prayer | Craig T. Owens

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Thursdays With Oswald—Don’t Explain; Pray

April 28, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Don’t Explain; Pray

Eliphaz claimed to know exactly where Job was, and Bildad claims the same thing. Job was hurt, and these men tried to heal him with platitudes. The place for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says nothing, but prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to get into contact with God…. Job’s friends never once prayed for him; all they did was to try and make coin for the enrichment of their own creed out of his sufferings.

From Baffled To Fight Better

Great reminder: The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is…get into contact with God on their behalf.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bildad, Eliphaz, empathy, friends, intercession, job, Oswald Chambers, prayer, Zophar. Leave a Comment »

Can You Hear Him?

April 22, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

They said she’s not worthy

with words so unkind.

They said she’s not respectable;

God said, “She’s Mine.”

I hear the voice of Jesus,

I hear the voice of my Lord,

I hear the voice of my Savior

saying, “My child, I adore you.

I hear you call My name in desperation.

I hear you call My name in praise.

I hear you call My name in worship.

I hear each time that you pray.

I know that you love Me.

I know that on Me you depend.

It’s for you My Son I did send.”

So lift your hands and heart toward heaven

when life seems unable to bear.

There’s a wooden Cross on Calvary

proving Someone cares.

Listen to the voice of Jesus.

Listen to the voice of the Lord.

Listen to the voice of the Savior.

A home in heaven will be your reward.

—Betty Ann King, I Hear Him

I pray that today you can hear Jesus calling your name and saying, “You are mine; I paid an incredibly high price to show you how much I love you!”

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary, Cross, Good Friday, Jesus Christ, love, poem, poetry, prayer, worship. Leave a Comment »

Sun Stand Still (book review)

April 5, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick is an amazing book!

The title and content of this book is based on an audacious, faith-filled prayer that Joshua offered in the Bible, where God actually allowed the sun to stand still so the Israelites could complete their battle before it got dark. What an amazing prayer: “God, please let the sun stand still”!

Steven leads us through the steps of getting a clear vision of what God wants to accomplish, and then activating that vision through audacious faith. He talks about the hindrances most of us will face in praying a Sun Stand Still prayer, about hanging on to faith during the waiting process, and even how to think about the times the sun goes down.

Through reading this book, I was so convicted that far too many of my prayers are puny, safe prayers; certainly not like the audacious Sun Stand Still prayer that Joshua prayed. But I was also encouraged and energized to begin to change the way I pray.

This book is easy to read and process, but it’s going to be a challenge for me to change my paradigms about praying sun-stand-still prayers.

For anyone who wants to see God do supernatural things in response to audaciously faith-filled prayers, I highly recommend this book as a valuable guide.

I am a Multnomah book reviewer.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: book review, faith, Joshua, miracles, prayer, Steven Furtick. Leave a Comment »

Failure To Recognize

April 1, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

The Apostle John opens his gospel account with these sobering words:

[Jesus] was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. (John 1:10)

Commenting on this verse, A.W. Tozer wrote:

My fellow man, do you not know that your great sin is this: the all-pervading and eternal Presence is here, and you cannot feel Him? Are you not aware that there is a great and true Light which brightly shines—and you cannot see it? Have you not heard within your being a tender Voice whispering of the eternal value of your soul—and yet you have said, “I have heard nothing”? This is, in essence, the charge that John levels at human kind: Jesus Christ, the Word of God, was in the world, and the world failed to recognize Him.

I never want to be guilty of failing to recognize Jesus! Sometimes in the busyness of life—even the busyness of the ministry of the church—I can become guilty of being focused on the activity, instead of focusing on Christ, Who is supposed to be the focus of my activity.

So we’re taking a “time out” today. As a church we are fasting and praying for 24-hours to cleanse our hearts to recognize Jesus, and to recognize what He wants to accomplish as we commemorate Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday later this month.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, apostle John, busyness, fasting, Gospel of John, Jesus Christ, prayer, quote. Leave a Comment »

Deliver Me

March 23, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

My prayer based on Psalm 91—

Almighty God, I resolve to live in Your shelter because it’s the only place I will find rest.
I declare this about You, Lord: You alone are my refuge, my place of safety; my surest trust.
You will rescue me from every trap and protect me from every disease.
You will cover me and shelter me with Your wings.
Your faithful promises are my armor and protection.
I will not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.
I will not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
Though everyone else may give in and give up, I will cling to You for complete victory.
I have chosen to make the Lord my refuge, my shelter, my victory, my total protection.
You have ordered Your angels to protect me wherever I go.
They will hold me up with their hands so I won’t stumble.
In Your power I will defeat every foe that comes against me.

You, O Lord, have said, “I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My name.
When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.
I will reward them with a long life and give them My salvation.”

I take You at Your word, my God. Deliver me!

I love turning God’s Word into prayers! Check out this post where I elaborate on this idea.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: deliverance, God's protection, prayer, Psalm. 1 Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—Stronger

March 10, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Stronger

If we believe in a state of mind He produces in us, we will be disappointed, because circumstances will come in our lives when these works of Jesus Christ are shadowed over; but if we believe in Him, no matter how dark the passage is we shall be carried right through, and when the crisis is passed our souls will have been built into a stronger attitude towards Him.

From Facing Reality

Job certainly went through a “dark passage”! Yet in the midst of it he said, “But principled people hold tight, keep a firm grip on life, sure that their clean, pure hands will get stronger and stronger” (Job 17:9).

And as David passed through his “dark passage” he confidently stated—

I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me.
      He freed me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy;
      no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
      He saved me from all my troubles.
For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
      He surrounds and defends all who fear Him….

