He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

Luke 22

He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. v41-44

John Piper refers to Jesus' prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane as "The Greatest Prayer in the World".  This prayer serves as an excellent reminder that prayer works, as Jesus prayed for strength to be obedient in going to the cross. Verse 43 tells us that "[a]n angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him".  Luke's account here and the other Gospel accounts of this prayer also tell us that: (1) we should pray with passion and fervor, and that we should demonstrate our complete dependence on Him for the needs and concerns we have (Luke 22:44),  and that (2) we should be persistent in our prayer, demonstrating trust that God hears our cries and will respond (Jesus prayed three times see Matthew 26 and Mark 14).  

On a similar note on prayer: Jesus' "High Priestly Prayer" is also highly instructive in terms of how we should approach prayer.  I found this post particularly relevant as it discusses how Jesus' prayer in John 17 gives us a blueprint for prayer during the teen years - it ends with:

"When parents pray over an open Bible, the words of Scripture wrap themselves around the desires of our hearts and give us the words we don’t have. Jesus ends his prayer for his disciples by offering himself, totally set apart for the Father’s will. Perhaps this is what our teens need most: parents with a single-minded determination to follow him. We will not do so perfectly, but our own stumbling progress toward discipleship puts us on the same road as our teens — and what a joy it is to be traveling toward Christ together."

My Prayer:  Lord Jesus You are an awesome God and I need You desperately - I cannot live without You - You sustain me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of Your love and grace.  I worry and I lash out at others - please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouse to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Mark 10:14-15

But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

I once again pause my study of Zechariah and of the last four books of the OT (complete: Zephaniah, Haggai; to complete: Zechariah, Malachi) - using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book.  This week, I am preparing to lead Sunday school at my church, where our class is doing a study on prayer based on the book by A Praying Life.  This Sunday, our focus will be in Part I: Learning to Pray like a Child, chapters 7-8.  To start my preparation, I do some review, going back to chapters 1-2.

Chapter One looks at a nagging questions believers sometimes have with persistent prayer that appears unanswered, certainly not answered the way we seek it to be.  The question of course is what good does prayer do? This begins to move us in the direction of where our prayer should be - in that if we are frustrated or angry about our perceived lack of response from God, we should express this because God wants us just as we are - this is true for prayer just as it is with salvation.  When we were saved, we were saved despite our messy and sinful our lives are.  Similarly, as the book describes this as perhaps a more acute problem in the U.S. then elsewhere, we are distracted and uncomfortable with silence and halting speech.  This is OK in prayer again because God wants us where we are - we are a mess and that is OK.  Come to Him anyway!  As the book pivots to start describing what prayer is, we are encouraged to see prayer as an intimate time with friends.  We don't worry about how we talk with friends because it comes naturally.

Chapter Two picks up on this theme of prayer like time with friends and expands on this by being more present in the moment, pausing in the busyness of life to share our heart with God.  We can train ourselves to pray more by acknowledging how God works in all the moments of life - and by praising Him.  Similarly we can slow down to see the needs of others and lift them up in prayer throughout the day.  

Chapter 3 dives deeper on the details of how to pray and it starts by sharing how we are to become like a child.  Several key reasons why this is so is they are real, unfiltered, bold, persistent, and completely dependent - all attributes of how we should pray.  The author points to Mark 10:14-15. 

Lord Jesus, help me have a heart for You such that I see You as Father and I become more like a child in prayer life - real, unfiltered, bold, persistent and utterly dependent.  

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of amazing grace - saving me while an enemy and hostile to You, ignoring the messiness of my life and sin...and in fact cleansing me!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You save and cleanse me from sin.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men.

2 Thessalonians 3

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2

I continue my pause of my study of 1 Corinthians as I participate in a men's discipleship group (d-group) at my church.  This morning, on week 3-day 4, my focus is a deeper review of 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 with the assistance of DesiringGod.com's Look at the Book (Lab) "Offense and Defense in Prayer for the Word 2 Thessalonians 3:1–5, Part 1" to unpack the text. In the lab, John Piper looks at how Paul seeks prayer. The lab starts with John Piper looking back at 2 Thessalonians 3:16-17 and how Paul prays for the Thessalonians. Piper then explores how Paul pivots to seeking prayer in two ways in 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2:

• Piper notes that Paul first seeks prayer not for himself but for the Word of the Lord to "speed ahead and be honored; Piper uses a translation that describes how the Word must run, using the analogy of an athlete running a race to get a crown and to outrun all opponents (opposition to the Word); see also 1 Corinthians 9, 2 Timothy 2:9, James 4:2; Piper shares a convicting thought - that the world is different when you pray, then when it does not - we MUST pray; on this prayer Piper describes that when the word wins (over suffering/affliction/persecution) for us personally - we experience joy; see also 1 Thessalonians 1:4-6); this is described as a prayer that is positive or offense
• Paul then prays that he be delivered from wicked and evil men, specifically opposition to their efforts to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ; see also Romans 15:30-31); the reason Paul acts for this prayer for protection is that "faith is not of all" and Piper suggests that can be understood not simply as not everyone has faith (true of course) but that God appoints some with faith (election) and not others; see also 1 Thessalonians 1:4 and Acts 13:48-49 where this "appointment" or "choosing" (election) is used; Piper concludes the Lab but referring us to Acts 13:48-49 as he shares that this and here in 2 Thessalonians 3:1 are the only two places in the New Testament where the Word is described as running or spreading and being glorified/honored; the prayer for protection is described as a prayer that is negative or defense

