All Alone

When was the last time you spent some time alone with God? I'm not talking about your daily devotions and prayer time. I'm talking about specifically setting aside time to get alone and spending time with Him.

Without interruptions. Without distractions.

It's not as easy as you'd think. We live in a multi-tasking society. We're too busy to focus on only thing at a time. We're taught that it's a waste of time to be single-minded. How many times have you started to pray, only to realize your mind has sprinted off in a million different directions in the middle of a request? It's so hard to stay focused on our conversation with the Lord when there are so many other things going on in our lives.

Jesus Himself showed us that sometimes we need to practice the discipline of solitude in our prayer life. But you might be surprised when He felt the need to be alone. He practiced solitude after feeding the 5,000. He had just performed this huge miracle of feeding this great crowd of people with only five loaves of bread and two small fishes. And yes, I do take the Bible literally. I do believe He actually performed a miracle. What a mountaintop experience for everyone there! But then the Bible tells us that he sent the disciples away, sent the crowds away and went off to pray. Alone.

Sometimes I think great victories can make us vulnerable. We've had such a great experience that we get careless about the pitfalls that are still out there in our Christian walk. Or we get over-confident. But it's important to recharge your spiritual batteries before they are completely depleted.

He set a great example for those of us so busy caring for others as well. He took care of the immediate needs of those around Him. And then He sent them away. He knew they would need Him again. But since their immediate needs were met, He also knew that He could leave them for a while in order to take care of His own needs. Sure enough, later that night when the disciples were caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus was there for them.

So what about you? What do you do when you need alone time with God? Do you set a timer and tell the kids to leave you alone until it goes off? Do you ship the kids off to the neighbors? Maybe you get to schedule a few days to go away by yourself. (That's my dream!) And how do you maintain your focus while praying? How's your prayer life this morning?

*This post is a small part of the monthly Bible study our church ladies have been having on prayer. 

Getting Your Prayers Answered Part 2

I started sharing this message that I heard on prayer last week. For that post, click here.
In addition to having a heart for God, we also need to wait on the Lord. Psalm 40:1-5 says, I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
Sometimes we're not too patient when it comes to getting our prayers answered. We feel like this is something we need, and we need it right now. So why doesn't God give it to us right now? For one thing, God is thorough. We might get a partial answer today, but if we're willing to wait for God's timetable, He can give us something infinitely better. I remember many years ago we had a truck that we were trying to sell. We could not afford the payments and so I prayed that God would allow the truck to be sold before the next payment date. The payment date came and went, and the truck still sat in our driveway. I prayed harder. I reminded God of His promises. I asked why He would not want us to get out from under this financial burden. All the way through the ten day grace period after the due date, I prayed. But I had a little trouble believing God would come through. I came home on the tenth day to find the truck gone. Had it sold? My husband told me someone was test driving it, but they didn't seem real interested in it. I went inside and prayed again, begging God to help us. Come to find out, the potential buyer made a living as a piano tuner. My piano was horribly out of tune, but as it wasn't an absolute necessity, we didn't want to spend the money on it. The piano tuner bought the truck and my husband got him to throw in a free tuning as part of the price.
Had I gotten the answer when I wanted, we would have sold the truck, but God wanted to throw an extra blessing our way. I'm glad He didn't answer my prayer when I first prayed. Psalm 37:7 tells us to keep waiting on the Lord. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Rest in Him and don't worry. He's got it covered.
We also need to remember that "wait" and "no", while not what we want to hear, are also answers to prayer. One time when our son, Matthew, was about fifteen, some of his friends were going to have an all night x-box party. Everyone would bring their game systems and they would link them all together and play all night. I'm not much for all night stuff anyway, but this party especially did not set well with me. I wasn't sure how much supervision there would be. I didn't trust everyone that would be at the party. And as cool as the gaming sounded, I knew from experience that it would probably not keep the boys entertained all night. Which meant they would be looking for other forms of amusement. So Terry and I said no. Actually, what we said was that he could go until eleven that night, and then we would pick him up. The party was scheduled on a Wednesday night after prayer meeting, so he would have had about two hours or so to play. Even that didn't work out and Matt ended up staying home.
Within the next few days we found out that some of the boys had been outside playing around during the wee hours of the morning. This turned out to be a problem when complaints arose that several vehicles in the neighborhood had been vandalized during the night. All the boys were questioned and there was a big stink about the whole thing. I don't know that any of the boys were involved, but their testimony was damaged. So was the testimony of that family in their neighborhood. Matthew came to me later and thanked me for not letting him go to the party. Now there was no question as to whether or not he was involved, and his own reputation was fully intact. Sometimes, even when we don't realize it at the time, a "no" answer is what's best for us.
Until we get that answer, whether no or yes, we need to keep asking because He does promise to answer. Matthew 7:7-8 says Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. What a promise!
Next Thursday we'll finish this discussion on how to get your prayers answered.

Getting Your Prayers Answered

Last night at prayer meeting the pastor spoke on getting your prayers answered. It was such an encouraging and informative message that I wanted to share some of it with you.
In the first place, there are some things that will hinder your prayers from being answered. Psalm 66:18 says If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. If we are holding onto or even hiding sin in our lives, it will hinder our prayers. Did you know that even a sour marriage relationship can interfere with answer to prayer? Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. That's I Peter 3:7. Even asking for the wrong reasons can keep our prayers from getting answered, as James 4:3 tell us. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
So how do we get our prayers answered? God has plenty to say about that as well. Jeremiah 29:13 tell us And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. There are times when my kids ask for something, but I don't give it to them. It's not necessarily bad for them, but I know they don't really want it. I don't say yes simply because their heart is not totally in it.
Last year Stephanie really wanted a cell phone. She not only asked for one, but she found the one she wanted, she found a great deal on the phone, and she pointed out a list of reasons why it would be a good thing for her to have a cell phone. Then she had to convince her dad. Terry was very noncommittal about the whole thing. Stephanie chose her times wisely, but when she had a chance she would ask. And plead. If he seemed inclined to turn her down, she would stop him by suggesting that he not give an answer now, but just think about it for a while. And then she would ask if there was anything she could do for him. She made it clear her heart was in this request.
How many times do we say a perfunctory prayer over something and then never mention it again? God desires us to communicate with Him, and even though He already knows what's on our hearts He wants to hear from us. One way to get your prayers answered is to "seek Him with your whole heart". Show Him what it means to you.
Next Thursday I'll cover some other ways to get our prayers answered.