Prayer and the Prosperity Gospel

An interesting article was brought to my attention today. It was posted on an msn website, and it dealt with a scientific study focused on prayer. Basically, it was reported that prayer “flunked the test.” Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“In the largest study of its kind, researchers found that having people pray for heart bypass surgery patients had no effect on their recovery. In fact, patients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications.”

While this article presupposes (due to the findings) that prayer does not work, consider the verse in James 5:16 which says, “the effective prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.” (NAS) Notice the condition: the man must be “righteous.” Only through Christ, by faith, can anyone truly be righteous, and thus a true agent of prayer.

The second thought I had from this article is that of the modern relationship between prayer and the prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel promotes the philosophy that God is there to serve us by answering our prayers and making us well. This type of thought is totally man centered. God is not a cosmic genie waiting to give us what we desire whenever we pray for it. Instead, prayer exists for the purpose of man humbly seeking God’s grace, and ultimately His glory in all things.

It is convicting for the believer, because we, like the world, fall into the trap of self-centered prayer. I encourage you, seek to be humble in prayer. Jesus said in Matthew 6:5, “and when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (NIV)

A Command to Keep: Part 2

Sword of the Spirit – prayer:
Lord, put in my other hand the sword which you have blessed me with, your Word. Help me to long for and thirst for the Bible. Give me a desire to read it daily, and help me to be taught by You from Your very Words. May this be the sword that I carry daily to teach and instruct others in Your ways, and to bless them.

Belt of truth – prayer:
Father, place around my waist the belt of truth. God, let every part of my being be gathered up in truthfulness. Let every area of my life be under the authorities that You have placed me under. Fill me with truth from your Word, and help me to speak truth, and to live truthfully.

Feet shod with the gospel of peace – prayer:
Lord, help me to be obedient to prepare to share the Gospel. Help me to daily think about sharing Your good news with others. Let me be a light in the dark world. Fill me with a joy about my relationship with You, so that I cannot help but share that joy with others.

Prayer in the Spirit – prayer:
Father, help me to pray in the Spirit, constantly speaking with You throughout the day. Help me to listen and hear You when you speak. Let my mind be on spiritual things. Convict me of sin throughout the day, when I commit it. Let me instantly feel a prick in my spirit and pray for forgiveness. Help me to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, that others may see my life, and glorify You!

A Command to Keep: Part 1

In the last year or so, I began to pray through the armor of God. I want to invite you to begin doing this. It really is a blessing. Ephesians 6:11 says, "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." This is a command to keep, and not something we should take lightly. The verse implies that the evil one is scheming against us - this very minute. Only the power of God can help us to withstand. The following are examples of how I pray through the armor. I will post the second half tomorrow.

Father, fill me today with You. Cleanse me of my sin from yesterday, and make me clean and pure to serve You today. (list any sins that come to mind from the previous day). Help me to serve You and serve others and not myself.

Helmet of salvation – prayer:
Lord, place on me the helmet of salvation…let all my thoughts be guided by the fact that I am Your child. When I decide on any action today, Father let it be with the thought in mind that I am a Christian and have been bought by You.

Breastplate of righteousness – prayer:
Lord, cover my heart and every essence of me with Your righteousness, Your holiness. Let me have a righteousness not of my own, but of your Son. Fill me with You. Help me to die to myself and my desires and seek Your holiness.

Shield of faith – prayer:
Father, place in my hand the shield of faith. God please help me to trust You for everything in my life.

Daily list things you need help trusting God for:
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________

Give me a childlike faith today. Ease my mind, and my heart. Let Your shield of faith around my entire body extinguish the fiery darts of Satan.

Leviticus to Luke

I have often used excuses in relation to my lack of knowledge about the Old Testament. This year I decided to stop with the excuses and purchase a “daily Bible” which takes one through the Scriptures in one year.

The reading for February 28th made me glad that I was trudging through. I was deep in the book of Leviticus (you know, the book of the Bible with all the laws). As I took in each chapter and verse, I was wondering what purpose it serves for Christians today (we’re not Jewish, and we don’t practice some of the old laws). In essence, I was thinking, “Why am I reading this!?”

