Seek God for the City - Day 7; He is here

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We are continuing to Seek God for the City, following this great plan laid out by Waymakers.  Our weekly focus continues to be praying through hope; revival of the church.  Under that umbrella, we are seeking God this week on behalf of the Americas and the Caribbean.  Today, we are seeking God on behalf of the military, and asking Him to reveal His glory amidst His people.

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From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’  Acts 17: 26-28

Yesterday I wandered off into Seek God's daily topic, today I'm going back into the idea, the process of seeking.  This passage from Acts is amazing.

God determined when and where you and I would live. We are brought into this world with a plan for our lives in place and a connection in place to God and His creation inborn in us!  So as we move about without Him, without His guidance, we have a gnawing inside us , a drawing to Him, though many do not identify it.  As Blaise Pascal once wrote: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person, and it can never be filled by any created thing.  It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ.”

God ingrained in us, hard-wired in us, the desire to seek Him.  And...He is not far off.  

Seek.  Find.

Seek God for the City - Day 6; Persistent and United

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Today we continue to Seek God for the City, a prayer initiative from Waymakers

Our weekly focus continues to be Praying through hope; Revival of the church.  Under that umbrella, today has, like each of the forty days will have, a specific action, a specific people group, and a specific geographic region that we are praying for.  

The specific action for  today is "to stir us to persistent, united prayer"; the people group is "sick people".  As for the region for the entire week; we are seeking Him on behalf of the Americas and the Caribbean.

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OK, today we are asking God to stir us to persistent, united prayer.

Persistent.

United. 

Good words.

But what might persistent and united prayer look like?  Volumes of books could be and have been written on these aspects of prayer.  This will not be an exhaustive study, but it might point us in the right direction.  Let's start with "persistent".  In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 the apostle Paul tells us to pray without ceasing.  I don't see Paul as having been prone to hyperbole; I think he meant just that.  But I don't think he meant for us to spend every minute/hour/day on our knees with our eyes closed.  If we  believe prayer is communication with God, and if we believe God is omnipresent, everywhere all the time, then maybe praying without ceasing, is the awareness that God is always with us, ever present, and not forgetting to include Him.  And maybe that is part of "persistent" prayer. (Plus the whole "persistent widow" aspect...)

United.  Hmmm...that brings a couple of things to mind.  Jesus taught about agreement in prayer, and there is power in that.  It is good, very good, for us to come to come together in prayer over the same things, in agreement, united, as we are with Seek God for the City.  I don't believe that we change God's mind because of numbers.  I don't think God has a big tote board, tallying up the number of people who are praying over some issue, and if we hit some certain number then He will respond.  I do think that praying in this manner changes us.  It opens our sensitivity toward places, issues, and people.  When we are open to what is going on around us, seeking God on behalf of others, it opens us to allow the Spirit to move through us.  If we are praying, many of us in agreement, how much might be accomplished by the Holy Spirit working through dozens, hundreds, and thousands...?

But another way "united" might apply is in relation to Paul's teaching about the church being the Body of Christ, each with different parts.  So "united" also means "persistent" if, as the world spins, that different parts of the Body are prayerfully interceding, east coast, midwest, west coast, hour after hour, in a huge wave as the day moves its way around the globe.  "United" also means that people are praying as they are, where they are, when they are, and who they are.  A five year old's prayer will be different that a 50 year old's, but just as effective and meaningful to God.  An inner city believer may have a perspective and pray from it that is different than the way a farmer might see and pray, but the Holy Spirit hears and responds.  On and on, different parts of the Body, praying differently, but together.  United.  

Seek God for the City - Day 5; seeking through obedience?

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Today we continue to Seek God for the City, a prayer initiative from Waymakers

Our weekly focus continues to be Praying through hope; Revival of the church.  Under that umbrella, today has, like each of the forty days will have, a specific action, a specific people group, and a specific geographic region that we are praying for.  

I greatly appreciate the prayers for pastors yesterday!

The specific action for  today is "to pour out fresh rivers of His Spirit"; the people group is "families".  As for the region for the entire week; we are seeking Him on behalf of the Americas and the Caribbean.

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Deuteronomy 4:29 says "...if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul...."

But how do we do that -- how do we seek God?  

Maybe we can put together some Scripture to help us.

In Mark 12:30 Jesus tells to love God with all our "hearts, soul, mind, and strength".

OK, so we are to both love and seek God with our hearts and souls.

1 John 5:3 tells us that to love God is to obey His commandments.

So, let's see - to love God is to obey Him; to love Him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength would be to obey Him all we can, all the time, with all we have.

If we obey Him that way, if we love Him that, maybe we will begin to see Him that way.


Maybe, just maybe, obedient love is part of seeking.


And Jesus also said, "whoever seeks will find".


Seek by loving.  Love by obeying.  Find by seeking.  By loving.  By obeying.

