June 3 Can You Hear Me Now?

June 3

Can You Hear Me Now?

The casket was slowly rolled from the church. He was only 33. He was a farmer.  He had been harvesting. Something had gone tragically wrong.

The service ended with the Lord’s prayer. There had been several prayers during the funeral service. They all ended with a simple Amen, omitting the words “In Jesus name” like I was accustomed to hearing. Does it matter if you say “In Jesus name” at the end of a prayer? Or is it just different prayer habits? Does it really matter? Doesn’t God hear all our prayers anyway?

The answer is a definite Yes, No, Maybe, Perhaps and it depends!

If you ask a rabbi, a priest and a protestant minister how you should pray you will get very different answers. Instead of asking men the right way to pray, let’s consult God’s Word, the Bible.

“Lord, can you hear me now?” is our question. The answer is often “NO”! How can that be?  There are several places in the Scriptures where God replies He does not hear us.

Ps 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart,

the Lord will not hear me:

Pr 1:28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss,

that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

The Bible has a lot to say about prayer. Today we just want to answer the question about praying in Jesus name. Is it required or just how some folks pray? In Luke 18:10 Christ tells of two men who went to the temple to pray. One of them said he was thankful he was such a good guy and not like the awful publican. Do you think adding “In Jesus name” to that prideful arrogant prayer would have made it any more acceptable? No, because the phrase “in Jesus name” is not a magic word, not like abra-ca-dabra.

But we are told to pray in Jesus name in several scriptures. John 14:13-14, 15:16, 16:23 Eph 5:20  

Joh 15:16 …that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father

in my name, he may give it you.

Eph 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Joh 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

The essence of why we add in Jesus name to our prayers is found in Acts 3. There we find Peter and John going to the temple to pray. A lame man asked them for alms and Peter responded;

Ac 3:6 …Silver and gold have I none; but such as

I have give I thee:

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth

rise up and walk.

Peter did not act in his own name, power, goodness, or merit. He gave all credit to Jesus Christ. Later in Acts 4:10 when he was questioned by the high priest and others Peter amplified his answer so there was no misunderstanding.

Ac 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

That is the essence of praying in the name of Christ. The recognition that we have neither merit nor standing with God apart from His son. What we do and what we ask for should recognize that and acknowledge that we are coming in the name of Jesus.

Imagine a bank where you wanted to get a loan. The bank president had a son who managed the bank. But you just walked into the president’s office, sat down and said you needed a loan to buy this and that and the other thing. The bank president would say his son had not mentioned anything about your requests. If you responded “Oh, I skipped him. I am an important person and didn’t want to waste my time on him. Besides, I didn’t think he mattered all that much anyway!”  Do you think you would get that loan? 

That is a crude example to explain why we go in Jesus name. We are acknowledging we have no right to come to the throne of God in our own merit. Our access to God is through our relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ.

1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

John 14:6 No man cometh unto the Father but by me!

 There is no Scriptural basis for the “Name it and Claim it” crowd. The audacity of going to God and demanding He give you lots of stuff is contrary to the very spirit of prayer.

What about all those times when we hear a public prayer and the name of Christ is omitted or not permitted, and they end with Amen. 

2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness,

but denying the power thereof:

 from such turn away.

The world today wants to make God in their own image. They want to make their own rules. They want anything and everything that is even remotely religious to be acceptable. The Bible says it is not.

What about praying to the Holy Spirit, or in His name? The Holy Spirit is our comforter John 15:26, dwells in us Rom 8:11, helps us to pray Rom 8:26, but is not our advocate.

1Jo 2:1 ¶ My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin,

we have an advocate with the Father,

Jesus Christ the righteous:

We pray to God the Father, in the name of Jesus the Son, with the aid of the Holy Spirit.  Recognizing this pattern will make our prayer life more productive. Praying in Jesus name also helps us realize we are simply blood bought sinners who stand before God clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

Lastly the purpose of prayer is not for ourselves or others we may pray for. The ultimate purpose of prayer is to bring glory to God. When God answers prayer we need to do as Peter did. We should explain that it had nothing to do with our ability but was all done through the power of Christ and His name.  Let us continue to pray without ceasing….in the name of Christ. Then give God the glory for whatever the answer is.

