Tag Archives: prayer

April 3, 2024 · 5:28 PM

Praying Like Jesus

Jesus prayed to Abba. Who is Abba?

Abba is an Aramaic word. Aramaic was the language spoken by Jesus and his fellow Jews in the first century. It had taken over from Old Testament Hebrew as the common language in Israel.

Abba was a familiar term in the first-century Jewish household for addressing one’s father. Some people equate it with our word daddy,but that might be too informal. Something like dad is a close English equivalent, maybe papa.

Other Aramaic words appear in the New Testament. Mark’s Gospel records Peter’s eyewitness accounts about Jesus’ life and ministry. In some instances, Jesus’ words had left such an impression on the fisherman, that he related them in Aramaic then translated them into Greek for his audience.

When Jesus raised a little girl from the dead, he said, “Talitha koum!” which is translated, “Little girl! I say to you: Get up!” On the cross, Jesus cried out, “Eloi! Eloi! Lama sabachthani!” which means, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” These were certainly unforgettable events.

Abba is the word Jesus used to address God when he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane just hours before he went to the cross. “Abba, Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup from me! But not what I want, but what you want.” In his humanity, Jesus struggled with the suffering he faced. Through prayer, he bowed to his Father’s will.

Jesus’ striking familiarity with God was a dominant feature of his ministry and teaching. In fact, Jesus irritated the Jewish religious leaders with his unusually intimate relationship with God.

It’s not that Jews or the Old Testament never spoke about God as Father. The Israelites did think of God as their Father. But Jesus did so in a new and remarkable way that made them uncomfortable.

And Jesus taught his disciples to do the same. “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father (Abba) in heaven.’” Followers of Jesus for 2,000 years have imitated Jesus in this practice. It is a sign of being Jesus’ follower, a sign of having a close relationship with God like Jesus does.

In Romans 8:15, we read that God’s Spirit enables us to cry out, “Abba! Father!” Of course, that’s just the beginning of the prayer. The content comes next. What is your prayer to the Father? How do you complete this prayer right now? Abba, Father! Thank you for. . . . Abba, Father! You are my. . . . Perhaps you have a cry for help. Abba, Father! Please. . . .

We have in our hearts the Spirit sent from the God of heaven and earth. And, we call the God of time and eternity our Father! The one who spoke the universe into existence and who gives us life, he is our Father!

Let’s rejoice over our privileged position before the Lord. And let us take full advantage of our access to the Almighty. Pray without ceasing!

May our Father in heaven always hear and answer your prayers,

Brother Richard

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January 6, 2024 · 12:13 PM

Honoring God His Way

King David wanted to honor God. He made extensive preparations. He gathered a large group of people. It was a big congregation. He put together some wonderful music. They used all the latest instruments.

At first, things went great. But all the enthusiasm and the music came to a bitter end. One of the men serving that day died in the middle of all the excitement. He was struck down by God.

They were moving the ark of the covenant up to Jerusalem. The ark was the ancient container that held the people’s copy of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments reminded them of their covenant relationship with God.

More than that, the ark was a symbol of God’s presence among his chosen people, Israel. They were blessed because the God of heaven and earth invited them to approach him and to worship him.

God instructed the people to keep the ark in the innermost room of the tabernacle, the room called the holy of holies. It was seen only by the high priest, only once a year, and only with the proper sacrifices.

When it was necessary to transport the ark, only Levites were supposed to carry it. When David moved the ark to Jerusalem, however, it was transported on a cart pulled by oxen. The oxen stumbled. Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark.

That’s when it happened. The Lord struck Uzzah down. David was angry. But David also feared the Lord that day. He seriously doubted the ark could ever be brought up. He left it in the house of a man named Obed-edom.

David could have let his bitterness grow and become a permanent barrier between himself and God. Instead, David learned from his mistake. He adjusted. He tried again.

On his second attempt, David made sure the ark was transported as the Lord instructed: not by a cart, but by the hands of the Levites. He also offered sacrifices to the Lord. By offering sacrifices, David was acknowledging that sinners can only approach a holy God by appealing to his mercy and his grace.

This time, things went well. David and the people had a wonderful time worshiping the Lord. The ark of the covenant was brought into Jerusalem where the temple would later be built. There, God’s people would worship him for many generations.