The righteous person faces many troubles,
      but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. (Psalm 34:4-7, 19)

My friend, hold on to Jesus. Hold on! He will carry you through, and you will build a stronger faith.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: David, faith, job, Oswald Chambers, prayer, Psalm, trust. Leave a Comment »

AND

March 2, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

It’s a small conjunction that can have enormous impact on your life. Everyone loves it when you can have your cake AND eat it too. Isn’t that way better than having a cake but not getting to eat any of it? For God followers, AND takes on an added power.

Look at this verse:

We prayed to our God AND posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

Of course Christians would never say, “We posted a guard but didn’t pray to God.”

But far too often Christians live this way: “We prayed to God but didn’t post a guard.”

Sometimes God provides supernaturally, and sometimes God provides through our efforts. In either case, God is still the provider. How sad that we often limit what God can do because we replace AND with but.

How about this instead…

Pray to God for healing AND see a doctor.
Pray to God for provision AND get a job.
Pray to God for a successful marriage AND learn to love your spouse better.
Pray to God for your church to grow AND invite your neighbor to a service.
Pray to God to protect your kids AND stay involved in their lives.
Pray to God to strengthen you against temptation AND get an accountability partner.

Start with prayer, then add AND.

Where will you add AND to your prayers today?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Both-And, God's provision, Nehemiah, prayer, work. 1 Comment »

Don’t Fake It

February 24, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

Have you ever had someone tell you, “Fake it until you make it”? In other words, you may not feel happy, but just start smiling and soon you will feel happy. Sadly, I’ve heard this type of so-called wisdom given by Christians to other Christians. Phrases like…

Don’t let anyone know that you feel scared, doubtful, or angry.
Never let ‘em see you sweat.
Even if you’re down, put on a happy face.

Turns out that this is not only bad advice, but harmful advice too. A study done by Michigan State University found:

“Pretending to smile when you’re feeling bad makes you feel worse and be less productive. … [You] can’t just fake a smile and expect to feel good about it or negative feelings intensify.”

If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, you should never fake it. Take a quick glance through the Psalms and you’ll see raw, real emotions: anger … depression … anxiety … vengeance … sadness … envy … spite … and many others.

Here’s the deal: You may wear a {fake} smile on the outside, but God knows the {real} emotions in your heart. You’re not fooling Him. And, as it’s been revealed in this study, you’re not fooling anyone else either.

So go ahead and vent those negative emotions when you’re alone with God. Tell Him how you really feel (He already knows, but it’s good for you to hear you say it). And then let the Holy Spirit show you how to deal with those emotions in a healthy way.

Don’t bottle it up—don’t fake-it-until-you-make-it—be real and let God heal you.

UPDATE: I talk a lot about dealing with our strong, negative emotions in my book When Sheep Bite.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Samuel, anger, anxiety, Christian, Christianity, depression, emotions, healing, Holy Spirit, prayer, psalms, raw emotions, vengeance. 3 Comments »

Flash Prayers

February 23, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Many people have a lot of misconceptions about prayer. Some people think that prayer has to be long, or that it has to include certain “spiritual” phrases, or that you have to address God by one of His Hebrew titles, or that you have to pray in King James English (using words like Thou knowest…).

I’m not knocking any of these things, but neither am I saying any or all of them have to be included.

Some prayers recorded in the Bible are very short, and some prayer times last for days or even weeks.
Some prayers include very formal language, and some are just the street language of the day.
Some prayers address God with a specific title, and some don’t.

Here’s the key thing: they are all very personal. Each prayer reflecting the unique personality and the unique circumstance of the one doing the praying.

Nehemiah was a confidant of King Artaxerxes of Persia. One day the king noticed something he hadn’t seen before: Nehemiah was frowning. The king asked, “What’s up, Nehemiah?” Look what Nehemiah wrote:

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king.

Nehemiah’s prayer was silent and extremely quick. It was a flash prayer.

But here’s what makes this prayer so powerful and effective. Nehemiah started praying for an opportunity to talk to the king about an important issue four months earlier. Nehemiah even took time to fast during his prayer time. His initial prayer to God is very formal sounding, and somewhat long. This prayer was rolling around in his heart and mind for quite awhile.

Then when the opportunity came to talk to the king, Nehemiah could quickly breathe a prayer to God, “Help me!”

I think is exactly what Paul had in mind when he told us to pray without ceasing.

Pray out loud … pray quietly … pray long … pray short … pray formally … pray casually … pray personalized prayers all the time.

I’m working on this.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Thessalonians, Artaxerxes, fasting, Nehemiah, personality, prayer, uniqueness. Leave a Comment »

Our Greatest Sin

February 11, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

He came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize Him. (John 1:10)

“My fellow man, do you not know that your greatest sin is this: the all-pervading and eternal Presence is here, and you cannot feel Him?

Are you not aware that there is a great and true Light which brightly shines—and you cannot see it?

Have you not heard within your being a tender Voice whispering of the eternal value of your soul—and yet you have said, ‘I heard nothing’?

This is, in essence, the charge that John levels at human kind: Jesus Christ, the Word of God, was in the world, and the world failed to recognize Him.” (A.W. Tozer)

O God, I pray my eyes may see Your beauty in Your world around me every day.

I pray that my ears may hear Your unmistakable voice speaking to me every day.

I pray that my mind may glimpse more of Your majesty every day.

I pray that all of my senses may be enlivened to perceive Your presence surrounding me every day.

O God, may it never be said of me that I failed to recognize You each and every day.