Teach Me To Pray

In the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew we find an amazing example from Jesus as to how we should pray. Its not just a verbal example of how we should approach the throne of God but also a look at what the condition of our heart and our attitude should be towards our Heavenly Father.

Speaking to a group of people who were accustomed to praying, and desiring to know more, Jesus begins in verse five telling his followers that when they pray they shouldn't act as the hypocrites which is a word that means “play-actors.” In essence he’s saying don’t pretend to be someone that you’re not when talking to God. He sees our hearts and knows our motives and while we can generally fool a few people into thinking that we’re someone we’re really not we can’t pull anything over the eyes of God. Praying for “effect” so that others will think that you’re righteous only serves to damage your relationship to God by bouncing ineffective prayers everywhere but to His throne.

We should never utter one syllable of prayer, either in public or in private, until we are definitely conscious that we have come into the presence of God and are actually praying to Him.... I can remember when that thought transformed my prayer life. I was brought up to pray. I was taught to pray so early in life that I have not the slightest recollection of who taught me to pray.... Nevertheless, prayer was largely a mere matter of form. There was little real thought of God, and no real approach to God. And even after I was converted, yes, even after I had entered the ministry, prayer was largely a matter of form. But the day came when I realized what real prayer meant, realized that prayer was having an audience with God, actually coming into the presence of God and asking and getting things from Him. And the realization of that fact transformed my prayer life. Before that, prayer had been a mere duty, and sometimes a very irksomeduty, but from that time on prayer has been not merely a duty but a privilege, one of the most highly esteemed privileges of life. Before that, the thought that I had was, "How much time must I spend in prayer?" The thought that now possesses me is, "How much time may I spend in prayer without neglecting the other privileges and duties of life? - R.A. Torrey, The Power of Prayer

Jesus says that those who pray as hypocrites will have already received their reward which comes from the Greek misthos, a word that literally means dues paid for work rendered. Remember that by using the word “hypocrites” Jesus is talking about “actors” pretending to be someone. Their “reward”, according to Jesus, is only that people get to see them praying to God. Nothing else! That’s a pretty shallow prayer life. So it begs the question as to what the motive is behind our prayers.

This word for prayer encompasses all the aspects of prayer: submission, confession, petition, intercession, praise, and thanksgiving. To be effective a person’s prayer life must include all of these and not just a wish list that we take to God.

God desires to know you on a personal and intimate basis. Just throwing out the occasional, “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer to fulfill our “spiritual obligation” or impress someone who might be looking on fails to even scratch the surface of what can be accomplished we a person approaches the throne of God, in confidence, will all of the aspects of a full prayer life. Are you paying God lip service or cultivating a relationship through your prayer life?

Is The Bible Really The Word Of God?

For centuries it was thought that the debate over the Bible being the Divinely Inspired Inerrant Word of God or not was solely between Christians and their atheistic and agnostic counterparts. However, as the debate rages on it clearly involves another party. Shockingly there are many within the church who do not believe the Bible to be completely accurate. The problem here is that we cannot have it both ways. The Bible cannot be both Divinely Inspired and inaccurate. However, according to recent survey results I came across there are many within our churches who do not believe in the accuracy of the Bible.

When asked if they believed that the Word of God was completely accurate the following percentages answered yes.

Assemblies of God 77%

Baptists (any type) 66%

Catholics 26%

Church of Christ 57%

Episcopal 22%

Lutheran (any type) 34%

Methodist (any type) 38%

Mormons 29%

Non-denominational Christian 70%

Presbyterian (any type) 40%

An atheist not believing in the accuracy of the Word of God really isn't that big of a surprise but 34% of Baptist not believing...that's a huge problem. Here's why.

In Paul's second letter to Timothy he states clearly that "all Scripture" comes directly from God.

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. - II Timothy 3:16-17

The most important word here in the entire passage is the first word, "all". Its a key adjective that means the totality of the scriptures or the whole scripture. Basically in layman's terms, every passage, every verse, every word, no exceptions.

With that understanding, take a look at what Francis Schaeffer says.

"Does inerrancy make a difference? Overwhelmingly; that difference is that with the Bible being what it is, God's Word and so absolute, God's objective truth, we do not need to be, and we should not be, caught in the ever-changing fallen cultures which surround us."

The Hebrew rabbis taught that the Spirit of God rested on and in the prophets and would speak through them to that their words didn't actually come from themselves but from the very mouth of God. That's why Peter makes the following declaration.

For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. II Peter 1:21

The early church was in agreement with this understanding and so we should be as well. Should the Bible contain any error or words from the hearts of men rather then the heart of God then the entire document is rendered useless.

Is the Bible really the Word of God? Absolutely! The writers of the Old Testament refer to their writings as the Words of God over 3,800 times.

Gallup Poll Shows Where Americans Stand In Debt Crisis

Presidential Debt

As if we needed another reminder that our president and the Democratic Senate refuse to listen to the majority of the American people (no one has forgotten the healthcare bill being ramrodded in) the newest Gallup poll shows that President Obama's approval rating has dropped to just 40% which is a new low.

Obviously by never submitting his own proposal to solve the nation's debt crisis, he's not doing well among Republicans where his approval rating is only 12-13% but he's lost the confidence of enough independents so see his approval rating drop from 41% to 34%. Even among his own party, Democrats have dropped from a 79% approval rating to 72%.

So please, Mr. Obama, feel free to continue trying to drive our nation towards bankruptcy with reckless spending. Keep pushing the unemployment rate up with threats of higher taxes on small business owners. You've proven that you won't be swayed from this mission. Just don't expect the American people to go along with you.

We May Not Have A Space Shuttle Program Anymore But We Do Have Crashing Blimps

The US government scrapped the inspiring and highly successful space shuttle program due to budget cuts. Fortunately in the midst of a budget crisis and the worst economic recession of our lifetime we can watch a $150 million blimp crash in the woods.

Delta Airlines Exploits US Soldiers Returning Home From Duty

I gotta say, I do a lot of traveling every year and unless these soldiers are given a reimbursement and an official apology I'll do my best to avoid every flying, or having our groups fly, on Delta Airlines ever again. The men and women of our armed forces deserve much better than what they got. Shame on you Delta.

You can contact Delta Airlines to voice your displeasure with the following contact information.

customer-care@delta.com

800-325-8224

Scratch This Couple Off The Parent Of The Year List

The father actually had the audacity to complain that the back of the police car he was riding in was hot.

Indiana Takes A Stand Against Abortion

I hate to be cut and dry like this but it appears once again that the issue of abortion is a battle line drawn between Republicans and Democrats and currently the state of Indiana is the battlefield. A bill sponsored by state Republicans makes it illegal to fund Planned Parenthood with federal money. Planned Parenthood operates 28 clinics in Indiana, four of those perform abortions.

Now a Democratic charge led by Indiana's Democratic state senators is doing its best to shoot down the bill that has already passed into law. Taking the mater to the federal level, President Obama's Medicaid administrator, sent the Indiana Medicare office a letter saying Indiana's Medicare plan (new law) is illegal.

Standing their ground, Republicans are putting the responsibility on the Obama Administration to prove their new law is illegal. Despite the government response there's no indication the law will be reversed.

"Indiana's on solid legal ground," said state Sen. Scott Schneider, an Indianapolis Republican who sponsored the measure to strip Planned Parenthood's funding. "There's no reason for us to change course at this time. It's up to them to prove that this is not legal."

I say good for Indiana and thank you for making a stance in favor of morality. Willingly or not you are obeying the word of God.

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute." Proverbs 31:8 (NIV)