Last Monday morning, I attempted to express what I was not yet able to fully grasp. Then, Tuesday night’s game happened and collided with Wednesday morning’s time with God; reading His word and talking to Him about what He said there.
What happened during that game? The Nats lost, again. But they didn’t just lose, they stranded eight runners. Eight players got on base, but never got any help from the following batters. They never scored!
What happened during my time with God? He reminded me of the stranded runners, and He helped me understand the missing link of last Monday’s post. Yes, I knew something was missing, but I couldn’t figure it out. Then I succumbed to the pressure of my own self-imposed Monday deadline.
I’m sorry I didn’t understand this fully last week, but the point of the message Holy Spirit was trying to share with me in Ephesians 6:18 was not only sacrifice. It was about doing our part.
What helps you, helps me. What helps me, helps you.
AND…
Praying helps both of us because it invites the Creator of our vast universe, Almighty God, to help us. Praying is our acknowledgement of His ability to help. Praying is us asking for His grace to supply for our every need. But that’s not all, His grace brings His goodness into our lives; we cannot even imagine the good things He has for us. That’s what we’re asking God to give us and others when we approach His throne of grace.
We are one body. My armor is for me to wear, but when I don’t wear it, I’m vulnerable to the enemy’s schemes and therefore make you vulnerable. When I don’t hold up my shield, I leave you exposed too. When I wildly swing God’s word around, it’s cuts you. It’s supposed to protect us and cut through the lies of the enemy. When I neglect to pray, I make myself a target for the enemy. When I neglect to pray for you, I leave you stranded.
Prayer requires intimacy with the One we are praying to and an intimacy with the one we’re praying for. We must know one another’s needs before we can ask for them.
OR
We can ask Holy Spirit to help us pray when we don’t know what to pray for. That’s right!
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. Romans 8:26-27 (NLT)
When we don’t know what God wants us to ask for, the Spirit pleads for us in harmony with God’s own will. Holy Spirit actually asks God for what God wants to give us.
God has so much He wants to give us, but we never ask Him to give it, or we never ask Holy Spirit to help us pray during times we don’t even know what to ask for.
The more we know of God and His word, the more we know how to ask for what He wants to give us.
I’m going to leave you with three quotes. I think each one speaks directly into the topic of prayer, running with endurance, and being sure not to leave anyone stranded.
“If you’re ignorant of God’s word, you will always be ignorant of God’s will.”
Billy Graham
“Heaven is filled with answers for which nobody ever bothered to ask.”
Billy Graham
“Faith is measured by movement.”
Dr. Tony Evans
We were created to be inter-dependent. Not independent; not co-dependent. We’re meant to encourage and support one another in our faith, but our relationship with God through Jesus is individual and cannot come through anyone else but Jesus. We’ll talk more about that next week.
Between Then and Now…
1 Read your Bible. Maybe read 1st John this week. There are only five chapters and should be readable in a week. Remember to pray before you read and ask Holy Spirit to help you understand what God’s was saying and how you can use what you learn.
2 Exercise. Choose three arm exercises. Put on your armor, practice holding up your shield, and take your sword. Remember to be intentional with your movements and don’t just swing wild; you don’t want to cut yourself or other Jesus-followers. Your intention is to expose places the enemy is seeking to distort truth.
3 Pray. Ask Holy Spirit to help you maintain an attitude of prayer throughout each day. Ask Him to make you aware of God’s presence, and help you communicate freely and frequently with Him about everything.
I’m praying for you and for myself. Holy Spirit, help us to see God’s will for us. Give us humble hearts, so we will ask for what our heavenly Father has to give us. Teach us to be aware of His presence. At the same time, teach us to be alert to those around us, their needs, and how we can encourage and support them. Help us ask for help from You, LORD, and from others. Make us lights in a dark world. Give us boldness to share You and the Good News of Jesus Christ with those who do not yet know Him. And, LORD, please do not let us ever forget to be thankful for all You have given us or without our praise for who You are. Show us Your glory and teach us to live lives that cause others to see and glorify You! Amen.
Digging Deeper:
Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. James 4:2c-3 (NLT)
If you have not yet met Jesus, you can meet Him today. He created you. He loves you. He wants you to be a part of His family. I encourage you to step into the life He created you to live. You will still have the troubles of this world, but you will no longer be facing them alone. I’m praying for you! https://peacewithgod.net/mobile/?utm_source=Microsoft&utm_medium=CPC&utm_term=HowToGoToHeaven&utm_campaign=USPWGMobileSearchMic
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.