Monday, November 16, 2009

The Spirit Burdens us to Pray for Others

I glanced at the clock uneasily. It was 11:00 a.m. I picked up the receiver and dialed the number by memory.

“Karen, I have this feeling that won’t leave me. I can’t concentrate on anything. Ron left early this morning to inventory an auto parts store. He has a five-hour drive to Blythe. I keep feeling he’s going to have an accident. Would you pray with me for his protection?”

Karen wasn’t startled by my unusual request. We’d been prayer phone partners for two years. Together we prayed for Ron’s safety.

Ordinarily, I didn’t worry about him traveling hundreds of miles daily, but that morning I kept feeling an urgency to pray.

At about 1:00 p.m. the phone rang. It was Ron. “I’m in Blythe,” he said.

I felt apprehensive because it wasn’t like him to call at midday.

“I had an accident in Indio. I’m okay, and the car is drivable,” he assured me. “I was turning into a gas station when a young man driving a truck ran a yield sign. He was coming from so far back and moving so fast I didn’t see him. He left 45 feet of skid marks before he smashed into the right rear fender of the car. The gas station owner said he’s been cited more than once for reckless driving,” Ron sighed. “I had a strange uneasiness before I left this morning.”

“So did I. Karen and I prayed for your safety.”

“I’m fine,” he reassured me again. “Only the car was damaged. It can be repaired.”

The police officer estimated that the speed of the pickup truck passing the yield sign was 65 to 70 miles an hour before the driver braked and smashed into Ron’s car. The impact was so hard that the truck’s engine was knocked loose and fell sideways. Yet Ron wasn’t injured, and he could drive his car.

We were greatly relieved that he had been protected. Surely God’s miraculous intervention prevented a fatal accident.

In unusual situations, the Spirit of God may impress upon our minds exactly what we need to pray about and even at a specific time. When Karen and I prayed, it had to be very close to the time of the accident. The Holy Spirit not only prompted me to pray, but Ron had been impressed to pray for his own safety that morning before the accident.

God knows our needs before we ask (Matt. 6:8). He knew Ron would be safe, so why did the Spirit burden our hearts and impress me to pray with Karen? The Spirit moved us to pray so we could see God’s provision and protection and give Him glory.

“Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2 NIV). Share each other’s concerns through prayer, responding to the Spirit’s urgings.

Spurgeon said, “He can lay certain desires so pressingly upon our hearts that we can never rest till they are fulfilled.” (Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit's Intercession,” No. 1532, April 11th, 1880, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.)

The Holy Spirit may place a burden on our heart to intercede for someone facing a critical need. We may not know why the Spirit is urging us to pray for that person, but we can’t shake the impression that we must pray.

At first, we may not realize that the Spirit is moving us to intercede and so we ignore it and try to put it out of our mind. If only we could realize that the greatest part of our prayer-life is learning to hear the Spirit’s voice and responding to the needs He puts on our hearts for prayer.

When the Spirit prompts us to pray for someone we need to ask Him what we should pray. If He doesn’t reveal that to us, we have the assurance that the Spirit knows the need and is also interceding.

We can lift that person up to God even though we don’t know his or her need. Sometimes this burden to pray is a light impression; other times it’s heavy.

As we go about our daily work, the indwelling Spirit keeps urging us to pray. This urgency becomes increasingly stronger until it’s like an undercurrent just below the surface of our thinking pulling us along, compelling us to pray. This pressure keeps surfacing again and again within our mind so that we feel the need crying in our heart all day and night long. This urgency to intercede can become so consuming it crowds out all other thoughts and concerns and even wakens us in the night.

More than thirty years ago, I had this heavy feeling that someone was going to pass away. For three days I felt that strong impression. I passed the name of every loved one I could think of through my mind, praying for them and the feared unknown. Perhaps I could protect them by my prayers. It was a useless guessing game. My unleashed imagination only fed my fears and increased my anxiety.

My favorite aunt never once entered my thoughts. On that third day, I received a phone call that she had committed suicide. I was heartbroken, but it wasn’t until years later that I realized that the Holy Spirit had prepared me for this loss and moved me to intercede.

The urgency to intercede may also be contrary to the facts as we know them. One time a woman in our church entered the hospital for routine tests. As I prayed for her I kept feeling this persistent apprehension and a strong urgency to intercede. But I kept shoving it out of my mind because it didn’t make sense. She had a minor problem. Suddenly, she turned seriously ill and in a few short hours she was gone.

The Spirit of God moves us to intercede in a crisis not only to prepare our heart for a tragic outcome, but also to move us to pray for those who experience such a loss. Tragedy may not be diverted because of prayer, but in some way our prayers were critical to supporting others in times of crisis.

The Apostle Paul had many such experiences of the Holy Spirit speaking to him and preparing him. “I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me” (Acts 20:23 NIV).

As it says in The Message, "But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I'm completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won't be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God” (Acts 20:23-24 MSG).

Paul did not die away of self-pity as he prayed and realized the Holy Spirit was preparing him for suffering. What meant the most to him was serving God in his affliction. “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” (Acts 20: 24 NIV).

God’s Amazing Provisions

How the Holy Spirit speaks to us as we pray is a continual amazement to me. As I was writing this, I was praying and thinking about how I needed an illustration about the Spirit burdening us to pray when there is a critical need. I remembered Ron’s accident and that I had written about it, but that was 27 years ago.

