The Plumbline

While most of us have at least heard, some even repeated, while others have memorized the Lord's Prayer, we can always benefit from a little bit of a deeper dive into it from time to time. When the disciples were with Jesus, he actually encountered more than a few 'Pharisees' and 'Sadducees' who were the religious leaders and teachers of the day. In this accounting of one such day, Jesus instructs the disciples to NOT be like these men, but to live humble, honest, and truthfully holy lives, doing more than just putting on a good front for others to see. Then he instructs them - pray like this:  Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:9-13) Acknowledge who is in control of ...

Answer me when I call to you,   O God who declares me innocent. F ree me from my troubles.   Have mercy on me and hear my prayer. (Psalm 4:1) One of the greatest fears men have could just be thinking God doesn't hear them when they call out for God's help. The issue isn't that God doesn't hear, it could be that we don't listen! God has been listening to us all along - we might not have returned the favor! Some think prayer is simply us talking to God about what is the matter in our lives and expecting him to 'fix' it somehow. It is a shocker when God shows us there are things we could fix that would make things a whole lot better. We don't realize that prayer is a two-way conversation. We might speak to God, but he is earnestly trying to speak to us in the midst of the 'unloading' we are doing on him. It isn't that God doesn't want us to bring our cares and concerns to him. It is that when we do, it is for more than an immediate 'fix...

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (James 5:16) There is something so fearful, yet so powerful, about sharing one's hurts and hang-ups with another. We dread it, wondering what they will think if they know the 'true you', all the while just wanting someone to pray for us, lifting us before the throne of God until the thing that has a hold on us is finally and completely broken. The command is simple - listen to one another, pray for one another, be earnest in your requests, and then see God's power produce wonderful results. The action of confessing our need is often a bit more complicated - all because we complicate it in our minds and emotions! We might not realize how easily our issues could be resolved if we would just confide in another. Their experiences may not be identical to ours, but they may have worked through other issues...

And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. (I John 5:14-15) I have had a tough time asking God for his intervention on occasion, all because I wasn't too certain he would 'want' to grant my request, or that in the scheme of things, it was all that important to 'bother him' with. What a silly gal I was! Thinking God didn't care about stuff because it was 'insignificant' or a mere 'want' or 'wish'. God isn't put off by our requests - especially when he knows our heart, understands our desires, and has our best interests in mind. Does that mean we will always receive things the way we ask for them, in the timing we ask for them to occur, or in the 'proportions' we are seeking? Not always! The key is that we ask for his intervention. Then we wait for his timing and plan to be accomp...

“Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:5-10) If you keep knocking long enough. Those are telling words - words that might just reveal how much faith we have and how tenacious we can be with our faith. God's plan of prayer...

When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! (Matthew 6:7-8) As a believer in Christ, we pray. Did you stop to consider that others who do not believe in Christ actually 'pray'? They recite phrases, repeating them over and over, to whatever it is they believe will help them. Prayer is not unique to Christ followers, but it does stem from a heart changed by his grace. It is conversation with God, out of a heart that has been renewed by his touch, and with the intention of getting to share what is in your mind, emotions, and spirit.  What some fail to recognize is that sin actually puts a barrier between them and God. Once sin is confessed, the barrier is removed. When sin is confessed, the blood of Jesus wipes away the guilt and we stand 'right' with God. Does that mean we can go on si...

A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being. (James E. Faust) Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. (Colossians 4:2) I once read that one cannot truly develop a relationship with another without communication. There must be some form of communication - even in the wildlife we can observe there is a form of communication that occurs that welcomes, warns, or wins the attention and affection of others. To be a Christian and NOT pray is kind of like saying you want a relationship, but you aren't willing to see it develop. You want the 'association' without the 'communication'. Paul's instruction to us is to 'devote' ourselves to prayer. When we devote ourselves to something or someone, we are concentrating on it, appropriating time and attention to that pursuit. When ...

Since the day we heard these things about you, we have continued praying for you. This is what we pray: that God will make you completely sure of what he wants by giving you all the wisdom and spiritual understanding you need; that this will help you live in a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in every way; that your life will produce good works of every kind and that you will grow in your knowledge of God; that God will strengthen you with his own great power, so that you will be patient and not give up when troubles come. (Colossians 1:9-11) It is good to hear that someone is praying for us, isn't it? If we are struggling with even the simplest of things, we want that support behind us. We also want someone to be lifting us before the throne of God when it comes to our spiritual growth. We want to know that no matter how much the trials and temptations come against us, we have an advocate lifting us up over and over again, don't we? God listens for those pray...

The Lord hates the offerings of the wicked, but he is happy to hear the prayers of those who live right. (Proverbs 15:8) We don't have to have all the right words to reach out to God when we need help, assurance, peace, or even comfort. What we do need is a heart that is humble, a spirit that is submitted to him, and just a little bit of faith that he will hear and answer. Even if we are lacking in the last one, God can make up for the faith we lack right at that moment!  Sometimes we go to God in prayer as though it were some sort of 'transaction' between God and us. The 'here I am, what are you going to do for me now' kind of prayers are not really what God is after when we go to him in prayer. Yes, he delights in meeting our needs, but he takes much delight in us acknowledging him, giving him thanks, and allowing him to show us exactly what we need. To treat prayer as something we 'do' rather than a means by which we connect with our God is also not entir...

