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BLOG: Always Working



WRITTEN BY MELISSA H. STRAUTMAN, LMT

Always Working – Step #4 in Learning How to Be Always Praying

In the first 3 lessons of the Always Praying series we learn how to build an effective defense against forces that pull us away from the protection and provision of God by learning to pray ‘always’.  In Lesson #5 we get to take the field for an effective offense against dark forces and work toward kingdom expansion.  This is something that the devil can’t defeat.  Every brick that we help lay under God’s will is a permanent piece of the kingdom’s foundation.

Last week we learned  in Lesson #4 that when we do pray, we should start (and perhaps end) with the most important part of Jesus’ example of prayer: “Hallowed be your name”.  This aligns us with God’s purpose.  Now, the second line of The Lord’s Prayer aligns us with our own intentions toward God: “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10).  To see His kingdom come we will have to roll up our sleeves and start doing the ‘kingdom work’ required of every believer.

God is allowing this now-kingdom on earth to be dominated for a time by wicked forces until Jesus comes again.  When we pray, “Your kingdom come”, we are praying for the time when He has finally gathered to himself all the saints that He has intended to be in His kingdom.  This takes ‘work’ to achieve and this is accomplished through God’s ordinary means; the spread of the gospel.  Kingdom work is always about intentionally reaching out to the souls of men; calling them to repentance.  This work will inevitably grow and expand His kingdom to the final fullness which He has already determined.

Every Christian has a part in bringing forth His kingdom.  In Matthew 4, Jesus says, “Repent, for the kingdom is at hand”.  Jesus was speaking of the reality of the spiritual kingdom He came to establish.  Jesus brought this to pass through His perfect life and sacrificial death on the cross.  And His resurrection ensures our place in the final, eternal kingdom of heaven.  When we pray, “Your kingdom come”, we are specifically saying…

  • cause Your kingdom to be expanded
  • cause us to find our right part in that expansion plan
  • cause us to be effective in kingdom work

Our Cosmic Purpose Revealed

When we think of the disciples, we often think of them as ‘followers’ but in the truest sense they were ‘workers’.  They literally worked themselves to death for the expansion of the kingdom.  Christianity is a call to kingdom service.  So many of us are under the misconception that the pastors and elders of our churches are appointed to do the work of the ministry.  They are not!  They are called to be doing the work of training us up to do the work of the kingdom; after all, that is the cosmic purpose for our existence (Ephesians 4: 11-12).  Are your pastors and elders elevating and engaging you to do specific kingdom work that will satisfy God’s plan?  If you answer “no”, and know that you are not doing anything for kingdom expansion, there is something you can do: Pray!

“God, may Your kingdom come.  May Your kingdom be expanded through Your gifts at work in my life.  Make me an excellent servant.  Cause me to always be working for You and Your kingdom.” 

Because this prayer is aligned with God’s will, you should have no doubt about Him answering it (James 1: 5-6).

Matthew 5:13-14 tells us that we are the salt and the light of the world.  We are called to “good works”; kingdom works.  We are supposed to let the world see our investment in the kingdom.  There should be an obvious energy that propels our kingdom work if we truly want His kingdom to come.  If that desire and drive is not evident, we must ask ourselves what heavenly good are we to our Maker.  He saved us, enlisted us in His kingdom for His cosmic purpose.  We must do the work until the work is done and His kingdom is complete.  God will direct us toward our particular part in the great kingdom work; a work we pursue with confidence.  Jesus says, “…I will build My church….and the gates of hell will not overpower it” (Matthew 16: 18).

Paul says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth….For we are God’s fellow workers…” (1 Corinthians 3: 6-9).  Our work is the means by which God brings about His kingdom in this world despite the forces and principalities that war against it.  All of their efforts are in vain.  You are asking God to make you a vital, effective worker when you pray, “Your kingdom come”.  God never intended to expand the kingdom without us.

Unfortunately, so many people have been misled into believing that ‘works’ can get you into heaven or keep you from being dragged off the plane on the way there.  This is a twisted perversion of what it means to work for the kingdom.  God chooses you, Jesus makes and keeps you acceptable and the Holy spirit guides you to His specific kingdom advancing work.

