling to things that happened in the past.  We are supposed to learn from the past, but not try to live in the past or cling to the past. Thus, I need to clean up my perspective about the past.

 

Here's something else I need to deal with: Tomorrow isn't here yet!  I remember as a child, having to get a shot for some sort of illness.  The doctor would always tell me, "Now this my sting just a little."  And I would tense up in anticipation.  And before I realized it, the shot was over and it wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated.  Tomorrow isn't here yet, but God has already been through tomorrow, so there's no need to try to do God's job by getting all tensed up about it.

 

Finally, yes there's a third point, I need to deal with the fact that I am still breathing right now.  Therefore, God's not through with me yet!  My job is to go through today and welcome the people who God brings across my path; Help those who are in need of my help; and love others like I want to be loved.

 

Jesus has never and will never change.  We will, so we need to have a perspective clean up fairly regularly.

There's A Reason You're Weird

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2

 Yesterday we discussed getting rid of all the garbage that we accumulate in our lives and letting it go because Christ took it all to the Cross.  Yet we sometimes tend to miss how quickly and subtly we can slip right back into the old habits and our old ways of doing things.  We begin to act like we did before we became a Christian, and even though we TELL people we are Christians, no one would know it or believe it because we don't act like it.

Now......I'm not saying you need to adopt the attitude of piety whereby you walk about pompously saying "Bless you" to everyone you pass.  Follow the example of Christ, even though he hung out with prostitutes, tax collectors, and the rejects of society, He never became like them.  We can talk to *gasp* sinners, because we ARE one and because Christ has changed us.  

If you read closely what Paul writes, you will see that quite a bit of it deals with the focus of our thoughts.  Why?  Thought always precedes action!  Therefore, when you focus your thoughts on God, then your actions will follow.  When you focus on the love of Christ, your actions will reflect that.

We are called to be weird for a reason!  

Replace Your Load!

³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. ³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:31-32

I'm guilty of it, and if I'm guilty all of us are.  We have some sort of disagreement or we get upset with someone and we hang on to it, all the while putting on the appearance that we have a halo and are angelic in our conduct.  And we lie to ourselves.  We're not lying to God, because He already knows we're full of.....well.......garbage.  And we are broken. We need help to become unbroken.

We think things and say things that can damage someone, destroy their reputation, crush their ministry, and not think twice about it because "they deserved it."  Honestly, thinking back, I don't know what, if any, effect this might have, but if I have said or done something that has offended you, or hurt you, or caused you grief, please accept my apology. 

As Believers, we are to BE the epitome of verse 32.  We should be so kind to each other that others wonder why we're so weird.  We should be so tenderhearted that we are the first to apologize, and we should also be so tenderhearted that we are the first to forgive.  Why?  Because of the example of Christ who took our garbage with Him to the Cross. 

 

Behind the Scenes

And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

Matthew 25:40 

 

 There was a quite distinguished Professor who had quite a number of advanced degrees and was a much sought after speaker.  One this particular day, he sat through and almost 30 introduction detailing his many degrees, accomplishments, his numerous awards in academia, and on and on.  Finally, the time came for him to speak.  He walked to the podium, very dignified, took some papers from his coat pocket, put on his spectacles, looked at all the esteemed and eager audience members and then simply asked, "Who cleaned this room?"

The audience all began whispering and the President of the University was embarrassed and apologized profusely and said he would find the janitor and fire him at once.  The Professor, looked sternly at the President and asked him, "Are you embarrassed because you believe I disapprove of this room or because you haven't taken the time to learn his name?  I wanted to know who cleaned this room because that person did an immaculate job and I wanted to congratulate him and take him to lunch.  You would have discouraged him and, in firing him, destroyed one of the best at his job."

 

What's the purpose of this story?  To remind us all that there are people we don't even notice most of the time who may be having the worst day of their lives and just need a word of encouragement.  There are people who perform tasks that make our lives easier and more tolerable, that go unrecognized and unnoticed and unthanked.  Are we truly so high and mighty that we have forgotten that when we breathe out last breath, we will be in the same dirt as the person we never bothered to speak to or thank or appreciate!

 

Again, I have a prayer challenge for us:  Find someone who doesn't normally get recognized for the job they do and thank them.  Pray for them!  They too are God's children!

What's That You Say?

Read the words of the Scripture carefully.  We use a LOT of words throughout the day, don't we?  Some of us love to talk and some prefer to listen more than talk, but we all use a LOT of words.  

 

Have you ever given thought to the words we use? Do we use our words to tear down another so we can "look good"?  Do we use our words to build our own reputations up, whether they are true or not?  Or do we use our words to truthfully build up others?  Do we used our words to truly encourage others?

 

Here's an honest slap in the face that I have felt: "What's in your heart will be expressed by your words!" Let's take it a step further: When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment; Jesus' response was "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength; and the second is like unto it in that you should love others as you love yourselves."  Therefore, should we not use the same words with others that we would want used on us?  Speak words of encouragement.  Speak words of love.  Speak words of comfort.  Speak words of healing.  Speak words of caring.