Could I possibly have a copy of an unpublished article I had written about it? We had moved twice since then and I’d thrown away file drawers full of papers. But I felt strongly impressed to see if I could find the article. The first place I looked I found it in an unusual place among college term papers.

At the same time, a friend’s name kept coming to mind and was constantly in my thoughts. I wanted to talk to her about something and didn’t realize that she was on my heart for a reason other than for my own interests. I felt compelled to call her at work. I found out she was away on a family emergency and had a great need for prayer support at that time.

These are amazing examples to me of how the Spirit moves us to pray about a need, reveals the need, giving us the privilege of joining in with His work, and honoring Him with our thanksgiving. “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (Ps. 68:19 NIV)

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

The Will of God

 The Spirit helps us pray according to the will of God (Rom. 8:27). “God can see what is in people’s hearts. And he knows what is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit speaks to God for his people in the way God wants” (Rom. 8:27 ncv).

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15 esv).

We don’t know what we need, what is best or “what God’s will is, but the Holy Spirit controls those prayers and promotes those desires which are consistent with God’s purposes and which are best for us. Such prayers are always answered,” said Charles Hodge. (Hodge, Romans, 256)

Moreover, the Spirit prompts us to pray only for that which is holy and consistent with God’s Word and will. The Holy Spirit never urges us to ask for anything that is sinful or forbidden by Scripture. He never prompts us to pray for anything that is contrary to God’s predestined purposes and will.

Spurgeon said, “Reflect for a moment: the Holy Spirit knows all the purposes of God, and when they are about to be fulfilled, he moves the children of God to pray about them, and so their prayers keep touch and tally with the divine decrees.” Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit's Intercession,”  No. 1532, April 11th, 1880, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.) 

God always answers yes when it’s His will and His timing. Spurgeon said, “The mind of God is one and harmonious; if, therefore, the Holy Spirit dwells in  you, and he moves you to any desire, then his mind is in your prayer, and it is not possible that the  eternal Father should reject your petitions.” (Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit's Intercession,”  No. 1532, April 11th, 1880, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.) 

 Moreover, we can be assured that “counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.” (Ps. 33:11 esv). Nothing or no one can prevent God from answering our prayers that are part of His plans and accomplish His purposes.

All we need to do is ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in prayer when we cannot see our way. When we are in the dark, He gives us light. When we are perplexed and foggy in our faith, He will open our eyes that we may see.

The Holy Spirit is our Counselor, Comforter, and Friend when we are going through trying times. He  reminds us of His faithfulness and how He has cared for us in the past and assures us of His presence now and in the future.

When you can’t find a promise to sustain you, Jesus promised that “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26 esv).

Realizing the extent of the Holy Spirit’s help has transformed my faith. He is teaching me how to pray as He desires and I am learning to rest in the assurance that He hears me. I am better able to see how He is working. His power is more than sufficient for all my weaknesses in prayer. This lifts the burden off of me!

He knows the right words to pray when I don’t. He is always speaking for me. What encouragement! He understands the cries of my heart, knows my thoughts, and presents them to God. What assurance!

Here is Jer. 17:10 in three versions: 

“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve” (Jer. 17:10: NIV).

“But I, GOD, search the heart

and examine the mind.

I get to the heart of the human.

I get to the root of things.

I treat them as they really are,

not as they pretend to be” (Jer. 17:10: (MSG).

“But I know! I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve” (Jer. 17:10: NLT)

Too Deep for Words


The Spirit is interceding for us with sighs too deep for words (Rom. 8:26). “The Spirit himself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain” (Rom 8:26b ncv).

“The Spirit dwelling within us prays, not always in words and thoughts, but in a breathing and a being that is deeper than utterance,” said Andrew Murray. (Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer, 189.)

“The praying of the Spirit is too deep for words . . .  it cannot be expressed. It is felt only in the heart; it never comes to the surface of the lips; it never can be expressed. In other words, these are those deep yearnings of the soul that all of us feel at times for more of God for ourselves, or, perhaps, for someone else,’” said Pastor Ray Stedman. (Ray C. Stedman, “Prayer, Providence, Praise,” Sept. 9, 1962,  No: 15, Catalog No: 19)

The Spirit not only intercedes for us with groanings, but He also interprets our aching sighs, stumbling sentences, and even our senseless babbling. He understands what we’re trying to express and explains what we mean to God.

When our granddaughter was two years old and she first started talking she babbled, repeating only an intelligible word or two, such as “Mama” and “Papa.” Now she is saying lots more words, but she still says “words” that make sense to her but not us.

She becomes frustrated when she keeps repeating the same unintelligible word, but I don’t know what she is saying. I can tell by the look on her face that it is perfectly clear to her.

Recently, she kept pointing and repeating the same word sounds, and I said, “I don’t understand you.”

“Yes, you do,” She replied.

We can be grateful that the Spirit of God understands us clearly; He interprets our babbling and crying and sighing. He understands what we mean and presents our needs to the Father.

Our burdens may also be so deep we cannot talk about them or we have such internal conflict we don’t know how to express ourselves to God. Our trials may be so heartbreaking and horrifying we are overcome by grief and shock to the point of numbness. Our thinking may become irrational. Our spirit groans inside us, and we cannot talk.

