Where's the power?

    Concerning prayer, A.C. Dixon said; “When we depend upon organizations, we get what organizations can do; when we depend upon education or technology we get what education can do; when we depend upon man, we get what man can do; but when we depend upon prayer, we get what God can do!”  We don’t pray just because we believe in prayer……We pray because we believe in God!

    My blog today comes from Mark 9:14-29 -

    I would like to re-tell this story so we can get a better idea as to what is going on, and perhaps gain a little insight into the real story. A child, possessed by an evil spirit, was brought to the disciples, and they could not cast it out…at which time the teachers of the law seized the moment and began to argue with the disciples. They were probably arguing over the supposed power the disciples, or their leader Jesus, did or did not have. Jesus comes on the scene - probably to the relief of the disciples - and asks what they are arguing about. But, before they can answer, the father of the child comes forward to explain the situation. Notice the words of verse 17 - “Teacher, I brought YOU my son”…(We can assume then that because Jesus wasn’t there at the time, his disciples thought they would just do it!) After all, it says in chapter 6 verse 13 that when Jesus sent them out that “they drove out many demons and healed the sick.”   

    However, the words “O unbelieving generation” in verse 19 give us a bit of a clue as to part of the reason why the disciples could not cast out this spirit; neither the people nor the teachers of the law believed the disciples could do it. I sometimes wonder if anything has changed. Even today we have an easy time believing that God can heal - and Jesus can heal - but we look with unbelief and doubt at someone who has the “gift of healing” as we call it today. “Jesus can heal… Jesus can cast out spirits…but, these disciples are just mere men…”

    The fact that Jesus asks the question; “How long has he been like this?” would seem to shed some light on the subject as well. It would seem that the longer an evil spirit is in control, the harder it is to get it to leave. It has such great power over the person that it takes great power to over-come. The same is true by the way for some habits and sins! The longer we give them control over us, the harder it is to overcome. Just ask an alcoholic, or a drug addict, or even someone who has been a smoker for many years. It requires a greater power working with them on their part, and it requires greater compassion and grace on our part.

    Then the father says; “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “If YOU CAN?” says Jesus. Again with the unbelief thing! Then the man says; “O, I do believe….but help me overcome my unbelief.” He by whom all things were created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, He whose name is Jehovah-Rophi, "The Lord that healeth thee" was standing before him, and yet his faith could reach no higher than "If you can do anything?"  And yet – catch this now, Jesus did not cast the unbelieving man away from Him. Jesus never can deny that word, "He that comes unto me, I will in no wise cast out." He sent him home a happy father with his child made whole.

    I believe these things are written for our admonition, about how unbelief appears in another… and yet how little I perceive the same dishonoring thoughts of Christ when they lurk in my own mind.  I feel as if I never could use such language to Jehovah Jesus - and yet how many times in the day do I doubt both His love and His power?  How often, when guilt is on my conscience, do I doubt whether He will be entirely willing to forgive?  How often, in an hour of temptation, do I doubt he will help me to stand? How often these words are really my words; “If you can do any-thing, have compassion on me, and help me." And yet for all our unbelief, He does not send us away empty. Faith, as a grain of mustard seed, obtains everlasting benefits. Though He had to call His disciples, "Ye of little faith", that did not hinder Him from rebuking the winds and the sea for them! In like manner though we may have “little faith", we can go to Him with such faith as we have, and He will in no wise, no way, no how, cast us out!

    Back to our story - Jesus casts out the evil spirit and the boy looks dead…but he is not…Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up. Now, here’s the disciples - scratching their heads, going  “How come we couldn’t do that?”  And, Jesus gives us another clue when he says; “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

    This can have several meanings; one suggestion is that the disciples were taking for granted all that they were able to do in Jesus name;  Another is similar in that they had forgotten where their power came from, and just assumed the spirit would come out just because they told it to! In the Book of Acts chapter 19 we read a story of some false disciples - “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them – and slapped them silly!  He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding!” You better know what you are doing before you invoke the likes of an evil spirit!

    The third suggestion as to why the disciples couldn’t do it is a lack of prayer.  All of this takes place just prior to Jesus teaching on prayer. In Luke 11:1 we read: “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray”…I would suggest that the reason the disciples could not cast out the evil spirit may be for all three reasons.