Quality of Work Matters

In 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, Paul makes it clear that all Christians enlisted in the kingdom will do work.  Some will do excellent work and others will do work that works against the kingdom.  If your backside only serves to warm the pew, you are having a negative effect on the expansion of God’s kingdom.  Doing nothing is doing something; and it is not good.  The quality of all our work will be proved in heaven.

Our work proves we belong to the kingdom.  Quality work will gain us reward.  He calls us to “…gold, silver, precious stone [work]”.  In other words, not just any ‘work’ will do.  It’s a call to excellent service from us, for His kingdom (1 Corinthians 3:14).  Half-hearted work will burn up and we will suffer loss.  So pray…

“God, may Your kingdom come.  May Your kingdom be expanded through Your gifts in my life.  Make me an excellent servant, strong and fit; shining Your light in this dark world. Cause me to always be working for You and Your kingdom.”

Next week, in Lesson #6, we will consider the importance of the next line of the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy will be done”, and how it teaches us the importance of ‘always submitting’.

   
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BLOG: Always Worshiping



WRITTEN BY MELISSA H. STRAUTMAN, LMT

Always Worshiping – Step #3 in Learning How to Be Always Praying

So what does worship have to do with prayer?  How am I suppose to do both at the same time?  I’ll admit, I had no idea where Pastor Wilson was going with this in Lesson #4 of Always Praying.  So far in this series (Lessons 1-3), it’s been made clear that if we truly become aware of three things we will inevitably find ourselves “praying always” as we are instructed.

  • God’s presence
  • The devil’s schemes &
  • Our own sin

That’s great right?  Just lift our worries to the Lord and we will get an A+ in Praying Always 101.  Not so fast.  Lesson #4 (Always Worshiping) helps us to see that there are wrong ways to say those prayers.

  1. Jesus knows all of our needs already and he prays to the Father directly (intercession) on our behalf.  (Matthew 6:8, 25-34)  It’s rather nuts to think we could ask for our needs better than the Holy Lamb of God; so don’t let personal, physical needs take priority.  Jesus illustrates this clearly when the people asked Him to meet their physical needs with food.  (John 6:26-40)  He immediately pointed them to a higher need for the extraordinary Being, and the plan and will of the Father.
  2. He also doesn’t want you to bring attention to yourself when you are praying for yourself or others like the Pharisees did or like so many of our Facebook posts. (Matthew 6:5-6)
  3. Another warning is not to “heap up empty phrases”; using many words.

How Do I Pray Correctly?

Jesus told us to, “Pray in this way.” when he was referring to what we call The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).  He wasn’t saying to just recite it.  He wanted us to really look at the pattern and the principles of prayer.  Historically, this prayer has been broken down into two sections with three requests in each section:

  1. Majestic Heights
    1. Request to make God known (Hallowed be your name)
    2. Request for His plan to be complete (Your kingdom come)
    3. Request for His will to be made known (Your will be done)
  1. Common Depths
    1. Request for our needs to be met (Give us this day our daily bread)
    2. Request for forgiveness (Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors)
    3. Request for protection against sin (Do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil)

Section two’s needs are asked for so that their absence is not a distraction from the more important first section.  Matthew 6:25-34 tells us God has the ‘needs’ part covered and how our faith can be seen in not worrying about it.  He then immediately points us back to seek section one.  Matthew 6:14, among other passages, stresses the importance of forgiveness as reflective of Christ himself.  We’d never want to be non-reflective of the glory of Christ; which is the whole reason for the Gospel.

It is interesting to note that when Jesus says “us” in the second section, he is speaking to true believers not just everyone.  We see this again when he used this exact prayer template in his private prayer to God just before his death.  (John 17)  Verse 8 says, “I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those (disciples) whom You have given Me.”  Verse 20 says, “I do not ask on behalf of these (disciples) alone but for those also who believe in Me through their word (true converts).”   [More on praying for Non-Christians.]

Start Your Prayers with WORSHIP

Not only does the content and audience matter; the order matters as well.  Jesus starts with, “Hallowed be your name” because it is the most important.  Many other prayers in the Bible use this same beginning*.

