Bible
verses to build your life on
Jesus
said:
whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise
man who built his house on the rock
~ Matthew 7:24
*** ** ***
How
often do we pray like this? ~ study
October
2010
"Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in
Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread."
~ Matthew 6:10,11 *** Let's look at that briefly :)
***
To those who look forward to daily
posts, I'm working on getting back to that routine, but lately schedule has
been busier :) ~ I'm trying to post something as often as I can :)
On this passage - many of you will
recognize this is a clip from what should be called the disciple's prayer - a
simple, starting model to build our regular, genuine prayer life on. And I
selected these 2 verses because 1) there's so much richness in them (to me
personally), and 2) because I think both of these get missed by many (including
me) because of our busy schedules, so we tend to forget these.
So, check this out: How often do you
and I ask God to do His will exactly as He has already decreed it in Heaven -
here on Earth? The pattern I most often find in American Christians is
requesting what they want, and then tacking Jesus' name along with it. But, can
we think this through together for a second? Is that really a wise choice? We
all have needs, and God calls us to come into His presence regularly to make
requests, and says in James 1 that He will never rebuke us asking for wisdom,
and in John, Jesus made it clear that when we pray according to God's will - He
hears us! How amazing is that! ... But, that leads to my point: how do we pray?
As in, what's our pattern? Asking for our 'well-thought-out' plan to happen, or
simply saying: 'God, I'm requesting this
would go this way, but you're God. So, I leave it at Your
feet - not trying to demand my will be done, but leaving room for and
requesting Yours be done. And I would like to follow that up with, Father, as
You accomplish Your will, please explain it to me, so that I can pray more
according to Your Word and purposes. Thank You for Your amazing love! ~ In Jesus' name, Amen.'
That is just a short example of how I
got started in learning how to pray more Biblically, and how I got to where I'm
at today, understanding God's will on many subjects to a greater extent than I
did just several years ago. I encourage those of you who can, to try this
yourself - use your own words, since it is your own conversation with Him,
after-all ~ :) Right?
Okay, next note :) I know this will
only apply to some of you, because the majority of Christians in America like
pain, and ask God regularly for trials that would teach them... What's that you
say? Most don't like pain? I'm surprised! [not :)]
What's my point? We become so self-centered (while watching the pattern of this
world) and always wish for life to be easier. 'Can't this go such and such a
way - that would help me so much.' 'Why do I have to
go through long-traffic right now? I've got a schedule to keep' 'My job's too
tough, I need an easier one'
~ But brothers and sisters,
please remember - thorns in this life (in all colors, shapes and sizes) are the
results of sin, in general, and our personal rebellion - they keep us from
ruining ourselves, and keep us relying on Him. So, actually the day-to-day
battle for our daily bread is the most spiritually healthy process possible.
So, instead of fighting this wonderful gift from God, shouldn't we embrace it?
Yes. Do we all have a lot to grow in on this? Yes. :) [me
too, in case I hadn't said that ~ :)] So, today, let's intentionally think more
on these two short notes with much spiritual gold in them - praying according
to His will, and embracing the paths that God sets up for us - growing in
embracing rather trying to push them off.
I'll conclude with a short passage
from James to encourage us all:"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various
trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let
patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking
nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all
liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." ~
James 1:2-5
For now, Take care, May the Lord keep
teaching each of us - daily - and using us to reach out to others. ~ your bro/friend, and a growing servant/life-slave of Jesus,
SH