Success! But not perfection. After the worship was finished, David went home to bless his family. His wife, Michal, ridiculed him for his passionate public display of worship. David had been dancing before the Lord with all his might. Michal accused him of making a fool of himself in front of the people. What a disappointment!

David did not let criticism change his mind about worshiping God, even though the criticism came from someone in his own household. He was committed to honoring God with his very best.

This episode in David’s life reveals important truths about seeking and serving God. David learned to honor God on God’s terms. Even though it required him to make adjustments to his original plans. David was committed to passionate public worship, even though it required him to suffer criticism inside his own household.

Let’s worship and serve the Lord with passion this year. Like David, we may sometimes need to make adjustments. And, like David, we may sometimes face criticism. But the Living God who loves us and saves us is worthy of our very best.

Honoring God his way includes participation in regular public worship. And, as New Testament believers, we honor God with the Lord’s Supper. Remembering Jesus’ sacrifice with the bread and the cup is the premier act of worship for Christians.

Honor the Lord his way, passionately!

May we seek to honor God with all that we say, think, and do,

Brother Richard

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March 3, 2023 · 10:17 PM

True Revival?

Many people have been watching the events at Asbury University in Wilmore, KY. After a chapel meeting on February 8, students stayed in the Hughes Auditorium and continued praying, singing, testifying, and reading Scripture. Their gathering became an extended time of worship that lasted for days and attracted large numbers of people. Attendees report a special sense of God’s Spirit moving among them.

Surprisingly, almost exactly the same events in the same location took place fifty-three years ago in 1970 (also in February!). In the months following the 1970 meeting, groups from Asbury visited other colleges and churches from New York to California and even into South America. Revival broke out in more than 130 locations by the summer of that year.

The history of God’s people is filled with spiritual ups and downs, times of wandering away or fading away from the Lord, sometimes over years or even decades, then times of returning to the Lord. This has been the case among Christians for the past two thousand years, and it was true in the Old Testament with God’s chosen people Israel.

Once, when Israel was experiencing a dark time spiritually, they suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Philistines. They foolishly took the ark of the covenant into battle. It was captured by the Philistines, who returned it after several months of suffering God’s wrath. Instead of placing the ark in the temple, where it belonged, the Israelites took it to Abinadab’s house.

The ark of the covenant was the special container made to hold the tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them. The commandments were a reminder of the unique relationship Israel enjoyed with God, and a reminder of their responsibility to worship and serve him only.

The ark of the covenant was at Abinadab’s house for twenty years, a constant reminder to the people that things were not right between them and God. Finally, they began to long for the Lord. They lamented the current state of things. They wanted to return to the Lord.

God raised up a spiritual leader for the people: Samuel. When Samuel saw that the people were ready for positive change, he called on them to put away their foreign gods, their idols, and to worship God only.

Samuel called the people to gather for prayer at Mizpah. When they came together, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. This act is unexplained in Scripture, but it is associated with fasting. Abstaining from food for a time was an established practice often observed during times of prayer and seeking God. By combining these two actions, the people seemed to be expressing a desire for God that was even greater than their need for food and water.

In addition to fasting, the people confessed. They admitted sinning against the Lord. Confession implies a willingness to repent, to turn away from sin. Returning to God requires turning away from sin. Confession can also be positive. God’s people confess their faith in God, expressing their desire to trust him by obeying his commands and following his ways.

When the Philistines saw what was happening at Mizpah, they attacked Israel. The people were afraid, but they continued to follow the leadership of Samuel and to trust the Lord. As a result, God gave them a decisive victory over their enemies and brought peace to their land.

Samuel set up a stone to memorialize the Lord’s work in their hearts and with their hands. He named it Ebenezer, saying that the Lord had helped them to that point.

So, Mizpah led to Ebenezer. In other words, Israel’s meeting at Mizpah inspired them to trust God for victory. Their faith and God’s power resulted in blessings memorialized by the Ebenezer stone.

People are asking if the events at Asbury in Kentucky signal a true revival, an authentic move of God’s Holy Spirit. If it is a true Mizpah meeting that inspires God’s people to trust the Lord for a great spiritual victory, then we will see an Ebenezer stone set up in the future. In 1970, the results were clear. In 2023, we hope and pray to see the same.

