Barbara's Banter

Scientists and Christians have one particular thing in common. They choose to believe what they think is right.

Many scientists want desperately to convince Christians there is no God. They come up with theories of how the world came into existence, how life came into being, and how humans developed into the highest life form. (Yes, I know certain humans make us doubt that last point, but you know what I mean.) However, there are “holes” in each theory that cannot be explained. So they choose to disregard weaknesses in their thinking and believe what they want to believe. Personally I find it hard to believe humans evolved to the place where no two people in the billions and billions and billions – whether dead or alive – have the same finger prints, exact voice pattern, or DNA, but a scientist may have difficulty believing Jesus healed the blind and lame.

Many Christians want desperately to convince others that God does exist. They use clever arguments saying without God life has no meaning, creation demands a Creator, and science theories change but God remains the same. However, it’s hard to convince an atheist that Jesus was born to a virgin, died for our sins only to be resurrected three days later, and lives in us.

Einstein had an interesting thought about science and religion:  “Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind.”  There might be some truth there.

Both scientists and Christians require an element of incredulous belief. It was the same in Joshua’s day. People had a difficult time deciding whom to serve or whom to believe in. So they were told to make a choice. Choose whom you will serve!  (Joshua 24:15) Joshua made his choice. “As for me, I will serve the Lord.”

Here’s the deal. God doesn’t need us to believe in him. He’s not some Tinkerbell relying on us whispering, “I do believe in fairies; I do believe in fairies” to extend His life. God is God! Always was and always will be! We can choose to believe in Him or not. After all, He created us with free will.

The benefits of choosing to believe in God are many. No longer will we feel alone or abandoned. Our life outlook will improve. We will live with purpose, not just flounder around trying to justify our existence. And I think true belief in God brings inner peace so we won’t feel like we need to defend our faith, just live it.

Suggestions for practicing this choice…

1. Ask God to help our unbelief when doubts arise. (Mark 9:24)
2. Resist the temptation to debate issues in an attempt to convince others to see things our way. Most of  us don’t have the knowledge to win such a debate, although we think we do.
3. Let people believe what they want to believe and don’t put them down. We aren’t the “belief” police.
4. Rely on God to reveal Himself to others in His time. Be ready to support His process not inadvertently circumvent it.
5. Ask God to solidify our belief in Him so we can say, “As for me, I will believe in God.”

Four days into a New Year and most of us have already broken many of our resolutions. Resolutions are so easy to make and so hard to keep. Why is that? I think one reason is because we have unrealistic goals. Also, keeping a resolution usually requires us to change bad habits. Let’s face it, change is hard.

Instead of New Year’s resolutions this year I’ve decided to focus on daily choices. God in his infinite wisdom has given us freedom to make certain choices. How we use that freedom contributes to the quality of our lives.

While it’s true time and chance happens, many of our problems could be avoided if we trained ourselves to make right choices. Many of life’s problems come from poor choices we’ve made. However, some prefer to blame God for their bad choices rather than take responsibility for their own actions.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.”

Life is full of choices. All day long we make choices. Will we eat healthy or not? Will we exercise or not? Will we stay under the speed limit or not? Will we forgive or not? Will we drink too much alcohol or not? Will we gossip or not? Will we accept that Jesus loves us unconditionally or not?

Right choices bring peace of mind; bad choices bring difficulty. God does not need to zap us when we do something wrong, because wrong choices bring distress. When we make wrong choices we punish ourselves. It’s the cause and effect principle. What we sow, we reap. While it’s true God forgives sin, the effects of that sin remain.

There’s a wee small voice inside us that sometimes cautions, “I probably shouldn’t do this…” or “If I do this something bad will happen…” Here’s some advice. When that voice speaks, we have the choice to listen instead of adding, “…but I’ll do it anyway.”

Jesus says in John 10:10 that he came so we might have life more abundantly. Choosing the abundant life with Jesus Christ is not a onetime event, but a daily walk with God. If we choose to walk with the Lord, right choices become easier to make.

Paul says in Philippians 4:8-9. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me – put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you!”

Did you notice it said, “Whatever you have learned – put into practice?” We’ve heard that practice makes perfect. I’m not sure if practice always brings perfection but I do know the more we practice making good choices the easier it becomes. Good choices make us and everyone around us happier. So this year my blogs will explore our world of choices.

Each New Year is filled with infinite possibilities. Each new day is filled with choices that can help those possibilities become reality.

