Prayer Focus: Elections

September 4, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

As this week marks the beginning of a “new year,” (as students are heading back to school and we’re all settling in to our fall routines), we are taking time to focus our prayers.

Today’s pray focus is on our governmental elections. 

Election day in the United States is just two months away. As Christians we have a responsibility to pray for those who are in authority over us. We have a responsibility to know where political candidates stand on the issues. And we have a responsibility to vote. We can also pray that God will raise up leaders who call on His help and honor His Word in their decisions.

I love praying Scriptures. Here is an important passage related to today’s prayer focus—

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. (1 Peters 2:13-17)

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior. (1 Timothy 2:1-3)

Mark Driscoll has an excellent post called Pray For Our Leaders. He says,

We should be informed citizens who take our privilege of voting seriously. Our involvement with the political process is what makes the form of government in the United States work. But God has something much more in mind for us when it comes to our political involvement.

When it comes to politics, there is one thing in particular that pleases God. What pleases God is that we pray for our leaders, regardless of who they are and what political party they represent.

I encourage you to read the rest of Pastor Mark’s post by clicking here.

UPDATE: Here are the things we prayed for today…

Week of prayer – government

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Myopia

September 4, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Myopia is also known as nearsightedness. It occurs when light entering the eye is focused incorrectly, making distant objects appear blurred. Nearsightedness is a type of refractive error of the eye. If you are nearsighted, you have trouble seeing things that are far away.

Myopia is a problem physically and spiritually.

Consider the Apostle Paul. He was in prison, and yet he wrote:

Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the Word of God more courageously and fearlessly. (Philippians 1:14)

The definition of nearsightedness says that an incorrect refracting of the light makes far object blurry, so we tend to focus only on what’s near to us.

How many of us would have blamed Paul if from his prison cell he cried out, “Why me, O God? What have I done wrong? Please get me out of here!”

This would have been a very myopic view, where Paul was only concerned about what was close; namely, himself and his needs! But Paul allowed the light of God to be properly refracted in his spiritual sight, and he could see the big picture.

As a result of his imprisonment, many other brothers were now encouraged to speak out more boldly than before. 

If you’re going through some trying times, don’t give in to myopia. Lift up your spiritual eyes to your loving Heavenly Father. He can shine the light of His Holy Spirit in a way that just may help you to see what He is accomplishing. Through this you will be encouraged AND be an encouragements to others.

As Billy Graham noted, “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.”

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Prayer Before Words, Prayer After Words

August 31, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Pastor, as you are putting the finishing touches on your message for Sunday, even as you are getting ready to begin the service, consider this counsel from Augustine of Hippo—

“He should be in no doubt that any ability he has and however much he has derives more from his devotion to prayer than his dedication to oratory; and so, by praying for himself and for those he is about to address, he must become a man of prayer before becoming a man of words. As the hour of his address approaches, before he opens his thrusting lips he should lift his thirsting soul to God so that he may utter what he has drunk in and pour out what has filled him.”

Pray for yourself—that you would be a living example of what you preach.

Pray for your vocabulary—that the Holy Spirit would direct your words.

Pray for your ego—that you would not be puffed up nor brought down by the people’s response.

Pray for your congregation—that they would receive and apply the Word of God.

Pray for your community—that they would desire the life of Christ that is evident in you and your congregation.

And on Monday morning perhaps you will pray this prayer of commitment from Augustine—

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. 

Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. 

Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. 

Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. 

Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. 

Amen.

I’m praying for you this weekend!

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Need Power?

August 29, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

In many ways, Labor Day marks the beginning of a “new year.” The summer fun is behind us, a new school year is starting, and everyone is settling back into their normal routine.

Undoubtedly many people begin this part of their “new year” with the same excitement as New Year’s Day, with a renewed passion to accomplish greater things. Perhaps you are thinking about some new habits for this “new year.” Or maybe you are taking a deep breath before you have to dive in to all that awaits you in the next few months.

In any case, the greatest and best thing we can do to prepare ourselves is prayer.