    Jesus was an amazement to his own disciples. Life with Jesus was like nothing they had ever experienced before. They were astonished at his wisdom in the face controversy and authority. They watched him walk through life as if he didn’t have a care in the world; yet his compassion showed that he cared more than anyone they had ever met. They watched him day and night, hoping to find the secret to his wisdom and the power behind his actions. They watched him while he prayed; and it seems they finally made the connection; “Lord, teach us to pray”.

    We need to see prayer as the way we come to know God and what He desires to do in and through us; before we can have an effective prayer life at all. God will do some things in spite of us…but, He longs to work with us. That’s why it says “All things are possible WITH God”… So, pray…and if you don’t feel like praying, pray until you do!

1 John 5:13-15  "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him."

    O.K. … Does prayer change things? We got through the introduction, now let’s get into the text…

        I want to give you three short answers to this question about prayer; first, the power of prayer can change circumstances; second, the power of prayer can change perspective; and finally, the power of prayer can change us.

    Prayer has the power to change circumstances. I have experienced it myself. I’m sure you all have experienced it as well. The power of prayer can change health circumstances; the sick are healed, the lame walk, miraculous healing takes place - not only physical but spiritual and emotional healing as well. How many times have you heard stories of tragedies that were avoided because someone felt as though they needed to pray!  Look at the story of Peter in prison. The circumstance was that Peter had been arrested, put into a prison cell, to face persecution; prosecution; and even death following the Passover. But, Acts chapter 12 tells us that the believers were gathered at the house of Mary - the mother of John Mark - and they were praying!  Was the circumstance changed?  Yes! Did those who were praying have any idea what was happening? No!  God was changing a circumstance in which they were unable to do anything but pray…and pray they did. This is why our prayer journey is so important. Circumstances can be changed when we pray.

Secondly, Prayer changes our perspective. 

2 Kings 6:15 - “When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked.¹⁶“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”¹⁷And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

It says; “Elisha prayed!” and God changed the perspective of Elisha’s servant.  Believe me when I say “When we pray for the people on our list, we will gain a new and different perspective of their life…their families…and their circumstances and their attitudes.  And, they may get a different perspective of the church. Take the time to find out more about them and God will help you see from a different perspective.

    Finally, prayer changes us.  I sometimes think this is the whole purpose of prayer; and it is the greatest reward of prayer.  Our faith will grow; our relationship with God will deepen; Our attitudes about other people - and especially those on our list will change; Our understanding of who our real enemy is will change; We will gain compassion and patience. Many things will happen to us, because we have committed ourselves to pray! 

    We learn to rely on God. We learn to trust in His promises. His desires become our desires and our Christ-like character begins to show through. Listen, It is not our great faith that changes things, it’s our faith in a great God that changes things. We serve a LIVING GOD who has the power to answer our prayers! And He is at work even now… to change and transform. That’s the point! We are not doing this just to get those on our list in the door; ….We are praying for God to bless them and change their lives!  “Pray when you feel like it; and when you don’t feel like it, pray until you do! 

Prayer Changes Things

    I asked the question of my church; “Does prayer really change things?” and, the answer of course, is a resounding “Yes”… We have experienced the changes that prayer can bring into a person’s life, I have experienced the results – positive and negative of prayer – and how it has changed me and my life circumstances. 

    While it is true that change is the result of prayer, the real purpose of prayer is to bring us into a closer relationship with Almighty God. Prayer would be - and is - a wonderful privilege even if nothing changed. We take our relationship with God in the wrong direction if it depends on whether or not He does what we ask of Him. In fact, and in reality, our relationship with God is based on whether or not we do what He asks of us!

    The first thing we need to know is that our prayers should always be positive. We ought to always find something positive to say about the person or the circumstance for which we are praying. And, we should always remember that God is at work in every person’s life in one way or another, and we don’t know what God might be doing in their lives. As I said last time, we can easily destroy the work of God in a person’s life with a simple negative word or attitude. That’s why we must take to heart scriptures like “Let your speech be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so you may know how to answer everyone”. (Colossians 4:1) Or, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful in building others up according to their needs”. (Ephesians 4:29) We should always be positive, especially in our prayers.

    Second, our prayers ought to be personal. When interceding for others, we can reflect on how they affect us personally; When praying for the Philippian church, Paul said; “I have you in my heart…and I long to see you” This was a personal prayer. It reflected his attitude concerning this church. Our prayers can do the same. We may reveal attitudes of love, concern, sympathy, even anger, guilt, or joy…It is good to reflect our personal feelings toward someone or something…They may bring us joy or make us mad. The circumstance may also bring us joy or make us angry. We need to be honest with God. And, by the way, if you don’t know the person or are not personally involved; perhaps you should be! Sometimes just a phone call to let them know you are praying and why…and you wonder if there is anything in particular you should be praying for…will change a life.

