PRAYER PROBLEMS?

Time with Jesus - 28 July 2013

Hi all,

My observation in Christian prayer in those around me, is that they pray; even in tongues. (So do I - sometimes!) 

Julie Andrews

But I’ve noticed that mostly, prayer is like singing the harmonic scale. You know, Doh, ray, me, fah, so, la, tee, doh; just like Julie Andrews sang it in “The Sound of Music”. But there is a major difference. Doh, ray, fah, so, la, tee, doh is missing and all we hear is the “me” bit. Me, me, me, me. It’s a sort of, “Lord please bless me, my wife and kids; we four and no more!”

"Praying" Hyde

My approach to prayer is grossly different from those who are great prayer warriors. I’m told that “Praying Hyde” had a wonderful prayer gift from the Lord. He would accompany great evangelists from place to place. Then in his hotel bedroom, he would fall on his knees and pray for the duration of the meetings. I’ve heard it said that people would visit him in his room where found him on his knees. So they would attend the evangelistic service. Two or three hours later, they would return, only to find him still in prayer.

Derek Prince - Man of Prayer

Derek Prince was also a man of prayer. What he did was buy the local newspaper. Then he would read it and pray for what he read! I hear God changed many situations in answer to Derek’s prayers.

Derek Prince - Author of many Books

I’m told it was prophesied that Britain would be delivered from a great conflagration, in response to the intercession of praying women! That is more or less what happened in WW2. 

Praying and
Worshiping Women

While the men were fighting a physical enemy, praying women were fighting a “spiritual battle”. I can’t vouch for the truth of this. What I can say, it was a miracle that Britain survived and with her allies, defeated the Nazi menace. It was a 20^th century miracle.

In 2010, Phyllida and I attended a course on following our strengths. It seems that the business world has changed. Employees were once told that business required “well rounded” managers. So we needed to find what we were not good at and focus on it until we were proficient. This course told us about the change of thinking in business circles. Instead of focusing on and improving our weaknesses, we should focus on our strengths. We learned that being a good leader did not necessarily make you a good manager. We were told there are a plethora of managers, but few leaders. So we should focus on improving our strengths.

To some extent, I suspect the Kingdom of God is similar. You and I are not called to be the entire body of Christ. We should fit into place and implement the gifts or talents God had given us! This may seem to be at variance with Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: ²² To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9:22 NIV 

Painting of Paul

I’m not sure we are supposed to understand the Scripture in the customary way. Paul was a teacher-evangelist. Arguably he was the best since Jesus. These were his gifts and calling from God. That’s what he focussed on. He concentrated on his strengths. We need to do likewise. My gifting and calling is to be a writer; a teaching-poet. That’s what I focus on. I’m not another “Praying Hyde”. Phyllida is gifted as a praying-teacher-encourager. God put us together so that we can complement each other’s gifts. Those who read this message have many different gifts from God. Our comment is to encourage you to stop trying to do what you’re not good at. Focus on what you do well. If you don’t know what that is, ask the Lord. He will tell you and relieve you of the burden of trying to do everything!

We pray that as you read this message and today’s meditation, He will address the areas in your life that are important to you, within your gifting. Then, do it to the best of your ability. This will bring you great satisfaction. More importantly, you will be able to be you! 

King Solomon’s advice in Ecclesiastes is, ¹⁰ Whatever you do, do well. Eccl. 9:10 NLT