Seek God for the City - Day 3 & 4 - Spiritual anorexia

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My Day 3 post never got posted!  Ahhh....but prayer continues, as we continue to Seek God for the City, a prayer initiative from Waymakers

Our weekly focus continues to be Praying through hope; Revival of the church.  Under that umbrella, today has, like each of the forty days will have, a specific action, a specific people group, and a specific geographic region that we are praying for.  

The specific action for yesterday was "to rescue us from sin's power"; today's is "to purify our hearts".  

Yesterday's people group was the unemployed, today's is pastors, and I thank you!

As for the region for the entire week; we are seeking Him on behalf of the Americas and the Caribbean.

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Deuteronomy 4:29 says "...if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul...."

But how do we do that?  How do we seek God?  Why do we seek God?

Seeking God is not a geographic issue.  We don't have to go to a certain mountain, city, country, building, or room to find Him. Rather, it is a heart issue.  We need God.  We need His presence, His guidance, His peace, His love, His salvation...but we are so convinced that we don't need Him.  Oh, we might not say that, but what do we do?  

Anorexia is a horrible disorder.  Anorexics would never say that they don't need food.  Yet, they deny themselves the very thing they need to live because they are convinced they can live without it.  But without it, they become first weak, then ill, and eventually they can starve themselves to death.

And, "man does not live by bread alone, but by every words which proceeds from the mouth of God."

To not seek God is the spiritual equivalence of anorexia, and it is a horrible disorder.  Spiritual anorexics would never say that they don't need God.  Yet, they deny themselves the very thing they need to live because they are convinced they can live without it.  But without it, they become first weak, then ill, and eventually they can starve themselves to death.

Come friends...taste and see that the Lord is good, after all, ... you will find him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul...

Seek God for the City - Day 2 - Heart and soul

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We continue to Seek God for the City, a blessed prayer initiative from WayMakers .


Our weekly focus is Praying through hope; Revival of the church.  Under that umbrella, today has, like each of the forty days will have, a specific action, a specific people group, and a specific geographic region that we are praying for.  


Today, we are seeking God, specifically, to break through our pride and complacency.  We are seeking him on behalf of married people, and we are seeking Him on behalf of the Americas and the Caribbean.

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But how do we do that?  How do we seek God?  How do we do that?

Deuteronomy 4:29 says "...if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul...."


In days to come, we'll look at some specifics - but let me ask this question:  How do you look for your car keys?  Let me break that down.  If you came home on Friday afternoon, had no Friday evening or Saturday plans, and noticed your keys were't hanging from the usual hook, how would you look for them?


Now let's suppose it's Monday morning, you have a twenty minute drive to be at work by eight, it's twenty two minutes before eight, you grab your jacket, reach for the keys - and they aren't there.  Now, how do you look.


OK, I am not suggesting that we look for God frantically, or in a rush...after all, the Scriptures tell us to be still in order to know God.  But I am suggesting urgency.  I am encouraging fervency.  


Yesterday's focus people group was youth.  Today's involves married people.  


I know some great kids and bet you do too.  I know some great marriages. 


I also know that we've had a stunning rash of teenage suicides in our area.  And I know that more marriages end in divorce than not.  


How do you feel we need to seek God for youth?  For marriages?  Can it wait until next Sunday morning's worship service?  Is it OK if we leave it to the pastor?


I don't think so...I think we need to do it now.  


So, be still.  Know God.  But do it now.  Do it with urgency and fervency.  The troubled kids, the troubled spouses need help.  Won't you join me and seek God on their behalf?  After all, "... you will find him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul...."

Seek God for the City - Day 1

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Today thousands of people are beginning Seek God for the City, a forty day prayer journey from Waymakers.  


Three Stones Church, which I am blessed to be a part of is participating as are churches an ministries throughout our area.  I have asked our congregation not only to take part in this prayer initiative, but to consider it a call to arms.  Since the first of January there have been an alarming number of teen suicides in small communities in southern Delaware, seven or eight that I know of.  One only 13 years old.  Three from one high school.  Three more attempts.


"...our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms..."  
from Ephesians 6.


We want to mourn with those who mourn, indeed.  But we also want to remember the encouragement, peace, passion, strength, hope, and authority that comes to us from the Holy Spirit.


I am asking anyone who reads this to begin each day "getting dressed" with the Ephesians passage below, before you do anything else in the morning; don't enter the world undressed, unarmed, and hungry!


And please, join us as we Seek God for the City.  Get more information here: http://www.887thebridge.com/connect/40-days-of-prayer/

Week one focus: Praying toward hope for REVIVAL OF THE CHURCH
Week/ Day	Seeking God to, or for, a specific action	Seeking God on behalf of a certain segment of people	Seeking God on behalf of a geographic region
1/1	To bring lasting revival	Youth	Americas and the Carribean

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,  for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.  Ephesians 6:10-20