Israel’s revival began with a longing for the Lord, a dissatisfaction with the status quo. The next step was putting away the things of the world and worshiping God only. They gathered for prayer, commitment, and confession. And when the enemy responded by attacking them, they trusted the Lord.

There is no guarantee that God’s Spirit will move in a mighty way if we follow certain predetermined steps. God is sovereign. Nevertheless, Samuel’s advice is good. We should gather and pray, commit ourselves to the Lord, and confess our sin and our faith. Only then will we be ready to follow God’s Spirit to victory when he chooses to visit us in an extraordinary manner.

Let’s pray that we are seeing an authentic move of God’s Spirit, one that will result in victories that cannot be explained by the planning and performance of people, but only by the presence and power of the Living God!

May God inspire us and enable us to return to him with all our hearts,

Brother Richard

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February 2, 2022 · 2:34 PM

Praay With All Kinds Of Praayer

The Bible urges us to pray with all kinds of prayers (Ephesians 6:18). What are the kinds of prayer we should be using? A careful search of Scripture reveals at least five general categories of prayer:

Praise God. Praise God for who he is. He is holy. He is all-powerful. He is infinite and unchanging. He is faithful and righteous. God is love!

Praise God for what he does. He creates. He is the Maker of all things. God spoke into existence the heavens and the earth. The Lord made the earth rich in beauty and resources for our benefit.

God made us. He is the giver of all life. He gives us life. We praise him for our lives and for the provisions he makes to meet our daily physical needs. We are blessed by his abundance.

God saved us. He saved us from sin and condemnation. He sent Jesus to die for our sins and raised him up to be our Lord and our Shepherd. God sent his Spirit to dwell in our hearts and to transform us into the image of Christ, empowering us to live holy lives and enjoy God’s blessings to the fullest.

Praise and worship are an inspiring part of prayer.

Repent of Sins. If we deny that we are sinners, we make God out to be a liar. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just. He will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Our goal is to experience victory over sin, but when we stumble and fall, we have an Advocate at the throne of our Father: Jesus Christ the Righteous one. He gave himself as our atoning sacrifice. He was raised up and exalted to God’s right hand in majesty. Now he always intercedes for us.

Confession and repentance are necessary for approaching God in prayer.

Ask Favors from God. Ask and it will be given to us. Seek and we will find. Knock and it will be opened to us. For everyone who asks receives. The one who seeks finds. To the one knocking it will be opened.

God is our loving Father, Abba, who knows how to give good gifts to his sons and daughters. God desires to give his greatest gift of all: himself. Will he not give the Holy Spirit to those who are asking?

We can approach God’s throne of grace and mercy with confidence, believing that he will always do what is best.

Petitions and intercessions are heard and answered by God.

Ask Questions and make complaints. We can ask God our questions. In doing so, we must remember two things. First, never forget all the answers he has already provided. We should not let a mystery overshadow the many important revelations God has given us.

Second, we must trust God to know what we need to know. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may obey him.

In addition to our questions, the Lord will also hear our complaints. Obeying God in a world filled with rebellion and disobedience can be challenging, frustrating, and sometimes depressing. God knows our hearts already. We can pour out our most intimate thoughts and emotions to him.

Questions and complaints are welcomed by God in prayer.

Yield to God. We spend much time in prayer asking God to help us with our needs, to forgive us for our sins, to answer our questions, and to listen to our complaints. We can also bring something to give him: our commitments.

We can promise God to worship him and to walk in his ways, to obey him and to serve him. The Lord makes commitments and promises to us. We can make commitments and promises to him, agreeing in prayer to honor him in our hearts and in our households, through our worship and while we work.

Covenants and commitments can be made with the Lord both publicly and privately, both by individuals and by groups.

The various categories of prayer are not like the major parts of a car. A car needs an engine, a transmission, a body and suspension, an interior with seats and all the necessary controls for operating it on the street. If any of these things are missing, the car could be dangerous, or not function at all.