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 28 July 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	PRAYER PROBLEMS?
One of my favourite comments about prayer is the question, “Why pray, when you can be sick and have ulcers?” Normally it’s phrased the other way round. “Why be sick and have ulcers, when you can pray?” Of course both ways are true. For me, prayer has never been “easy”. Actually the enigma about prayer is that even though we know the time will be profitable, we are reluctant to start. There always seems to be something “more important” to do. In some respects, prayer is a bit like medicine. We know it’s good for us but we really don’t want to take the next spoonful. Personally, I’ve never found prayer easy. There was a time when I would walk round silently praying in tongues. The idea behind this was that since I didn’t know what to pray for, the Holy Spirit would pray on my behalf. This method is Scriptural so I’m not “knocking” it. My difficulty was that this way I didn’t know what the Lord had said or done in response to my prayers. This may appear to be selfish. But it seems to me to be pointless praying if nothing ever happens as a result! Some folk seem to take to prayer like a duck to water. They have an extraordinary ability of being able to go from place to place and spend hours in prayer, for what they see in and around them. Presumably this is a gift from the Lord. A gift I sometimes feel quite envious of. It’s fascinating that Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them to pray. No doubt they were strongly influenced by His prayer life. His answer was not what I would have thought it would be. Instead He gave them what most people call, “The Lord’s Prayer”. What is so surprising about this prayer is its simplicity while being all embracing. Matthew phrases the prayer: 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13 KJV What I find so challenging about this prayer is the fact that it is not “me” centred. First the focus is on the Father. One of our greatest “errors” when we pray is to forget that when we are praying, we are addressing “Almighty God”. Furthermore, He is “Our Father”. Certainly Jesus spoke to His Father. But in prayer, I’m a bit more comfortable addressing Him as “Our Father”. This may be my own preference. One of the features of this prayer is that almost half of it focusses on the Person and Nature of God the Father. In the above translation 24 words are addressed to Him. Collective needs comprise 28 words. The “doxology’ comprises a further 13 words. Thus 37 words speak of the greatness of God and 24 words refer to needs. So, in a prayer of 61 words, ± 61% speaks of God’s greatness. Only ± 39% focus on us. I’m not exactly sure what this means. One thing is sure. Most of our prayers focus on us. They are “me” centred. I’m reminded of a little boy walking round the supermarket and whining, “Daddy won’t buy me a lollipop”. Does this infect our prayers? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			6 Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. Philippians 4:6 GW	If you think prayer is difficult, please know that it is true. It’s something that each one of us must be committed to. It’s something that gets easier, on each successive day; But only if you will decide the time has come to pray. At first we all feel foolish. It seems to be no use. But even while we’re thinking’ we have to be obtuse, To keep on talking to ourselves! Perhaps He doesn’t care, About our little mutterings which masquerade as prayer? Where’s the cloudy pillar? Where are the tongues of flame? In spite of all we pray about, do things remain the same? Does prayer have an influence on what is taking place? Does it make a difference, or is it that we chase, Random thoughts in circles round and round our head? Perhaps we’d be much better off by staying in our bed! These are the thoughts that haunt us. Perhaps it works for you. But nothing seems to happen, no matter what I do? Don’t think you’re unusual; most people feel that way; And if you let them get to you, those thought are sure to stay. But there’s no need to panic. Don’t go by what you feel. Satan tries to tell you, that prayer is never real. And every opportunity that he will ever find, He is going to do his very best to muddle up your mind. The fact is, if you let him, he’ll try and interfere. Any trick that he can use, to spoil the things you hear! But when you are aware of it, there’s things that you can do, To stop him interfering, with what’s required of you. Everyone who’s every prayed has also felt this way. So let me assist you with some tips to use this day. The first one and the easiest; always pray out loud. This will keep you focused and stop you feeling proud. This can be so difficult unless you’re tucked away. But when you’re in your closet, is when it’s best to pray. Do not be elaborate! Ask the Lord to lead! Let Him guide you through a time, when you will intercede, For many other people. Say what’s on your heart. Don’t go round and round the bush, don’t try to be too smart! He already knows the facts about the situation. So be economical with all your information. Make sure you are honest; If you have to cry, Know the Master understands and knows the reasons why. Learn to sit in silence and ask Him to reveal. What He wants to tell you. If you’re being real, He will not ignore you or chase you far away. You will find that, truthfully, you’d so much rather stay, In His loving presence, than leave the Holy place! Where with Christ Your Saviour you’ve spent time face to face. Jim Strickland Written 28th July 2012
			36 "Abba, Father," He cried out, "everything is possible for You. Please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine." Mark 14:36 NLT
			6 If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won't do it, because I don't want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. 8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time He said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Corinthians 12:6-9 NLT
			A prayer of David when he was in the cave. A maskil. 1 I call out to the LORD. I pray to him for his favour. 2 I pour out my problem to him. I tell him about my trouble. Psalms 142:1-2 NIrV
			9 One time when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD's house. 10 Hannah was very bitter. She sobbed and sobbed. She prayed to the LORD. 11 She made a promise to him. She said, "LORD, you rule over all. Please see how I'm suffering! Show concern for me! Don't forget about me! Please give me a son! If you do, I'll give him back to you. Then he will serve you all the days of his life. He'll never use a razor on his head. He'll never cut his hair." 1 Samuel 1:9-11 NIrV
			20 In due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, "I asked the LORD for him." 1 Samuel 1:20 NLT
			26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. Romans 8:26 NLT
			4 He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. - Selah Psalms 47:4 TNIV

EQUIPPED FOR BATTLE

Time with Jesus - 27 July 2013

Hi all,

For all of us, going to school introduced us to new things every day. Very often, what we learned on one day was the foundation for the next. 