I always start January with a week of prayer, so I want to begin this “new year” with a week of prayer as well. So we will be having a special prayer focus September 4-7. The church will be open each evening from 5:30-6:30pm, but I encourage you to pray with us wherever you are during that week.

Here are some great quotes on the power we can gain in prayer:

“Prayer does not equip us for greater works—prayer is the greater work.” —Oswald Chambers 

“Prayer provides the powerto do what we love to do, but can’t do without God’s help.” —John Piper 

“The most healthy state of a Christian is to be always empty in self and constantly depending upon the Lord for supplies; to be always poor in self and rich in Jesus; weak as water personally, but mighty through God to do great exploits…. As the runner gains strength for the race by daily exercise, so for the great race of life we acquire energy by the hallowed labor of prayer. …Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength, turns human folly into heavenly wisdom, and gives to troubled mortals the peace of God. We know not what prayer cannot do!” —Charles Spurgeon

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United In Prayer

August 26, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Here are a couple of photos I took this morning at the United service. As the service concluded, people formed prayer circles to prayer in unity. How amazing to see folks from different churches, different denominations, different backgrounds all united in prayer to the one true God!

How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! (Psalm 133:1)

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9 Quotes From “Praying Circles Around Your Children”

August 21, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Attention parents and grandparents: You need to read Praying Circles Around Your Children! To help whet your appetite, here are nine quotes from this outstanding book by Mark Batterson (you can read my full review here) that caught my heart:

“Make sure your heavenly Father hears about your kids daily!”

“You’ll never be a perfect parent, but you can be a praying parent. Prayer is your highest privilege as a parent. …Prayer turns ordinary parents into prophets who shape the destinies of their children, grandchildren, and every generation that follows. …Your prayers for your children are the greatest legacy you can leave.” 

“We instinctively attach an ASAP to every prayer and ask God to answer as soon as possible. We need a paradigm shift. We need to start praying ALAT prayers—as long as it takes.”

“Please listen to me, parents: you are prophets to your children. Jewish philosophers did not believe the prophetic gift was reserved for a few select individuals. They believed that becoming a prophetic was the crowning point of mental and spiritual development. It was the natural by-product of spiritual development. It was the natural by-product of spiritual development. The more one grows in grace, the more prophetic one becomes. This doesn’t mean you will start predicting the future. It means you’ll start creating it. How? Through your prayers! Prayer is the way we write the future. It’s the difference between letting things happen and making things happen.” 

“One of your chief responsibilities as a parent is to be a student of your child.”

“Pray about what to pray about. …The purpose of prayer is not to outline our agenda for God; the purpose is to get into the presence of God and get God’s agenda for us.”

“One of our primary responsibilities as parents is helping our children identify their life themes. We need to help them find the sweet spot where their God-given gifts and God-ordained passions overlap.”

“Great parenting doesn’t just mean teaching your kids; it also means learning from them. Think of it as reverse mentoring.” 

“Your prayers will shape the destiny of your family for generations to come.”

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Praying Circles Around Your Children (book review)

August 20, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Launching off his excellent book on prayer—The Circle Maker—Mark Batterson shares with parents and grandparents the incredible blessing of taking the initiative to pray for our children in Praying Circle Around Your Children.

Mark opens the book with these words:

“Make sure the heavenly Father hears about your kids daily! … You’ll never be a perfect parent, but you can be a praying parent. Prayer is your highest privilege as a parent.”

Just as The Circle Maker opened my eyes to new insights on prayer (you can read my review by clicking here), Praying Circles Around Your Children challenged me to step up into my privilege of being a prayerful Dad.

I loved the simple straightforward message in this book: Keep on praying for your kids.

  • Do you feel like you don’t know what to pray? Use the Scripture to help you find biblical promises to pray over your kids.
  • Do you feel like your prayers for your kids have been unanswered? Recommit to pray for them as long as it takes.
  • Do you feel like your prayers lack power? Find ways to pray with your kids where you keep them close, even laying your hands on them.
  • Do you feel like it’s too late to pray for your grown children or grandchildren? It’s never too late to talk to God about your (grand)kids.

This is a short book that you can easily read in one sitting, but the concepts you learn can be applied for the rest of your life.

