Tag: Prayer

This Season of Lent

Today is the first day of Lent, which lasts for 40 days excluding Sundays. During this time Christians prepare to remember the death and resurrection of Christ at Easter. Lent is a time for reflection, study and repentance, and the 40 day period reminds us of the time that Jesus spent in the wilderness being tested by the devil.

Often when people discuss Lent you may hear comments such as: “I am giving up chocolate for Lent” or “I am giving up coffee for Lent.” When I hear someone say that I am often curious why they are doing that, especially if they do not appear to have a Christian faith. Obviously, all the money you save by not having chocolate or coffee could be given to a charity helping people who are less fortunate than you are. It might also be a good thing from a health prospective too! However, I do think if we limit our thinking on Lent to statements like those two ones we are missing out.

Instead of giving something up for Lent have you considered taking something on instead? What do I mean by that?

As Lent is a time for reflection then it seems to present a good opportunity to set some additional time aside this season to seek God. There are many different ways of doing this. For example:

  • Joining a study group for the Lent period. This might be one at your local church. Alternatively, it could be an inter-church one. A few years ago the churches in our parish used to meet together in small groups to study a Lent course.
  • Reading a Christian book in Lent. This does not have to be about Lent of course, it could be on any theme.
  • Spending some additional time studying the bible in Lent. This could be using a Lent study guide but does not have to be.
  • Committing to spending extra time in prayer during Lent. This might be by yourself or perhaps joining a prayer group with others.
  • Listening to some online sermons. These could be sermons that have been preached at your own church or maybe at another one.

If you are anything like me then you find it very easy to waste or fritter away time. Whether it is the television, Netflix, YouTube or social media we seem to spend a lot of time in these activities without too much effect.

The season of Lent presents us with a good opportunity to deliberately set time aside to get to know God better. To spend time listening to God and obeying Him.

One of our old church leaders used to use the expression “fasting and feasting in Lent” and I thought that summed up very well how we can use this time to grow in God.

It goes without saying that we do not have to wait until Lent to set additional time aside to seek God. but this season does present an opportunity for us to slow down and focus afresh on God. Paul tells the Galatians that we reap what we sow. If we spend time with God it will help us to develop our relationship with Him and also enable us to be a blessing to others. Whether you keep Lent or not use the time wisely to reconnect with our Father.

Feed Yourself Daily

It is Friday night and a man arrives home from work exhausted after a tough week in the workplace. He takes off his shoes and collapses onto the sofa. His wife comes into the lounge to greet him and the following conversation takes place:

Wife: How was work today?

Man: It has been another tough day.

Wife: Would you like to have some food?

Man: No I am fine, I had something to eat on Sunday.

Wife: Yes I know but that was five days ago. You must have something to eat. It is not right just to eat once a week.

Man: But I have only ever eaten on Sundays.

Wife: I know! You need to change that habit. You must eat every day. If you do not you will starve and your health will deteriorate. You will end up dying.

I guess most of us will think the man in this situation was behaving stupidly. I mean who only eats once a week? Imagine only eating on Sundays? None of us would copy this example or recommend it to others.

However I wonder how many of us only feed ourselves spiritually once a week?

Sunday is the day we attend church and read the Bible, pray and sing our songs of worship. But do we bother praying or reading the Bible between Monday and Saturday?

All of us need to spend time with God daily, getting to know Him and having our strength renewed. If we do not do that it is unlikely we will ever grow as Christians.

Thanking God for all our fellow Christians

“We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.” (1 Thessalonians 1:2)

Paul starts his first letter to the Thessalonians by thanking God for all the members of the church in that city. I think the Thessalonians would have felt quite humble to hear that Paul valued them all this highly.

I wonder if we thank God for all our fellow believers that we worship with each week? Are we more likely to moan to God about the ones who we find it difficult to get along with than to thank Him for them? It is easy to thank God for the ones that we get along with but notice that Paul gave thanks for them all.

The Greek word used in verse 2 for all “pas” can also mean “every” or “whole”. So we can learn from Paul’s example here and thank God for everyone in church and yes that includes the difficult ones too!

If we do this then maybe it would help us to be more united as the body of Christ. Thanking God for all our fellow believers shows that we appreciate and value them. It will mean that we are less likely to criticise them. Imagine a church where there was no criticism but only thankfulness. That would be a wonderful place to worship and a place where Christ’s love radiates out for all to see.

The Importance of Daily Exercise

We are now in the second week of lockdown in the UK and during this time I have realised afresh the importance of daily exercise. In fact daily exercise is one of only four reasons that we are supposed to leave our homes, the others are: to go to work, to buy food and medication. I’m currently working from home so I have only three reasons myself!

