The Greater Work

"Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work."  Oswald Chambers

How many times do we work through every possible senario, every action item of our own, and then when nothing has worked, we decide that our only option now is to pray. Prayer is not a last resort; it is a first response.   Prayer not only changes things, it is our living link to God.  He longs to hear us communicate with him and promises to answer us.

"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."  James 5:16 (NIV)

"You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."  James 4:2b-3 (NASB)

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!  Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.  The Lord is near.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."  Philippians 4:4-9 (NASB)

"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men.  Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.  And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.  So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.  Pray, then, in this way:  'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'"  Matthew 6:5-13 (NASB)

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."  Colossians 4:2 (NIV)

"Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live."  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (The Message)

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;  rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,
contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality."  Romans 12:10-13 (NASB)

"There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God."  Brother Lawrence

 Dear Lord,  Let us be faithful in prayer, strong in Your Holy Spirit, thankful, watchful, asking, desiring Your will, fervent, effectual, selfless, devoted.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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What is the Motivation of your Heart?

Jesus knows our motivations. He knows the reasons for everything we do...and don't do. We cannot hide them from Him. We need to work on making our motivations the same as His. Left to our own devices, our motivations will always be selfish. We want to orchestrate things in such a way that the outcome suits us and benefits us. We are less concerned with those around us when we are in our natural, selfish state. We need to move out of that natural, selfish state and into His will. If we can move away from our will and toward His will, then we will begin to have pure motives.

"...then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men),..." 1 Kings 8:39 (NIV)

"Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?" Luke 5:22 (NIV)

"He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man." John 2:25 (NIV)

"To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue. All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD. Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:1-3 (NIV)

"Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God." 1 Corinthians 4:5 (NASB)

"When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." James 4:3 (NIV)

The Bible speaks a great deal about the motivations of the heart. I think that changing our heart motivation from ours to His will be one of the most important breakthroughs in how we walk this life of faith.

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2 (NASB)

"Create in me a clean heart, O God,and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10 (ESV)

Dear Lord, Bring our hearts into alignment with Yours to the point where our motivation is the same as Your motivation. Help us to know you better, Lord, through the power of Your word so that we may know what Your will is, Your good, and acceptable, and perfect will. And help us to commit all we do to You.