I loved this book so much that I’m going to buy a copy for every family in my church. If you are a parent or grandparent, I cannot urge you strongly enough to pick up a copy of Praying Circles Around Your Children.

I am a Zondervan book reviewer.

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Why Do You Read The Bible?

August 20, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Do you exercise? Why? What’s the purpose of all of your exercises? To get stronger? To last longer? To get or stay healthy? Yes! But to what end? Why do you want to be stronger, have greater endurance, or better health?

I could ask the same question regarding the spiritual realm: Why would you want to do a spiritual workout? To quote more Bible verses? To have more endurance in prayer? But why do you want to know more of the Bible, or pray better or longer?

Our goal should be simply this: To know God more intimately.

We have to be careful about being so focused on the workout that we miss the purpose (or should I say the Person). Andrew Murray wrote this:

“Christian! there is a terrible danger to which you stand exposed in your inner chamber. You are in danger of substituting Prayer and Bible Study for living fellowship with God, the living interchange of giving Him your love, your heart, and your life, and receiving from Him His love, His life, and His spirit. Your needs and their expression, your desire to pray humbly and earnestly and believingly, may so occupy you, that the light of His countenance and the joy of His love cannot enter you. Your Bible Study may so interest you, and so waken pleasing religious sentiment, that—yes—the very Word of God may become a substitute for God Himself, the greatest hindrance to fellowship because it keeps the soul occupied instead of leading it to God Himself.”

Our spiritual workouts should help us integrate God’s presence into our souls. He is not just someone that we know about; He is the One we know. The One we have let into our hearts. The One who is at the very center of our being. He is the CORE of who we are.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him. Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7 AMP)

Don’t lose sight of WHY you read the Bible, and respond in prayer; of why you glorify God and enjoy Him forever; of why you go through your spiritual workouts. You do all of this because Christ is in you, and you are in Christ, and you want to strengthen this core relationship, and let everything else that you do flow out from this core!

If you have missed any of the messages in our P119 series, you can access them all by clicking here.

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Praying With Imagination

August 15, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Check out Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21. Seriously, go ahead and read it, I’ll wait for you…

Paul’s desire is for us to follow his lead and pray with greater imagination. He doesn’t want shallow, status quo, static prayers. He wants us to go into something deeper, dynamic, unexperienced!

God has glorious riches without end…

…why would we simply ask for table scraps?

The Holy Spirit has unlimited power to pour through our lives…

…why would we try to box Him in? 

Jesus has a deeper faith to come alive in us…

…why are we only dabbling in it?

God has no limit to His depth…

…why are we content with a surface experience?

The Holy Spirit can give us power to operate in a new dimension…

…why are we happy with our ordinary three dimensions?

Christ dies to bring us into an unimaginable love relationship…

…why would we keep Him at arm’s length?

God has no limit to His height…

…why don’t we raise the bar?

God can do more than we can ask or imagine…

…why is our imagination so limited?

Holy Spirit, expand my holy imagination! 

Lord, help my prayer life to be worthy of Your greatness!

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Praying For Your Healthy Friends

August 8, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

When do people typically ask you to pray for them? My guess it’s when things aren’t going so well for them.

How about you? When do you usually ask others to pray for you? When things are going well, or when you’re in a tough spot.

Why is it that we usually only think about prayer for sick friends or for friends in desperate need?

The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Christians at Ephesus to encourage them. This church, as far as we know, wasn’t asking Paul for advice, and they weren’t facing intense persecution. They were mostly a spiritually healthy group.

So Paul wrote this to his healthy friends—

I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly. (Ephesians 1:16)

Paul went on to share with us his prayer for strong, spiritually healthy people (vv. 17-22). He asked God to make his healthy friends even stronger. He asked God to give them:

  • a super-abundance of the Holy Spirit
  • more wisdom and revelation
  • deeper intimacy with God
  • greater hope
  • greater power
  • and more strength

I’m not suggesting we stop praying for people in need. We definitely need to keep doing that. But perhaps it’s time to make a list of your healthy friends, and ask God to give them even more of Himself!

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