Teach me to pray, Lord

Do you pray? Do you pray often, or only occasionally? Is prayer important to you?

I ask you these questions because prayer and praying are essential for your life of faith. Like breath to the human body, prayer makes the spirit live. Without it, faith dies. A person who prays grows in spirit and life.

Prayer is a gift of God. "Gift" is a good word to describe prayer, because praying is not something we can do of ourselves. " We do not know how to pray as we ought," scripture says. Prayer is a gift God must give.

And God gives that gift generously, without consideration of our worthiness or our unworthiness. People of every religious tradition receive the gift. In fact, every human being is able to pray.

That's not to say we can't refuse to pray or we can't neglect it. Like any gift, prayer must be received. "If you knew the gift of God," Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well. A gift was there before her eyes, but she was blind to it.

Why does God give the gift of prayer? The main reason is because of love for us. God looks for intimacy with us. How strange that sounds! God all-sufficient, all-powerful, all-knowing, wishes to draw close, to communicate, to speak to us, to seek our response, to hear our prayer. It may seem unbelievable, but it is true.

At the same time, by praying we fulfill the desire we have as human beings to know God. After all, we are made in God's image. Something in our being thirsts for intimacy with God. That thirst is described in the psalms, "O God, you are my God, for you I long. For you my soul is thirsting. Like a dry weary land without water... so my soul longs for you, my God." Something in us cannot be satisfied unless we are draw near to God. "Our hearts are restless," St. Augustine says, "until they rest in you." By praying, we rest in God.

And God does give this beautiful gift. In prayer God comes and helps; God invites us into the divine presence where we can open our lips and our hearts. There God welcomes our slightest word or cry, our smallest effort. We can take everything to God: from the smallest parts of our daily life to our greatest worries and concerns.

Delighting to give us the gift of prayer, God wishes that we come near to share our hearts and minds, our very life with One who loves us. Prayer is God's precious gift; cherish it always.

We Christians learn to pray through Jesus Christ, who not only teaches us to pray, but prayed himself. The Gospels are filled with examples of His prayer. Did Jesus himself have to learn to pray?

Yes, he did. True, he was the Son of God who knew all things. But as one like us, he had to learn to pray while growing up. In the village of Nazareth Mary and Joseph guided His first steps in prayer. At home, in the synagogue at Nazareth, in the temple of Jerusalem He learned the rhythms and words of Jewish prayer.

Yet even in His earliest years, Jesus prayed to God with a distinct intimacy. God was His Father and He was God's son. There was a childlike quality to His prayer.

Jesus prayed regularly, His first disciples recalled. He prayed before decisive moments, beginning with His baptism and as He faced His passion and death. He prayed in times of human weakness, as He did at the grave of Lazarus. He frequently prayed to give thanks. His prayer was steady, thankful, and confident that God's will was for His good.

They were prayers that came from the heart. The prayers reveal that Jesus was tender towards those He loved and forgiving to those who wronged Him; He is human in weakness and strong in faith. Never did a human heart reach out to God more eloquently than when Jesus prayed on the cross.

And Jesus' prayer was heard. God raised him up. We Christians believe the prayer of Jesus teaches that prayer is always heard. In His prayer is our hope.

What can we learn from the prayer of Jesus?

First, that true prayer should come from the heart. He prayed from within, not with just words or gestures. His prayer was not based only on feelings or passing emotions. Prayer comes from within, beyond level of feelings, from ourselves. " Go into the inner room, " Jesus says, " and there pray to your Father, who hears you." Sometimes prayer from the heart, from the "inner room" takes the form of words, at other times it may be like Jesus' own wordless cry.

Secondly, prayer is fed by faith. Jesus prayed with an unwavering faith in His heavenly Father, a faith that lasted till His death. He taught us to pray also with childlike faith in God, believing that our prayers are heard by One who loves us.

Thirdly, prayer should be steady and persevering as His prayer was, even when no answer comes or when no relief is in sight. "Watch and pray," he says, "Seek and knock," till the door that reveals God's holy will be opened.

His disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. He did, and He teaches us too. Yet Jesus is more than a teacher. As Christians we believe that Jesus prays for us; he is our intercessor before God. As Savior he gathers our prayers, our needs, the cries of our hearts to make them His own and offers them to God who hears our prayers in the prayer of His Son.

That is why we complete our prayers so often with the beautiful phrase: "Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen." Jesus is our teacher and He is our Savior, who takes our prayers and makes them His own.

I hope you have a wonderful new week.

The Kingdom of Heaven is ours!

Matthew 5:10-12 "Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!"

One of the major causes of unhappiness is trying to be like everybody else and trying to have everybody like you. There is a myth that says "In order to be happy I must be approved by everybody" but that doesn't work, does it? You just can't please everybody.

