Conditions for Prayer

Does it seem to you that God answers some people's prayers more than others? Do some people just seem to have a hot line to heaven? Can that be true? I think it can.

Years ago one of my sister-in-laws mentioned that there are conditions for prayer, and I nodded my head knowingly even though I didn't have the vaguest notion what she meant. Later I discovered that there are certain conditions for an effective prayer life, and I learned what those conditions are. I will write about these conditions in the devotionals for the next few weeks.

You may ask, "Can't anybody pray at any time about anything? James 5:16 tells us that "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." But Romans 3:10 says, "There is no one righteous, not even one." So how can we become righteous so our prayers will be powerful and effective? We have to admit we are unrighteous, that we are sinners, and acknowledge that Jesus paid the price for our sins. When we confess, repent, and accept Jesus as Savior, the perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed to us. II Corinthians 5:21 assures us, "God made him who had no sin [and that could only be Jesus Christ] to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." So the first and foremost condition for an effective prayer life is accepting Christ.

What about other people? Can't they pray? Yes, they can. There is one prayer that is always open to everyone. That is the prayer of confession, repentance, and acceptance of Christ. God is always ready to answer that prayer in the affirmative. Jesus promised in Revelation 3:20 that He is standing at the heart's door of every person, and whenever someone opens that door and invites Him into his/her life, He will come in. Romans 1:16 tells us that the gospel "is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.

There is a wonderful old expression, "being on praying ground." If we want to be on praying ground, to have an effective prayer life, to connect to God's hot line, we need first to be one of God's own children.

Father, You have promised to take in all who want to belong to You. Thank You for taking me in and making me your child and giving me the privilege of prayer at all times and in all places about all things. Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

I'm slow to adopt new fashion trends.

About the time I do, that fad ends.

But I wear it with a great big smile,

Unaware that it's gone out of style!

The Main Things

John 14:21, "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

One day while I was teaching Sunday School I shared with the class the fact that I was not passionate about keeping a tidy house, and then I made this statement in my defense, "I bet I have read twenty books on organizing." A Sunday School class member who has a reputation for keeping her house neat and tidy at all times spoke up and asked, "Why are you reading all those books? Why don't you just do it?" Her questions startled me into considering why I didn't "just do it." Then I confessed, both to myself and to the class, "I read all those books because I love to read and I hate to clean." Reading about cleaning and organizing was actually a matter of deluding myself into thinking I was dealing with the issue of clutter in my house, although nothing really changed. It was a technique to avoid doing the work that needed to be done.

It has accurately been said that, "The good is often the enemy of the best." It's very easy for us to become sidetracked. It's absolutely amazing how many things I can accomplish when I'm trying to avoid doing the thing or things I should really be doing.

We can be so busy in our spiritual lives that we avoid doing the things that God really wants us to do. We tend to major on the minors. We need to keep the main things the main things. God's priorities for us should be our priorities. Hopefully we will really go about doing the Master's business rather than doing busy work of our own choosing.

Father, my prayer for all of us is that we will each walk in the center of Your will for our lives, guided and empowered by Your Holy Spirit. Minister through us so we can be effective servants in Your kingdom. Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

Did you ever start to sit in a low, low chair

And on the way down wonder if it was there,

Then at last you connected with an awkward plop

Extremely grateful to finally stop?

In a Nutshell

There are a number of verses or passages in Scripture that give us an "in a nutshell" summary of the Christian life with emphasis on certain aspects of our walk with Christ. I Corinthians 13:13 is such a verse. It says, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." Another such verse is James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." This week another such verse caught my attention. It is Romans 12:12, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." This verse spoke volumes to me in the place where I am right now--in a difficult year of my life.

It is hope which enables us to be patient in affliction. When I would be so sick as a result of a recent chemotherapy treatment, my children would dangle the hope of feeling better in front of me to encourage me to hang in there. They would talk about the hope of doing fun things again, about trips we might take and happy things we might do. But there is an even greater hope beyond having good health and good times, and that is the ultimate hope of heaven, of seeing many people we love again. Even more, there is the anticipation of beholding our Heavenly Father on His glorious throne and being able to say thank you to Jesus our Savior for rescuing us from sin and eternal sorrow. We have the hope of meeting in person the Holy Spirit Who is our constant Companion and Guide and Encourager. Hope in the Christian life is not just "maybe it will come true and maybe it won't." Hope for us is the absolute assurance that God will fulfill everything He has promised in His Word.

Not only has hope for the future been a great encouragement to me, but so has the presence of my family and friends. My children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren have popped in often to visit, and that never fails to brighten my day and put joy in my heart. I have received many wonderful notes and phone calls from friends, and they have ministered encouragement to my heart as well. Moreover, there is the constant Presence of God Himself and the notes He has written to me in His Word. That, and our conversations through prayer, have been invaluable. I have often depended upon the prayers of others when I couldn't even pray for myself, and it is especially prayer that has brought me comfort, patience, and hope in the midst of affliction. Now it is my turn to say, "Thank You, God, for bringing me this far through my difficult journey," and, "Thank all of you who have prayed for me and encouraged me in so many thoughtful ways."

Life's Little Frustrations

It's ten o'clock and time for bed.

At nine I'd begun to nod my head.

And now, as to my feet I leap,

I realize I napped before I sleep.