A joyful life begins with prayer
by Barrett Vanlandingham
July 5, 2011

The apostle Paul had some great advice about prayer: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
If there’s anyone who earned the right to say these words, it’s Paul!
Let’s just say he went through enough of life to have a sour attitude if it hadn’t been for the change he experienced because of Jesus Christ. You want examples? To begin with, there were people in every town Paul went to preach the Gospel in who tried to kill him. Can you imagine living like that? Even with encouraging friends along for the journey, Paul found himself the target of hatred from Jews who didn’t believe that Jesus was the son of God.
Even after healing a crippled man in the town of Lystra who had never been able to stand and walk before, an angry mob stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city thinking he was dead. Beyond that, Paul was flogged, beaten with rods, shipwrecked, and felt daily concern for all the issues being faced by the Lord’s church during the first century. And as you might expect, there were many Christians who were skeptical of Paul because of the way he used to persecute Christians before turning his life around.
Prayer was a way Paul could continually stay connected with the very One who makes it possible for Christians to live a joyful life today in spite of difficulties. It is no accident that Paul connects joy, praying continually, and giving thanks in all circumstances. The three are intertwined for those who have clothed themselves in Christ.
Can you imagine what life on earth would be like if we were not allowed to speak to God, and if God never answered prayers? But God does answer prayers everyday! The problem is, much of the time we mark it off as coincidence, or something God would have done anyway. We are often quick to ask for a favor from God, but not nearly as quick to thank and praise Him for all the ways He provides for us on a daily basis.
A Prayerful Attitude: 1) Strengthens our relationship with God, which strengthens our faith in Him. 2) Helps us overcome temptations. 3) Make an average day filled with excitement over what God is going to do next!
James says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)
May God bless you with a renewed commitment to a joyful life of prayer.

There are reasons why God doesn’t always give us what we ask for
by Barrett Vanlandingham
June 28, 2011

The other night I found myself watching a new show called “Toddlers and Tiaras.” The show was basically following two little girls through a beauty pageant. If you appreciate a good show to roll your eyes at, just tune in to some of this show’s behind the scenes temper tantrums, back-talking, and on-stage pint-size modeling followed by uncontrollable crying when the contestants find out they didn’t win it all. As the judges were tallying their scores, one very dramatic six year old shut her eyes in full concentration as she said, “Please God, Please God, Please God!” Well, she did win second overall, but not the grand prize which was a double-size pink poster bed. When she finally figured out she hadn’t won the top spot, she threw a queen-size FIT.
At some point in our lives, we all find ourselves not knowing what to pray for, or we know what we want but we don’t know if we’re supposed to ask for wants. Sometimes we simply get discouraged with our prayer life because we ask over and over for something that just doesn’t seem “meant to be.”
Each one of the following Bible passages could be an article on its own. But I encourage you to go ahead and look-up these verses which shed light on why we don’t always feel like God answers our prayers, at least the way we wanted.
1. We don’t believe that God can answer prayer. (James 1:6-8 & Matthew 21:22)
2. Wrong motives. (James 4:3)
3. Unconfessed sin separates us from God, so that He cannot hear. (Isaiah 59:1-2).
4. We set up idols in our hearts that come between us and God. (Ezekiel 14:3).
5. We don't answer those who cry to us for help. (Proverbs 21:13).
6. We don't remain in God and his word is not in us. (John 15:7).
Beyond these reasons, God’s wisdom is simply greater than ours. He sees the overall picture of what we need. Just like a parent gives a child what is needed, God knows what’s best for us. Having said that, we must remember we live in a broken world. Even in 2011, we are still dealing with the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin that happened in the Garden of Eden shortly after creation some 6000 years ago. The silver lining is that for Christians, life on earth is just the beginning of our relationship with God. May God bless your week with plenty to be thankful for as we await that final day and the promised reward.

The Bible has much to say about how to pray
by Barrett Vanlandingham
June 21, 2011
(part 3 of a 5 part series on prayer)