Thank You God for this convicting message on prayer!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus - You are so good!  Thank You for this message for how You provide Yourself through Your Word and for the Holy Spirit, my brothers and sisters in Christ, etc. - all to keep me close to You.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love and blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. v7

I continue to ask in prayer that God turn me into a prayer warrior, particularly because of my role as a father and husband, but also because of my love for Christ and others and a desire to serve.  I have been asking God to help me pray for more needs, more of the time.

This morning, through Jesus' words in John and via John Piper my thoughts on prayer are somewhat redirected - not so much away from my and others' needs - but focus more on spiritual/eternal needs vs physical and earthly needs.

V7 and similar words in v16 challenged me this morning to better understand what Jesus means by telling us that essentially we will get everything we ask for in prayer.  I already knew this was not true in an earthly sense - God is not a vending machine.  Jesus places several very important conditions on when we can expect Him to delivery what we ask for, and we must understand these conditions.

John Piper helps us understand these conditions and other important aspects of prayer.

1. Prayer is fruit bearing: "If you are not devoted to fruit-bearing, you have no warrant for expecting answers to prayer. Prayer is designed for fruit-bearing."

2. Prayer is not for gratifying natural desires: "[natural desires] should always be subordinate to spiritual desires; kingdom desires; fruit-bearing desires; gospel-spreading, God-centered desires; Christ-exalting, God-glorifying desires."

3. The words of Jesus abiding in us prepare us for fruit-bearing prayer.

4. The more we are saturated by the words of Jesus, the more our prayers will be answered. 

Piper encourages us to take heed in Psalm 37:4.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God who loves me and who has grown in my heart and life - giving my a life of peace and joy - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  I worry and I have much more sin - please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

Mark 9:14-29

And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” Mark 9:28-29

I continue my study of Mark, leaning on the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for Mark.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Mark 9:14-29.  Excerpts from the second (of three) division (vv28-29):

• For the third division, the title is: "We Never Advance Beyond Our Need for Prayer."
• The commentary provides the below table that contrasts the Transfiguration with the healing of the boy in the text and suggests how it might have been instructive for the disciples to see the two events through this lens.

 

•  "Introspection is a healthy spiritual discipline when it causes us to examine our weaknesses and confront our limitations. Presumptuous self-sufficiency may be viewed as a great strength by the world, but it is deadly to our spiritual lives." 
• "The disciples failed big time. It was public, brought ridicule, cast doubt on their Master and mission, and filled them with self-doubt. So when Jesus initiated reflection and debriefing, they asked, “Why couldn’t we drive the demon out?” Their question betrays a sense of confidence in their own strengths and abilities....Failure led them to question themselves.  This is a good thing."  
• "He is not saying some demon exorcisms require prayer but others do not. He is saying that whenever we take to the spiritual battlefield, if we go in our own strength, pride, and self-sufficiency, we have lost the battle before it begins. Faith bridges the gap between divine omnipotence and human weakness, and that faith is experienced and exercised through prayer. Could this be why prayer is one of the most difficult of the spiritual disciplines?"  
• "Tim Keller observes that the prayer of the father is characterized by honesty, helplessness, hopefulness, specificity, and passion (“Mark,” 112). These character traits of believing prayer can be summed up in one word: humility. It all depends on Jesus."  
• The commentary wraps but pointing us to John 20:29 and Ephesians 6:16. 

For me prayer is definitely a weaker spiritual discipline.  For a long time, well beyond when I was saved, perhaps until 10 years ago, scripture reading was also a weaker discipline and I prayed for a stronger desire for Him and of course God gave it to me.  And I can say without a doubt that 2 Corinthians 1:20 rings true as does all scripture!  God not only gave me a desire for Him He satisfied me above all others - Matthew 5:6.  I pray this morning - similar to the father of demonic spirit filled boy healed by Jesus - that God helps me with my prayer - help me Father! 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are SO good - You save and You provide.  You are SO faithful and You hear and answer all prayers.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You bless.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus.  Help me turn from and overcome such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

 