The different types of prayer are more like assorted colors of paint on the artist’s palette. The colors serve the painter. One picture may be dark with gray, black, and red. Another painting is bright with vivid yellow, green, and white. Our circumstances and mood will determine which types of prayer we use on any given day. Different prayers will use different categories, serving the one who has come to speak with the Lord.

We should be comfortable with all types of prayer. When the mood is right or the circumstance appropriate, we should be capable of praising, confessing, asking, or yielding. If we learn to use all the categories of prayer, we will enjoy a deeper and more satisfying dialogue with our Maker and Savior.

Bowing on our knees or standing with hands raised, joining together with other believers or alone in our prayer closet, speaking out loud or silently in our hearts, in public or in private, in sorrow and in joy, in the morning and in the evening, in the Lord’s house and in the world, we pray without ceasing. We pray believing. We pray in the Spirit with all types of prayer!

May God inspire us to commune often with him in prayer,

Brother Richard

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December 29, 2021 · 10:18 AM

Enrich Your Prayer

“Lord, teach us to pray!” The question came from one of Jesus’ disciples. Not that they knew nothing at all about prayer. But they had been listening to Jesus pray. His prayers inspired them. They wanted more from prayer.

Jesus could have told his disciples that they had no need to learn about prayer. He could have told them that their prayers were good enough. But he did not.

Jesus could have told his disciples that they were unable to improve their prayers. He could have said that his proficiency at prayer was beyond them, that it would be futile for them to aspire to praying like him. But he did not.

Jesus apparently believed that his disciples could do better at prayer. So he instructed them. He taught them a model prayer that we often refer to as The Lord’s Prayer.

Many Christians have memorized the Lord’s Prayer and they recite it individually as a personal expression of communion with God. Believers also recite the Lord’s Prayer together in public worship settings. Using a common prayer enables a congregation to join their hearts in unison as they approach God’s throne of grace and mercy.

Others are uncomfortable with the idea of reciting a prayer from memory. Using someone else’s words can feel artificial and contrived. They prefer prayer that is impromptu, prayer that expresses their thoughts and feelings in their own words.

Did Jesus expect his followers to memorize and recite his prayer? Matthew and Luke each recorded Jesus’ prayer (in Matthew 6 and Luke 11). The two versions are very similar but not identical. This indicates that Jesus expected his disciples to use the prayer as a template.

For instance, the Lord’s Prayer, which should probably be called the Model Prayer, can be divided into two main sections: (1) focus on God’s kingdom and (2) focus on our needs. This basic pattern can give some organization and direction to the content of our prayers. The basic pattern can be useful but need not confine or limit our expressions of thoughts and feelings when we talk to God.

The content of our prayers can come from at least three sources. First, we can use great prayers recorded in the Bible as templates or models without reciting them word-for-word. The patterns found in these prayers can give shape and direction to our prayers, providing frameworks for new content that is personalized to our circumstances and concerns.

Second, we can memorize and recite existing prayers. Doing so is a great way for Christians to share the experience of prayer and to learn from the prayers of other believers.

Third, we can pray without reciting existing prayers and without following any established pattern or outline. Freestyle prayer is certainly a valid approach to prayer. Many of the prayers in the Psalms are apparently impromptu (which is ironic since they are written!).

Finally, we can use hybrid prayers that combine recitation of memorized prayers, patterns modeled by prayers in the Bible, and freestyle prayer that depends on the words of the one praying. By employing all three approaches in combination, the possibilities are endless.

Jesus’ disciples were ready and willing to learn from the Lord about how to improve their prayers. As a result, they learned from the Master about how to talk to God.

We, too, can get better at praying. Like Jesus’ first disciples, we can be inspired by the prayers of our Lord which we read in the Bible.  His prayers create a desire within us to improve our ability to communicate openly and effectively with God.

Prayer is fundamental to our spiritual life. Prayer is our lifeline to the Lord. As we learn from our Savior how to get better at communing with God, we grow stronger spiritually both as individual followers of Jesus and as a church family.

Enrich your prayer.

May God inspire us and enable us to enjoy his presence to the fullest,

Brother Richard

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November 4, 2021 · 10:09 AM

Enrich Your Prayer Life: Use All 5 Categories of Prayer

Giving thanks is an important part of prayer. We should express gratitude to God for the personal blessings he has given us. More than that, we should thank God for the promises he has made to bless us in the days ahead, including his promises for us in eternity. Gratitude for future blessings is an expression of praise.