I have always enjoyed sport and leisure activities over the years, whether that be running, walking, football, tennis, squash or cricket. Although in recent years my exercise has been limited to walking at weekends and also when on holiday. However since the lockdown started I have ensured that I been out for a walk every evening.

Physical exercise is important. It helps keep us fit and in good shape. It’s also good for us mentally too especially if have had a stressful day at work. In the current unusual situation we are all facing I believe that we should take opportunities to exercise daily.

In his first letter to Timothy Paul wrote the following words, which are really relevant at this time:

“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8)

Paul reminds us here that whilst physical exercise is good spiritual exercise is more important. Perhaps now more than ever, especially as we are not able to meet for worship, we need to ensure that we do not neglect spiritual exercise. I know that churches are streaming services, which is great, but as a friend said to me: “it’s not the same as meeting for worship”. And he is right.

It’s very important that we make time for God during this period of lockdown. We must not neglect personal bible study and prayer. It is essential that we do practice these spiritual disciplines. If you are anything like me you probably find yourself watching more TV or spending additional time on-line. Although that is not wrong as such, we really need to make good use of this time and not neglect spending time with God.

No-one knows how long the lockdown will last. Let us use the time wisely. Keep doing your daily physical exercise but please also ensure you exercise spiritually too.

Praying for our Leaders

We are currently living in very unusual times at the moment. It must be a challenging time to be a world leader as they are having to make very difficult and tough decisions. I would really not want to be a member of government, as they try to tackle the coronavirus outbreak and limit it’s effect on people. They have a huge responsibility on their shoulders. They need certainly need wisdom!

In that in mind I’m reminded of Paul’s instructions to Timothy:

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour” (1 Tim 2:1-3)

We must not forget to pray for them. It’s easy to criticise our governments. When thinking of the UK government, some will say that they have been slow in introducing the measures that were announced last Monday. However, others will say that they have overreacted and gone too far with the restrictions! Whether they have gone too far or not gone far enough we should pray for them. They need our prayers!

Don’t forget though that whilst it is right to pray for leaders our ultimate faith and trust must be in God and not humans.

“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” (Psalm 118:8)

Do not be anxious about anything

The book of Philippians contains some very well known verses, one of which contains the phrase “Do not be anxious about anything” (Phil 4v6). This is an incredible statement to make, especially when you consider that Paul was in prison when he wrote the letter to the church at Philippi.

I expect that there were many things that Paul could have been anxious about in his situation. However instead of being anxious, Paul instructs us “but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” No matter what the situation is we are told to present it to God, nothing is too big or too small to present to God. The result of this is that “the peace of God, which transforms all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4v7).

Once we have presented our requests to God what should we be thinking about now we no longer need to entertain anxious thoughts? The answer from Paul is in the next verse (Phil 4v8) “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

What an incredible three verses these are in Philippians 4v6-8. Oh, how we all need to live out these verses! I wonder how much time we waste being anxious? When you think about it we cannot change anything by worrying or being anxious, so we might as well make better use of our time!

God’s Priorities by J. John

God’s Priorities is a book written by J. John on the Lord’s Prayer. The full title of the book, which gives an indication of its theme is: “God’s Priorities – Living Life from the Lord’s Prayer.” Many of us know the Lord’s Prayer off by heart however J. John in this book sets out to challenge us to live this famous prayer.

In each chapter the book addresses a phrase of the Lord’s Prayer in both the old traditional wording (the King James version) and a modern translation of it (the New Living Translation).

However, before he moves into the subject matter, in the first chapter of the book “The Preliminaries of Prayer”, the author outlines who he believes can say the prayer. J. John states that the prayer can only be said by those who are members of God’s family. He then outlines the gospel message and how we can become a member of God’s family.

There then follows seven chapters which are called: Privilege, Praise, Purpose, Provision, Pardon, Protection and Perspective. At the end of each chapter there are questions for the reader to ponder.

God’s Priorities is a very practical book which will challenge the reader as they read each chapter. J. John will encourage you to see if you need to be involved in the answer to your prayers. For example: if you are praying for God’s name to be honoured then how can you honour God’s name in your life, work, home and community!

It will help us to get our priorities in the right order when we pray. Many of us I guess start off our daily prayers concentrating on our own needs and wants. This book as you might imagine will help the reader to change that habit.

In my church we pray the Lord’s Prayer each week in our service and it can be easy to repeat it parrot fashion without thinking about what we are saying. Therefore, for me it was good to read this book and to be challenged and inspired by the Lord’s Prayer.