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 18:3

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3

I continue pause my study of Zechariah and of the last four books of the OT (complete: Zephaniah, Haggai; to complete: Zechariah, Malachi) - using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book.  Today, my preparation to lead Sunday school at my church, where our class is doing a study on prayer based on the book by A Praying Life, moves along.  Picking up where I left off in chapter 3 Become Like a Little Child [In Prayer], the book refers us to Matthew 18:3. Our prayer life should be without pretense or masks, acknowledging how life is messy and how children behave - impulsively, selfishly, unable to stay focused, etc.  We are encouraged to pray exactly where we are - authentically - even in the midst of how messy and chaotic our hearts and lives may feel. Whatever you are feeling - bring that to God - be real.  In chapter 4, Learning to Talk with Your Father, the book encourages us to ask persistently like a child (are we there yet?) and to believe like a child.  We are pointed to Luke 7:1-10 where a centurion seeks out Jesus to heal his servant and says to Jesus that all He needs to do is say it will happen and it will and Jesus commends the centurion for his faith.  As adults we become more cynical about others' commitments - we need to return to child-like faith and this will animate our prayer life.  As the chapter continues, we encouraged to see how we are to avoid focusing our prayer life as an exercise of smooth and eloquent speech when scripture shares how often it is not - see Ephesians 1 and 3 and Paul's prayer there is halting and scattered.   Chapter 4 winds down by emphasizing how we must understand that we have the Holy Spirit to guide us in our prayers - see Galatians 4:6. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God that gives me the Holy Spirit and I can never be separated from Your love.  Thank You that I can always come to You in prayer.  Guide me in prayer and give me more of a heart in prayer to bring whatever is in my heart to You.  I know You will take me however messy I am.  I am undeserving of such love.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin and help them choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

You do not have, because you do not ask.

James 4

You do not have, because you do not ask. James 4:2

Based on a discussion with a good friend and brother in Christ, I sought greater clarity on core questions of prayer, including the extent to which God hears and responds to prayer.  This morning I had doubt about how God does respond to prayers given I agree with John Piper's view - expressed in his book Providence - on how God is sovereign over all details in life.  I could not reconcile how God could change course on any aspect of how He is sovereign, as I have often read about how nothing can stop God's will from coming to pass.

This post from DesiringGod.com helps resolve much of my doubt.  Key to this post are distinctions made between God's will of command and His will of decree. While we can, particularly over time as we grow in our understanding of His Word, understand God's will of command as scripture lays this out for us to understand, we can't grasp God's will of decree (certainly not in advance!). There is also often tension between these two wills - for example as the post uses do not murder as an explicit command from the Ten Commandments as an example of God's will of command.  Yet at the same time, we see how Jesus was murdered as being an example of God's will of decree.  It is not for today for me to unpack and reconcile how God's will may be in conflict in terms of what He commands and what He decrees.  The core focus for my examination today is to look at whether God responds to prayer and the extent to which perhaps God adjusts His course in the context of His will of decree. 

Piper writes the following on the question of whether prayer is pointless:

"A common response to this conclusion is that it seems to make prayer pointless, because answered prayer happens only when God has decreed that something be done. Wouldn’t the decreed event happen anyway? So why pray?

But that kind of response does not come from careful biblical thinking. Careful thinking would see that God really does things in response to prayer. “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2). God wills that events be caused by prayer. And careful biblical thinking would also see that, just as God decrees effects, he also decrees the causes of those effects. As he decrees ends, so he decrees means. As he decrees that a straying saint repent and return, so he decrees the prayers that bring him back.

Prayer is a real cause of real events in this world. God has willed it to be so. And so it is."

Piper's post also offers thoughts on how we should pray: out of humility, out of recognition that we make mistakes, and how we should pray using words "if it is Your will." 

I am encouraged to pray - and we all should be.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion - I know You hear my prayers, and I know that You respond to prayers - thank You Jesus for never leaving or forsaking me and for encouraging me to bring my prayers and burdens to You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and sposues to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.

John 15:5

O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. Psalm 131:1-2

I continue pause my study of Zechariah and of the last four books of the OT (complete: Zephaniah, Haggai; to complete: Zechariah, Malachi) - using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book.  Today, my preparation to lead Sunday school at my church, where our class is doing a study on prayer based on the book by A Praying Life, moves along.  I pick up today in chapter 7 - Crying "Abba" Continuously, and 8 - Bending Your Heart To Your Father.  Chapter 7 starts by sharing how out of utter dependence (like a child) we are driven to seek our Heavenly Father - Abba.  We often act out of anxiety and this is noted how it can drive us to prayer - and the book describes simple two or three word prayers teach me, help me, etc. Father is mentioned as a one word prayer and how it was "the first word the prodigal son (Luke 15) utters when he returned home.  It is the first word of the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), and it is the first word Jesus prays in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39-44).  It is his first word on the cross-Luke 23:34-and one of his last-Luke 23:46."  The book then emphasizes how in the chaos and anxiety of life we often can't think of the words to pray and in these moments we should be reminded that "the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words (Romans 8:26)."  As we begin to transform our prayer lives, the author shares that it transforms how we go about our daily lives and observe others.  We see them as others who are also utterly dependent on the Heavenly Father and we begin to pray for them in their needs - simple one to three word prayers.  Ultimately, we are encouraged and animated to follow Paul's example of unceasing prayer.  See text from Paul below:

    

While chapter 7 indirectly focuses on anxiety as a driver for continuous prayer, chapter 8 more directly addresses anxiety.  We are encouraged to not feel in control of everything but instead to go to the one who IS in control - of course Jesus! We are referred to Psalm 131:1-2.  As chapter 8 winds down, we are referred to Philippians 4:6-7 as a means to convert our anxiety into prayer.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father, You are an awesome God that gives me the Holy Spirit to guide me and protect me when I feel anxious - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.