Do Not Lose Heart!

"Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart."  Luke 18:1

How often do our prayer times turn into a pity party? Have you ever experienced a prayer time turned into a heavy cloud of discouragement?  We take our care to the Lord but somewhere in that meeting time we begin to pour out complaints. The "prayer time" begins to be a lamentation of  the circumstance, the problem. The problem becomes the focus. The devil whispers lies in our ears. Yes, the devil will whisper to you in church and  in your prayer closet ! This opens the door wide open to the enemy of our souls. If we are not alert to the enemy's scheme, prayer time can become a point of entry for the devil to discourage us. When we become discouraged, we lose heart.

We are all prone to lose heart. If it were not so Jesus would not have instructed us to NOT lose heart. So how do I pray and not lose heart? The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. And what did Jesus say to this request?

Luke 11 gives us instructions about prayer. Jesus said to them in verse 2, "When you pray, say, Father, hallowed be thy name"

Matthew 6:9 records this answer to their request like this: " Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name" 

The key is to bring the issues that trouble us to God but the focus is on Our Father, who is in heaven, whose name we are to hallow. Hallow means to keep sacred, recognize that He is Almighty God. There is no one like Him. He is the All Powerful Creator and Sustainer of all life. It means to worship Him for Who He is! 

And when we begin our prayer, the only response to a Holy God is praise. David said in Psalm 34 " I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth."  

When we pray at all times, keeping it bathed in praise to the Lord, the devil can't hijack our requests and turn it into a pity party. When a believer views prayer as merely asking for things, he has completely misunderstood what biblical prayer is! 

Prayer is fellowship and conversation with the Lord. Prayer includes praise. Prayer is communication with a God who deserves all the honor and glory and praise! It means to honor and adore the Lord on earth as in heaven! Hallowed be Thy Name must be the backdrop of all that follows in that prayer! It keeps us in the right focus and mindset! 

When we pray as Jesus teaches, we guard against losing heart. We cannot lose heart as long as our focus is on Him! 

Today

 "Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts" Hebrews 4:7

I've often reflected on my past. It may be my " before I came to Jesus" days. It may be my early Christian days. It may be last week. Often , I've lamented on missed opportunities. I've beat myself up on " you should've known better" "Oh how I wish I had......" ( fill in the blank with just about anything! the possibilities are endless on this one!)

Have you ever had regrets? We all have! But the one thing that the Lord brings to mind when I have that regretful moment is the utter importance of living in the present.  Yesterday is gone. You cannot get it back. You and I cannot even get back 5 minutes ago! So today, now, we must respond to the Holy Spirit prompting us. He may be convicting us and we need to repent. We must choose to renounce a thing and move on.  It may not be that we sinned but in hindsight we could have done better. Acknowledge it, make a mental note and move on.

Driving a car, one looks at the road ahead. He does not drive while fixing his eyes on the rear view mirror! It helps to have that mirror to see what is behind the car. It's good to be reminded of how far we have come and to keep us safe from possible hazards. Its good to see that aggressive driver speeding toward the vehicle,  ready to ram into us. But to travel the entire journey with our eyes on the rearview mirror is a disaster waiting to happen. Its unnecessary, a waste of time and its dangerous! 

The same is true for our Christian walk. Today the Lord wants to walk with us and talk with us . What is He speaking into your heart today? Will you hear Him or are you busy with the noise of yesterday Will you see Him show up in your day if you're head is turned looking back?

Today. We are not promised tomorrow. We cannot get back yesterday, last week or 10 years ago. Today is the day. As the psalmist said, This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it"! 

 The Choice to Deny 

"For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly , righteously and godly in this present age," Titus 2: 11-12

Paul wrote to young Timothy, exhorting him to remember that the grace of God, that made our salvation in Christ Jesus possible, came with instructions for living.  We are instructed to deny ungodliness. It's our responsibility to leave the lifestyles that the world embraces and instead live godly. Paul is echoing the heart of the Savior! 

Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me." To follow the Lord Jesus Christ will cost us. It requires that we are willing to die to our flesh, to the world's alluring ways and follow Jesus. Selfish self interest must be laid at the foot of the cross. My will surrendered to His. We cannot follow the Lord Jesus Christ and live ungodly at the same time! 

Jesus also said, "No one after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God."( Luke 9:62).  Instead of looking back with longing at the old self, the old way of life we once lived in the world, we are to look for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of  our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.      (Titus 2: 13) Where we look will determine how we live, here and now, in this present age.  If we do not choose to deny ungodliness we certainly will not live looking for the coming of the Lord. That after all would simply be "religious talk" we speak at church on Sundays. 

This is not speaking in any way of earning salvation but living like we are saved! Living like we actually believe what the Bible says is true. The Christian is never to blend in with the world! We are called to be different!  The next verse in Titus 2:14 tells us why..... "who gave Himself for us , that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession zealous for good deeds."

Jesus paid the ultimate price to redeem us, to buy us back from the dominion of sin, in order that we might be a people for Himself. That we might walk in intimate fellowship with Him enjoying His company. He didn't give Himself for us that we might continue to live as we once did, but now with a golden ticket in hand that says,   "get out of hell free." 

This reminds me that when I engage in behavior that is worldly and ungodly I am denying My Savior and living in the flesh. He purchased me out of slavery to the world and sin yet I willingly go back. He redeemed me to purify me for His own possession.  

The Christian is not to live in denial of his sin nature, but rather in a life of denying self and the world's ways. It is a surrender of self to the glory of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Denying ungodliness is a choice.

" Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You." Psalm 119:11

God's Word buried deep within my heart is vital to a surrendered life. When I fill my mind and my heart with the Scriptures instead of  worldliness, I begin to understand more of the holiness and righteousness of God. I begin to see the application of his laws and precepts. These statutes of God are not cumbersome nor do they limit me in life. Actually it is the opposite. Obedience to God's Word sets me free to do life His way! 

Romans 8: 29 reminds me that as a believer I am predestined to be conformed.....not to the image of this world ,but  rather to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. God wants to transform His children to be more and more like Jesus. He loves us as we are yet because of such great love He won't leave us the way we are. Left to our fleshly ways we will fight against the will of God. We will expend energy and go no where. If I want to travel to the next town just a couple miles away but I get on a stationary bike, I can peddle till I pass out. I have gone no where! That is a picture of the believer trying to live the Christian life apart from God's roadmap and directions!

The more I spend time in His word, the more  I am being washed in the water of the Word (Ephesians 5:26) . As I meditate upon His Word , I renew my mind ( Romans 12:2) . Spending time with God in prayer with my Bible open reveals to me the magnitude of the holiness and righteousness of God. This is the catalyst which causes me the desire to surrender each and every area to the LORD God Almighty. 

Treat the Word of God for what it truly is. It is a treasure. Someone once said, speaking of the Bible, " This book will keep you from sin. Sin will keep you from this book".