David’s prayers in the Psalms are simple and direct. He prays exactly how he feels, whether it’s through joy, comfort, praise, sorrow, anger, confession, abandonment, fear, or whatever else was on his heart, he prayed to the Lord simply and direct. David had an intimate relationship with the God of heaven so much so, that his heart heard Him say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ Several other translations say, ‘Seek My face.’ David was constantly seeking to be with his God in prayer that when he heard ‘Come and talk with me’, he was always ready to say, ‘LORD, I am coming.’
We may all not sense God speaking in our hearts as David but all of us can develop the characteristic of seeking God’s face. Seeking His face is nothing more than having a deeper desire for intimate fellowship with your creator. The more we desire Him, the more we will be aware of His desire for us. God also desires to be with us intimately. This is often missed by our routine repetitive early morning prayers and out the door we go. God is inviting us to seek His face to come and talk with Him. Talking with someone is to have a conversation. Speaking and listening. Taking time to listen to God is just as important as telling Him all your problems.
Listen closely to what God is saying to you through the Holy Spirit in prayer. You may never hear God speak audibly to you in prayer, I never have, but I’ve felt His presence and direction many times through prayer as I seek His face. God desires to have that intimate fellowship with us through prayer. He is saying, ‘Come and talk with me.’ May we have the same desire by seeking His face and be ready to say, ‘LORD, I am coming.’
“Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, ‘Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!’ For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” John 4:37-38 NLT
It is springtime in Pennsylvania, and I once again started my weekly chore of mowing our lawn. I couldn’t help but notice the brown patches still part of our lawn from last year’s drought. In fact, we are not totally out of the woods yet, needing a few more healthy rain events. Water is essential for growth and life itself. The rain we had caused the grass to grow in areas not severely affected by lack of rain last summer. But much more water and sun are needed to bring the entire lawn back to complete health.
Our spiritual lives can become dry as a drought driven patch of grass. Just as water is essential for our very lives, so is the spiritual water Jesus offers us essential for our spiritual lives. We first need it to save our souls from spiritual death to eternal life. As Jesus told the woman at the well, “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (Jn.4:14 nlt) Jesus is the spiritual water we need for salvation and eternal life. He offers it to us freely. Jesus is authorized to do so for He paved the way by dying on the cross for our sins recognized this Good Friday and rising from the dead on Easter morning to secure our eternal life.
Spiritual water is also needed for our souls to be refreshed daily by Jesus through prayer and reading His Word. As Christians our eternal home may be secured, but we still need daily spiritual water to help us grow, be fruitful, and not become a dried-up patch of grass. It is easy to develop a thirst for the things of the world, but soon we find out it never satisfies, yet we keep drinking from the fountain without quenching our souls. The Lord Jesus has the water to guarantee our salvation and to quench our thirsty souls. Why not take a drink from Jesus’ fountain today.
The Lord Jesus calls us His friends. If you have accepted Him as your Lord and savior you could not ask for a better, closer friend. Jesus gave His disciples an example of great love and true friendship when He said to them, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (Jn.15:13 esv) History has provided us with stories of people who have sacrificed their lives to save someone from harm or even death. We thank God for their selflessness and remember them for the true heroes they are. They were a true friend when a true friend was in need.
Jesus lived out that example of a true friend while He was on earth right up to the end of His earthly life. Jesus laid down His life for all of us He calls friends, all of us who are in desperate need of saving grace only He can provide by taking our punishment at the cross. No, we couldn’t ask for a better friend. Of all the friends we have in this world, none can compare with Jesus who saved us from eternal damnation and separation from Him and heaven forever. He can help us like no other friend is able with the problems and concerns we have in this world. Jesus is taking care of the here and now and has secured our eternal destiny for those who believe in Him. Jesus has taken care of everything for us. That’s what friends are for!
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!
“But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem.” Daniel 6:10 NLT
Christians struggle today as to when is it appropriate to disobey the government. What would be a legitimate reason to ignore certain laws and encourage others to do the same. I’m sorry, I’m not about to give you an approved list which enables you to defy the government, but I will give us all an example of what is right when the time is right.