Thanksgiving is one way of praising God. In addition to praising God for what he has done, we should praise God for who he is. We should also praise God for his attributes, his character. We can praise him because he is holy, because he is powerful, and because he is love.

By his power, he made the universe. He made us. He is worthy of our praise for giving us life and for giving us an incredible world in which to live.

By his love, God has given us salvation. We should praise God for sending his Son Jesus to be an atoning sacrifice for our sin.

Our sin reminds us of another category of prayer.

Confession and repentance are vital parts of our prayers. When we confess our sin, we affirm God’s holiness and righteousness. If we refuse to confess our sin, then we are defying God by rejecting his standard of goodness, his commands.

Repentance is also necessary. Not only do we agree with God’s standard of righteousness, including our agreement that we have fallen short, but we commit ourselves to turning away from sin and turning toward God. By following God and submitting to his Spirit, we learn to live in a manner that is not only in compliance with his standards, but in a manner that is pleasing to our heavenly Father.

After acknowledging God through worship and reconciling with God through repentance, we can move on to the next category of prayer: petitions and intercessions. Petitions are requests that we make to God for ourselves. God invites us to bring our requests to him in prayer. We should be transparent with God about the desires of our heart.

Intercession is like petition. We intercede by asking God to do something for someone other than ourselves. The other person may be someone we love deeply or someone we have never met. As followers of Jesus, we even intercede for our enemies and those who persecute us.

When we approach God with our petitions and intercessions, we must remember that God is not a cosmic vending machine. We don’t just ‘pull the lever’ of prayer and get anything and everything we want. Our wise and loving Father in heaven hears our requests and responds as he should. He sometimes says yes. Other times he says no, or not now, or yes, but. . . .

The fourth category of prayer may be a surprise to some people: questions and complaints. We can ask God questions in prayer. Most of us are full of questions about spiritual realities. God’s answers may come to us as we read the Bible, listen to Bible preaching and teaching, or through other avenues, but we can learn to recognize his responses to our questions.

Saints from Bible times onward have lodged their complaints with God. He is willing to hear them. The secret to complaining in prayer is to avoid disrespect. We can bring our frustration, disappointment, and impatience to God without slandering him.

The fifth category of prayer is covenants and commitments. Covenant is a word from Scripture that speaks of agreements between two parties. God has made certain commitments to us. We should make commitments to him. Prayer is an appropriate place to do so. We commune with God in prayer not just to get things, but also to give something.

The five categories of prayer are not rules to follow, but tools to handle. Having fewer tools makes the job more difficult. The more tools we have, the more details and the more beauty we can create in our prayers. Learn to use all five categories of prayer and your prayers will be enriched!

May God always hear and answer our prayers,

Brother Richard

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May 21, 2020 · 4:32 PM

Praying During The Pandemic

How can we pray at such a time as this? Consider the Old Testament man of God, Daniel.

Daniel’s life was changed forever by other people’s mistakes. When he was just a teenager, he was taken by force from his home in Israel. His life would be spent in a foreign land: Babylon.

You might say that Daniel just lived at the wrong time. God’s chosen people Israel had persisted in disobeying the Lord for generations. God warned them. They refused to listen. Finally, God disciplined Israel.

Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by a Babylonian army. All who survived were carried off into exile in Babylon. God’s people would not return to the Promised Land for seventy years. So, Daniel would live and die in Babylon.

Daniel was truly an extraordinary man. He could have hated the Babylonians. After all, they destroyed his home and kept him in exile. Instead, he served in the Babylonian government with distinction and integrity.

Daniel could have been bitter toward God. After all, God could have protected Daniel, couldn’t he? But Daniel showed no bitterness toward God. He was devoted to God and faithful to God’s word. He was a man of prayer, even when praying risked his life (Daniel 6)!

Daniel could have been angry at God’s people and refused to have anything to do with them. After all, their sin kept him from living in the Promised Land. But Daniel had no malice for sinful Israel. His love for God’s people is evident in his prayers.