Hallow means:

  • cause to worship (the Father)
  • cause all other things that compete for my attention to fade in importance (hunger, illness, relationships, money, etc)
  • cause me to honor, respect, revere and submit (to the Father)
  • cause me to really see who You (the Father) are: holy, righteous, merciful, gracious, patient, kind, judging and full of wrath against all unrighteousness (sin).

Pastor Wilson boldly makes the statement that if this is all you say in your prayers, then your prayer is complete. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things (food, clothing, etc) will be added to you”.  (Matthew 6:33)  “I Am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end [of everything]. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.”  (Revelation 21:6)  It is God’s primary will to have worshipers.  So, begin your prayers with the most important thing to God and leave the rest to Jesus.

Here are some examples of just how perfectly complete and God honoring a common prayer request can be when you put worship (hallowing) first as we are instructed:

  • Death or Illness:  Dear Heavenly Father you know Aunt Lydia is grieving the loss of Uncle Sam, please help her to worship you even in her pain.  Help her to keep her eye on your kingdom to come and help her to know your will moment by moment so she feels your comforting.  Strengthen her to withstand the onslaught of greedy relatives when the property is sold and the will is read so that they all see who and what she reveres most in life, you dear Lord.
  • My Provision:  Holy God you know my money troubles but I thank you anyway for all I have.  Please increase my worship and thanksgiving, no matter how low my bank account gets.  Don’t let these troubles take over my attention to your kingdom and your glory.  Draw me closer to you and teach me to submit to your will for my finances and help me not to let gaining money take over my focus.
  • Any Sin:  Father above, I have not worshiped you as I ought to have.  I feel so far from you.  Please forgive my sin of flirting with that woman.  I have not honored you or my wife.  Please cause me to be aware that you are there and know who you really are.  Show me your attributes and lead me back to you, whatever it takes.  I want to be fully submitted to you and protected from evil temptations.

Now you know how to pray perfect prayers and worship at the same time.  I will continue bringing you my summary of the Always Praying series next week with Lesson #5: Always Working.

*Prayers in the Bible following the Lord’s Prayer template: Daniel 9:1-19, Philippians 1:9, Ephesians 1:16 & 3:14-19, Colossians 1:9-12,  John 17:1-26
   
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BLOG: Always Sinning



WRITTEN BY MELISSA H. STRAUTMAN, LMT

Always Sinning – Step #2 in Learning How to Be Always Praying

Lesson #3 (Always Sinning) of the Always Praying series really hammered home for me the answers as to why I don’t pray.  Pastor Wilson gives two main points to explain why we Christians might have a lackluster prayer life:

  • underestimating the forces of darkness or
  • overestimating our own spiritual kryptonite to fight off the enemy

These two delusions can keep us from feeling our own real weakness.  It is that weakness that is so precious.  Without it, we cannot humble ourselves before a holy God who waits for us to ask and accept His relief in every time of trouble.

As for myself, I know that ‘His relief’ is also ‘His will’.  This sometimes tempts me to not even ask because I suspect that I am not going to get exactly what I envision as the ‘right relief’.  I have dubbed this “spiritual-pouting” and it just wreaks of idolatry and spiritual immaturity.  I don’t stop to consider God’s vantage point and power is so much greater than mine.  It’s predictable:

  1. trouble comes – I never stop to consider the origin (God – the devil)
  2. stinkin’ thinkin’ – twisting, ruminating on or adding to the facts of the situation
  3. inward grumbling instead of praying – denying God’s providence & presence
  4. outward sinful actions – denying God’s ability to help me by acting on my own, outside of His will

Picture a movie theater full of angels with 3-D glasses and buckets of popcorn anxiously awaiting the latest scary movie (of my life), Canceling-Client Sends Melissa Into a Rage.  (I own a massage therapy practice.)  The tension builds on screen as my client is 15 minutes late for her appointment.  One angel with hands half over his eyes, screams, “No, don’t check your phone”.  I pick up my phone.  “No, don’t check that voice mail”.  I hit play.  “Hi Melissa.  It’s Kimmy.  I can’t make it for my appointment today.  Sorry”.

Another angel yells at the screen, “No, No.  Don’t take the bait.  Lucifer’s been saving this one all day for you.  It’s the devil I tell you, the devil!  Be calm”!  Then another angel whispers to Gabriel, “He even made that new car purchase super easy for Melissa so she’d be worried about money”.  Gabriel laughs, “Right and did she really think that previous client’s mystery rash and his suffocating Old Spice was for real?  Such a predictable plot.”