The prophet Daniel lived his entire adult life in captivity. Captured as a teenager and brought to Babylon during the destruction of Jerusalem, Daniel proved to be an example of one who completely trusted and obeyed God whatever the circumstances. He never wavered, and the Lord used Daniel to work out and reveal His purposes. Now in his eighties, and still well respected by those who now held him captive, Daniel was about to put his faith and obedience on display.
Daniel was one of the top officials in the new kingdom of Medo-Persia serving Darius the king. Darius’ favoritism of his highly regarded official brough envy among his colleagues so much they concocted a plan to get rid of him. They convinced the king to sign a law stating that “for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human— (except Darius the king)—will be thrown into the den of lions.” (Dan.6:7 nlt) They knew Daniel would not comply, seeing him three times a day praying towards Jerusalem, they got him, well, sort of.
If you’re familiar with the story of ‘Daniel in the lions’ den’ you know it has a happy ending. Daniel knew that if he obeyed the king’s law, he would be disobeying God. So, he did what he always did, he reached out to God for help in his daily prayers. Daniel had no assurance that God would deliver him, but he knew that He could, and he was not going to disobey the Lord God who had blessed him all his life. Let the same be said of us.
“He said: ‘In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.’” Jonah 2:2 NIV
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A ‘distress call’, also known as a distress signal, is an internationally recognized call for help. The calls are communicated through radio signals over medium to high frequencies across land or sea. The signals alert emergency units that a watercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle is in imminent danger and in need of rescue. Other forms of distress signals include an emergency aerial or handheld flare, sending morse code S.O.S., showing flames on a vessel, a continuing sound of fog-signaling devices, and firing a gun at one-minute intervals. All are forms of communication with the sole purpose of crying out for help in a desperate situation.
The prophet Jonah sent out his own distress call from the belly of a great fish. He no doubt needed a rescue. Although he was in that desperate spot due to his own disobedience to God, he cried out to the only one who could save him. Jonah had a change of heart after God kept him alive after his attempt to take his own life by having his crew mates throw him overboard. Jonah refused to follow where God told him to go and what he was to do. In fact, he went in the opposite direction.
You may find yourself in a similar situation today. You’re not where God was leading you and told you go. You’ve been running in the opposite direction doing your own thing, and it’s not working out for you. You may not be far away from danger, or perhaps you are already there needing to send out that distress call. Jonah said the Lord listened to his cry; He will listen to yours. It’s never too late to turn around and go where God is calling you and do what He has planned for you. Don’t hesitate, send out that distress call!
“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him….and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.” Acts 12:5, 16 NIV
Have you ever experienced the resolution of a problem that occurred unexpectedly. It may have been a major concern you thought was not possible to resolve, or something minor that was just an annoyance. Then you come to realize and say to yourself, ‘Hey, I prayed about that!’ We pray about many things, and it seems that none of our prayers are being answered. Then out of the blue comes an answer to a prayer and we don’t realize it until later. It may have been a prayer we put on the burner, but God did not forget. He heard and answered. If we put our minds to it, there will be many answers to the prayers we made revealed to us. Yes, God did answer those prayers, and it could have been not in the way we desired. Perhaps that is why we forget, but He did answer.
The early church in the book of Acts had been praying for Peter who was in prison and about to be executed. King Herod was beginning to arrest Christians and had put the apostle James to death. When he saw his actions pleased the Jewish rulers, he preceded to arrest Peter also, planning to kill him after the Passover. When the people in the church heard of it, they immediately started praying earnestly for Peter’s release. Their prayers were answered. An angel of the Lord appeared before Peter waking him up, his chains fell off, and the angel led him out of the prison.