One of Daniel’s prayers is recorded in the Bible (Daniel 9:1-19). He began by confessing the sins of Israel. Surprisingly, he included himself. “We have sinned and done wrong,” he said to God.

Daniel was willing to reckon himself among God’s people, even though they were sinful and he was faithful. He knew God loved his people and had a plan to bless them, despite their past disobedience and despite their current circumstances.

Daniel appealed to God for restoration of his people Israel. Because Jerusalem was God’s city, and the Temple was God’s sanctuary, and Israel was God’s people, Daniel pleaded with God to restore them.

Daniel wanted God’s name to be honored among the nations. If God’s city and temple were destroyed and his people were defeated, then the other nations of the world would assume the God of Israel was weak and defeated.

The world around us is like Babylon, increasingly pagan. The church is too often like ancient Israel, distracted by countless idols. God seems to be distant, angry, allowing disaster to sweep across the land. How can we pray?

We can pray like Daniel. We can remain united with God’s people, the church, despite their shortcomings. We can appeal to God’s mercy for his people, remembering his promises. God promised that his church will be built on the Rock of Jesus Christ and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it!

Daniel did not live at the wrong time. He was appointed by God to live faithfully in Babylon during the Exile. We are not living at the wrong time. God has called us to serve him now, in these circumstances. Let’s be faithful in our generation.

Brother Richard Foster

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September 6, 2018 · 4:19 PM

Prayer For A Nation

God makes a promise about prayer in 2 Chronicles:

. . . and (if) my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I myself will hear from the heavens, forgive their sin, and heal their land. (7:14)

The Lord is speaking to King Solomon. At the dedication of the new temple in Jerusalem Solomon prayed publicly and asked God to always answer the prayers offered at the temple.

Thirteen years later God is finally answering Solomon’s request. That’s a long delay but hearing from God is worth the wait!

To understand God’s answer to Solomon we must move back one verse. God tells Solomon, “When I stop the rain or send locusts to devour the land or if I send a pestilence, and my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray” etc.

God’s promise is about those times when he uses natural disasters to soften hard hearts and bend stiff necks. Extreme weather is now blamed on man-made global warming (or “climate change”). Nevertheless, God is still the master of nature and the Bible clearly says that he sometimes employs nature to get our attention (see Exodus 9).

Of course, every bad storm is not a judgment from God. Jesus used a storm on the Sea of Galilee to demonstrate his divine authority by commanding the wind and the waves to stop. He made no mention of any national sin.

The point is this: When God’s people disobey him and deserve his judgment, God offers a pathway to return to his favor.

First, God’s people must humble themselves. Genuine humility starts with attitude and stirs action. The Israelites often humbled themselves by fasting. Skipping meals was a way to demonstrate that they were contrite.

Next, God’s people must pray. When combined, prayer and fasting are powerful. By fasting and praying God’s people demonstrate their desire to connect with God.

In addition, God’s people must seek his face, that is, his personal presence. Seeking requires time and effort. When God’s people gather for combined prayer and fasting the purpose is to experience God’s powerful, personal presence.

Finally, God’s people must turn from their evil ways. No amount of fasting, praying and seeking will solve the problem if God’s people defiantly persist in disobeying his commands.

To simply turn from evil ways without turning to God would also be short of the goal. The objective is always to enjoy God and his favor.

God promises to hear from heaven despite the chasm between him and his people. God will then forgive their sin and heal their land, both spiritual and physical restoration. He is Lord of the visible and the invisible, of individuals and of nations.

As followers of Jesus we are God’s people now and we share in this wonderful promise about prayer. So let’s humbly seek the Lord in prayer, turning from sin to him. God will hear and restore.

May God always hear from heaven and visit us with his healing presence,

Brother Richard

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April 3, 2018 · 3:07 PM

Culture Wars and Prayer

Elijah appears suddenly in the pages of the Bible in 1 Kings 17. He is a prophet, a man of God.

Elijah lives at a time of spiritual decline in Israel. God’s people are being led astray to forget the God of the Bible and to adopt a competing worldview.

The champion of this competing worldview is a woman named Jezebel. Jezebel is a Baal worshiper. Baal is an idol. Baal worshipers give this idol credit for controlling the rain, and thus having the power of life.