The music crescendos as white hot fury races through my blood.  I dare not tell you the horrible thoughts I conjured up about my usually beloved client Kimmy.  More than one angel left the theater.  Suffice it to say that I now had convinced myself of Kimmy’s utter disrespect of my time and my business.  I grabbed my phone and fired off a text-invoice for the missed appointment with an all-caps-reminder of my cancellation policy.  I then cemented my anger at her with a sticky note to my computer reminding me, in red ink, to ignore her next request for an appointment.  THE END (credits roll).

What Happened To My Righteousness?

The reality is that I usually have a two-week wait list; so it’s not like I’m going to be financially hurt by one cancelled appointment.  I usually get snow-day excited when a client cancels because I see the extra time as a gift for a long lunch, an errand, or getting to go home early.  So, what happened to MY righteousness?  Where did all this sinful anger come from?

Lesson #3 (Always Sinning) points out that I don’t have any righteousness at all in my fallen body.  We are saved and sanctified in this life on account of His righteousness ‘counted’ to us; and on the day of judgment His righteousness, not our own, will fully acquit us.  This was the whole point of Jesus’ sacrificial gift in his death.  Therefore, we are both saint and sinner at the same time.

No matter how minor or major the devil’s schemes are, he has been given authority by God to do what he is doing to us.  It is meant to humble us to our knees; crying out for Him.  This is the mess God intends us to wade through to become sanctified.

“So if I’m always sinning and always in the devils cross-hairs, what can I do about it?”  Pray for repentance of those sins.  Pray for awareness of the devil’s schemes.  Pray for awareness that God is always present, guiding us, strengthening us and gradually perfecting us to be with him.  James 1:2-3.

Next week in Lesson #4 (Always Worshiping), Pastor Wilson adds to our prayer tool box by revealing a practical beginning to every prayer you pray and how this is exactly what God wants to hear from us.  This universally adaptive template will leave you knowing that your prayers are powerful, effective and never lacking.

   
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BLOG: Always Aware



WRITTEN BY MELISSA H. STRAUTMAN, LMT

Always Aware – Step #1 in Learning How to Be Always Praying

Did you know that God has actually appointed a supernatural ruler over this earth during this age; one that is in charge of all the worldly things that we pursue? (Ephesians 2:2) Did you know that this ruler opposes God’s plan to strengthen His children through suffering and instead seeks to give Christians health and wealth and prosperity for their ‘best life now’? (James 1:2-3)

Lesson #2 (Always Aware) in the Always Praying series at Grace Community Church makes the point that the two main reasons that we do not pray is the fact that we are either:

  • not aware of the presence of our God or
  • not aware of the presence of the devil

No, I don’t constantly think about the schemes of the devil, but after Pastor Wilson hammered home just how hidden and pervasive those schemes are in our life, I see just how blind I’ve been.  Those schemes can come in several forms. He can make our wildest dreams come true, leading us away from dependence on God or assault us with physical illness and chaos like Job.  This is a war we know all too well but we fail to acknowledge it’s origin and voracity.

We must acknowledge the source and call it by name. The devil is tirelessly at war for our souls and we are in constant danger (1 Peter 5:8-11). If we acknowledge this we will stay in prayer for God to strengthen us through the battle, keep our witness pure and deliver us from evil.  We don’t get the option of being a conscientious objector to this supernatural war (Ephesians 6:12).  We also can’t use human tools to fight it such as self-help techniques or substances that numb us.

We need to always remember that Jesus is coming back to dethrone the devil and he has left us here in a constant battle, armed with some very special supernatural weapons (Ephesians 6). 1 John 4:4 tells us that “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world”.  So pray with confidence that God is always with you.  Pray with thanksgiving for the promise of perfection, strength and peace that comes after we’ve suffered. (1 Peter 5:10)

Next week in Lesson #3, Pastor Wilson shows us that the enemy around us (the devil) is not the only enemy we must contend with if we are going to be Always Aware & Always Praying.

