Be Devoted to Prayer

Tonight at our youth group I was on week 2 of our prayer series for April. We talked about 5 essentials for a devoted prayer life, which I adapted from a John Piper sermon. These have really opened up a new understanding and outlook on prayer in my own personal life so I thought I would share them with you. The acronym spells F.A.D.E.S. which Piper admits has no real meaning. But if you want to stretch it, without these your prayer life will fade…

F) Free & Formed
You must have both structured and unstructured prayer. If your prayers are only structured they will be unmeaningful and stuffy. If your prayers are only unstructured they will be shallow and trite.  Look at mealtime prayers. They have no meaning! They are unemotional and I promise God doesn’t listen to that junk. So pray freely and just pour out your needs and desires off the top of your head to God. But also pray structured using the Bible (Eph. 3:14-19), lists, books, and patterns in your prayer.

A) Alone & Assembled
Both places of prayer are absolutely necessary to the Christian. Piper said “I don’t think there is any Christianity in the person that doesn’t pray alone”. Personal, alone prayer is the heartbeat of every Christian. If you aren’t praying alone, you’re dead. Assembled prayer is the heartbeat of the body of Christ. A congregation that doesn’t pray is one that is going to die to the things of God very soon. By assembled prayer I don’t mean sitting in a pew while a deacon or pastor prays. It is important for us all to pray with others around us, out loud and quietly.

D) Desperate & Delighted
If you are devoted to prayer you will regularly come desperate to God for things. If all you ever do is come to God desperate and needy for Him to work in your life, you will be one depressed Christian. Go to God desperately but go to Him with delight and joy that He hears and will always answer!

E) Explosive & Extended
Short and long prayers are equally important and powerful. If you’re devoted to prayer you’ll pray without ceasing like Paul talked about and there will be dozens of times throughout the day that your mind explodes with 5 or 10 second prayers. We also need intentional times of praying for a long period of time.

S) Spontaneous & Scheduled
You need both, plain and simple. If you only have spontaneity, you won’t have it long. The fruit of spontaneity grows up in the garden of discipline. That’s why scheduled prayer is so important. When you are disciplined to schedule prayer it becomes easier and easier to pray spontaneously. You can’t leave it to chance or else Satan will make sure it won’t happen. If you don’t plan to pray, you won’t pray.

Bottom Line: Colossians 4:2 – Be devoted to prayer!

Are Blogs Unbiblical?

Yesterday I was at a conference on ministering to young adults at Western Hills Baptist Church in Topeka, KS. While there, I was talking with their pastor Grant English about blogging. I check in on his blog (grantenglish.com) from time to time and he suggested that I start blogging. I’ve never had any interest in blogging. In fact, it goes against the fabric of my being. I’ve always loved the words of Solomon and Paul as they describe the empty chatter of the world and urge us to lead a quiet and tranquil life before God. I think anyone that knows me would agree. That describes me to a tee. Hey I’ve got as many shortcomings as the next person but this is one area that has God blessed me. I don’t like small talk. I would even describe it as a pet peeve of mine.

A few weeks ago during a youth guys small group we were talking about 1 Timothy 1 and we read verse 6 out of the KJV. I’ve never laughed harder, I think, at a Bible verse. It talks about how some have turned aside from the pure faith to “vain jangling” (in other versions it subs the hip and cool “jangling” with the drab “discussions”). I love that phrase. Our entire world is full of vain jangling. What a way to follow Christ and set ourselves apart from the world! Let’s not participate in all that stupid, useless, vain jangling.

Blogging: typing words, almost entirely, about nothing of true importance out into some virtual internet directed at no one in particular. This is starting to sound like what Paul warned us about! So I raise the question; Are blogs unbiblical? Unfortunately, probably 99% are. However, There are some truly inspiring and God honoring blogs and bloggers out there. As Christian bloggers we must be very intentional about our words so we can be salt and light for the internet and for our world.

And yet blogs are innately personal and intimate… there’s no better way to share Christ’s love than in a personal and intimate setting.

So my blogging covenant is to honor Christ by sharing laughs, love, encouragement, challenges, ministry insights, prayers, lessons, and myself with you, the non-specific no one in a this virtual world. My covenant to my wife is that this blog will not replace or take away from any time I may spend with her or our children.  So I hope this blog edifies and entertains you and that you check back often.