Yet we have this assurance, the indwelling Spirit interprets our sighs and presents them to God for us. He hears and comforts us in our sorrow. “So it is with those prayers which are all broken up, wet with tears,  . . . and anguish and bitterness of spirit, our gracious Lord reads them as a man reads a book, and they are  written in a character which he fully understands.” (Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit's Intercession,”  No. 1532, April 11th, 1880, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.)

The indwelling Spirit“ creates all real prayer,”  when our mind is incapable of reason and “of clothing its emotion in words.” “I pray you never think lightly of the supplications of your anguish. . . . That which is thrown up from the depth of the soul, when it is stirred with a terrible tempest, is more precious than pearl or coral, for it is the intercession of the Holy Spirit, ” said Spurgeon. (Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit's Intercession,”  No. 1532, April 11th, 1880, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.)

 

The Mind of the Spirit

 

God searches our heart and knows the mind of the Spirit (Rom. 8:27). “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds” (Jer. 17:10 esv).

The Holy Spirit tests our thinking to see how sincere we really are. He sees the hidden things deep in our heart when we pray. He examines our motives, gets to the bottom of the truth, and strips away all our pretenses.

He convicts us, challenges us to change, and corrects the direction we are headed in. We can’t hide anything from God when we pray. “For he knows the secrets of the heart” (Psalm 44:21 esv).

God is omniscient, meaning that He has perfect knowledge of all things. He knows absolutely everything about us. O LORD, you have searched me and known me!” Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether” ( Ps. 139:1, 4 esv).  God reads our unexpressed thoughts; He knows every hidden thing about us.

Before a thought is our own, “it is foreknown and understood by” God, said Spurgeon. No one can else can hear what we think, and we do not fully understand or know our own mind.  (Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, 1419)

 “He is intimately acquainted with our person, nature, and character. How good it is for us to know the God who knows us! Divine knowledge is extremely thorough and searching.” (Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, 1418-19)

God is aware of every careless thought. When we ask God to do something, He knows our true intentions, those that are right and wrong, and those we rationalize or minimize. God knows every good and evil desire. 

When I ask God for something, He knows my motives even when I don’t understand them myself. One quick glimpse of my heart and God can “sum up all the meanings of my soul.” His glances are so piercing “everything about me is transparent.” (Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, 1419)

Spurgeon said, “My most common and casual acts and my most needful and necessary movements are noted by” the Lord. He knows “the thoughts that regulate them. Whether I sink in lowly self-renunciation or ascend in pride,” He sees “the motions of my mind as well as those of my body. This is a fact to be remembered every moment: when sitting to consider or rising to act, we are seen, known, and read by Jehovah our Lord.” (Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, 1419)

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Spirit Helps Us Pray as We Should

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God”(Rom. 8:26-27 esv).

The Spirit helps us pray as we should (Rom. 8:26). We don’t know what God will bring about today or what will happen in the future to us or those for whom we’re praying. We need the Spirit’s assistance in order that our requests come in line with God’s plans and purposes.

“All true prayer is due to the influence of the Spirit, who not only guides us about what we should pray about but also gives us the appropriate desires and works within us to produce that faith without which our prayers are useless.” (Hodge, Romans 254-55.)

I have faced problems where I didn’t know what to pray. I have looked at both sides of the situation, but I can’t figure out the right solution. One way of solving the problem seems as if it will work, but looking at it from another angle it seems like something entirely different would be the best way to handle it.

There have also been times when I sensed something was wrong, but I didn’t know what it was. I felt as if I were lost in a dense fog and couldn’t see my way.  I would catch a glimpse of what was wrong, but it was all so hazy. I continued to stumble along through the fog praying God would make things clear.

But when the sky broke open and the problem was revealed, it was devastating.  I didn’t know which way to turn or how to pray as I should. There have been some heartaches that I wished I had never found out about because I could do nothing about them.

But in finding out what was wrong I gained greater insights into the underlying problem. I was praying one way, but once both sides of the situation were revealed, the Spirit showed me how to pray the way He desired.

Have you ever been through a trial like that and you were helpless to do anything about it?  We can ask God for many things, but we don’t know what He would want for us or the person for whom we are praying.

“For spiritual blessings which we know to be according to the divine will we could ask with confidence, but perhaps these would not meet our peculiar circumstances.” (Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit's Intercession,”  No. 1532, April 11th, 1880, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.)

One thing I am certain of in those situations is that the Spirit helps me pray the way I ought to pray, even when I don’t know how. He gives me peace even when the circumstances have not changed and are as hard as they were when I started praying.

We have this assurance that the Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know how or what to ask as we should. When we can’t pray He prays for us and with us. He knows what to say when we don’t. We find our hope in Him and in the power of His intercession.

The Spirit’s Intercession

The Spirit of God is interceding for us in harmony with God’s will (Rom. 8:26). The Spirit teaches us how to pray, interpreting our prayers, and presenting them to God in a way that is acceptable to Him. The Spirit also makes intercession for us personally and offers petitions to God on our behalf.

What if you were being sued and had to represent yourself in small claims court? But you knew very little about the law and had no idea how to plead your case.

A lawyer friend offered to advise you for free. She helped you gather evidence, drew up the legal documents, and taught you how to present your case in court.

