The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 3:14-21 (day two)

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, Vs. 14

Bow (14) – repent, submit                                                                                                   He would grant (16)…to be strengthened                                                                 That Christ may dwell (17)                                                                                                   So, you may comprehend (18)                                                                                         And know the Love of Christ (19)…and be filled

Where does it all begin? It begins with a submitted and repentant heart. The wonder and majesty that follow vs. 14 are predicated on a heart that cannot receive blessings if filled with confusion, distraction, and sin. Paul is demonstrating this process on behalf of the people of Ephesus, but the script is the same for an individual believer. Want to be filled with the goodness of God? Want to enter into a relationship that exceeds anything that you have ever imagined? Begin with an attitude of repentance.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 18:1-8 (day seven)

Now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? Luke 18:7

You are precious to God. He hears your prayers. Even when you feel like a broken record, repeating the same prayer time and time again, God is working. How do we find this assurance when we can not see the prayer being answered? The assurance is in our salvation. You have been chosen by Him before the beginning of time. You are His child. Unlike the judge who begrudgingly provided justice for the widow whom he had no personal connection with, God will provide justice for His children whom He has a vested interest in. He chose you! Continue to ask. Continue to seek. Continue to knock, and rest assured, your Father will open the door when the time is right.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 18:1-8 (day six)

We can feel like God doesn’t care when our prayers go unanswered. We wonder if he hears us or even cares about our struggles. After teaching about the suddenness of his return, Jesus then reaffirms that God hears their cries and cares about justice.

Jesus concludes if an unrighteous judge, who could care less about God and people, can get it right some of the time, then a God who loves his people and guarantees justice will get it right 100 percent of the time.

Our persistent prayer is not begging God to act on our behalf, it is the fervent agreement with God’s holy decree against injustice and a joyful anticipation of the Son’s sudden return.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 18:1-8 (day five) “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

Jesus has just finished teaching on the Kingdom of God. Now, He is teaching us how to live in the “already, not yet” tension. Jesus had come, bringing the Kingdom of God with Him. (Chapter 17). The Kingdom is “already” here for those who believe in Him. But it is “not yet” complete (until His second coming).  Suffering, persecution, and sin are all still prevalent in the “not yet”. So how do you live in this already, not yet tension?  Jesus addresses that question in this week’s Re:Verse text. One of the ways is persistent prayer. Keeps our faith tethered to the Living God (in conversation), who is near and listening. Keeps our thoughts and hopes informed and longing for the coming Kingdom (when faith will be sight). How often and how sincerely  should we pray?  The parable teaches us to pray continually and persistently. Jesus will find faith on earth in His children who pray  like this in the “already, not yet”.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 18:1-8 (day four)

This odd little parable comes right after Jesus is telling the disciples about the future coming of the Kingdom of God. He advises them, as they consider his second coming, “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” He concludes this conversation on an ominous note as he foretells his crucifixion.

I’m sure the tension was palpable after the disciples heard this. Seeing their pain and confusion, he gives them a word of encouragement. He tells them, in the face of all of this, to pray. Pray with determination like the widow who had nothing left to lose. Pray to the One who is not an apathetic judge, but who is the creator of justice. Pray with boldness to the One who meets judgment with mercy. It is nothing short of a miracle that we’re invited to pray with boldness to this good of a God.

Part of that “losing your life” business Jesus talked about happens through this kind of prayer. The more we boldly approach the throne of God, the more acquainted we become with the One who sits on it. The more we get to know him, the more we can loosen our grip on our life as we give it into his hands.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 18:1-8 (day three)

“Now [Jesus] was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart…”

Jesus confirms that demoralizing prayer experiences are a thing. The very reason for the existence of this parable, Luke states, is Jesus’s concern for the toll such experiences take on the human spirit. It’s those moments of meagerness and frailty that matter to Christ: the poor woman possessed only two coins to give; the crowd had only two fishes and five loaves; and the desperate person feels only despair in prayer. To all who know such circumstances, Jesus declares that no anguished heart will go unanswered. Thus, Jesus honored the poor woman as the biggest giver of all; Jesus fed everybody until they could eat no more; and to the person at rope’s end, Jesus says, “Tell me more.”

Re:Verse passage – Luke 18:1-8 (day two)

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, vs. 1

Our re:verse passages these last two weeks have included some interesting parables from Jesus. A casual reading may lead one to believe that we can pester God to granting our requests. Jesus uses characters that are not beacons of virtue to illustrate his point about boldness and persistence. I also think there is another lesson to be gleaned from these passages. It is found in verse one of this week’s reading. Not only are we to be bold and persistent, but in so doing we create a discipline of prayer. Jesus is reminding of us of our absolute need to stay tethered to the father. We must have a pattern and routine of dialogue. We must speak, and we must listen. This regularity will change our hearts as we constantly seek audience with the divine.

As you celebrate Independence Day today, take time to thank God, in prayer, for the freedom to worship and share your faith.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 11:5-13 (day seven)

Two weeks ago I preached in Logos and referenced the synoptic parallel of our passage out of Matthew 7. I had referenced a young man from camp that  I had advised to pray to God persistently to feel the presence of the Lord. God answered that prayer! “Persistent praying pays off!” I said.

Afterwards, I was approached by a woman who had said she begged God for years to give her peace and to feel His presence, but it never came. Why does God sometimes not answer our prayers of persistence even when they are pure and patient?

Our persistence doesn’t change God; it changes us. God uses our persistence to mold us, shape us and tune our hearts with His. Sometimes the persistence doesn’t pay off in the way we might expect, but the persistence will always achieve the purpose it was set out for: to perfect the pray-er.