The Alphabet

How many of us remember learning the alphabet? It wasn’t too difficult. Usually the teacher had something to illustrate what he/she was saying. e.g. A is for apple. This was shown; with it was a picture of a big rosy apple. So it would go on through the alphabet. In one school I attended, we learned an alphabet song using each successive letter. Back then the biggest problem we found was that the last letter in the song “Z” was pronounced “zee” and not “zed”. At first we thought it was just an Americanism. Thus it came as no surprise to find that for the song to “work”, the last letter of each line had to rhyme. “G, P, T Z”.

Mathematics was one of my favourite subjects. I loved its precision. There was nothing “hitty-missy” about it. Or so I thought until we began trigonometry. Sines and cosines were fairly easy to come to grips with. Then we were introduced to tangents and co-tangents. That’s when we came across “infinity”. That really rattled my cage. What was the number? Well, it wasn’t really a number. It was infinity. You couldn’t add to it or take away from it. Not if it was infinite. 

The Symbol for Infinity

I recall wondering how big it was. The answer of course is infinite. My cage was rattled a bit more when I learned that although the universe appears to have no boundaries, it isn’t infinite. If it can get bigger, it can’t be infinite. Even now I find it difficult to imagine the universe having limits. It’s so big!

Many years later, I came across the writings of Dr A W Tozer. He lived in the first half of the 20^th century and died in 1963. He is one of the most brilliant Christian authors I’ve come across. He’s what I would call a Mathematical Theologian if you follow me. He had an ability to accurately describe Christianity and the “Character” of God with exquisite beauty and exactness, that even today leaves me breathless. 

For me, his Opus Magnum is “The Knowledge of the Holy” Read it and see what I mean about Mathematical Theology. He wrote, in one of his many books, “The universe is not infinite, only God is infinite”. When I read it I was “gobsmacked”. It showed an understanding of infinity that I hadn’t seen before.

What has this to do with today’s Scriptures? To get a feel for this let’s take a look at Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus is on record of telling His disciples, ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 NIV

Jesus Love and Power
are Infinite

Look at the words carefully. In 28:18 Jesus has all authority. Not because of His Godhood. He already had that. He was referring to His humanity. His humanity had been given all power. 28:19 make disciples of all nations. Then He tells us 28:20, I am with you always. That’s 3 “all’s in 3 verses. A brief paraphrase is, “He has been given Infinite power. Make disciples of all (Infinite) nations. He is with us (to infinity) always. Expressed in “Jim-speak”, “Jesus’ infinite power is delegated to us to make an infinite number of disciples from an infinite number of nations. He will be with us infinitely!”

It seems to me; hardly any of us take Jesus seriously. I wonder why?

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Worlds May Come or Go Away
Jesus Christ is Here to Stay