She came to the hearing to counsel and support you during the proceedings, but she could not represent you before the judge. Because of the lawyer’s help, the judge ruled in your favor. Though you presented your own evidence, your lawyer friend would deserve the credit for helping you win the case.

The Holy Spirit is such an advocate. He will teach us what to say and how to present our case before the courts of heaven. He stands with us and supports us before God.

The indwelling Spirit “will write the prayers which I ought to offer upon the tablets of my heart,  and I shall see them there, and so I shall be taught how to plead. It will be the Spirit's own self pleading in me, and by me, and through me, before the throne of grace,” said Charles Spurgeon. (Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit's Intercession,”  No. 1532, April 11th, 1880, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.)

“If you are spiritual the Holy Spirit is offering up prayers in your bodily temple that you know nothing about, it is the Spirit making intercession in you  . . .” Oswald Chambers, Biblical Ethics, 46.)

Moreover, we don’t know how to pray in a manner that is acceptable and pleasing to God. But we have this assurance that the Spirit intercedes for us in the right way. The Spirit works in our heart to bring about the right attitude, humility of spirit, and strength of faith so that our prayers are acceptable to God.

Spurgeon said, “This is something more than helping us to pray, something more than encouraging us or directing us,—but . . . he puts such force of his own mind into our poor weak thoughts and desires and hopes, that he himself maketh intercession for us, working in us to will and to pray according to his good pleasure.” Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit's Intercession,”  No. 1532, April 11th, 1880, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.) 

 

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Panic Prayers

I thought the breast cancer scare was tough enough, and then I went to the ear doctor last week to find out why I had such a sudden and severe loss in hearing and understanding words, which was discovered during a routine hearing test. I am deaf and wear hearing aides, but even with the aides I cannot clearly hear voices.

The doctor said I would need to see a specialist, and that I needed to have a brain MRI immediately to see if there were any abnormalities that could have caused the sudden loss.

During a Bible Study, when I requested prayer for the MRI brain scan and expressed my fears about possible brain abnormalities, my friend Marsha insisted on going with me. She cancelled an appointment she had for that time, stating that I should not be alone when I had the MRI.

About an hour before the test last Wednesday, our pastor-friend, Greg, called as he felt impressed of the Lord to do so. He prayed for my healing as he did before the mammogram. I especially realized that it was a miracle I didn’t have cancer after my friend, Shannon, told me she was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer at the age of thirty-eight. It all started with a massive breast infection, such as I had.

Throughout the hour brain MRI test, the top half of my body was in a long capsule-like tomb. I have claustrophobia, and so I started to panic. I had to stay perfectly still for an hour as the machine whirred, screeched, whined, and screamed. It was so loud the technician had given me earplugs to help me survive the noise. 

My panicky feelings began to worsen, and so I repeated names of God and “Jesus.” Then the words of this worship song began to play in my mind:

Praise the name of Jesus,

Praise the name of Jesus,

He’s my rock,

He’s my deliverer,

In Him will I trust.

Praise the name of Jesus.

The unusual part is that I had not heard that worship song in a long time. I knew God had given it to me to calm my heart and to draw me to trust in Him and praise Him who would deliver me. Before the final fifteen minutes, the technician put an IV in my arm so that dye would flow throughout my brain and contrast tests were made for comparison with the non-dye portion of the MRI. As my mind drifted off to other thoughts, I panicked, and felt compelled to sing the song. I was amazingly relaxed as long as I kept singing Praise the name of Jesus.            

Marsha had come with me and kept patting my leg throughout the test to let me know she was praying for me. I was grateful for her caring presence.

I have discovered that whenever I am experiencing a stressful test or experience, it helps me to repeat the name of “Jesus” or a scripture verse or to sing a worship chorus or hymn. The second I began to think of anything else, the panic and fear overwhelm me. I am again reminded that prayer begins with God. He puts on our hearts exactly what we need to pray, and in this instance it was Praise the Name of Jesus. Praise and worship songs are also a form of prayer.

God is my rock and deliverer, and I am thankful to say that every part of the MRI showed that my brain is normal.  I still don’t know why the sudden hearing loss, but I am praising the name of Jesus. 

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Lana’s Prayer & My Cancer Scare

Early Thursday morning, September 3, 2009, Lana had her devotions and prayed, “Lord direct my day, and show me what to do.”

Lana and I have been close friends for many years, and we had been trying to get together. She wanted to come over for a visit and to see our new laminate floors that our son Chris had laid. But Lana and I kept playing phone tag and hadn’t gotten together yet.

What she didn’t know is that I was super sick. The week before, I discovered that I had a breast infection with a lump and a large area that was fiery red. Every bone in my body ached, and I was scared.

I went to the doctor and she ruled out a spider bite or boil but the worst words out of her mouth was the “C” word. I had had cancer in the right breast a few years ago and had surgery to remove the cancer. The inflammation was in the exact same area but in the left breast. I had kept current on my mammograms, but it had been a year since the last one. I had been cancer-free, but the possibility of it returning had continued to concern me.

 I made an appointment to have a mammogram, but I could not get in until a week, which was too long to wait.  I was scared because I was so sick and the antibiotics weren’t touching the infection or easing the pain in my bones. I felt sorry for myself and fell into depression.  The doctor told me adamantly,  “You need to start taking care of yourself, or you won’t live to take care of your family.”

