Don't Neglect the Prayers, September 30, 2011

to respond: go to your journal page in https://docs.google.com/   Written by Neal Bowes

Friday, September 30

1 Samuel 12:23²³ As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.

Samuel was furious with the Israelites. God had always been faithful to them, freeing them from captivity in Egypt, leading them through the desert and into the Promised Land, and securing numerous victories for them on the battlefield. All along the way, the people were ungrateful. They forged a golden calf idol, complained about the food, and doubted God's faithfulness. And now, they wanted to have a human king rather than continue to rely on God as their head of state.

It was like a slap in the face for all God had done for them and Samuel was very angry. So, he let them have it, telling them how wicked and faithless they were.

But, he said, even though you have turned away from God, I will continue to pray for you, because, if I were to stop praying for you, I would be sinning.

That's a pretty powerful statement. Samuel says that if we neglect praying for people who have made us angry--if there are people who we consider unworthy of our prayers--we are in the wrong. Jesus echoed the same sentiment in Mathew 5:44: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." It's easy to allow our human emotions to taint our thoughts and actions, but we have been called to a higher standard.

List three people who you should be praying for, but aren't currently. Begin today including them in your daily prayers.

Praying Like Miss America, September 29, 2011

to respond: go to your journal page in https://docs.google.com/   Written by Neal Bowes

Wednesday, September 29



James 5:13-16¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make them well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

In the movie, Bruce Almighty, there is a scene where Bruce, played by Jim Carey, is praying to God, played by Morgan Freeman. Bruce says, "Lord, feed the hungry. And bring peace to all of mankind." Then he looks at God and asks, "How was that?" The reply is, "Great--if you want to be Miss America. Now, come on. What do you really care about?"

Sometimes when we pray, we forget that we're talking to the One who created us, the One who knows us better than we know ourselves, the One who loved us before we were even born. We tend to have generic, distant conversations with God and save our personal exchanges for friends and family members.

The Bible tells us that God wants to hear all about us. God wants to hear about our good times and bad times, our fears and needs, our joys and celebrations, our challenges, our setbacks, and our victories. God wants to hear from us like a close friend.

Meanwhile, God listens to us like a close friend, too. The Bible tells us that God hears our prayers, answers our prayers, and works to do good for us in all things.

Try to make your prayers a more personal conversation with God. And be sure to find some quiet time for prayer so you can listen for God to speak to you.

Rejoice Always? September 28, 2011

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Rejoice Always?

Philippians 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again:
Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all.
The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about
anything, but in every situation, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests
to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends
all understanding, will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give
thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for
you in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the
good of those who love him, who have been called
according to his purpose.

Do you know what “rejoice” means? It
means to be glad about or to take delight in a
situation.
Is it possible to rejoice always? Is it possible to
give thanks in all circumstances? Some
circumstances aren’t all that joyful. Some
circumstances are extremely sad or very
frustrating.
Can God use diversity or painful situations to
bring about good? What examples can you think
of? What affect can going through a bad time have
on your faith in God?
From where do we get comfort in difficult times?
Read Philippians 4:6-7 again. It tells us not to fret
or fear because through prayer, we can tap into
God’s peace—a peace that is so thorough that
words can’t even describe it.
We may not always understand what God has in
mind for a particular situation, but we do know,
from reading Romans, that God works for good for
us in all things.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 says, “Pray
continually.” Try that out. Get into the habit of
saying short one-sentence prayers throughout the
day: “Dear God, what a beautiful day!” “Help me,
Lord, to make a wise decision.” “Give me patience,
oh God.” “Thank you for being near me.”
Pray continually and begin to experience the
peace of God.

The Fine Pearl, September 27, 2011

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Matthew 13:45-46
⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pear4ls. ⁴⁶ When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”


This parable is the companion to yesterdays, about the man who bought a field because there was a hidden treasure in it. Today, we read about a man who sold everything he had to buy a valuable pearl. He knows that the rare pearl will only increase in value. He is willing to forego all his riches for now to invest in something that will pay off big later in life.

Jesus is telling us here, like he does so many other places in the Gospel, that the treasures in Heaven are going to be so much greater than the treasures on Earth. Moreover, he says that we are to give our all in pursuit of Heaven’s treasures. That could mean sacrificing some things that we’re really fond of.

What are some things Jesus might want us to sacrifice?

Jesus might want us to sacrifice our pride. Pride keeps us from saying, “I’m sorry.” Pride prevents us from offering forgiveness. Pride hinders us when it comes to serving others.

Jesus might want us to sacrifice our popularity. Often, our pursuit of popularity has us doing things that go against Jesus’ teachings and run counter to God’s will.

Jesus might want us to sacrifice our free time. In the time that we spend on Facebook or playing video games, we could be reading some Scripture or praying, working on our relationships with Jesus. We could be serving somebody else.

What might Jesus be asking you to sacrifice today?

How do you Praise God? September 26, 2011

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Psalm 150 

¹ Praise the LORD.

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.

² Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

⁴ praise him with tambourine and dancing,

praise him with the strings and pipe,

⁵ praise him with the clash of cymbals,

praise him with resounding cymbals.

⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD.

These are the last verses in the Book of Psalms, and what a way to end the collection! It’s an all-out call for a full-blown celebration of God.

With all God does for us—providing for our needs, giving us comfort, blessing us with friends and family, guiding us, protecting us, having created us in the first place—God is most worthy of our high-energy praise and adoration. Yet, sadly, it’s often a chore for us just to spend a few moments with God each day.

It isn’t that we don’t know how to praise. We fanatically follow athletes and sports teams, memorizing stats, wearing team logos, and faithfully watching, and even attending the games. We rush to download the latest music from our favorite singers, memorize the lyrics, buy concert tickets, and scream and shout as they perform.

And there’s nothing wrong with that—unless our expression of adoration for God is lackluster, or even nonexistent. You know, the Bible says that God gets jealous—and rightly so. There is nobody who deserves our praise more than God.

For what do you have to praise God?

Make a list and add to it as more things become apparent. Make sure that during your prayer time you are praising God. In fact, it’s perfectly OK to pause several times throughout the day and whisper of short prayer of, “It’s so cool, God, how you…” Read Psalm 150 regularly to help get you into the mindset of always offering praise to our awesome God.

Written by Neal Bowes

Goofed Up Bad/September 18, 2011

Goofed Up Bad Written by Neal Bowes

Tuesday, September 13


John 21:15-17¹⁵When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
¹⁶Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
¹⁷The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.”


Peter had goofed up bad. On the night that Jesus was arrested and hauled off to be beaten and crucified, Peter had denied even knowing Jesus--three times!

But as we read in today’s passage, Jesus was willing to let Peter start over, giving him a second chance, a new beginning. Jesus is all about the new beginning.

When we recognize that we have done wrong, ask for forgiveness, and change our ways, Jesus is always willing to give us a fresh start.

At the same time, he expects us to be just as forgiving to others. When somebody seeks our forgiveness, Jesus wants us to be just as merciful to them as he was to Peter.


Are you carrying a grudge or harboring bad feelings against somebody? Take some time, now, to pray for that person. Ask God to soften your heart and give you the compassion to forgive that person. Not only will you be doing what Jesus wants you to do, you’ll feel better about the situation, too.

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