Mt 5:16 Let your light so shine before men,

that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

June 2 The Trouble I've seen

June 2     

 

    The Trouble I’ve Seen

Ps 31:7 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy:

for thou hast considered my trouble;

thou hast known my soul in adversities; 

They wanted him dead. The leaders in foreign countries wanted him killed. Prominent families tried to kill him. Even the leader of his own country had sent the military to find him and kill him. People were afraid to help him or even talk with him. He avoided capture by fleeing to the wilderness. During the months he was hiding his wife remarried. No wonder there were times when David felt discouraged.

It was during one of these low points that David penned the 31^st Psalm.

Ps 31:10 For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity,

and my bones are consumed.

Most of us can relate to similar times when we have felt overwhelmed with life’s circumstances. But David had slipped into a specially deep feeling of grief.  Most of us have friends we can talk to, who will help share the burdens of life and try to cheer us up. But David did not have that.

Ps 31:11 I was a reproach among all mine enemies,

but especially among my neighbours,

and a fear to mine acquaintance:

they that did see me without fled from me.

When we have been brought low by problems, circumstances, losses and grief we still do not have the problems David did. His main problem was people wanted him dead.

Ps 31:13 For I have heard the slander of many:

fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.

If David was a man chosen of God to be King over Israel, and he had times of discouragement, why are we so shocked when we travel through the deep valleys of darkness between the mountain tops of joy and delight. Did someone tell you that the Christian life was all mountaintops of joy and praise? Do you really think God wants you to giggle all the way to heaven? We know better than to adopt such an immature way of thinking. Our faith and trust are not shown when life is all zippidy-do-dah but when our hearts are breaking. Mature faith does not shield us from disappointment and grief, it gives us direction and guidance through those tough days. Is being discouraged wrong? No! Even Jesus wept (John 11:35)

Warren Wiersbe wrote a fun devotional book entitled “The Bumps are What You Climb On”. The premise of the book is that what we see as problems are actually opportunities that God provides for us to learn spiritual lessons. Herbert Lockyer’s wife died after a long illness. Herbert had to give up his preaching ministry to care of her for years before she died. He used that time to write several books on Bible study. He also wrote a very useful book “Dark threads the Weaver Needs” on bereavement and was intended for those who had lost a loved one. His wife died when he had written about half the book. His book is not a “put on a happy face” kind of book. Because his wife died while he was writing it, there are real concerns, real solutions and real hope that could not have been learned any other way than to have suffered the loss he had.

The bumps are what we climb on. That was what David did. He was in the valley of despair but knew how to climb out of it. He even gives the answer before he describes his torments.

Ps 31:3 For thou art my rock and my fortress;

therefore for thy name's sake lead me,

and guide me.

4 Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily

for me:  for thou art my strength. 

In verse 6 he adds “…but I trusted in the LORD” Then from verse 9-13 he pours out his problems before the Lord.

Verses 14 through 24 focus on how God provides and cares for us. There David was reminding himself of why we can be more than conquerors because of our faith.

Ps 31:14 But I trusted in thee, O LORD:

I said, Thou art my God.

Ps 31:15 My times are in thy hand:…

Ps 31:19 ¶ Oh how great is thy goodness,…

Our meditation for today is multi-faceted. First we should not count it a strange thing when we suffer with problems, situations or loss. Spiritual maturity is not found on mountain top living, but in deep valleys of difficulty. Secondly, if we believe God is in control then those bumps in life are there for our learning. Every adversity should be used for our learning, not our discouragement. Pouting, bitterness, anger and depression are all signs we have not learned what God has for us.

Thirdly we need to make use of every bump for our learning. I employed ladies who would become sad and discouraged when they had made a mistake and ruined a part. I would explain that mistakes were good because we could learn from them. But if we did not learn than we had wasted a valuable mistake. Let us look at the bumps we encounter as valuable learning opportunities. God should get our attention the first time. We should not need Him to keep increasing the bumps until He gets our attention.

It was not meant as a deeply spiritual comment, but what John Wayne said can be applied to learning God’s lessons quickly. John Wayne said “Life is hard …….it’s even harder if you’re stupid!”

David ended the 31^st psalm encouraged and advises us that the more we trust in God the greater our strength becomes.

Ps 31:24 Be of good courage,

and he shall strengthen your heart,

all ye that hope in the LORD.