While we want to pray from our hearts, it’s really okay to have another person’s prayer be our prayer as well. As we face a New Year, New Years prayer from Billy Graham, written for the Saturday Evening Post in 2008, still rings true today. Sometimes others have the ability to put into words what our hearts feel. As we read it, we can lift it up to God from our heart to his.

Prayer for a New Year

Our Father and our God, as we stand at the beginning of this new year we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we face the future.

We each have our hopes and expectations for the year that is ahead of us—but You alone know what it holds for us, and only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges. So help us to humbly put our hands into Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during this coming year.

In the midst of life’s uncertainties in the days ahead, assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love.
In the midst of life’s inevitable disappointments and heartaches, help us to turn to You for the stability and comfort we will need.

In the midst of life’s temptations and the pull of our stubborn self-will, help us not to lose our way but to have the courage to do what is right in Your sight, regardless of the cost.

And in the midst of our daily preoccupations and pursuits, open our eyes to the sorrows and injustices of our hurting world, and help us to respond with compassion and sacrifice to those who are friendless and in need. May our constant prayer be that of the ancient Psalmist: “Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end” (Psalm 119:33).

We pray for our nation and its leaders during these difficult times, and for all those who are seeking to bring peace and justice to our dangerous and troubled world. We pray especially for Your protection on all those who serve in our armed forces, and we thank You for their commitment to defend our freedoms, even at the cost of their own lives. Be with their families also, and assure them of Your love and concern for them.

Bring our divided nation together, and give us a greater vision of what You would have us to be. Your Word reminds us that “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12).

As we look back over this past year we thank You for Your goodness to us—far beyond what we have deserved. May we never presume on Your past goodness or forget all Your mercies to us, but may they instead lead us to repentance, and to a new commitment to make You the foundation and center of our lives this year.

And so, our Father, we thank You for the promise and hope of this new year, and we look forward to it with expectancy and faith. This I ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, who by His death and resurrection has given us hope both for this world and the world to come.

Amen

A Christmas Prayer
A Christmas prayer I offer now
To Christ, my Lord and King.
Just like the wise men, I will bow
And all my reverence bring.
And like the shepherds, I will come
To worship and adore.
And with rejoicing in my heart
I’ll praise Him evermore.
~Lorena E. Worlein

When I need a spiritual reality check I go to 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:  “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks;for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Here are three key elements to a relationship with God: rejoicing, giving thanks, and praying. Are we rejoicing always regardless of circumstances? Are we finding something to be thankful for in the good times and bad? Are we praying without ceasing?

We have already learned that rejoicing and giving thanks can be part of our prayer life, but what does it mean to pray without ceasing? Does it mean to be constantly talking? I don’t think so. If we are continuously chattering away we don’t have time to listen to God. So there must be a deeper meaning here.

One meaning of “pray without ceasing” is to never, never, never abandon prayer. We may be discouraged, going through trials, grief stricken, heartbroken, tired, weary, and so on, but we don’t stop praying. That is not an option.

I am a big believer in spending private time with God every day – studying the Bible, meditating on scriptures, and praying. There are times when our hearts ache and we might kneel and pray in a secluded place. Perhaps we stroll in a park and pray. Perhaps we sit in a garden and think about God’s word. So no matter what’s going on in our lives, a little one-on-one time with God is going to help. Jesus told us we should always pray and not lose heart. (Luke 18:1)

However I think another aspect of “pray without ceasing” refers to God walking beside us throughout the day, like our best friend. We have access to God all day long. What a privilege! We can dialog with him day in, day out. Our daily experiences become opportunities to share our lives with him. As we totally surrender our lives to God we can look beyond circumstances and set our minds on what God would have us think about. (Colossians 3:2)

Short, little talks with God throughout the day will help us build a relationship with God and keep a spiritual perspective. For example…

When we wake up we can say, “Good morning Lord. What do we have going on today?”

We can thank him for the taste of that cup of coffee we enjoy so much because it helps us start our day.

When we hear an ambulance siren in the distance, we can say a quick prayer for where the vehicle is headed and the people who need help.

When we read a passage of scripture or our daily devotional we can ask God how we can apply it today.

On the way to work we can discuss that problem we are having with a co-worker and ask God to give us patience so we don’t say something we shouldn’t.

When we pass a car accident, we can pray for the people involved.

As we drive perhaps thoughts of certain loved ones pop into our heads and we can ask God to protect, encourage or comfort them depending on what’s currently happening in their lives.

When we are held up in a traffic jam we can ask God to help us realize there are so many worse things that could be happening to us.