Jesus was a realist and was very honest about the consequences of following Him. He said, If you follow Me there are many people who aren't going to approve of your decision; they're not going to like it. If you live by these beatitudes we've been looking at for eight weeks, you can expect some people to be upset. So in His closing statement of Matthew 5:10 "Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires; the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them!" The statement was so shocking, He repeats it twice. Again, in the next verse, "Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

What are the reasons for harassment. The second part of verse 11, "...because you are My followers."  The fact is, the right reason for harassment is, "No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also." (John 15:20).  Jesus said that and He's saying the right reason for harassment is being like Jesus. Evil people don't like Jesus. They don't like to attack Jesus directly, so they attack His followers. Romans 12:17 & 19 (Good News) "If someone does evil to you, don't pay him back with evil... Never take revenge. Let God's wrath do it."

Rather, use kindness and show your goodness.  Romans 12:21, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Is that your normal reaction when you're put down? But you never get ahead by trying to get even.

Matthew 5:44 "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Is that easy? No.  Unusual? Yes. Is that what God says to do? Yes. He says, "Don't react; respond positively." When people put you down, you build them up. When people hassle you, you just be nice to them. You do not retaliate. The moment you start retaliating, they are in control. One of the greatest principles of life that we must learn is:  we have control of our reaction. You cannot control the things that happen to you, you cannot control the things that people say about you. You cannot control the events, the persecutions, the hassles you'll get. But you can control how you choose to react. You can control how you choose to respond.

Respond positively. Love them. Pray for them. Pray for their good. Pray for God's will in their lives.

During Easter, Christians recognize the completion of Jesus Christ’s mission on Earth:  to come, to die for the sins of humanity and to be resurrected on the third day.  I may not have been there when the disciples watched their Lord breathe His last breath, but I can imagine how they felt:  hopeless.

Not only did He die in the most publicly humiliating way at the time, but He was also entombed. Now that’s final. For three days, there was nothing. He was gone. All seemed lost.

But then on Sunday morning…

This is why people get so excited about Easter.  It’s a celebration that the most hopeless of circumstances could be revived. The resurrection of Jesus is the heart of the Gospel message and, perhaps even, the meaning of  life: that there is hope. No matter how dark it gets, there is a light that shines. That’s why they call it “The Good News”.

I hope that during this Easter season, you take some time out to sit and reflect. Think about the areas in your life that you feel are dead and remember this message. Despite how “final” your Friday feels, Sunday is on its way and you can get a fresh start. Things will turn around. And you don’t even have to wait for Sunday, because every day is a second chance – a chance to change, to forgive, to forget, and to grow.

Have a wonderful week and I hope the past eight weeks of the Beatitudes have helped you to find the happiness that our Lord intends for us to have.

Be a peace maker

Jesus says there's one thing you can always know when we're like our heavenly father, Matthew 5:9 "Happy are the peacemakers,  for they will be called the sons of God."  You are a son of God when you're a peacemaker.

It doesn't say, "Happy are the peace lovers", everybody loves peace.  Or, "Happy are the
peaceable", those who never get disturbed by anything.  It says, happy are those who make peace -- who actively seek to resolve conflict.

Being a peacemaker does not mean running from the problem, pretending it doesn't exist.  You are not a peacemaker when you always give in and let the other person have their own way.  That's passivity.  Jesus was a very controversial person.  He stood his ground on a number of issues.

Why should you be a peacemaker?  The Bible says you cannot have close fellowship with God and be out of fellowship with other people at the same time.  I John 4 says "How can a man say `I love God' and hate his brother at the same time?"  If you're growing close to God and the other person is growing close to God, it's inevitably going to pull you closer together.

Matthew 5 says reconciliation is a prerequisite for worship.  When you come to church and you're ready to give your offering and you remember somebody has something against you, it says go, get that right and then come back.  Nothing can substitute for reconciliation.  Not giving, sharing, reading the Bible.  If you're having a hard time getting an answer to prayer, maybe you should check out your relationships.

How to be a peacemaker and face conflict:

Empathize with the other person.  Phil. 2:4 "Let each of you look out not only for your own interests, but also for the interests of others."

When you're upset, who are you thinking about?  Me, my needs, my hurts, you hurt me.  I don't care about you. God says reverse that.  Hold a peace conference and think about what are the other person's needs; what can you do to help them?  Focus on their needs, not your own needs.

Attack the problem, not the person.  Proverbs 15:1 "A gentle answer quiets anger but a harsh one stirs it up." Engage your mind before you engage your mouth.  Be sincere, not sarcastic.  You don't get the point across by being cross. Attack the problem not the person.  Don't criticize, condemn and compare. Ephesians 4:29 "Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed."

