This is the text of Pastor Jims devotional that was on the radio today: 012014 WATH Daily Devotions - Monday Good morning! This is Jim Lambert, pastor of the Canaanville and the Stewart United Methodist Churches. This week during our time together, I want to share with you about a topic that is near and dear to my heart. That topic is prayer. Many Christians will tell you that prayer is important; that prayer makes a difference; yet if you ask them how much time they actually invest in prayer, they will suddenly begin to make excuses. The reason I know this is that I have done it; I have made those excuses about why I don’t prayer more. Making excuses instead of finding the time is one of the reasons it is recorded in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that God spoke to His people and said,”…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Even back then, thousands of years ago, God had to use that two letter word about His people praying. What word do I mean… I’m talking about the word “if.” So I look at it this way. If I am going to make the time to pray, if I am going to carve out a designated spot on my daily calendar, I want to make sure I am investing my time in a way that honors God by praying the way He says to pray and I want my prayers to successfully accomplish what they are intended to do. In other words, I don’t want to waste God’s time or mine. For that reason I will pray as God says pray. The way we approach prayer is the way we approach God because prayer is a way of entering into the presence of God. Our Scripture from 2 Chronicles tells us to humble ourselves. We come to God in prayer recognizing who God is and who we are. We don’t come with excuses. No, this is a place where brutal truth is necessary because another requirement is that those who approach God turn from their wicked ways. That is what it means to repent. We turn away from sin and turn to God. Did you ever try to have a conversation with someone who had their back to you? It is about as easy as having a conversation with someone while they have their nose stuck in their phone texting. It is disrespectful, shows a lack of interest. God has a requirement, turn away from sin and turn to Him. God says through the Psalmist in Psalm 51:17 “A humble and contrite heart I will not despise.” As we go about our daily activities we can have God on our mind, but the way to honor God and know that He will hear from heaven, is to turn away from sin and turn to Him. So let’s start this week off right by getting our hearts right with God. That will clear the way to having a more effective prayer life. I’m going to pray and at the end of my prayer, when I say “Amen,” if you agree with my prayer, then you say: Amen. Amen means “so be it.” It is a sign of agreement. So let’s pray: I come to you heavenly Father, recognizing my sinful ways and asking for your forgiveness. Please reveal to me any area of my life that displeases you, so that I may turn away from my sin and turn to you completely, giving my attention to seeking your face. Please remind me as often as necessary, so that I don’t turn my back on you. Thank you for forgiving me. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen. It has been a pleasure to share with you today. If you would like to read the transcript of this message go to the Canaanville or Stewart Facebook Pages. This is Pastor Jim Lambert. May God bless you as you seek to follow Him.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 13:04:13 +0000
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