When a friend calls talking about some trouble she is having with her teenager we can ask God to give us the wisdom to say something helpful.

When a difficult situation comes up at work we can ask God to help us be part of the solution, not the problem.

On the way home we can tell God how much we appreciate that beautiful sunset because we know he is the creator.

As we fall into bed at night, tired from a busy day we can tell God three things we are thankful for.

The list is endless. I’m not saying we need to be praying every waking moment, but if we took the time to only pray or dialog with God about all the things mentioned above, it would take less than a minute or two. However, the benefits are immeasurable. Letting God walk with us and be a part of our daily lives enhances our relationship with him and keeps our mind focused on spiritual things.

Here’s a poem about prayer using the acronym ASAP. It usually means “as soon as possible” but here it means “always say a prayer.” All in all, that’s some pretty good advice.

Always Say a Prayer (ASAP)
There’s work to do, deadlines to meet.
You’ve got no time to spare.
But as you hurry and scurry –
Always say a prayer (ASAP)!

In the midst of family chaos,
Quality time is rare.
Do your best; let God do the rest –
And always say a prayer (ASAP)!

It may seem like your worries
Are more than you can bear.
Slow down and take a breather –
And always say a prayer (ASAP)!

God knows how stressful life is.
He wants to ease our cares.
And He’ll respond to all your needs –
If you always say a prayer (ASAP)!

In previous blogs we have discussed that prayer is a heartfelt conversation with God and helps us build a relationship with him. The purpose of prayer is not to get what we want, but to come into oneness with the living God. Therefore prayer can have many components: praise (1 Chronicles 29:10-13), adoration (Ephesians 3:14-21), thanksgiving (Ephesians 5:20), supplication (Matthew 7:7, Philippians 4:6), confession (Proverbs 28:13, 1 John 1:9), and so on.

However, prayer doesn’t need to be a complicated process. We don’t need a fancy vocabulary or a hushed tone of voice to have a conversation with God. God never slumbers or sleeps, so we can talk to him anytime about anything. We just need to do it and do it often.

There was a long article on prayer, The Right Way to Pray, in the September 16, 2008 New York Times Magazine. Although not much was said about why people pray, I’ve always remembered Rabbi Gellman’s interview on the subject. He said, “But really, when you come right down to it, there are only four basic prayers. Gimme! Thanks! Oops! and Wow!”

I think he may have something there. “Gimme” is when you want something. “Thanks” expresses gratitude. “Oops” is for forgiveness. “Wow” is more for praise for God’s awesomeness. And, of course, many prayers can contain all of these components.

Here’s a little prayer we can all say every morning…

Here’s a little idea if we are ever at a loss for what to pray about. Just fill in these blanks to get started. I’m sure we could all come up with a lot more.

• Lord I thank you for…
• Lord I’m sorry for…
• Jesus I’m trusting you with…
• God I need help with…
• Father my friend needs help with…
• God please protect us from…
• Lord when I look at your creation I think…

Another idea is to prayerfully read Bible passages. Psalms is a good place to start. Then listen for what God is trying to teach us through His Word.

Some like to write their prayers in a prayer journal.

Some like to sit and read their Bibles in a beautiful garden to get inspired.

Some take “prayer walks” in the neighborhood, in parks, or on nature trails.

Some listen to hymns and meditate on the words.

Here’s the deal: We need to pray and pray often. So what if we need a little plan to get us started? Or determine to pray at least ten minutes a day without distractions? We need to do whatever it takes to motivate us to prayer. Although prayer is heartfelt communication with God we can’t always wait until we feel like praying. Sometimes it is as uncomplicated as just doing it, then the feeling will come.

Soon we will be pouring out hearts out to God and realizing that…

• …nothing is too small to take to God. If it’s big enough for you to worry about, then it’s big enough to pray about.
• …nothing is too big to take to God. It may seem overwhelming to us but God’s perspective is different.
• …nothing is too private to take to God. We talk to him about things we can’t talk to anyone else about.
• …nothing is too shameful to take to God. Things we seek to hide from others we can tell God.

We don’t need to complicate prayer; we just need to do it!

Prayers come in all different shapes and sizes. We can talk to God about anything. The point is to pray and pray often so we can keep a close relationship with God. Prayer helps us be attuned to God’s voice. (John 10:27) We want God to know our voices as well. (Psalm 116:1, 2) Just look what happened to this rancher… 

The Rancher’s Prayer

A rancher in Wyoming went out to fix a fence.
The wind was cold and gusty and the clouds rolled gray and dense,
As he pounded the last staples in and gathered tools to go
The temperature had fallen and the snow began to blow.