I love the Lord for hearing me, for listening to my prayers. Yes, he paid attention to me, so I will always call to him whenever I need help. (Psalm 116:1-2) We all experience times when we don't think our words are getting through to God - times when answers are delayed, times going from rough to horrible, and even times when we want to hear from him, but there doesn't seem to be anything coming our way. I haven't found any evidence in scripture that says God doesn't hear some of our prayers, or that he only hears certain ones. Even when the people of old were praying to him with impure hearts, he heard! It is important to understand there may be a reason for God not immediately answering. As soon as we can discover that 'reason', the better! God will not listen to our prayers when we have unconfessed sin in our lives. "I cried out to him for help, and I praised him. If I had been hiding sin in my heart , the Lord would not have listened to me." (Psal...

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. (Romans 8:26-27) Do you always know how to pray for whatever the need is that is set before you? There are times a friend will ask me to pray with them, but they aren't specific about their need. At other times, I know I 'need' something to change, be different inside me, or transpire, but I have no clear idea what that should be. When those times of prayer become 'difficult' because we 'don't know', it is time to trust the Spirit of God within us to lift our need to God's ears. Scripture says God even knows the meaning of our groans and sighs, so is it too hard to believe he would give us assistance in our prayers? Prayer is pr...

Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”... And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:1, 9-10) Teach us to pray. These are words of gold to our heavenly Father. They are words that will bring down the warriors of heaven on our behalf and send the enemy of our soul running in fear. Prayer is more about coming into connection with God has for us than it is us telling God what it is we need from him. We might think it is all about the request, but God knows in the request comes the opportunity to change things within our hearts and minds that need change. Yes, we express our concerns and bring our needs to him. Yes, we are free t...

"Never limit your prayers because you think you are sinful or undeserving. You're not praying because of who you are - you are praying because of who he is." (Missional Women  Facebook )  This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9) We cannot let the 'hugeness' of our sin, impending disaster, or difficulty stand in our way of coming to God with our need. If we waited until we were 'worthy' of his grace or goodness, we'd wait an eternity. God's grace makes a way of approach - his goodness makes provision for our biggest need - PERIOD. Be strong and courageous may seem like an odd verse to consider when thinking about approaching God with our need, but I think it fits the bill entirely. Why? God isn't after timidity - he is seeking to make us bold in his power, strong in his might, and ever certain of his presence with us. Our 'condition' mean...

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8) Jesus is telling us how important it is to pray - to take our concerns, needs, hurts, and hang-ups to him in prayer. In other words, we are to use our words to express our need. What happens if we don't know what to pray for - when the situation is there, but we have no idea what to ask him to do for us in that situation? We seek wisdom. Sometimes we don't know what is happening in our lives, but we know we need God's help in that moment. We lay out our need, both the one we recognize easily, as well as the one we have a hard time articulating. Then we listen. Prayer is about asking, seeking, and knocking (importuning). We don't always ask, so how do we expect to receive. We might not always se...

The wise in heart will receive commandments, but a prating fool will fall. (Proverbs 10:8) Those who "talk to hear themselves talk" might not actually know how foolish they can sound on occasion. They just ramble on and on as though all the world was listening. At times, they might actually have something to say, but the "world" is so tired of listening to their pointless talk that even if they have some nugget of purposeful information in there somewhere, no one is really paying close attention! This might be why scripture reminds us of the way we use our words - not in excess, not hastily, not in idle talk. When we have a tendency to just make "conversation" for the sake of "passing the time", we don't really have much to share which will really lend to the building of relationship or receiving of instruction. When I want to build relationship, I usually am very focused on learning certain things about the other individual. I may be d...

"Never limit your prayers because you think you're undeserving. You're not praying because of who you are, you're praying because of who God is." (@SHETHEROAR) You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right—you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; Then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. I’m going to do what you tell me to do; don’t ever walk off and leave me. (Psalm 119:7) I know I can be guilty of thinking I know perfectly well the course I am supposed to be walking, not even considering God may have a perfectly different and dynamic course for...

When a believing person prays, great things happen. (James 5:16b) There should be no doubt in the power of prayer - God delights in hearing from his kids, even though he may not hear from us as often as he'd desire! Great things happen in those times of conversation with him. Just in case you haven't noticed, he brings seed thoughts that we can think upon the rest of the day. There is no substitute for spending time just sharing our heart with him. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. (James 5:16a) This is the other part of this verse - something we also should not overlook as we consider spending time with God in conversation. There is power in confession - it is the beginning of our healing - emotionally, physically, spiritually, and relationally. The more we open up to him, the greater the opportunities for him to begin to bring order to our confusing life. When we are uncertain what to pray, just pray for God's wisdom. Did you for...

You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. (Matthew 5:43-45) How on earth do we let our enemies bring out the best in us? That seems like an impossibility. If we are to allow them to bring out the best in us, we need a change in how we view the potential we have 'against' our enemies. It isn't that we are setting ourselves ...

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open. (James 1:5) I used to pray a whole lot of 'open-ended' prayers. I would just ask God to move - not really all that specific in my requests. I found it didn't lead to a very deep relationship between us. Think about it - if you had a close friend and never talked about anything but the weather or the stock market trends, would your relationship grow any deeper? Not likely. You might be 'up to speed' on current issues, but never really learn what the other needs. There is something about being transparent with each other that helps us develop that depth.  This kind of depth requires an ability to put th...

“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?" (Matthew 7:7-8) I know it is sometimes pretty hard to admit our true need, but try as we might to 'skirt the truth', the first step to seeing that need met could just be our admittance of that need. There are times we go all around the issue when we talk with our Lord, trying to get it out without really having to say what it is we are looking for in our meeting with him. We seem to want our need met, but we aren't being direct about what that specific need really is. This is one reason I cringe when someone says they have an unspoken prayer request. God ...