   
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BLOG: Prayer Quiz



WRITTEN BY MELISSA H. STRAUTMAN, LMT

Major prayer concepts……did you get it?

  1.  Is there a Biblically right place to pray (public/corporate or private)?
  2. Which of these does the Bible tell us should and should not be discussed in corporate/public prayers. (Eph. 6:21)
    • people’s sicknesses
    • things that effect the whole church only
    • travel protections for church members
  3. Is there a Biblically right person to pray to (Jesus, God, Holy Spirit)?
  4. Is it Biblically right or wrong to pray that God heal someone’s sickness?
  5. How do we pray? What is the template of prayer?
  6. Does the Bible say who we should and shouldn’t pray for (nations, groups, individuals, self)?
  7. Is it Biblically sound to ask others to pray for you? If so what should you be requesting (supplication)? Eph. 6:18
  8. God wants us to intercede in prayers for others*.  What does that mean?  Are we asking God to change a circumstance or alter his will?
  9. What is it we need to know about a person first before we pray for them?
    • the details of their circumstances?
    • if their heart is converted or not?
    • their denomination?
  10. Does having greater amounts of data/information about other’s life circumstances and prayer concerns…
    • hamper a Christian’s prayer life by increasing emotional demands that can lead to frustration and guilt?
    • or stir the Christian’s emotions which will lead to a better heartfelt prayer to God on their behalf?
  11. Is there something wrong with me if I don’t “feel” for someone’s terrible circumstances? Does it mean I have no compassion? Is there ever a time to be glad about terrible circumstances? (Also discussed in Lesson 9)
  12. When prayers lead to blessing, how do we talk about it in such a way as to bring glory to God and not attention to ourselves?
  13. Should there be a place in the life of the church to talk about personal issues (illness, divorce, kids, job, travel, etc)?

All answers can be found by listening to our 2nd Hour Discipleship Class, “Always Praying”. 

*James 5:16, 1 Timothy 2:1, Philippians 4:6, Colossians 1:9, Matthew 5:44, Romans 15:30, 1 Thessalonians 5:25, 2 Thessalonians 3:1

   

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BLOG: Confessions of a Prayer-Hack



Written by Melissa H. Strautman, LMT

If I’d only known that there was a wrong way and a right way to pray; I’d have done a type-A-personality-makeover of my prayer life way before the embarrassing age of 46.  I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that this ‘sanctification’ thing is all about a purposeful and regular humbling of my being.  God knows that I strike out each day, doing things my own way, never asking for his help and I really only turn toward him when I hit a wall because of some ingrained beliefs:

  1. ‘God helps those who help themselves’ 
  2. God never gives you more than you can handle

Platitudes aside (and thankfully now debunked), I didn’t arrive at this on my own.  Like most people, my upbringing laid the foundation.  I remember asking my grandmother, at the tender age of seven or eight, what would happen to me if I forgot to pray, asking God to forgive me of my sins before I went to bed and then I died in my sleep.  She sadly told me that I would go to hell.  I think that was the start of my “I can do all things through post-it notes who remind me” phase; only to be trumped by the “pray-this prayer-and-you’re-saved” brochure on the toilet tank lid in my family’s bathroom.

Despite Satan’s predictable attempts to derail real salvation with fortune cookie gobbledegook, God was faithful to continue the work that only he could have started in my heart.  He led me to a Biblical husband and church family where I am constantly amazed with new mind-blowing truths every week.  There is never a show-hole here.  Hence my excitement at beginning this new blog; sharing the revelations I find in the teachings at my church (Grace Community Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky).

What’s Your Prayer IQ?

My pastor recently started an Adult Discipleship class on Always Praying.  I was so blown away that I actually had to sit down and listen to the first lesson again while taking notes.  In doing so, I made myself a nerdy little PRAYER QUIZ  just so I could cement these truths in my head.  Go ahead, take it yourself.  Be brave enough to find out what you’re missing.  Then listen to Pastor Steve’s first lesson on prayer to get anything you didn’t know.

Did you know that praying away someone’s sickness might be wrong? Did you know that there is a critical piece of information you must have before you pray for someone? Did you know that there is a certain way to pray for a non-Christian? ….and there is so much more to know in the subsequent lessons.

Next week, I’ll tackle Lesson #2.