Humility, love and confidence in approaching the Lord top the list when it comes to our attitude in prayer. The reason is that while it is important to keep Him on the throne and not ourselves, God wants us to approach Him with confidence because Jesus understands our struggles like no one else. And of course Christians feel love towards God because of the sacrifice and salvation through his Son.
While that addresses the heart part of how to pray to God, there are many opinions about physical posture. length of prayer, wording, location, and time of day. The Bible addresses those things too.
It doesn’t matter how many words you pray. In at least one instance, Jesus prayed all night (Luke 6:12). But another time Jesus says a short prayer when teaching us how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13).
As for wording, God has never been impressed with how well somebody speaks. Moses and Paul both made mention of their lack of ability in oral communication. So, there’s no reason for us to think we have to be a great speaker in order to talk to God either privately or publicly. In fact, Jesus tells us he’s not a big fan of babbling on in prayer (Matthew 6:5-8).
As for posture, there are Biblical examples of people praying on their knees (1 Kings 8:54, Daniel 6:10), face on the ground (Nehemiah 8:5-7, Exodus 34:8), face towards God (Daniel 9:3), hands in the air (1 Timothy 2:8, Psalm 28:2), standing (Exodus 19:23, 1 Samuel 1:26), or sitting (2 Samuel 7:18).
As for location, in a room or closet (Matthew 6:6). Jesus prayed in a river after being baptized (Luke 3:21-22) and in the Garden of Gethsemane. Many prayed in front altars, others on a bed (Psalm 63:6), or inside a giant fish (Jonah 2).
As for time of day, Jesus prayed at night, David prayed in the morning (Psalm 5:3). Daniel prayed formally three times a day (Dan. 6:10), while we’re commanded in the New Testament to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). So, you can see it would be impossible to do all those things at the same time.
The fact is, there are times when each of these prayer techniques may be appropriate (especially if you find yourself inside the belly of a fish). The important thing is to have the right attitude in your conversations with God. Next week, I will look at why we don’t always get what we ask for.
Have a great week, and always remember to pray!

(Part 2 of a five part series on prayer)

Prayer life improvements begin with attitude adjustments
by Barrett Vanlandingham
June 14, 2011

Prayer is not a formal, religious act we’re supposed to do now and then. But rather, it is a conversation with God anywhere, anytime. When we’re happy, or feeling sad, or angry, or lonely – no matter how we’re feeling we should talk to God on all occasions (ref: Ephesians 6:18).
We should never worry about God thinking our concerns are petty or unimportant. The Bible assures us of that in Hebrews 4:15 which says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”
In fact, the next verse gives us permission to have a bold prayer life. We can be assured that God welcomes us in His presence. Why? Because He understands the struggles we go through. Coming to earth in the form of a Suffering Servant made all the difference in how God deals with us.
Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. “
A confident prayer life must also include humility as we approach the only One who will carry us through our darkest moments in life. Government leaders around the world are constantly faced with questions of how to alleviate problems of many kinds. The answer was written down for us about 2400 years ago.
2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
A few hundred years later Jesus showed compassion and healed people of all kinds of diseases even though his deeper desire was to show them that He had the power to heal them spiritually. This message still applies to us today as noted in 1 John 1:9 which says , “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Putting God in His proper place as we confidently approach Him in prayer certainly brings about peace. But for Christians it is also our Savior’s means of continuing the blessing of forgiveness as we confess our sins to God.
Next week, I will look at what the Bible says about prayer posture. Have a great week!



Talking to the Man upstairs has great benefits
June 7, 2011
by Barrett Vanlandingham

“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Those words penned so long ago in James 5:16 are just as important today as in the first century.

With so much chaos in the world today, Christians should take full advantage of one of the most power weapons in spiritual warfare we have available to us.

PRAYER.

My church camps this summer are focusing on the topic of prayer through our theme, “Knee Mail.”

Prayer is simply how we talk to God. I have never received a personal invitation, a tweet, a text, or an e-mail from a movie star, a President, or a famous singer to talk to them. But God, the Creator of everything we see and don’t see (Colossians 1:15) actually wants us to hear from us everyday.

To me, that is an incredible thing. God is the only one who can make a real difference in our lives.

Any good relationship requires good communication. God has revealed everything He wants us to know about Him through His written word and through His creation.

He has blessed us with His Holy Spirit to help guide and comfort us until we reach our heavenly home.

But until we see Him face to face, He wants us to stay in close touch with Him.

Prayer is how Jesus spoke to His Father in heaven.

Just before Jesus was arrested, He was praying on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39-44).

This was an extremely intense prayer in which He said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Jesus was dreading the torture he was about to endure, and in his humanity he was asking God for a way other than this to save the world from sin and eternal spiritual death.

Of course, only the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ himself could do this.

In John 17, the apostle records Jesus’ prayer a short time before the arrest.

Jesus prayed for himself, for his disciples who lived during that time and finally for all people who would eventually believe in Christ because of the message carried by those early disciples.

Prayer is how Paul says we can stay strong in our spiritual walk.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

As I wrote this article, I received word that a Christian brother and long-time Fort Gibson resident Arlie Perry has passed away.

Please say a prayer of peace and comfort for his loved ones.

God bless and have a prayer-filled week.