Cooperate as much as possible. Romans 12:18 "Do everything possible on your part, to live at peace with all men."  The hallmark of a Christian ought to be your ability to get along with other people.  It's not how much you pray, read the Bible, sing, give.  But, do you get along with other people?  That's the mark of a Christian.  Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that you're My disciples, that you have love for one another."

Please know that sometimes peace has a price.  It can cost you your ego, your self-centeredness, your selfishness.

The three most difficult words in the English language are "I was wrong."  That's compromise, cooperation.  The two most difficult words are "I'm sorry".  The five:  "I'm sorry.  I was wrong." Seven:  "I'm sorry.  I was wrong, a lot."

"Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God."  God says, "They are doing exactly what I would do if I were in that situation.  I would be trying to bring harmony where there is disharmony.  I would be trying to bring unity where there is conflict."  God has given us that ministry of reconciliation, of peacemaking.

Who can be a peacemaker?  You can.  Anybody can become a peacemaker.  But first you must have peace on the inside of you. You can't spread peace if you're at war on the inside.  Only what you have can you offer to others.

Don't look to other people, instead of God, to meet your needs. When you do that, you're asking for trouble.

God says I never intended for you to have all of your needs met by another person. There are some of those spiritual, emotional needs that only God can meet. When you look to God and you have peace with God, then your relationships can get better.  The reason why some of you have rotten relationships is because you have a war going on inside.
You're asking other people to meet needs that they never will be able to meet:  the deepest needs of your heart.

How do you find this missing peace?  You ask Jesus into your life.  Afterall, he IS called the Prince of Peace. You will then find inner peace. That's the kind of peace God wants to give you. When you have that in your life, then you can become a peacemaker.

Col. 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts."

Have a wonderful week and I hope you find that peace.

Be pure in heart

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

What does "pure in heart" mean?  It means unmixed motives.  You are a person of integrity.  You don't say one thing and act another way.  Your motives are true.  God is concerned with why we do things as much as He's concerned with what we do.  He's concerned with our motives.

Matthew 6:1  "Be careful not to parade your good deeds before others to attract their notice or you will lose all your reward from your Father in heaven."

Is it possible to do good things with wrong motives?  Sure.  Is it possible to be outwardly religious and inwardly a mess?  Sure.  Jesus says, 'happiness comes when you are the same on the inside as on the outside.  You're a person of integrity.  You have unmixed motives.'  Jesus said this was so important He spent an entire chapter on it:  Matthew 6.

Remember that God sees everything. The key phrase in Matthew 6 is "your Father sees what is done in secret."  Nothing is a secret from God.  Nothing is ever a surprise to Him.   Does it bother you in knowing that you have no secrets from God?  It bothers me sometimes.  There are some secrets I would like to have from God.  But God says He knows everything about us.  A lot of people think they're fooling God. Have you ever had the devil tell you, "Go ahead, nobody will ever find out."  Somebody already knows.  "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.  Everything is uncovered before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."  If God already knows everything, I might as well have a pure heart than try to fake it. I may fool others but I cannot fool God.  The wonderful thing is God knows everything that I'm going to do but He still loves me.

Do an honest evaluation of why you do what you do.  Proverbs 24:21 "God knows and judges your motives.  He keeps watch over you; He knows.  He rewards you according to what you do."

Give, give, give....... but give the right way:

 Matthew 6:2 "So when you give to the needy do not announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites do in the synagogue and on the streets to be honored by men. I tell you the truth.  They have received their reward in full."  He says when you give, you shouldn't give in order to be seen by other people. When you give the right way, you receive God's reward.

Pray, pray, pray...... but pray the right way:

"When you pray don't be like the hypocrites.  They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men.  I tell you they've received their full reward."  Have you ever heard anybody pray to the crowds, pray to other people?  They pray a real flowery prayer, and when they're finished you want to say, "Wow!" and you feel like applauding?  God says, they don't have a pure heart.  Have you ever heard anybody pray reminding God of something He already knows to tell the other people who are listening?  "Lord help us to remember that Thursday night is a committee meeting at 7:00 at Mary's house."  Or have you ever given somebody a pat on the back when you're praying?  "Lord, thank you for the 15 people I witnessed to this week."  Jesus says, you have your reward.  When you pray,  don't do it to impress other people. When you pray the right way, you receive God's reward.

A pure heart is someone who is content with God's praise.  A pure heart is someone who is controlled by God's priorities.  Pure in heart means being continually conscious of God's presence.

How can I clean up my heart?  The answer is you can't.  You cannot clean up your heart on your own.  Otherwise Jesus wouldn't have needed to come to earth.

To get a clean heart you just ask God.  God wants to give you a brand new heart.  He wants you to put your trust in Him.  It's simple:  you ask Him for a clean heart and He'll give you a new heart, a new outlook, a new life, a new start.

What is the end result?  Happiness!

Have a wonderful new week. Strive to be pure in heart.