I've got your back...

I'll be honest here. I do have strong opinions about things that are important but when it comes to confrontation, I turn into a big chicken. Can you hear me clucking?

When someone says, "I've got your back," it can be a huge confidence boost. It gives us courage and boldness to do what needs to be done and relieves our anxieties over the situation.

The apostle Paul had some major confrontations and difficulties in his life. Do you know what he wanted most from his brothers and sisters in Christ?

The Greater Work

Make Contact

[ Daily Selah is a mini-devotional, a pause to ponder about the Lord and how He wants us to live.]

I recently joined a few Google+ communities in order to  reach more people with the truth of God's Word. 

Social media can be a great way to share God's Word and to make contact with like-minded people, but always proceed with caution. 

You don't know who is on the other side of those posts. What they say might seem ok but don't forget, you don't know them personally. You only see what they want you to see. 


Aren't you thankful that we don't have to be cautious about making contact with God? 

He is faithful and loves us with an everlasting love. Through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, we have free access to His throne.

In Romans 12, Paul lists the attributes of an obedient follower of Christ, one of which is to be "continuing instant in prayer" (v12, KJV). 

The ASV renders that snippet of the verse as, "continuing stedfastly in prayer."

Are we "continuing steadfastly in prayer'? When was the last time you talked to God?

Make contact with Him today.

Father, I thank You for sending Your Son, who opened up the way for us to make contact with You. Thank you for being the living and approachable God. Thank You that we can come boldly before Your throne of grace. Father, draw us nearer today, I pray. Help us make contact with You now and every moment of each day. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Don't know how to pray?

Is there someone or something in your life that's just weighing on you right now?  

This morning, I was thinking about a person in my life that I am very concerned about and thought, "I'm just not sure how to pray for them."

The Lord reminded me of 2 very important things when it comes to being unsure how to pray.


1. Jesus and the Holy Spirit make intercession for us. 

Honestly, I tend to think about Romans 8:26,34 as if the Savior and the Spirit are interceding for me personally - for my personal needs. They are, but the Lord cares about our burdens. 

Psalm 55:22 (ESV) says, Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you.

We know God cares for what's on our hearts. So, when Jesus and the Spirit make intercession for us, they are certainly speaking to the Father about our needs and, I believe, they are carrying our prayers for others to the throne on our behalf, even when we don't know what to say. 



2. Pray in accordance with God's will. 

The second thing I was reminded of this morning is this:

And this is the confidence that we have toward him,that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. (1 John 5:14 ESV)

 There are also other passages that speak of asking the Father in accordance with His will. Sometimes, we don't know what His will is in a particular situation or for a particular person. So how do we know we are praying right? 

Pray God's Word. 

This really isn't a new concept but something we don't always think about. How do we "pray the Word"? Just find a verse that applies to whatever it is that is a burden for you right now and use those words as a guide.

For example, if you or someone you know needs peace, pray Psalm 29:11. 

May the Lord give strength to his people. May the Lord bless his people with peace! (ESV)

Father, Your Word says you give your people strength and bless Your people with peace. I pray in Jesus' Name that you will give strength to [yourself or name of person] and bless them with peace. 


If you want to ask the Lord to keep your child from sin, pray Romans 6:13-14.

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.  (ESV)

Father, don't allow my son to present himself as an instrument of unrighteousness, but as one who has been brought from death to life, help him to present himself to You as an instrument of righteousness. Remind him that he is under grace - Your grace - and that sin has no dominion over him. May he live for You alone, Father. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen. 


Now please note here that I'm not talking about "vain repetitions"  (Matthew 6:7). It's not about using the Bible as a prayer book to repeat the same words over and over again with little or no meaning. 

Praying God's Word means using His Word as a guide to our prayer so that we know how to pray and know that we are praying in accordance with His will. 

One more example, if I may. I pray for everyone visiting this blog, and for myself, in accordance with God's Word in 2 Chronicles 20:20.

Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. (ESV)

Father, Your Word says that if we believe in You and Your Word, we will be established. Father, establish our hearts today, I pray. Help us to set our hearts and our lives on You and Your ways. Prosper us in kingdom living and kingdom service, for Your glory. And, teach us to pray in accordance with Your will. In Jesus' precious and wonderful Name, Amen. 

Don't Stop ~ Daily Selah

Daily Selah is a mini-devotional, a pause to ponder about the Lord and how He wants us to live.

I love early mornings. When my alarm goes off, there's often no one else out of bed yet, not even the dog. It's a perfect time for me to enjoy God's presence without interruption. It has become my favorite time of the day.

We tend to to set aside certains times for prayer, like when we get out of bed in the morning, when we eat, when we have a need, and when we go to bed at night. 

It is good to talk to the Lord at those times but those are not the only times we should be praying. Our text for today exhorts us to pray and don't stop.

You may be thinking, "I can't exactly start praying out loud while I'm at work. They'd all think I was crazy and I'd probably lose my job." True. The same would probably happen with my job.

Remember, though, that we don't have to pray vocally for God to hear. The Lord knows what's on our hearts and minds, doesn't He? He hears whether its a quit whisper in the heart or a loud, public prayer.

If you went somewhere with a friend and they didn't speak to you or even acknowledge your presence while you were out together, how would you feel? God is there right beside us in all we do, wherever we go. I don't think He enjoys being ignored either. 

