” It wasn’t a coincidence that Jesus walked by the tax office that day; He went there on purpose. Jesus didn’t just happen to call a random stranger to follow Him. Jesus knew all about Matthew; his failings, his flaws…and his heart.” Jesus is calling you to follow Him as well! To do the study “Jesus Calls the Outcasts” just click on the link!
“Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: “The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.” Matthew 11:3-5
I used to think that this verse was written only for those who suffered from physical blindness, deafness, sickness or death. But while I was reading afresh this passage of scripture during this Advent season, I realized that this verse applied to me as well. At times my ears have been deaf to the whisper of God’s voice because of the clamor of the world. I also have often failed to see the Presence of God because my eyes were focused on my circumstances. Moreover, due to the weight of my sin that I have labored to carry, I’ve been unable to walk with Jesus. As I considered this verse and how it applied to my life, God brought this prayer to my mind:
Dear Lord,
Please heal my blindness, that I may see You this day and the needs of others.
Please heal my deafness, that I may hear You and the cries of the lost.
Please heal my lameness, that I may walk with You and help my brother to follow you as well.
Dear Lord, please bring new life to the dead areas of my life that they may bring You glory. Amen.
Please take some time to get quiet before the Lord so you’ll be able to hear what He wants to speak into your life today. Also, ask God to open the eyes of your heart so you’ll be able to see His presence in the hardships, blessings, wants and comforts of this day. Finally, walk with Jesus this day by reading and heeding His Word and spending time in prayer. Be blessed!
Have you ever been judged by a friend or acquaintance? Worse yet, have you ever harshly judged a friend or neighbor? One woman in the Bible had been harshly judged and labeled an Outcast by her townsmen. If you can relate to this woman’s experience, Jesus wants you to know that He loves the Outcasts! To do the study, please click on the link , “A Line in the Sand.”
I grew up in a family where my grandparents emigrated from Germany. They worked hard to establish a business, lost it all in the Great Depression and started over and did it again. I was taught that hard work and independence were important traits to have—and they are.
But it’s been revolutionizing to me lately to discover that our helplessness is the very thing that God is looking for in a person. What? Well in the book A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller, chapter 6 is actually about learning how to be helpless in prayer. He says that prayer is all about bringing your helplessness to Jesus. When we finally realize that we can do nothing lasting in our own strength and power and move out of the way and let God work through our weaknesses, then things start to happen. That’s what grace is all about.
Even more amazing, the more we mature in our Christian walk, the more helpless we realize we are, and the more God works through us. Jesus says in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” And you know what? This is exactly how Jesus prayed and ministered. He did nothing apart from the power of God. “Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner,” John 5:19. So, feeling weak in a situation is actually a great thing. We turn to prayer and bring our helplessness to Jesus who sends the Holy Spirit to empower us.
Don’t see it as a hindrance, but rather see it as an opportunity for the power of God to work through your life. Has this ever happened with you? Feel free to share your comments on the blog.
Pray on!
I’m reading a good book by Henry and Norman Blackaby called Experiencing Prayer with Jesus: The Power of His Presence and Example. I came across this quote that really made me stop and think .
Prayer is not for the purpose of getting God to help us … but for getting us in line with what God is about to do. Prayer is God’s invitation to enter His throne room so He can lay His agenda over our hearts.
I haven’t ever looked at prayer in quite this way before. It really is a training and molding ground for our hearts. It’s more about God preparing us so that He can start using us by working through us. I began to think about how much of my time I spend on asking God for things versus how much time I am in prayer for the Spirit to use me. Now I still think we need to bring our requests before God, but I also see how we need to be quiet so that the Spirit can start to do the work in our lives that God wants to do.
What do you think? What does this look like for your prayer time? Does it change anything? 
Feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment and pray on!
Jane VanOsdol
Last time we looked at how Jesus was able to maintain peace in His life and found out that prayer played a big part in His serenity. What I would like to look at today is how we can do that same thing in our own lives. Some of you may be thinking that if I only knew what situation you were facing right now, that I wouldn’t be so quick to talk about being peaceful.
Let me say, I hear you! I have been through a few tragedies in my life, and I know how desperation and despair feels. But, I have also seen my Lord move into each situation and restore hope in my life where it had previously been dead. What we need to focus on is not the situation, but the only One on heaven and earth who has the power to bring life out of dead things and peace out of chaos: Jesus.
First of all, let me ask you, What situation do you need peace in right now? Let’s just start with the hardest thing and get it out in the open. Maybe you’re even afraid to mention it to your friends or family anymore because it has dragged on for so long, or maybe it’s a fresh worry. But acknowledge to yourself what it is. May I also suggest an activity for you?
I would like to suggest that you write down what it is that you need peace about in a notebook. Write down everything about it and your prayers for the situation. Ask God to give you a specific scripture(s) to pray for the situation and invite Him to begin working. Then try to rest in that. Continue to write and journal and pray about the situation and record how you see God working. It may be that over time you see a person you have been praying for changed. Or, it may be that it is YOU that God changes instead. It may be that an ill person you want healed for earth instead dies and is healed to heaven. If that is the case, continue to record how God is moving in the midst of that tragedy in your life. Over time, you will begin to see patterns of God living and working in your life.
Often times just the actual writing down can help bring us a peace, but the real peace comes from understanding this scripture: And we know that all things work together for good to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
In the times when our prayers are not answered the way we want them to be, when the sick are not healed, or when the job does not come through for example, this does not make this any less of an answer; it is just a different answer. I begin to cultivate peace in these situations when I cling to God’s promise that He will work together to bring good out of this desperate situation. Be persistent in prayer and know that you have God’s word that He will bring good. Be waiting and watchful and record the good when you see it.
It also helps to keep the big picture in mind. Encouraging to me is the meaning of the word peace from John 14:27. The Blue Letter Bible defines peace in one instance as ” the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever that is.” When we know that our big picture is taken care of, other things tend to pale in comparison.
Cultivating a life of prayer and peace is only attained through persistence. God does not minimize our earthly trials. He walks and prays us through them.
Pray on!