Praying the Bible

“When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness”  (Acts 4:31).

On the cross the Lord Jesus only said out loud seven brief things. The Romans had flayed His back until it was ribboned and torn, and was seen by every eye that passed by. Severely dehydrated, His entire body weight hanging on three nails that held Him to the wood, the Lord of love had to push himself upward to be able to talk, and then only briefly before releasing and settling downward.

Understandably, then, everything Jesus spoke from the cross was important. And as He lifted himself up each time I am convinced that He prayed through the verses of Psalm 22. As He weighed back downward, wrestling on those nails, He continued to pray silently through Psalms 22. Oh! How that pangs my heart. Yet, oh, how, it rejoices my soul! His first prayer from Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The last prayer was from Psalm 31:5, “Father into thy hands I commit my spirit.”

Jesus prayed the Psalms. The final act of His earthly life was to pray the words of a psalm, the Word of the Bible. Friends, if the Lord Jesus prayed the psalms and the Bible, and the early church prayed the psalms should we not do as well? There is power in praying the Bible.

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    “The LORD is good unto those who wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him” (Lamentations 3:24).

    J.D. Grear in his book, “Jesus Continued”, said, “In an awakening, the Spirit of God does not typically do a “new” thing; he simply pours greater power upon the “normal” things faithful Christians are already doing. Prayers become more intense; worship becomes more joyous; repentance becomes more sorrowful; and the preached Word yields greater effect. The Spirit of God multiplies the effectiveness of our “normal” work of seed-planting, bringing a bountiful harvest. And he does more in a moment than we can accomplish in a lifetime.”

    This is what I dream of everyday that I awaken from my sleep. Looking, longing for this is a great desire that many have for their churches and for their land. This passion should drive each of us to our faces before a holy and righteous God. Yet the passion runs deep and the need arises paramount.

    Don’t you want to serve as a spiritual pyromaniac in igniting the heart of the church for Christ’s glory? Are you dreaming of this too? Could God do it here in Alamance County? Could you and I be used of God to help lead the way in a movement of unprecedented proportions to see the Gospel of God spread like wildfire and countless lives transformed?

  • I May Be Wrong…But I Doubt It

    “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but, after their own lists, shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3).

    In this diet, fitness-crazed world especially found in America, there are many conversations when it comes to good cholesterol, bad cholesterol, fat, fiber, calories and carbohydrates.  The wellness teams are coming up with all kinds of programs to help us lead better and healthier lifestyles.  They want us to live a long time.

    I read about two elderly ladies who died and went to heaven.  As they walked the streets of gold, one said to the other, “Just think, if we hadn’t eaten all that bran, we could have been here years ago.”  We are in a fitness craze today.  We live longer and we enjoy it less.

    I only wish that the Christian community was as into a rigorous spiritual exercise as they are with their physical exercise.  We are so focused on the temporal more than the eternal.  We worship dust when we are more concerned about our temporal bodies than the eternal body.

    Firm faith is better than firm bodies.  We have promoted buns of steel and brains of silly putty.  This is a scandal and a sin.  We have dumbed down our minds.  Although there are more Christian Bookstores today, only 10-12% of American Christians ever visit them.

    The majority of the Christian world would rather be ignorant than learn.  People no longer read, or think.  And because of that fact we have raised a generation that cannot endure sound doctrine.  There are many in our church pews today who desire not to be taught or to teach.  And when we watch the news we see the Philistine mindset which promotes untruth.

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  • Hypocritical Subterfuge

    “After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight” (Hosea 6:2).

    When we come back to God, He brings the dawning of a new day with refreshing showers. We have a God who hastens but He also heals and revives His people. Why would we delay to return to Him?

    Aren’t we like a morning cloud that promises rain and yet does not deliver? We are much like the dew in the morning, our religious duty evaporates before the sun, and we are not changed. We have burning desires that smolder and at the right time they flare and blaze forth when opportunity comes. We are like half baked goods.

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  • Our Sin and His Grace

    “My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (I John 2:1).

    If you and I walk in the light we have victory over sin. We are to be open, honest, sincere and the light of God shows us where we are and what we are. It is unfortunate today that churches and Bible classes have been invaded with insincere people.

    To walk in the light means to be honest with God, with ourselves, and with others. When we immediately sin we are to confess it to God and claim His forgiveness. And if our sin injures another person or persons, we need to ask forgiveness too.

    A congregation was singing, “For You I Am Praying” and one turned to a man and asked “For whom are you praying?” The man was stunned and answered, “Nobody, why do you ask?” The man answered and said, “Well I heard you singing ‘For You I am Praying’ and I thought you meant it.” “Oh, no, said the man. I’m just singing.”

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  • Influencers Who Refuse to be Influenced

    “You are here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage” (Matthew 5:13, The Message).

    You know that salt seasons and stings. When you go to the movie theatre and order a drink you have to get popcorn and you want it seasoned with salt and butter, lots of it. It just makes all things taste better. Then you chase it down with an extra-large Coke that you pay too much for that cost them pennies on the dollar.

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    Even if others do not want our God, our lives will cause others to feel the sting inwardly of rejecting the One who loves them. If you live for the Lord Jesus you will encounter those who do not appreciate those who live and tell the truth. It is a stinging rebuke to their godless life, and inside, they wince in pain.

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  • A Jewish Lady and a Bible

     “He that cometh from above is above all; he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaks of the earth; he that cometh from heaven is above all” (John 3:31).

    My copy of God’s Word is back with me again. It was in the Christmas year of 1981 that dad and mom bought me a Scofield reference Bible, and I received it as a Christmas gift on the twenty-fifth of December. I have had it rebound once back then, plus other minor work done to the pages over the years. But yesterday I picked up my copy of God’s Word from Susan that had my personal Bible, and once more had an overhaul and completed. She really did a remarkable job.

    My heart was burdened as I spoke with Susan face to face. I told her that I love what the Jewish people have done for the world and for what they have given to us. I spoke of Jesus who is the Messiah and what He did and is doing. I spoke with pathos as I called her attention to the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. I tenderly but hurriedly spoke of how our hearts are wicked and deceitful and how God took My hard heart and gave me a heart of flesh. It is tendered to the touch of the finger of God. It responds to Him.

    She really did not seem to be too impressed but we talked and I went as far as I could in my witness and love for Christ. She said to me that she hoped to see me again, and I said the same. I will continue to pray for Susan.

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