Growth can only happen when we spend time with the Lord and in His Word. Let's not ignore Him anymore but instead be in a constant attitude of prayer, noticing Him standing next to us and focusing on HIm as we go about our day. 

Father, help us to keep our hearts and minds fixed on You. Teach us to pray without ceasing and help us to become more and more mindful of Your presence, I pray. Continue to make us more like Jesus who always stays in constant communion with You. In His wonderful Name I pray, Amen. 

Daily Selah ~ Praying for one another

Daily Selah is a mini-devotional, a pause to ponder about the Lord and how He wants us to live.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. -Philippians 1:9-11 ESV

Praying for one another 

We know we should pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We know we can come boldly before the throne of grace and present their needs and ours to the Father.

But how should we pray for spiritual needs, those areas in which we all need to grow? Paul provides a great example in these verses. He wants more for his friends. He prays they will be more loving, more discerning, more pure etc.

Shouldn't we want more of the same in our lives and in the lives of other believers in Christ? For them and for ourselves, we should be asking, “Lord, give us more.”

Father, thank You for all You have given us in Christ. I ask that You would help us never to be too comfortable in our walk with You, but that we would desire more. More love, more power and more of You. I pray for the believer reading right now and ask that you would make them (and me) more loving, more pure and more like Jesus, for Your praise and glory. In Jesus' Name, Amen. 

Bible Study: Prayer as Incense

[Note: Bible Studies here at Faith Reviewed are compiled simply with prayer, the Word of God, and a keyboard. They tend to be based primarily on the King James Version only because it is familiar and in the public domain in the USA, which means no copyright issues regardless of how much of the text is quoted. Feel free to use your favorite translation as we study God's Word together.]

<Recommended Reading: Exodus 30:1-8>         

  

Prayer as Incense

In the tabernacle, God required incense to be burned upon the golden altar every morning and evening while the burnt offerings were being offered (See Ex. 30:1-8). Incense is symbolic of the prayers of God’s people and has a sweet aroma that is pleasing to God. 

Incense played a very significant role in worship all throughout the Old Testament, so much so that it is mentioned 16 times in the book of Exodus, 4 times in Leviticus, and 21 times in Numbers.

Incense is only referred to once in Deuteronomy, but in a very important way, as part of the “the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death” (Deut. 33:1). 

Of the tribe of Levi, Moses said, “They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar” (Deut. 33:10). 

According to 1 Chron. 23:13, incense is a holy thing, ministers to God and blesses His Name. “Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever.”


The Lord told Malachi, “For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 1:11).


One day, Zacharias the priest entered the temple. It was his turn was to burn the incense before the Lord. The people were outside praying. It is significant that “there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense” (Luke 1:11). 

We are not told what the people were praying for specifically, but it is likely they were asking for forgiveness of sins AND for the Messiah to come. Remember, at this time, Israel was under Roman rule. Many Jews did not see the real purpose of Messiah’s coming. They were looking for a Deliverer, but one to deliver them from the Romans, not  One who would set them free from sin. 

However, their prayers came up to God mingled with the incense and He saw the real need of their hearts. The appearance of Gabriel next to the altar of incense to tell Zacharias that he would bear a son shows that their prayers were pleasing to God AND that He was listening AND had provided an answer. 

Do you know who this son was? This son, who was to be called John, was chosen to “be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (See Luke 1:5-17).


Another man called John had visions of things to come. He saw amazing glimpses of heaven, judgment and God’s holiness. “And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.” (Rev. 8:4)


Revelation 5:8 says, “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.”


“And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne” (Rev. 8:3).


Many Christians say they don't really know how to pray and will not pray in public because they feel they lack eloquence in prayer. But God isn't looking for eloquent words. The Pharisees prayed long, wordy prayers that sounded good to them and others listening, but think about what Jesus said of them. 

God wants you to come to Him as you are. He wants to hear what is on your heart. He wants to hear your praise. He wants to hear of your joys, your sorrows, your hopes and your dreams. He wants you to tell him of your love for Him. 

Some say, “Well He knows all that already.” Yes, He does, but He wants to hear it from your lips. Just as the incense in the tabernacle and the temple went up before God as a sweet fragrance, so do our prayers. 

The purpose of the incense was to minister to God and to bless His Name (1 Chron. 23:13). Our prayers do the same. Prayer lifts up the Name of the Lord and shows our trust, our devotion and our desire to please Him.


“Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice” (Psalm 141:2).


Something to think about:

How much of a sweet fragrance are you offering up to God? 

A Prayer for Us Today

Father,

I thank You for Your mercies, new every morning.

Thank You for loving us and watching over us each day.

You know the desires of our hearts, our hopes, our fears, our sorrows and our joys.

Father, I ask in the Name of Jesus, that You would make all things new in our lives.

Give us new faith, new vision, new purpose and new hope, I pray.

Draw us closer to Your side and never let us wander from You.

May others look upon us and know that we've been with Jesus because His glory is reflected in us.

Make us a light to the dark places.

Use us for the building of Your kingdom as we share You with the world.

May Your Name be lifted up in all we do, wherever we may go.

For You alone are worthy of all honor, and glory, and praise.

Make our lives a living sacrifice of praise to You, O God Most High.

In the precious and wonderful Name of Jesus I pray, amen.

A Prayer For America