Verse of the Day: Romans 8:38-39 New King James Version For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Memory of the Month: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Today's reading: LEVITICUS 25 MARK 1:23-45
Praying In Company
We write a lot on private prayer time, 'quiet time' if you will-that time set aside by committed believers to draw close to God in prayer and meditation but we do not spend a lot of time on constant prayer, to my error. So, today we look at some Biblical examples of praying when not alone-in company.
First, Jesus prayed alone:
Luke 6:12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
Luke 5:16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Then this:
Luke 11:1 ►One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
This does not say , "they were praying", it says when Jesus was finished, one disciple asked Him, "Lord, teach us to pray" and Jesus taught them His model prayer or 'The Lord's Prayer'.
The point is that Jesus prayed with people around and He prayed in lonely places where God had his undivided attention. I say it that way because I want us all to know that God can have our full attention in either situation.
Scripture says, 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice
always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Praying in the middle of a crowd is not at all easy. There is so much that can grab our attention so it takes a lot of practice and work to actually 'pray without ceasing' but Jesus did it and it is recorded, I believe, to show us that it can not only be done but has to be done.
One of my very favorite Old Testament examples is in Nehemiah 2:
...I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before;
2so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart." I was very much afraid,
3 but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"
4 The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king,
Nehemiah was a trusted cupbearer to the King some thought was the most powerful man in the known world. This was a great position of trust. The King talked with Nehemiah about 'behind the scenes stuff' and felt a close friendship with this Jewish servant. He knew Nehemiah well enough to know his demeanor and asked about Nehemiah's apparent depression. Then the King asked Nehemiah, "What do you want?"
Straightforward and to the point-the most powerful King asked his servant-the immediate words that follow are Nehemiah's-but not the answer to the King- but, "I prayed to the God of Heaven and (then) answered the King."
"The king asked for an answer-right now-the King wants to know but I'm going to talk to God first."
I shook hands once with a man who would later become our president. He made a statement and I had no answer. I did not even think to ask God. Instead, I judged him as another short guy with a 'big man chip' on his shoulder, remained silent and walked away.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. I would like to think if it happened today, I would pray to my God in Heaven, not judge, and answer him and stand my ground. This would only happen if I have God on my mind all the time and in constant conversation with Him.
The idea here is that we are all in spots all the time when we need to react in a righteous way-would-be president or homeless soul-we should always have our words seasoned with salt.
Colossians 4:5 Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time. 6Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Time is never 'redeemed' unless we are conscious of God Almighty-our speech less than gracious-our salt in the shaker at home...
Talking to God must become our habit. When it is, we pray, or talk to God about it because we know He never leaves us and will never lead us astray-never. This is never more evident than when we consult God on the spot and He leaves us silent-not a word-just God's wisdom in silence. The awe that Jesus inspires when he was being beaten and harassed by the soldiers on the day of His execution and He remained silent! If we could learn only a little of this righteous restraint-foul reaction and immortal harsh words from us would not clutter our memories.
Our God walks with us always. Make it your catch phrase, "I talk with God always"-make it your way of life.
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
Make it my desire, Lord, to walk this world talking to You and listening. Forgive me for taking Your presence for granted.
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