AN ORGANIZED PRAYER PLAN?

Every day that God grants me life and breath, I am learning of more reasons to pray.  There is hardly a thought that passes through my mind that does not present more people, individuals and groups, with occasions and events that need God's help.  With those needs for God's help, there is the overwhelming need for someone to lift them up to Him.  I sincerely want to be a part of that solution.

I have read--and, in all probability, so have you--of the great prayer warriors of the Bible.  To name a few--Moses, the great intercessor for the Israelites;  David, writer of prayer Psalms as well as praise Psalms;  Paul, who taught "pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17); or James, half brother of Jesus, who taught "the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man, availeth much" (James 5:16b KJV).  In more recent history, there is Hudson Taylor, David Brainerd or E. M. Bounds.  But, reading about and being inspired by others is not enough.  We need to be pray-ers, too.

This is the purpose of my blog today.  I no longer can rely on my mind to jog my memory of all the requests for prayer that come to me.  I need to pray about the events of the world, the earthquakes, the wars, etc.  I need to remember the sick, the hungry, the lost and on and on.  My praying needs to be specific, consistent and regular.

I am in need of a more organized method for daily praying, in addition to personal devotions.  So, I am appealing to you for ideas.  If you have a method, or system, that helps you with this, please comment, email, facebook message me or even call me.  My profile should give you ample ways to get in touch with me.

As ideas are presented and are developed into a workable plan, I promise to share with you.  I'm retired, so I know I have more time than many of you.  There are mothers out there who have little personal time.  There are dads who worked long and hard before getting home to family needs, like yard work and maintenance on house and equipment.  The demands on our time, the tensions on our minds or the pressures that press on us from every direction--all show that we need help--if, indeed, we are going to pray as we should.

If you have ideas, share them, please!!


If you have an organized method for praying that you have developed, let us in on it!!


God know our needs, as well as the whole world's, before we pray.  But, in His Divine wisdom, He has chosen to use man to pray for man in His supplying the needs of mankind.

TESTS, TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS

Books have been written.  Songs have been penned and sung.  Questions have been asked.  Mostly, WHY?  Why am I being tested?  Why am I going through these trials?  Why am I being tempted so?  Why does God let this happen?

If the truth be known, all three--test, trials and temptations, can make us better Christians.  They can let us know where we stand with God.  None of them, no matter how hard they may be to bear, should make us question God or His love and care for us.  His Word is the key to the answers that we need in facing all three.  And, rest assured, if you are a Christian, you will come face to face with each of them.

A better understanding of each of these three will help us in our dealings with them.  That better understanding comes straight for the Bible.


I.  GOD TESTS

Periodically, in our education process, tests come.  Those tests don't come because the teacher or the education system is trying to make it hard on us.
     1.  They are to help the student know how well he or she has grasped the subjects taught.  And,
    
     2.  They are to help the teacher/system know how effective the teaching has been.

Fortunately, we need not concern ourselves with the #2; that is, whether God's teaching is effective or not.  His Word and a right relationship with Him will provide the effective means.  Our concern is with #1--have we learned, are we growing, are we maturing as His disciples?

In the 22nd chapter of Genesis, God gave Abraham an exam of a lifetime.  God tested him on his belief that He would do as He said He would.  Hebrews 11:17-19 is a look at the answers Abraham put on his test.  Genesis 15:6 is Abraham's test results for his "life exam."  "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness."

Remember, God may test you.  Get ready for your exam!


II.  GOD ALLOWS TRIALS

Tests, for the most part, come from God and have to do with our relationship with Him.. Trials, on another hand, are afflictions, difficulties and circumstances that come our way, allowed by God but not caused by God.

Job is probably the best example in the Scriptures of God-allowed trials.  It's almost as though God was bragging to Satan about the relationship He had with Job.

Don't read too much into that statement.  I'm not trying to give God human traits--like bragging.  But, wouldn't it be great if we lived so that God could "brag" to the Devil about us?

Listen to what God said about Job in Job 1:8.  "Then the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job?  There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.' " (NIV)

James wrote in his epistle in verse 2 of chapter 1, "Consider it pure joy..., whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."

There are those who preach a gospel of no suffering in this world--only happiness, wellness, no poverty, no hunger...  That is not the gospel that Jesus preached.  He said in Matthew 26:11a, "The poor you will always have with you..."  He taught in the Sermon on the Mount that persecution should be expected. (Matthew 5:10-12 NIV).

Paul had to deal with his God-allowed "thorn in the flesh." (II Corinthians 12:7).  In verses 7-10 of that passage, Paul tells us why he was allowed to have this "thorn" and many other weaknesses such as insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties.  Jesus, in verse 9, gave Paul the great promise, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (NIV)

In Acts 5, the apostles were flogged and rejoiced that they were "worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." In Romans 8:17-18, Paul writes that "...we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."  Then he adds that "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (NIV).

Many of the trials faced by Christians are because we are Christians.  However, there are trials to be faced in this world because of the evil in and imperfections of this fallen world.  Illness, broken homes, broken lives, poverty, hunger, etc. are a part of the world we live in.  In each case, because we are Christians, or because we live in this world, trials are a part of our lives.  And, in each case, God does not allow those trials in order to benefit Satan in his works of evil.  God does not allow those trials because He can't keep them from happening.  Rather, He allows them for His purposes of reconciling us to Him and developing us for living in His coming Kingdom.

So, as with James, in all your trials, "count it pure joy."


III.  SATAN TEMPTS--GOD NEVER DOES (JAMES 1:13)

All of God's human creation is subject to temptation.  Even the angels are/were subject to temptation.  Otherwise, how would Satan and his followers fall from their position before God?  But, that's another subject that we won't cover in this blog.

Humans were tempted both before and after the fall in the Garden of Eden.  Even Jesus, who is God the Son, while in His earthly life as Son of man and human as we are, was tempted by Satan.  Matthew, chapter four, records the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.  Hebrews 4:15 informs us that Jesus was "tempted in every way, just as we are--yet without sin." (NIV)

Being tempted does not mean that one has sinned.  Only yielding to temptation to go against God's moral law means committing sin.  When sin is committed there are consequences.  The consequences of sin may mean sickness, financial difficulties, broken homes, etc.  Yet many will question why God has caused or allowed these consequences.  God often gets the blame when it was us who caused our problems all along.

Remember this.  Even when God forgives our sin, the consequences must still be paid in this life.

Satan is constantly doing his job and will continue until God says it's enough.  I Peter 5:8 says "...the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (NIV)  He's after you and me every step of the way.

We may be tested many times in many ways.  There may be trials along our journey.  But, for all those the God gives or allows, Romans 8:28 is a promise that "all things work together for good, to them that love God..." (KJV)

While temptation itself is inevitable to us all, yielding to it is not.  Yes, we humans make mistakes, misjudgments, miscalculations, etc.  We may actually yield to temptation and thereby sin.  John says in I John 2:1a, "...if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (KJV)

Paul, in I Corinthians 10:13, gives us a first defense.  "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up to it." (NIV)

There are many weapons in the Christian armory to use in defeating Satan in his job.  Look them up.  Hold on to God's promises.  Here are just a few scripture references that will keep you company through all of life.  Ephesian 6:10-18, James 4:7-8 and I Peter 5:8-9.

What are some of the problems that you face?  In what ways do you feel God has tested you?  How are you suffering in your life, your family, your work?  Have you looked to God's Word and His church for strength and help?

We used to sing an old chorus, "I know the Lord will make a way for me..."