However, when Peter went to the home where the church people were praying and knocked on the door, they didn’t believe it was him, except for a servant girl named Rhoda. Finally, they were convinced after they were astonished that God answered their prayer. The Lord does what seems impossible. He answers quickly, as in Peter’s case. Sometimes He answers slowly as in our case, but He always answers. When we eventually do remember, let us rejoice, thanking Him for answering prayer and not forgetting.
“Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret.” Daniel 2:17-18a NLT
One of the blessings of belonging to a Church is the prayer support provided by the church family. Close Christian friends outside your church family are also a blessing with their prayers. Even those we don’t know but have received our requests for prayer from another source are God’s blessings to us in our time of need. Prayer to the Lord God is our only hope when we have an urgent need. What a comfort it is to be supported by prayer with our friends and church family.
Daniel had an urgent need. He had just returned from asking King Nebuchadnezzar for time to reveal the king’s dream. Daniel’s pagan counterparts failed the king by not being able to fulfill his request by telling him his dream. Nebuchadnezzar had ordered the death of all the wise men in his service, including Daniel, for their failure. Upon returning home, Daniel confided in his three best friends what had happened and what would happen if the king’s request was not fully answered. Daniel asked his prayer partners to support him in prayer.
Whatever our need, especially the urgent, may we not neglect to seek others for prayer. It doesn’t need to be a whole congregation; a few close friends will do. Jesus says, “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” (Mt.18:20 nlt) Daniel asked his three friends to support him in prayer, they prayed, and the Lord answered their request that night. May we not hold back in asking others God has placed in our lives to support us in prayer.
“Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach. So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.” Mark 1:21, 39 NLT
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The Good News of Jesus Christ is about to be told from Jesus Himself, for that is why he came. “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk.1:38, 10:45 nlt) Jesus’ ministry is now in in full operation after His baptism, forty days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, and choosing four fishermen to be His disciples. “Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach.” (Mk.1:21 nlt)
Jesus begins His first of three tours through Galilee. The first stop Jesus made was to visit the local synagogue in Capernaum. It was where the Scriptures were read and studied, and God was worshiped. Jesus took advantage of the custom of having a visiting teacher speak and participate in teaching. As He began to speak, the people were amazed at His teaching compared to the local Rabbis. Jesus taught not as the other Rabbis who referred to and quoted previous Rabbinical teaching, but Jesus taught with authority, His own authority. It was not only His authoritative style, but the content of His teaching that impressed those in attendance. Jesus, the Son of God, certainly knew the Scriptures.
Satan and his demons also knew the Scriptures and who Jesus is as was evident by the demon-possessed man among them. “Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit began shouting, ‘Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!’” (Mk.1:23-24 nlt) This demon-spirit knew Jesus was God the Son and was terrified at Jesus’ power. Jesus stopped the demon’s ranting immediately and ordered him to come out of the man. He didn’t want His identity known at this time. The demon left the man, and the people were yet in more amazement to what they just witnessed. They reasoned among themselves, ‘what kind of teaching is this, that even the demons obey Him?’ At this point, the news about Jesus spread quickly throughout Galilee.
Jesus’ act of confronting the evil spirit drew much attention which is now going to escalate even further as He is beginning to heal all those who are sick and diseased. Jesus begins by healing Simon’s mother-in-law after the meeting at the synagogue. Jesus and His disciples go to Simon’s and Andrew’s home. Finding Simon’s mother-in-law sick with a high fever, Jesus touched her, healing her. After sunset when the Sabbath was over many people from all over converged on Simon’s and Andrew’s home. “That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. The whole town gathered at the door to watch.” (Mk.1:32-33 nlt) Jesus is ministering as He predicted, ‘the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.’
As is often the case today, we call upon Jesus to help us in our time of need. He will not deny our request but will hear us and answer in accordance with His will. How sad it is so many of us only call upon the Lord only in the case of an emergency. He is our Lord and savior when things are bad and when all is well. Jesus came to sacrifice His life to give us the ultimate healing, a soul set free, and eternal life with Him. He desires for us to have constant fellowship with Him throughout our lives here on earth and not wait until we’re with Him in glory.