When he finally reached his pickup, he felt a heavy heart.
From the sound of that ignition, he knew it would not start.
So Jake did what most of us would do, if we had been there.
He humbly bowed his balding head and sent aloft a prayer.

As he turned the key for the last time, he softly cursed his luck.
They found him 3 days later, frozen stiff in that old truck.
So Jake went off to heaven and to him that was so sweet
Still he had quite a few questions when he met up with Saint Pete

“I’ve always heard,” Jake said to Pete, “that God will answer prayer,
But one time when I asked for help, He just plain wasn’t there.
Does God answer prayers of some, and ignore the prayers of others?
That does not seem exactly square. I know all men are brothers.”

Peter listened very patiently and then when Jake was done,
There were smiles of recognition, and he said, “So, you’re the one!
That day your truck would not start, you sent your prayer a flying.
You gave us all a real bad time, with hundreds of us a trying.

A thousand angels rushed to check the status of your file.
But you know, Jake – we had not heard from you in quite a while.
And though all prayers are answered, and God ain’t got a quota,
He did not recognize your voice, and started a truck in South Dakota.”

Does God know your voice?

Psalm 118: 1 says:  “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. For His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 100: 4, 5 says: “Be thankful to God and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endures forever.” Every day is filled with opportunities to be thankful. How much more should we focus on God’s blessings at this special time of year.

Lord, we would like to thank you for meeting our needs everyday – for food and shelter and clothing. And for the many extras you provide that we so often take for granted.

Lord, thank you for our families and friends who help make our lives complete. Thank you that even when we are miles away from our loved ones that we can be bound by the cords of your love.

And Lord, we thank you that we live in a country where we are free to worship you and to read your word.

And thank you Lord for hearing and answering our prayers. For being the one set of footprints in the sand that carry us when our burdens weigh us down.

And Father how we thank you for your son, Jesus Christ, who is the “light of the world.” When we turn to him, he floods the darkness of our souls with the light of your love.

Thank you that Jesus not only died for our sins, but that he is alive today and at your side. That he is our friend and brother and makes intercession for us.

And Lord we thank you that Jesus came into this world and made our hearts his home as our wonderful, merciful Savior – our precious Redeemer and Friend.

Thank you for all that you have given us as Christians: the Holy Spirit who is your presence in our lives, the Bible that is a light unto our path, and Christian friends who encourage and help us.

We thank you Lord that we can face tomorrow with hope because Jesus is living for us today.

O Lord, how truly rich we are because of you. We aren’t coming before you now to ask for anything but we just want to praise and worship you and thank you for ALL that you mean to us!

In Jesus name we dedicate this prayer of thanksgiving to YOU!

Amen

Many times we ask people for advice but we really do not want their input. What we really want is their stamp of approval on what we have already decided to do. Unfortunately, we can approach our spiritual life the same way. Many prayers are not seeking God’s guidance in our lives, but an attempt to talk God into giving us what we want.

First let me say that God hears and answers all prayers. (Psalm 55:17, Psalm 116:1-2, Psalm 166:1-2, 1 John 5:14-15) Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes it’s no, sometimes it’s wait a while, sometimes it’s maybe, and so on.

The purpose of prayer is not to get what we want. The purpose is to develop a relationship with God. This relationship changes our way of thinking. We no longer look at prayer as a means to change our circumstances as much as it is a way to change ourselves. That’s heavy stuff. Prayer, coupled with Bible study, helps us form a deeper relationship with God. It is an avenue for his thoughts to become our thoughts.

While it is true that God hears all prayers, if the only time we pray is when we are at the end of our rope, expecting God to immediately deliver us from our circumstances is unreasonable.

Prayer doesn’t change circumstances as much as it changes us so we can cope with our circumstances. Many of us are secretly thinking “let my will be done” when we should be praying “thy will be done.” (Matthew 6:10) God is not as concerned about granting our every request as he is that through prayer we might come to discern his mind and become ONE with him. (John 17:21, 22)

Our prayer goal should be to align our will with God’s, not the other way around. Christ realized this when he prayed for “this cup to pass from me” regarding his crucifixion. That would have been his preference. However, ultimately he wanted God’s will to be done. (Matthew 26:39)

We all go through hard times. These experiences will either make us bitter or better. We will either become cynical or nobler, small minded or understanding, selfish or giving, negative or positive, self centered or God centered. Prayer is what enables us to be sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, financially poor but rich in the fruits of God’s Holy Spirit, having very little but possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:10)

Prayer and being close to God is why Habakkuk could say even though his crops failed and his cattle died he would still rejoice in the Lord. (Habakkuk 3:17-18) It’s why Job could say even if God killed him, he would still trust in God. (Job 13:15) It’s why Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego declared they knew God could deliver them, but even if God chose not to deliver them, they still weren’t going to bow down to some golden idol. (Daniel 3:16-18)

Saying prayer changes things is not as close to the truth as prayer changes us. Prayer changes the way we look at things. We can see the spiritual depth behind physical, mental, and emotional challenges.