My doctor also sent me to the Senior Connection, a nonprofit organization, to see a counselor for help. The senior’s counselor was immensely helpful and said, “Sixty-five percent of caretakers die before the person they are taking care of does.”

I take care of Ron, and our three granddaughters. Delaney and Sadie are four years old, and Sierra just turned seven. We love them dearly, and they are a joy, but I am nearly 71 and my steam spews out of the pot super quickly. Those girls never run out of steam; their pots are full of boiling energy.

Wednesday, the day before the mammogram I was thinking about what I needed to do if I did have cancer, especially if it had spread throughout my body. With Ron being blind, how would we manage? I was exhausted, sick, overwhelmed, and felt deeply sorry for myself, and didn’t want to face the mammogram alone, but I am not one to call friends to ask them to go along with me.

That same day, Dixie, a friend of ours, felt impressed to email me and ask how I was doing, not knowing about the infection or the cancer scare. I emailed her back and told her. Ron attends a men’s Bible study her husband Greg leads in their garage and has been a caring pastor to us. Greg has called on us many times and prayed with us, especially during the long hard years our son and his wife were waiting to see if they could adopt Sadie and Sierra.

Thursday morning, at 7:15 a.m., Greg called. Dixie had told him about my need, and he wanted to pray with me before the test, and as he prayed for my healing, he quoted Isaiah 65:24, (NKJV), “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.”

I was so thankful for his call and his prayers. I took Sierra to school at 8:00 a.m., and later Sadie to kindergarten at 10 a.m. Though the mammogram was scheduled at 11:00 a.m., I went to the fabric store to get the rest of the yardage I needed for Sierra’s birthday quilt. (She turned seven yesterday.) When I walked into the fabric section, there was my friend Lana. She was thinking about making a quilt, but she didn’t have anything definite in mind.

I was so thrilled to see her, and we chatted for a few minutes to catch up, and I told her about what was going on. I finished buying my fabric, and she walked me to the car. As I started to drive away, she ran back to the car and asked me, “Would you like me to go with you to your mammogram?”

I started to say, no, but then I blurted, “I would love to have you come with me.”

What a comfort. I did not have to be alone as I waited for the test and was so relieved. Though I had not asked God to send a friend to go with me, he had heard my heart cries.

After the technician called me in for the test and it was done, I felt apprehensive as I waited, scared and anxious for the doctor to read the mammogram and give me the results.

When the doctor came in the room and started to speak, I couldn’t take it all in and went into shock, and so he had to tell me twice, “You do not have cancer. Your breasts are completely clear. There is hardly any sign of an infection. Come back for your next mammogram in a year.”

I was overjoyed and thrilled. No sign of cancer! God had answered before we called on him and healed me. We don’t know what caused the infection, but it is healing.

Lana and I went out to lunch together to celebrate the good news. God knew she was the one to send to the fabric store for a divine appointment. She was just the dear friend I needed to be with me. We were able to catch up on our lives and the many ways we could see God working. We also shared our concerns and supported one another; just what good friends need to do.

Another amazing part of this story is that Lana lives in Nipomo a town north of Santa Maria that has a wonderful fabric store, and she later said that she considered going to that store or the other stores north of her, especially one that has excellent discounts on fabric. But that morning she felt impressed to drive south to Santa Maria, which really made no sense at all since she had better stores closer by. Here in Santa Maria, there are two fabric stores next door to each other; one is huge, and the other one is a craft store with a small fabric section. She went to the store with the small section right where God wanted her to be. 

Lana and I were astounded by this divine appointment. God works in wondrous ways. Prayer is a full circle of communication even when we don’t realize it. Lana casually prayed for direction that morning, something she normally does. God spoke to her heart to go to that very fabric store not even in her own town. He impressed me to go to the same store before my test instead of afterward. God directed us to go to the same store at the same time because I needed a friend that day, and He wanted to show us both how much He cares for us and guides our lives.

(Ladies please get those mammograms, Sheila Cragg, copyright, 2009, all rights reserved.)

 

 

Saturday, August 22, 2009

The Spirit Helps Us Pray

After Ron suddenly lost his eyesight, he could see some things but it was like looking through mud. But blindness is strange. He has blurry vision of things in the distance, such as trees or cars. If you came up to him to shake his hand, however, he can't see your hand, and unless you introduce yourself he won't know who you are. 

He also needed help to learn how to do ordinary tasks. A mobility trainer taught him how to walk on sidewalks, using his cane to feel for obstacles and bumps in the cement. He learned how to cross streets and listen for the sounds of traffic. Since then he has been able to walk by himself, which he does everyday for a mile or more.

Another specialist for the blind came to our home and showed Ron how to do basic tasks that we sighted people automatically do. He learned how to pour water in a cup without it spilling over, prepare food, and organize his clothes in the closet. She even showed him how to identify his food on his plate. She taught him, both by telling him and by putting her hand over his to guide it to the right place.

I have discovered so many parallels between prayer and blindness. As we face the events of each new day, we can’t see the way in front of us or what’s around the corner. We need the Holy Spirit to help us navigate the obstacles and bumps of life. We need His spiritual eyesight because we all have muddy vision. We need the Spirit to teach us the basic things of prayer and His guiding hand to show us the way in the darkness.