Jesus valued His time in prayer with His heavenly Father. After a long day of teaching, healing, and casting out demons, Jesus rose early the next morning, probably between 3-4 am going to a secluded place to pray. It was where Jesus, the man, met His spiritual battles. Satan and his demons constantly opposed Jesus all throughout His ministry. It was also where Jesus prepared Himself with conversations with His Father for the day’s work in ministry. If Jesus needed to do this, do we have any excuse for not doing it? We need it a lot more.
While traveling through Galilee preaching in the synagogues Jesus is met by a leper who knelt before Him begging to be healed. ‘“If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,’ he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be healed!’” (Mk.1:40b-41 nlt) Leprosy was one of the most dreadful diseases during Jesus’ day. We should take note of the leper’s faith in Jesus that He could heal him. This is a testimony in Jesus’ power to heal such a terrible disease. Jesus then instructed the man to show himself to the priest to be declared clean so he could resume social contact. The priest could not deny the man was healed, and that only God had the power to cure leprosy. Afterward the man went out and told everyone about his healing. Quickly it was impossible for Jesus to continue His ministry in the towns but needed to move out into the nearby fields around the cities. Jesus’ ministry is off to a fast start and will continue at a fast pace, for His time in preaching, teaching, healing, and casting out evil spirits is relatively short, three- and one-half years. We will pick it up next week.
“The LORD helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads. The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.” Psalm 145: 14-16 NLT
You may have heard of the theological term ‘common grace’ and wondered of its meaning. Simply put, common grace is God’s blessings bestowed upon every person regardless of whether one is a believer or unbeliever. Blessings in nature of abundant rain or sunshine. Blessings of divine providence in near misses of dangerous storms or potential accidents. Blessings of food sources given to us from our creator, and the advances in modern technology and medical treatment are a blessing given to every individual. It is undeserved grace given to everyone. It is common grace.
David writing in the 145th Psalm of praise includes a thought or two about God’s common grace. God helps those who have fallen. He helps those with heavy burdens. His eye is always on us providing the food we need. If God grants common grace for all in time of need, how much more will He do so for believers. The apostle John wrote, “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.” (1Jn.5:14-15 nlt)
We should all be in the habit of continually going to God in all things. There will come a time when we have a need, usually when we least expect it. It is in these days of sudden confusion when we feel helpless that most of us look to God. What a blessing it is to have the confidence that He hears and will answer according to His will. And what a blessing it is to know God bestows more than common grace to His children to ask Him. Continue to look to God in your in time of need, and your next time of need when you least expect it.
“But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.” Daniel 6:10 NLT
There are many verses in Scripture that refer to giving thanks. Jesus Himself set an example in giving thanks to His Father while on earth. The angels expressed thanks to God and to His Son. Thanks are to be given in private and public worship to God and for all things, and especially as a part of our daily prayers.
One of the greatest examples recorded in the Bible of giving thanks in private worship and daily prayer is found in Daniel chapter 6. The very familiar story of Daniel in the lions’ den comprises this 6th chapter of Daniel. Daniel was faced with certain death if he continued praying to God, praising Him and giving thanks. King Darius inadvertently signed an edit that sealed Daniel’s fate. Any person found praying to any divine object or human, except the king would be thrown into the lions’ den. It was Daniel’s daily routine to pray with his windows opened towards Jerusalem three times a day giving thanks to God.
Paul wrote, “pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks.” (1Thess.5:17-18a) Daniel is indeed an example of Paul’s words. He prayed continually and although it must have been hard to give thanks for his situation, the Bible said he gave thanks to God. Yes, it is sometimes hard for us to see pass our circumstances thanking God for them. But God does not allow anything to come into our lives He hadn’t ordained to happen. We need to thank Him, for He knows all things and what is best for us.
So let us not be saving up our thanks for Thanksgiving Day, but may we be like Daniel, praying and giving thanks to God daily and in everything.
Word for the Soul 