Praying without ceasing may seem like an impossible task. I have written about a 10 step nerd approach to praying without ceasing, but here is a short video that could open up hours of conversation with God. Enjoy!
You will never have all that you want in Jesus without this
Working in my ministry for the last 10 years has been mostly a one person thing. Don’t get me wrong at some point I would love to have a part time administrative assistant. I actually started researching five years ago. I have put together job descriptions. I have even had people prophecy over me the importance of this position to the ministry.
Then a few days ago I came across this website that allowed you to outsource 25 tasks to an assistant overseas for US $79 a month. I figured it was a low cost experiment and signed up for a month. After only a few days I have learned a lot. I learned things I like and don’t like that I never would have figured out in 5 years of research. Whether I use this service again or not again after the first month I am further ahead than those five years of research.
It got me thinking about how this true in our spiritual life as well. Sometimes it is easier to adjust a moving vehicle than one that is in park. Maybe this is why Jesus called his disciples to follow Him and then explained it as they went along. As Henry Blackaby said Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He didn’t give them a map. Some things can only be learned in the doing.
[tweetthis]Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He didn’t give them a map.-Henry Blackaby[/tweetthis]
There are so many applications of this to our spiritual journey. Maybe you need some mentors in your life. Rather than worry about finding the perfect mentor who is someone you could email or call today with a specific question you are struggling with right now? After a few emails, phone calls and lunch meetings you will know a little more of what you are looking for in a group of mentors (note I say group rather than just one mentor).
We want to start a Bible study plan. Start with reading a few verses every day. It is later on down the road that you can figure out if you should add Bible memorization or word studies or something else. A prayer life will grow, but it is easier to see areas to that need growth after the conversation has started. Then you can buy a book on prayer. Okay you can do that now. Has God put in your heart to start a ministry or write a book? Action is important. As I shared in a video it is important to start somewhere. The little actions make all of the difference.
As I mentioned at the top about my assistant I am still in the process of learning. I may get a month in and need to take a step back to start over. But going back at this point is still progress because I will have learned a path I don’t want to go down again. What action will you take today?
4 steps on the journey toward your miracle
The other day my nine year old daughter and I were traveling to a Wednesday night service at my home church. I don’t schedule a lot of speaking out on Wednesday’s because it allows me to be a part of a church community and be a part of something as a family. My wife was already at church because she is one of the children’s teachers so it was just my daughter and I with some time to talk.
As someone who has embraced the nerd within you may be able to guess what my daughter and I were talking about in the car. Time travel. We were discussing where we would like to travel back in time to if we could choose. Of course, we discussed the importance of having some sort of cloaking devise in order to not mess with the space time continuum.
I made the suggestion that it would have been fun to see some of the miracles of Jesus. Seeing Peter walk on water or raise someone from the dead would be pretty amazing. But from there I turned the conversation and shared about how I had heard stories in my lifetime of people who had walked on water. I shared of people being raised from the dead. The next day in the car my wife and I continued the conversation with our daughter by sharing stories of miracles that God had done in our life and ministry.
She was blown away. She was shocked as she heard the stories. It struck me that we are always one generation away from having a church that has never heard stories of miracles or experienced them for themselves. Are you looking for the miracles of Jesus in your life?
[tweetthis]We are one generation away from a church who has not experienced miracles for themselves[/tweetthis]
If we are to be a generation that experiences the miracles of Jesus today we need to set the stage for Him to work. I think of the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5 and see some things that help set the stage for a miracle. I am not going to dissect the story but just point out some aspects to start you on your journey.
- It wasn’t about what she said–
She didn’t say anything to Jesus before her miracle. We make too much about our super Christian prayer when this lady didn’t say a word. It was about her reaching out to Jesus in faith. Anyone can do that. She didn’t let her 12 year problem define who she was in the moment. I watched a video of T.D. Jakes speaking about this lady and he said, “Sometimes the problem so envelopes your life that it swallows up your identity.”
2. She was looking for a before and after moment.
What are you asking God for that could change in a moment? It is too easy to be satisfied with the normal that doesn’t push us into desperation for God. I need to move from it would be nice to have a miracle to I am really looking for a miracle. Expectation in life is important.
3. Her focus was on Jesus
Her faith wasn’t in herself but what she had heard about Jesus. When she looked to Jesus not only did she receive a miracle but He spoke words of life over her. He spoke to her as daughter. He spoke about her peace. What words of life would Jesus speak over us if we put more focus on Him?
4. She had to push through the crowd
How bad do you really want to be close to God? How much are you willing to push through? There were a lot of people in the crowd, but she got her healing. I must be willing to go after God even if it is difficult or inconvenient.
I know this doesn’t tackle all of the issues involved in miracles, but it is a place to start. Let’s pursue Jesus with the faith we have even if it is difficult and see what He will do!