We have this assurance. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom. 8:26-27 esv)

We will closely examine those verses in order to see how the Holy Spirit guides us in prayer. I hope that it will relieve you of some of the inadequate feelings you might have about your prayer-life as you see the Spirit’s role, all that He does for you to enable you to pray, and as you realize His constant presence with you.

In what ways does the Spirit help us?

First, the all-powerful Spirit of God helps us pray in our weakness. In Greek the word “weakness” means both suffering and weakness. This verse states that we are weak; it doesn’t say “if we are weak” or “when we are weak.”

I have come to realize that I am powerless to pray in my own strength. In my weakness the Spirit comes along side me, takes hold, and assists me in prayer.

Jesus also promised, “‘I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever’” (John 14: 16 esv). The word “helps” means “‘to take hold of anything with another,’ ‘to take part in his burden or work,’ and thus to give help.” (Hodge, Romans, 254.)

“Have you noticed that nobody prays unless he feels a sense of dependence?” said Ray Stedman. “People that feel independent, and able to run their own lives, never pray. It is only when we come to the place where we realize we can’t handle everything that we begin to pray, and out of that sense of dependence comes the instinctive cry of the heart expressed in prayer.” (Ray C. Stedman, “Prayer, Providence, Praise,” Sept. 9, 1962,  No: 15, Catalog No: 19)

Once I accept my weakness and dependence on the Holy Spirit, I am better able to relinquish my concerns to Him. But it’s always a process for me, and I don’t do it easily.

God is sovereign and answers prayer in line with His will and purposes not mine. This is difficult to accept especially in certain heartaches that I feel need His immediate intervention. 

I have found that the more I ask the Spirit of God to reveal His desires and will, the more I am able to let go of my own. I can see how God is answering and working because I am not so locked into what I want. 

Prayer is hard, however, when we are facing something frightening such as when my husband Ron had melanoma skin cancer surgery. We were afraid that it had spread throughout his body. My faith was weak and my prayers were weak. We are thankful that the surgeon was able to get all the cancer, and Ron didn’t need more treatment.

The Spirit helped me pray even though my faith wavered between fear and trust. I felt distressed and helpless when I prayed, but my roller coaster faith didn’t prevent God from answering in a positive way. 

You can be assured that “if the problems of prayer have become so dark and heavy to you that the words of prayer freeze on your lips,” wrote O Hallesby, “then pray in your distress for the Spirit of prayer. He will solve the deepest mysteries of prayer by revealing to you that, the more helpless you are, the better you are fitted to pray, and the more answers to prayer you will experience.” (O Hallesby, Prayer, 171.)

Because God is Sovereign he already knew the outcome of Ron’s surgery, so why bother asking God for what we desire? And what if the answer had been “no” as it was when Ron went blind? Many prayed with us that he would regain his eyesight. 

So why pray? Because we need to communicate with God, we need to experience His presence and see Him at work in our lives no matter what the answer might be. One way to experience this is through our conversations with the Lord. 

The Spirit of God gladly helps me pray and fills me with His comfort when I am afraid. The more I surrender myself to Him and come before Him in humble dependence the more I realize the Holy Spirit’s presence and assistance to see me through those hard trials. 

O Hallesby said, “He will help you in your weakness and show you in what ways you misunderstand prayer, and will make it simple and easy for you to pray.” (O Hallesby, Prayer, 170.)

I also desire to pray effectively, but sometimes I am depressed, and all sense of hope and trust has failed me.  I don’t know how to pray with enough faith to move the heart of God. How can He hear me when I feel so spiritually dead? If God answered prayer based on my poor faith and flat feelings, His answer would be “No.”

I find great assurance in what Charles Spurgeon wrote, “The Holy Spirit also divinely operates in the strengthening of the faith of believers. That faith is at first of his creating, and afterwards it is of his sustaining and increasing:  . . . have you not often felt your faith rise in proportion to your trials? . . . You have felt as sure about the promise as you felt about the trial. The affliction was, as it were, in your very bones, but the promise was also in your very heart.  . . .”  (Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit's Intercession,”  No. 1532, April 11th, 1880, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.) 

When we saturate ourselves in Scripture and look to God to increase our faith the Spirit strengthens our confidence in God and reassures us of His presence. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17 esv).

“Blessed be the Divine Spirit then, that since faith is essential to prevailing prayer, he helps us in supplication by increasing our faith.” (Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Holy Spirit's Intercession,” No. 1532, April 11th, 1880, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.) 

Furthermore, we have this assurance that from the moment of our salvation, the Holy Spirit indwells us (John 14:17). “The New Testament clearly teaches that all believers are permanently indwelt. . . . It means that whether or not we feel it, God the Holy Spirit lives within our beings constantly,” said Charles Ryrie (Basic Theology, 412-13.)  

Our eternal security as believers and the “permanent indwelling of the Spirit are inseparable doctrines.  . .  To be sure, sin affects the effectiveness of the Spirit in the believer’s life, but it does not remove His presence from believers.” (Ryrie, Basic Theology, 410.)

The Spirit of God indwells us, intercedes for us, and works in and around us. Realizing that the Spirit of God indwells us, can transform our prayer-life. 

The Holy Spirit is our Helper and sure foundation in prayer. The indwelling Spirit is our very assurance in prayer. We can be certain that He is within us helping in our weakness and guiding us as we pray. 