Jezebel is married to the king of Israel, a man named Ahab. She uses her political position to promote Baal worship. She also abuses her power to intimidate and persecute those who worship and serve the Lord.

Baal worship threatens to extinguish belief in the Living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So God sends Elijah to confront King Ahab with bad news. Rain in Israel will cease. Why? To prove to the people that Baal does not control the rain, God does.

Eventually Elijah faces a showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. This event is one of the most dramatic in all the Bible (see 1 Kings 18). It is a contest to prove who is really God.

The contest was simple. The prophets of Baal would prepare a sacrifice and call on Baal. Elijah would prepare a sacrifice and call on the Lord. The one who answered by fire would be the true God.

The prophets of Baal cried out to the idol but, of course, it failed to answer. Then Elijah cried out to the Lord. In his prayer he called on God to turn the hearts of the people back again, back to the truth, back to the Lord.

Israel was experiencing what some would call a “culture war.” Two competing worldviews were struggling for the hearts of the people: Baal worship versus faithfulness to the God of their forefathers.

We find ourselves in a similar situation today, a time of frustrating spiritual decline. Powerful proponents of secularism are working diligently to erase the God of the Bible from the public square and from the hearts of the citizenry.

Whether we call this struggle a “culture war” or a “spiritual battle,” the stakes are high. Elijah recognized the fundamental issue in his struggle and he expressed it well in his prayer. The basic issue was not the laws of the land or the leaders on the throne. The basic issue was the hearts of the people.

Elijah’s response to the struggle in his time included bold prayer. His prayer called on God to turn the hearts of the people back again. We should follow his example and pray passionately for God to turn the hearts of the people back to the truth, back to the gospel, back to Jesus.

God answered Elijah’s prayer and brought a great victory. But the struggle continued. We can expect the same: great victories and continued struggles. We can be faithful in fighting the good fight, because we know that the ultimate victory belongs to the Lord!

May God’s Spirit inspire and enable us to be faithful,

Brother Richard Foster

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February 3, 2018 · 12:38 PM

How Can We Be Alert In Prayer?

Does your mind wander when you pray?

Praying alone in a quiet place can be a relaxing activity. In fact, it can be easy to doze off. When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane the night before his arrest, he asked his disciples to watch and pray with him.  They fell asleep . . . 3 times.

Being informed can make us alert. What if Jesus’ disciples had known that an angry mob with torches and clubs was coming to take Jesus away by force? I doubt if they would have fallen asleep!

The Bible urges us to be alert in prayer: “With every kind of prayer and petition, pray in the Spirit at all times; and to get this done, be alert by using all perseverance and prayer for all believers, and for me, that a word will be given to me when I open my mouth to boldly make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:18-19).

Persistent prayer for all believers is one way to stay alert in prayer.  Pray for all Christians everywhere, those you know and don’t know, those you like and don’t like, those in your local church and not, those in your denomination and not, those in your country or culture and not. That’s a tall order!

There are tens of millions of Christians around the world, we cannot know each one personally. Instead, we must learn what we can about believers in faraway places so that we can pray for them.

God’s Spirit may stir in us a special interest for certain communities or circumstances. For instance, we may have a special compassion for persecuted believers.

Then it says, “and for me,” that is, pray for me. In addition to praying for all believers everywhere, we should also pray for individual believers we know personally.

But what about people who have not yet been saved? Shouldn’t we pray for them?

When Jesus saw crowds of folks looking like sheep without a shepherd, he had compassion on them. He urged his followers to pray to God, not for the lost sheep, but for believers to do the gospel work.

In the instruction above, the writer asks his readers to pray that he will be bold in making known the mystery of the gospel. A mystery in the Bible is not something that is difficult to understand. It’s something impossible to know until it is revealed. The gospel is the revelation about Jesus, that he died and rose again so that we can be forgiven and have eternal life.

The best prayer for lost people is prayer for saved people to be bold and share the gospel. We need prayer for boldness to witness because our natural disposition is to keep quiet about the gospel. Telling others about Jesus requires the inspiration of God’s Spirit.

Pray for God to give you the same concern for others that Jesus has. Compassion for others will keep you alert in prayer.

May the God’s Spirit inspire us to share in his great harvest,

Brother Richard Foster

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