But after reading the New Testament verses for that day, God spoke to me through His Word. He was showing me that even though there were many human authors who contributed to the canon of Scripture that we know as the Holy Bible, truly there is only One Author. The Bible is one cohesive, complete work with themes straight from God our Father. See if you can pick out the theme from the verses that I read that day.

Leviticus 15:25,31 – “Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood many days…she is unclean. (vs. 31) Thus you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in their uncleanness by their defiling My tabernacle that is among them.”

Luke 8:43, 48 – “And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him (Jesus) and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. (vs. 48) And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.’”

The theme and the connection between these two passages is that the woman was unclean according to the Hebrew law. If you were to go on and read Leviticus 15, you would find that whatever or whomever an unclean woman touched became unclean itself. Thus, in Luke 8, it is obvious that this woman is unclean. And in faith, she reached out to touch Jesus.

According to Leviticus 15, if Jesus were an ordinary man, he would have been made unclean as well. But He is no ordinary man; He is the God-man! Therefore, He was not made unclean, but He healed her! And it is the same way with each of us. We are unclean in our own sinfulness. Let us in turn reach out to JESUS and be made clean. What a glorious theme of the Bible…from Leviticus to Luke.

Our Salvation Celebration

I wanted to pass along an interesting thought from the Scriptures that I learned last night at church. Bro. Steve Gaines was preaching on leading the lost to Christ. His text was from the gospel of Mark, the fifth chapter. Most of you will recall that this chapter illustrates the salvation of the Gerasene demoniac. The following is an awesome picture of our own salvation.

"They (the disciples) came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon possessed sitting down, clothed, and in his right mind, the very man who had had the 'legion'." Mark 5:15 (NAS)

Did you notice the three things that happened to the demoniac? First, he was "sitting down." This is symbolic of the rest of the believer. When one is in Christ, he is a partaker of the rest (or peace) that comes only from God (Hebrews 4).

The believers have more than rest though, as we see that the demoniac was "clothed." This speaks to literal clothing. Perhaps Jesus had taken His very robe and put it around this man. And while in this text, there is a literal clothing, in Christ we have been clothed with the righteouness of God. "I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness." Isaiah 61:10 (NAS)

The last thing we see about the demoniac is that he was "in his right mind." He was no longer
"screaming constantly, day and night" as the Bible says. He was a new creation with a new mind. We too, if in Christ, are having our minds renewed daily. "But we have the mind of Christ." I Corinthians 2:16 (NAS)

It is time, if you have not done so already, to thank God for your rest, robe of rigtheouness, and right-mind in Christ - for this is the great SALVATION CELEBRATION!

Hungry anyone?

I've often wondered why people blog. Do we really take the time to read the thoughts and ponderings that others have posted? Yet within myself, I find that at times there are things that I'd like to share and yet I don't necessarily have the outlet for sharing it. So here I am, sharing with you the reader. If this blog has a purpose, then it would be to burden you with a deep desire to walk with Christ.

Lately, God has been convicting me about hunger. It seems that most professing Christians are simply not hungry. I am not speaking of a hunger for food, but for the eternal, holy things of God. I have become convinced that within my walk with Christ, if I am not hungry for the things of God is it because I am being filled with the world.

Think of it this way. If you eat popcorn thirty minutes before supper, you will be so filled up with the junk food that you won't desire the healthy meat & vegatables. It's the same way with the world and the things of God. If you fill up with unholy and worldly things, your desire for God and His truth rapidly fades.

The awesome reality is that the Holy Spirit is our provision! He wants to fill us with great and wonderful things. Am I missing out on knowing, growing, and experiencing the pleasures of God because of a temporary, fleating pleasure? I encourage you - don't trade the things of God for the things of this world.

"For He has satisfied the thirsty (literally parched) soul, and the hungry soul He has filled with what is good." Psalm 107:9

Are you hungry?