The Spirit of “God himself is in us, having taken up residence in the believer to perform all that is required, and each one of us has a power within which is quite sufficient to meet every need that we have: God is that power. He is the originator and the performer of it all. Nevertheless, he always involves us in conscious cooperation,” said Ray Stedman. (Ray C. Stedman, “Prayer, Providence, Praise,” Sept. 9, 1962,  No: 15, Catalog No: 19)

Therefore, we “pray in the Holy Spirit,” meaning under His influence and by his assistance. The indwelling Spirit also helps us in our weakness by teaching us how and what to pray (Jude 20b, Eph. 6:18). 

Thursday, August 13, 2009

How God Spoke to Us


“It is crucial that Christians clearly understand what God is communicating to them and know how to respond appropriately. The question, then, is not whether God speaks to his people but how he does so. (Hearing God’s Voice, 17)

“God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son . . .” (Heb. 1:1-2 ESV).

God spoke to people in the Bible to reveal Himself, His plans, and His purposes for them. He spoke by many different means, including angels, burning bush, casting lots, creation, donkey, dreams, fasting, God the Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus, miracles, people, prayer, preachers, prophets, Scripture, signs, wonders, and visions.

Henry and Richard Blackaby said, “Some may see the concept of God speaking today as a threat to the Bible’s authority. Is the Bible the only means God has at his disposal for speaking to people?  . . . While there certainly have been abuses by some who claimed to hear from God in nonbiblical ways, does that discount the legitimate avenues through which God speaks? While the Bible is God’s definitive, authoritative word to us, is God not capable of applying that word to our lives in numerous ways? (Hearing God’s Voice, 6.)

The Spirit of God daily speaks to us. He impresses upon our hearts and minds what He desires that we do and the attitudes we should have. He seems to speak to me through His Word, other devotional readings, friends, family, in prayer and worship services, and strong, but quiet impressions and urgings.

God simply speaks to us in very ordinary ways about very normal living experiences. In Numbers 27, we see how God instructed Moses on some very practical matters. As the people of Israel were entering the Promised Land, Moses distributed land to the different tribes. The daughters of Zelophehad could not inherit land because it was only passed on to sons and there were none. They asked Moses to give them property among their relatives.

“Moses brought their case before the LORD. And the LORD said to Moses, The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them’” (Num. 27:5-7 ESV).

When God speaks to us He has a specific purpose, a lesson He desires us to learn, a truth He desires us to grasp. He has a plan that He will accomplish and knows our present and future needs and guides us accordingly.

Once God speaks to us about what He desires of us, His Spirit will guide us throughout the process. He doesn’t tell us everything all at once. He prepares us for what He desires to do, and then takes us through a process as He reveals His purposes and plans a step at a time. What seemed to be God’s plan in the beginning may turn out entirely different than we expected or could imagine, which has happened to us time and again. 

Before we moved to Santa Maria, the Lord began impressing upon our heart that is what we were to do. I desperately wanted to leave Garden Grove, because our neighborhood had turned into a high crime area, and wanted to move to a quieter area. Our sons also wanted us to make the move near them and urged us to do so as soon as my husband Ron retired. Over the next five years, I wasn’t sure if this was God’s will or my own, but the desire to move grew more urgent.

God began to reveal His will to us as I applied for a part time job at the community college in Santa Maria and was hired to teach English as a second language. We sold our house in Garden Grove, or so we thought, and I came to Santa Maria to begin teaching while Ron retired and finished his last six months of work. Then the sale of our house fell through. Were we making the right decision? Had God spoken to us or were we just desperate to move?

Finally, the house sold and closed escrow, but the job Ron thought he had did not come through. I began to worry again, but in two weeks he found another job. Later, our youngest son and his wife bought a home three doors away from us. We weren't sure that being so close would be ideal, but we would soon realized why God had provided them with a home nearby.

Ron and I had settled into our local church, and I expected that we would have a nice leisurely retirement. I could spend time with friends, write, sew, and do pretty much what I pleased. But that wasn’t God’s plan.

Ron suddenly went blind while driving. He made it safely home but never drove again. Our lives were turned upside down, and we were faced with hard adjustments. Having our son so close has been incredibly helpful, and I don’t know how I would have made it without him. Then he and his wife adopted three girls.  The journey through the adoption process was a six and a half year ordeal. They had seven children until they finally were able to adopt an infant girl and later two sisters. We have had the joy of  helping our son and his wife through the adoption process and taking care of the girls.

I can see God’s plan now, but would never have dreamed that when we felt so urgent to come to Santa Maria what we would be facing. God already knew our future and all of our needs, and He spoke to our hearts and prompted us to make the move.

 

 

Monday, August 10, 2009

Cautions about How God Speaks Today

“Some people contend that God no longer speaks to people beyond what he has already said in Scripture. They are reluctant to believe God gives specific guidance to individuals today. Others . . . are experience driven. They tend to be controlled by their emotions.” (Hearing God’s Voice, 17)

How can we be assured that God indeed is speaking to us? We need to learn to recognize God’s voice and understand exactly what He is saying to us, but we have to be very clear about what that means and doesn’t mean.

