Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: pray

In The Secret Place

Encouragement, Trust

In The Secret Place

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:6‬ ‭

 

When You Pray…

Do you have a quiet place to go into and pray?  If not, you should find a place that is your quiet place that you can get away and pray.  A place that is away from distractions and free from interference.  Everyone needs their special place where they can speak with God in prayer.

While Jesus preaches the famous “Sermon On The Mount”, He addresses the subject of prayer.  The idea behind finding a place to pray is so that you can keep your eyes on God and not anyone else.  Your place should be somewhere you can go and no one knows you’re praying.  Prayer time with God is not to impress anyone with big words or with impressive speech, but to impress God with a heart that is seeking His will and way.  Jesus goes on to say that we should not use vain repetitions.  If you are saved God hears your prayers.  There is no need to use key words that have more power or impressiveness.  Prayer is not the source of getting from God it is the act of becoming one with God.  When our prayers align with the will of God then we have answered prayers.  The Holy Spirit will teach us and instruct what to pray when we are controlled by Him.

When we pray we need to act like Jesus is in the room with us and we are speaking directly to Him.  Say what is on your mind and what is on your heart and communicate the things you want to say to Him.  This is when we can have the right fellowship with Him.

Prayer

Lord, I love you and seek you in all things.  Help me to stay in constant prayer and meditation with Your Word.

Watch And Pray

Encouragement, Trust

Watch And Pray

“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Matthew 26:41

 

The Spirit vs. The Flesh

Jesus warned Peter, James, and John to watch and pray as He went into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray to the Father.  He had just celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples and was about to be betrayed by Judas.  The guards were seeking to arrest Him and He knew He only had a couple of hours to prepare Himself for the worst suffering and torture known to man. Three times Jesus went away to pray and three times He returned and found the three men slumbering.

Jesus tried warning the three disciples but they let their guard down.  Little did they know that they were about to be tested and tempted more than ever before.  They didn’t think all of this would happen on that night because it was a time of Jewish celebration.  In verse 33 Peter exhaust himself and exclaimed that he would never deny Him even if he were to die.  Three times Peter denied Jesus before the rooster crowed.

We all fall into similar slumbering.  We think all is well and life couldn’t be any better.  That is when Satan prowls like a lion to devour.  We must never let our guard down.  We must always be alert to the temptations of sin.  Jesus said the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.  We all have high regards to what we strive to do for Christ but in the end we each fall into the same category as Peter.  Good intentions are not good enough.

We can all relate to Paul and his dilemma in Romans 7:15-20.  He sums it up in verse 19, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

Prayer

Pray for the Lord to help you to stay alert keep you from the temptation of sin.

A Good Conscience

Encouragement, Faith

A Good Conscience

Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”
Acts 23:1

A Clean Slate

If you remember the life of Saul before the Lord changed his name to Paul, you will remember how he was persecuting the church and killing Christians.  He was not considered a good person in our perspective.  But here in this verse Paul says to the Sanhedrin council, “I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”  How could he say such a profound statement?

Paul knew his past was not good.  But he also knew that he had received God’s forgiveness and grace.   Even though he had previously acted out violent persecutions against Christians, he was a new person in Christ.  He always used his testimony to show people how Jesus changed his life.  So Paul could honestly stand before the council and declare that he had a good and clear conscience before God.  His slate was clean and he was cleared from all unrighteousness.

That is a great way to live.  We should all seek to live before God with a good conscience.  The only way you can effectively do so is to confess your sins and turn from all evil.  A problem occurs when we confess our sin but keep doing the same sinful things.  We are to confess, repent, and turn away from repeating the same sins.  The only way to receive a good conscience before God is to be clean and free from sin.  Paul was able to let the past stay in the past and live in the present for the Lord.  Is there any sin in your life that is troubling your soul and keeping you from having peace with God? Confess and repent today.

Prayer

Pray and ask God to reveal any unconfessed sin and repent from it today.