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Saturday, 27 July 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	EQUIPPED FOR BATTLE
When I use the word, “all”, what is it I mean? Usually it means a definite amount. If I pick up the salt shaker and nothing comes out, I’m inclined to say’ “It’s all gone”. What I mean is the salt shaker is empty. There’s still plenty of salt somewhere. It just isn’t where I need it. Sure it’s all gone, but there is still lots more out there. Perhaps I should have said, “the salt shaker’s empty”. It would have been a lot more accurate! There is however, a huge difference between what I say and what Jesus says. My “all” is not inclusive. His “all” includes everything. So when He says “all power” or “all authority” He, means the lot. To use an Americanism, “There aint no more nowhere!” This means exactly what it says. Now if He has all the power, how much do you think is left over for others? The correct answer is, “None!” Matthew’s gospel put it as follows: 18 When Jesus came near, he spoke to them. He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Matthew 28:18 GW Now I’m not a Greek scholar. But I do have access to “Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary” along with his famous numbering system. So I am in a position to “cheat” a little and impress you with the knowledge available. Now according to him, the word translated “power” in the KJV and ‘”authority” in all the other translations, is the Greek word “exousia”.  It means privilege, which is, (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence: - authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength. In plain “Jim-speak” it means that there is no authority or power that He (Jesus Christ) hasn’t got. Now we are His ambassadors; His representatives. Which means His power or authority has been delegated to us! The enemy doesn’t really have anything other than what we allow! Notice also that your strength or my strength is not the issue. But we don’t have to let Satan and Co, bully us. When I was little, I used to tell the other boys that if they touched me, they would have to settle with my big brother. It seemed to work, no matter the size of the bully. But in this case, we really do have a big brother. He is unbeatable! No matter how weak you and I are, He is more than merely useful protection. Many years ago I remember attending a Charismatic service. The speaker was talking about Jesus and His delegated authority. Talking from the first Epistle of Peter he quoted: 8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.1 Peter 5:8 NLT His comment was that the devil looked like a lion but it’s all show. He’s a “mouse with a megaphone”. The speaker’s theology may not be entirely correct. But I do like the idea. He can yell, shout and try and intimidate as much as he wants. If he can deceive us into thinking he is in charge, he will do so. He can’t. His only real weapon now is deception. Subsequently I heard someone say that Satan was trying to intimidate him while he was asleep. He awoke and took one look and said, “Oh, it’s you!” Then he turned over and went back to sleep. Satan’s had His day. Jesus thrashed him on Mt Calvary. So relax and let Jesus win again! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me. Psalms 18:39 ESV 10 Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size--abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. 2 Corinthians 12:10 MSG 11 Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God, "O LORD, no one but You can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in You alone. It is in Your name that we have come against this vast horde. O LORD, You are our God; do not let mere men prevail against You!" 2 Chronicles 14:11 NLT 31 The chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat. They thought, "That's the king of Israel." So they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out. And the LORD helped him. God drew the commanders away from him. 2 Chronicles 18:31 NIrV 8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. Psalms 118:8-9 NIV 16 The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Psalms 33:16-17 ESV 12 This is not a wrestling match against a human opponent. We are wrestling with rulers, authorities, the powers who govern this world of darkness, and spiritual forces that control evil in the heavenly world. 13 For this reason, take up all the armour that God supplies. Then you will be able to take a stand during these evil days. Once you have overcome all obstacles, you will be able to stand your ground. Ephesians 6:12-13 GW	Some things are surely upside down from all we’ve seen and known. The strongest man in all the world, is reaping what was sown. He spent his days in training, with exercise and weights; And now, his bulging biceps, are adequate to state, That here is the ability to pick up sacks of lead. And pile them all together like loaves of fresh baked bread. His strength is in his muscles. That’s where he stores his power. But if he quits his exercise his muscles will turn sour. Slowly they’ll degenerate and will all turn to fat. He’ll wonder if he really knows who he is looking at. The moral of this story is, “All things in moderation” If you truly want to be a muscular sensation, Understand that for all time you’ll have to be committed, Until there comes a day when in a pine box you’ll be fitted! But there is a much better way. A way I recommend. There’s someone so much better, on Whom Christians can depend. It is the power of Jesus, the one who made it all. The great and mighty cosmos, to electrons very small. We’re told He has all power, which means omnipotent! So when He uses power, it means He isn’t spent. It still is all available, for it is infinite. It truly would be foolish to face Him in a fight! You’ll never beat the Master. It’s safer not to try. ‘And if you ever do it, you’ll quickly wonder why? So how can people ever get the Master on their side? Let Him be your husband and you can be His bride. Even if your gender suggests that it is wrong, Don’t give it a second thought, if to Him you belong. Here’s the very reason why I’ve told this all to you If He is your husband, then you can see Him do, Things which were impossible for you to do alone. But if He is your Husband, you are not on your own! He’s always there beside you, to take on every foe. If you wear His armour, the enemy will know, That though you look so puny, so fragile and so weak, That if they come against you, you only have to speak, And they will be confronted by the strongest One of all. And when you’re at your weakest, you only have to call! Then He will join the battle. It isn’t worth their while. So when you’re at your weakest, just look at them and smile. Call out “Hallelujah!” They’ll know just what you mean, And they will quickly turn around and gallop from the scene. Jehoshaphat and Asa both proved it long ago. And now it’s time for you and me to understand and know, That even if a war horse has Satan on its back. He’ll think it’s not the season, to launch a new attack. The battle’s done and over. Once more the Lord has won! And He will turn and look at you, then smile and say, “Well done!” Jim Strickland Written 27th July 2012