When we truly trust God and turn our lives over to him we surrender our will to his. We want him to guide us because we know he has our best interests at heart. Only God knows how we can best glorify him. We want God’s will to be done in our lives and the lives of those we pray for. After all, we should want what is truly best for them, not what we think is best.

There is a lot of deep meaning behind the phrase “thy will be done.” It’s not just some token phrase at the end of The Lord’s Prayer or something we say lightly before the “amen!” When we pray “thy will be done” we need to mean it.

When I worked for a chiropractor one patient knew I was a Christian so from time to time we would discuss spiritual issues. She had chronic back problems and was repeatedly lamenting that although she prayed continuously for God to heal her, he had not done so. She wondered why. Then she named off those in the Bible God had healed and a few others she knew first hand. After all, she was a Christian who prayed for others. Why had God not taken away her pain after she had consistently beseeched him to do so?

I empathized with her predicament, but gently pointed out that perhaps God did not exist to take away our pain. Healing is something God performs for his glory not our comfort. This was a totally foreign concept for her so she said, “I’ll have to think about that.”

Have you ever thought about that?

Many use James 5:14-15 to claim God will heal us physically if we follow a certain procedure.

So if we are sick and choose to do so, we can call on the elders of the church, have them anoint us with oil, and pray for us. God will hear this prayer of faith and heal us.

Wait a minute… That isn’t exactly what it says. Although we can beseech God for healing in this manner (it’s biblical to do so), it doesn’t really say God will heal us physically. There is a spiritual element here that we skip over. The word “sick” here in the Greek actually means weary. So we are not talking just about the body – it’s the body and soul. That may be why the passage goes on to say we will be saved, the Lord will raise us up, and our sins forgiven. So this passage doesn’t really say God will physically heal us immediately if we follow this formula.

We all know God can heal the sick if he chooses to do so. Many benefitted from Jesus’ healing hands. Blind men regained sight, the dumb spoke, and the lame walked. However, it was more so God could be glorified and people would know that Jesus was the son of God, not so they could be more comfortable.

Sometimes God is glorified more when we are not healed physically. We have all known people who live with chronic disease yet their spirits are high, their attitudes are great, and they have a certain peace that passes all understanding. Those examples have done much to spread the gospel and witness for Christ.

Jim Evans was such a man. He was wheel chair bound. He could not speak and barely write. Yet he always had a smile. People used to bring him ceramic frogs because he liked to collect them. He never moaned and groaned about his condition, but once he wrote the word why with a question mark on his wipe board. He wasn’t asking why God had allowed him to have these difficulties; he wanted to know why God had called him to be a Christian since he was so limited in what he could do for God. My husband told him, “You were called to glorify God.” And he did. He was an inspiration to all who knew him.

Another such woman was Karen Johnson who died recently after being bedridden for around twenty years suffering with multiple sclerosis. She was a gifted painter, talented writer, and an inspiration to be around. In spite of her situation she was a dedicated prayer warrior and thoughtful encourager to all who knew her.

Although none of us would choose to be in constant pain, bed ridden, or wheel chair bound, still we can glorify God where ever he chooses to use us. Sometimes our physical healing glorifies God; sometimes not being physically healed can glorify God.

There are some in the Bible God choose not to heal immediately. Timothy had stomach problems. (1 Timothy 5:23) Trophimus got sick and couldn’t go with Paul on one of his journeys. (2 Timothy 4:20) Paul repeatedly beseeched God to take away his “thorn in the flesh” but God chose not to do so. God told Paul that this “thorn in the flesh” kept Paul on his knees. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10, The Message) God said, “My grace is sufficient for you and my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

It really is more about God, than it is about us.

Does God heal? Yes, he does. God will heal everyone, but it will be in his time. Sometimes that healing may not happen until Christ returns. There is nothing wrong for beseeching God for healing, but we must trust him to do what is best for his glory.