    That brings us to the third thing, which is to make it a purposeful prayer. Remember my example of my early attempts at prayer?…You know; “Bless Mary, bless Joe, bless Oscar…”  It was prayer, and you could say it was even “positive” prayer… But, it certainly wasn’t personal or purposeful. The point is, if we don’t know what we ought to pray, maybe it’s an opportunity to find out what to pray for. Going back to Paul’s prayer for the Philippian church, he says; “I pray that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight”… “so you may be able to discern what is best…and be filled with the fruit of righteous-ness.”… I would like someone to pray that for me, wouldn’t you?  Do you see the purposefulness in that prayer?  For the purpose of our journey, try to use these 3 things in your prayers…Positive, Personal and Purposeful, and if you don’t know what to pray for in any of the five areas of blessing, then it’s a good opportunity to find out! Is it Love? Joy? Peace? Forgiveness? Or Need? (Financial or Material)

“God Has a V.L.E.” - Matthew 13:12-23 –

“Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.

    But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

    Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

    In the scripture in Matthew we read the words: “though hearing, they do not understand”….and, of course, in the explanation of the Parable, Jesus says; “One person hears the Word and evil snatches it away” … “One hears the Word and because he has no root, he does not last”… and, one “hears the Word and worries and deceitfulness choke it out”…But, one “hears the Word and understands the Word and so is fruitful”. In the Book of Luke, chapter 8, verse 18, Jesus follows up this parable with the words; “Therefore, consider carefully how you listen.”

    Now, if you asked my wife, she would probably tell you that I am not a very good listener. …but, I have an excuse…I think that all men are born with a “mute” button in their ears! There is something in my ears - an extra nerve or something - that acts like the mute button on the T.V. remote whenever I am thinking about something. For some reason I can’t seem to think and listen at the same time. It’s not that I don’t want to listen, or that what she is saying isn’t important, it’s just that dang mute button in my ears!

    All of us tend to be poor listeners at times. A stewardess tells of a time when she was frustrated by the inattentiveness of passengers while she was giving her “welcome aboard”, safety speech. One time she changed the wording and said; “When the oxygen mask drops down in front of you, place it over your navel and sneeze!” Not a single passenger heard what she said.

    President Franklin D. Roosevelt got tired of smiling and saying all the usual greetings in White House reception lines… So, one evening he decided to find out if anyone was listening. As each person came up to shake his hand, he would flash a big smile and say; “I murdered my Grandmother today” People would automatically respond with things like: “Keep up the good work!”  or “You’re doing a great job!” Except for one foreign diplomat who responded softly “Well, she probably had it coming.”

    There are really two things I want to bring out today. One is our need to listen to God…and the other is to know that God listens to us.

    God desires to speak to us. He speaks to us in several ways; in His Word as we read and study; by the still small voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to our spirit; he may speak to us through other people; he may speak through circumstances. He speaks in ways that we can know it is God speaking - if we are listening.

    God wants to reveal His will for us; He wants to reveal Himself to us; and He wants to be actively involved in our lives. This has been true from the very beginning. God walked and talked with Adam “in the cool of the day” says Genesis 3:8… Today He calls us to be led by His Spirit. I must tell you that anything that God chooses to reveal or speak to us will always be totally consistent with His Written Word.

    The Bibles says that the Bereans didn’t just take Paul at his word, they searched the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true or consistent with God’s Word. It ought to be obvious that those like Jim Jones, and David Koresh, and the Hale Bop Comet riders perverted the truth of God’s Word that had nothing to do with the leading of the Holy Spirit… “Consider carefully how you listen.”

   In the case of the scripture, “Ears to hear” is not a function of our physical senses like hearing an audible voice with our ears; it is a function of the intellect and the heart working together. In the Gospels, when Jesus spoke, he spoke to the disciples; to the people gathered around; to the Scribes and Pharisees; to the Teachers of the Law…those who taught the scriptures…and each one heard what he was saying based on three things;

1. Their intellect, what they knew.

2. Their heart, what they were feeling. And

3. Their attitude toward God… And, we do the same today. If we listen, we will hear what we hear, based on these same three things…. “Consider carefully how you listen”.