Theresa May and Brexit

When they come to write the history of Theresa May’s time as Prime Minister you feel that it will be summarised in one short word: Brexit.

The whole Brexit process has dominated her time as Prime Minister. One of her first statements after becoming the leader of the Conservative Party was “Brexit means Brexit!” I would not be surprised if one of her final statements in her current role is also about Brexit.

Last Monday Theresa May gave a speech in the House of Commons in which she said that the deal for the UK to leave the EU was 95% done. However there still remains the problem of the Northern Ireland border with the Republic of Ireland. No-one it appears wants a return to a “hard border” but the “soft border” option means there will have to be some compromise somewhere.  The problem is no-one is that keen at the moment to compromise!

Personally I do not know how this impasse is going to be resolved. I do find the whole subject of Brexit confusing and certainly I do not have any magic answers to the problems of Brexit! It strikes me that we are in a mess and we somehow need some fresh and innovative ideas to resolve these problems. I certainly am glad that I’m not the Prime Minister.

On Sunday during our service someone reminded us that the scriptures instruct us to pray for our government. I think at this difficult time for Theresa May and her government the following words that Paul wrote to Timothy are ones we need to consider and obey:

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

Interesting that when Paul wrote these words the Romans were those in authority. They were rather different to a democratically elected government yet Paul still urged Timothy to pray for them. It’s so easy for us to criticise those in authority. Instead of criticising our government we should follow Paul’s instructions and pray for them. They certainly need our prayers at the moment!

 

Developing Good Habits

One of the towns I like to visit has a one-way traffic system running through the centre of it. However for some reason whenever I cross the road in this town I always look both to the left and right before walking across the road.

I have often wondered why I look both ways in this situation because the cars can only come from one direction! After thinking about this I have come to the conclusion that I do this out of habit. I was taught from a young age to look both ways before crossing the road so that is what I do, even in a one-way street.

This got me thinking on the importance of developing good habits in our lives. When we develop good habits we find that they become second nature to us and we do them naturally. They become part of us.

So how long does it take to develop a habit? If you type that question into Google there are a number of web pages you can find that suggests that 21 days is the answer to that question. However I’m not sure there is an exact science to this. There are obviously some habits that take longer to develop than others. Also it goes without saying that there are some habits that take considerable more than 21 days to break.

There are many good habits that we should seek to develop as a Christian. The following three I believe are worth pursuing:

Regular Bible reading and Prayer

One of the good habits I was taught as a young Christian was the importance of setting aside some time each day to read my bible and prayer.

For a new Christian it can be useful to start off by either reading through one of the gospels or alternatively using bible reading notes.

You might ask “when is it best to read the bible and pray?” When I was younger I tended to do my daily bible readings and prayers in the evening as that best fitted in with my daily schedule. However as I got older I changed that to the morning as I found that worked best for me. Whether you do this in the morning or evening does not really matter though. The important thing is to find time each day to read your bible and pray.

Controlling our tongues

Perhaps the most challenging thing in life is controlling our tongues. There are plenty of bible verses that tell us the importance of this. The book of James has some very strong warnings about our tongues and how we should not criticise others.

I expect we all have many times deeply regretted saying something to someone that has caused unnecessary upset. So much damage can be done by careless words.

One of the best habits that we can develop is to decide that we will not criticise others and to think before we speak.

Forgive as we have been forgiven

As a Christian it is a wonderful thing to know that Jesus has forgiven me. He has totally forgiven me.

Therefore just as we have been forgiven we should also be willing to forgive others who have wronged us. If we are being honest most of us would admit that we find this difficult at times.

However we need to remember that forgiving others is extremely important. We pray in the Lord’s Prayer “forgive us our sin as we forgive those that sin against us.” If we don’t forgive others then we run the potential risk of not having our sins forgiven.

So we really need to develop the habit of forgiving others. It’s an important habit to develop.

 

 

 

Prayer before Communion

Last Sunday I visited another church and the service included communion.  Just before the bread and wine was distributed the following pray of invitation was read out:

“Come to this table, not because you must but because you may,
not because you are strong, but because you are weak.
Come, not because any goodness of your own gives you a right to come,
but because you need mercy and help.
Come, because you love the Lord a little and would like to love him more.
Come, because he loved you and gave himself for you.
Come and meet the risen Christ, for we are his Body.”*

These are different words to the ones that are used at my home church, although I have heard them before at another church.  I found these words very powerful and helpful. Hopefully they might encourage any who may read this posting.

*[W. Barclay, The Lord’s Supper, SCM, 1967]