Henry and Richard Blackaby said in their book, Hearing God’s Voice, “When God speaks, he does not give new “revelation” about himself that contradicts what he already revealed in Scripture. Rather, God speaks to give application of this Word to the specific circumstances in your life. When God speaks to you, he is not writing a new book of Scripture; rather, he is applying to your life what he has already said in his Word” (Hearing God’s Voice, 18).

“Perhaps you have been confused about what God is saying to you. You may have been taught that God does not speak to people. Maybe you have grown disillusioned because of professing Christians who claim God speaks to them in excessive and unbiblical ways. If you have not heard God speak to you, perhaps you have come to assume your experience is normative for the Christian life,” said the Blackaby’s. (Hearing God’s Voice, 17)

God willingly reveals to us what He wants us to know, we just have to be willing to see what he desires to show us. What are some guidelines to help us know if God is speaking to us or not?

First, God never changes or lies, therefore, when He speaks to us it will always be the truth and consistent with Scripture. Therefore, we must learn how to discern between the Holy Spirit’s, our own, the worlds, or Satan’s voices. Otherwise, we will be deceived. Here is how we know the difference. The Holy Spirit is the truth, always speaks the truth, and cannot lie (John 14:17). Satan lies and twists God’s Word. The Spirit always directs us in perfect harmony with God’s will and His Word.

Second, the indwelling Spirit convicts us to stop committing specific sins and to change worldly attitudes and behaviors. He will never tell us to sin. “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11 ESV)

We must be careful that we don’t listen to our sinful nature and give into “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Gal. 5:19-21a esv).

If it’s a relationship with another person or material goods we are desperately asking God for and are sure we can’t live without, we need to be cautious. Is it our own voice, the world’s enticement, and/or Satan cheering us on to beg God to give us what we want? If it’s questionable, we have doubts, and its one of those shady areas, we can be certain that the Spirit is not speaking to us.

We have this assurance that God will make His voice clear to us and will warn and convict us when we are determined to follow our own will, worldly lusts, and/or Satan’s enticement. Our conscience bears witness and confirms the truth or a lie to us by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 9:1). Moreover, God impresses upon us godly choices He desires us to make.

Third, God compels us to serve Him in ways we would never choose and to submit to His transforming work. He gives us specific directions as to areas of change we need to make, and how we should obey and glorify God. All we have to do is open our hearts, listen, and do, as He desires. Though this is simply stated, it is not easily done.

Fourth, God does not tell us to hurt or harm anyone, including children, friends, family, and strangers.

Fifth, He can speak to us through any means He so chooses, but constantly pleading with God to reveal Himself to us in some spectacular way can put us on an emotional roller coaster. We go from a spiritual high and then plummet to the bottom when the “miracle” doesn’t happen.

 “Many Christians use alleged divine revelations as a means of manipulating others. Perhaps they are troubled by what they deem to be restrictive in the Scriptures, so they appeal to visions and dreams to release them from what they find too restraining.  (Hearing God’s Voice, 17) They may act in outrageous ways, claiming God is speaking to them and blessing their lives or will do so soon. They act on their feelings and claim that God is speaking even if what they are doing contradicts scripture.

Sixth, another “approach to Christianity elevates doctrine about God over relating to God. This view can be adopted in reaction to the excesses of people who behave as if God constantly speaks to them in ways that contradict the Bible. Others who take this approach are uncomfortable with the idea of God being involved with people on a regular and intimate basis. They feel that God is above taking regular time to commune with ordinary people about seemingly ordinary things.” (Hearing God’s Voice, 17)

Moreover, we must also be clear about how God speaks to religious leaders and ministers of the Gospel so that we are not deceived. As the Blackaby’s state, “History brims with accounts of charismatic leaders who gathered gullible followers by citing divine visions. In recent years colorful, controversial televangelists have claimed outlandish revelations from God. Some have secured sizable donations for their ministries by promising certain favors from God.” (Hearing God’s Voice, 8).

You can be certain God is not speaking to religious leaders or ministers of the Gospel who use their powers to be abusive, extremely condemning, over-controlling, or to manipulate you with promises of wealth and prosperity if you give to their ministry. You are not contributing to God’s work; you are more than likely supporting the religious leader’s lavish lifestyle.

 “Tragically, delusional, paranoid cult leaders continue to gain followings by claiming to receive messages or visions from God. Even when the Word they purport God spoke to them completely contradicts what God has said in the Bible, people will often accept their leadership uncritically.” (Hearing God’s Voice, 8-9).

God does not give any person total authority over us. False religious leaders demand that you not relate to other Christians outside of their sect or associate with family or other people. They may claim God is giving them special revelations for your life and how you are to obey them without question. Cult leaders twist the meaning of Scripture for their favor and try to take complete control over how you live and think.  

The Scripture says in Matthew 7:15-16, (ESV): ”Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?

Or as The Message says in the same passage: ”Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma; look for [godly] character.”

 

Note:

In our next look at prayer, we will see how God speaks to us today and how He spoke to people in the Bible.

In this study, Prayer Begins with God, we will be looking at God’s role in prayer,  followed by the Holy Spirit’s role in prayer, and Jesus’ role in prayer. I hope that as we progress, you will realize the depth of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit’s roles in prayer, which I pray will encourage you in your prayer life. That will be followed by a study on the Lord’s prayer and what Jesus taught us about prayer.