Freedom is Good News Part 92

In our previous article we took a look at a couple of prayers given by a couple of prominent men of the bible – David and Daniel.  So, we know that they were men of prayer.  But how often did they pray? 

We are all familiar with the episode in the book of Daniel concerning him being thrown into the lion’s den.  But do we know why this happened?  A decree was issued by the king of the Medes and Persians that anyone found praying to any god or man beside Darius the king, would be thrown into the lion’s den.  This episode is found in the book of Daniel, chapter 6.  In verse 10 of this chapter we read, “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem,  Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had once before.”  Daniel’s practice was to pray three times a day and he did so openly, even though it might cost him his life.

And what about King David?  This man who wrote the lion’s share (excuse me Daniel, no pun intended) of the Psalms tells us this in Psalm 55, “Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me for my thoughts trouble me and I am distraught … But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.  Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress and He hears my voice.”  We find here that David prayed as Daniel did, three times a day!!  Do you pray three times a day?  Let me include myself here – do I pray three times a day? 

How near do we want to draw to our Heavenly Father?  The bible tells us in several places, to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, all of our strength and all of our life. (Deut. 6:5, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30)   It tells us to serve the Lord our God with all of our heart and with all of our soul. (Deut. 10:12)  It tells us to seek the Lord our God with all of our heart and with all of our life. (Deut. 4:29)

I once brought up these examples of praying three times a day and a listener raised his hand and pointed out what Paul had to say.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 Paul writes, “Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  In Colossians 4:2 he writes, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”  In Philippians 4:6 he writes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  In Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, devoted to prayer.”

Paul sets the bar pretty high for us as we consider our relationship with our Heavenly Father and talking with Him in prayer.  But, let us remember where we started out;  “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe …” (Acts 2:42)  Oh, this “awe” thing, and being filled with it; I am sure it is good news!!  Don’t forget to pray.

Freedom is Good News Part 91

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe …” (Acts 2:42)

We picked up this scripture in our previous article as we began to examine ourselves to see if we were “all in” when it came to wholeheartedly serving our God.  We touched on the first three items: the apostles teaching, fellowship and the breaking of bread, in that article but saved the fourth item, prayer, for today.  So let’s consider the concept of a “prayer life”.

If we begin by looking into the Old Testament for the word prayer, we will find the first use of the word in Genesis 20:7.  God tells the king of Gerar that Abraham is a prophet and he will “pray for you and you will live”.  We find in verse 17 of this same chapter that “Abraham did pray to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife … so they could have children again”.  This first use of the word prayer expresses the idea of interceding on behalf of another.  We may use this type of prayer when we find that someone near and dear to us has become ill or has lost a job, etc. and we intercede with God for them. 

Another type of prayer may be for ourselves because we have sinned before our God and we need forgiveness.  We find this type of prayer in what many consider the book of prayers, i.e. the book of Psalms.  In Psalm 51 (of David) we read, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your lovingkindness; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”  We see an example of both types of prayer in the book of Daniel, chapter 9.  Here Daniel is interceding for the people of God who have been exiled to Babylon because of their sins. In verse 4 we read, “I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:  ‘O LORD, the great and awesome God who keeps His covenant of love with all who love Him and obey His commands, we have sinned and done wrong.  We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. … LORD, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame … .’”  In humility, Daniel includes himself here.

In these two prayers – of David and of Daniel – we can almost hear how sincere they are and how from their innermost being they pour out their hearts to God.  In this prayer of Daniel we begin to get into a third type of prayer, a prayer of praise and adoration to the great and awesome God who has created all things.  In considering this type of prayer, I would like to take you to my favorite prayer in the entirety of the bible.  This is a prayer of David in 1 Chronicles 29:10-20, “Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.  Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.  Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.  Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.  In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.  Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”  David goes on from here with more praise and thanksgiving but I will let you read it for yourself so you may be lifted up with his words.  They are good news indeed.

Freedom is Good News Part 90

There is a short quip that makes its way around sports teams: “All in”!  I have seen it on the back of t-shirts and warm up jerseys of some athletes.  It is a nice sentiment to remind team mates that they should take the game and the season seriously.  Whether it’s in the weight room, the gym or the field, the team has a goal and each individual must be “all in”.

I have played many sports throughout my life and I have always tried to give my all, so I can appreciate the idea.  Why take on something and do it halfheartedly?

In the book of Acts, chapter 2, where Peter gave his most beautiful message to the gathered crowd on the day of Pentecost, it says that “they were cut to the heart” and wondered what they should do.  Peter told them to repent of their sins and be baptized, “every one of you for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  This scripture continues in verse 40, “And with many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’  Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”  Wow, there were about three thousand who understood that they were living in a corrupt generation and they understood that Peter was showing them a way out. 

Was it any better or any worse than the generation we are living in today?  I suppose it is hard to say.  They were under the control of a corrupt Roman government and their society was decadent and perverse – hmmm, I don’t think I need to comment here!  But on that particular day three thousand people were cut to the heart when they heard what Peter had to say.

Do you suppose these people were “all in”?  Let’s read on: “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe …”  I counted 4 things that pointed to their commitment.  First, they were devoted to the apostles teaching.  Today we call that the “The New Testament”.  The other name for the New Testament is “the Apostolic Writings”.  Is that where you are?  Are you “all in” on that agenda?  How often do you read the word of God?  Secondly, they were devoted to “the fellowship”.  Do you enjoy visiting with likeminded godly people, sharing in bible studies with comments and questions?

Third, how do you feel about the breaking of bread?  The concept here is not really about communion but more about sharing meals together with brethren so as to join in with fellowship and perhaps spiritual conversation.  Are you “all in” on these first three things?  Think about it my friends, we also live in a corrupt generation and many are wondering where it is all heading.  The fourth item mentioned above is prayer.  We will talk about that very important subject in the near future – God willing.  Remember, the definition of the word “gospel” is “good news”.