Presidential Faith ... in Action

Donald and Melania Trump attended at (Washington, DC) church yesterday - the day he had called the nation to prayer.

Trump had designated yesterday as National Day of Prayer, specifically asking the country to pause to pray for the victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana. That hurricane, which hit the Gulf Coast last week, appears to be the most devastation natural disaster ever to hit the U.S. President Trump has already asked the U.S. Congress for nearly $8 billion in aid to the victims of this hurricane and the resulting flooding. The Texas Governor estimates they will need more like $125 billion to recover. But I digress.

Here's what I want to talk about today. It was front page news that our President & First Lady attended church. Looking back, it seems that neither of them have attended any regular church services since he took office. They have only attended when the church service was to inaugurate or otherwise honor Trump. This isn't a strong expression of Trump's faith.

Now, lest you think that I'm ragging on Trump, let me also mention the fact that Obama rarely attended any church services during his eight years as President. It was the same with his predecessor, George W. Bush. In fact, of all the modern Presidents of the U.S., only the Carters and the Clintons are known to have attended church services on a regular (weekly) basis.

I long to see our modern Presidents more open about their faith. Maybe Trump, with his addiction to expressing himself on Twitter, could tweet the Scripture passage that he and his wife read and meditate on together each day. (They do do that, don't they?) You know, I wouldn't mind if our President and his wife were zealous about the God they serve. I'd like to know that my President is a man under authority, that He is surrendered and submitted to Christ in every way possible.

I'd really like to see our President at least occasionally leading the nation in public prayer. To be fair, Melania Trump publicly read the Lord's prayer in a ceremony a few months ago. But again, that made front page headlines because it was so remarkable. We're not used to seeing much in the way of outward 

expressions of faith from our President or First Lady. It's something I'd like to get used to. And of course, I'd like to know that they are regularly attending corporate worship services - as God's Word commands them to. 

I've read the arguments (maybe excuses) about modern Presidents don't attend church regularly. Those range from not wanting to be disruptive to not creating a security scenario. But really don't those are valid reasons. The Scriptural command doesn't have an exception clause that lets Christ-followers off the hook if they think it might be an inconvenience to others or that it would be too much trouble for their security detail. Both of those things can be overcome. 

If the President and his family were attending the same local church regularly, the drama would die down. Jimmy Carter still teaches Sunday School, for example, and his fellow parishioners seem to be managing pretty well. Similarly, the security details could be worked out so that the church would be secure enough to ensure the President's safety. Years ago I worked in England, and had occasion to visit a couple of the Queen's castles. I recall that even the Queen of England attends local church services in well known cathedrals or chapels where security has been arranged and where chaos has been overcome.

Quite frankly, if the President and his family wanted to join my local church, I would be deeply honored to get to worship, pray, and study God's Word with them. And I know that as a pastor, if I knew the President and his family would be at my church each week, I'm confident that my staff and I could work with the Secret Service to keep it secure. Moreover, I could work with my staff and parishioners to keep the carnival atmosphere to a minimum.

The faith of our Presidents is documented. Not a single President of the United States has ever identified himself as an atheist. All have said that they believed in God, and there was an assumption that that meant they also worshiped and submitted to God. The only exceptions have been Thomas Jefferson - who eventually denied that Jesus is God, and Abraham Lincoln - who was so secular that even people who knew him well questioned his faith. (See chart below.)

What is less documented and less known, is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the lives of our Presidents. Jimmy Carter, for example, is the only President of the United States that is ever known to have taught Sunday School. (He still does!) We have few examples of Presidents praying, reading their Bibles, worshiping, or making disciples as Jesus commanded us to. (Matthew 28:19-20) 

I remember one time the pastor of our large church actually got up on the stage with the singers and worshiped in front of all of us. He is a terrible singer - bad voice and can't carry a tune. But seeing his heart surrendered to the Lord and him delighting in the worship moved me to tears. It encouraged my heart to see my leader worship our God.

So here's the thing. If I were President of the United States, I'm pretty sure that I would want to start my Presidency with a prayer service. In fact, my inauguration speech would include a call for the nation to pray with me. I would ask Americans to pray for me to have wisdom and discernment. I would ask them to pray that God would allow me to see what He sees, hear what He hears, and even think through things with the Mind of Christ. I would ask that my people pray for me to be humbled before the Lord and before my fellow Americans.

As President of the United States, I would pledge to my constituents that I would make confession a regular practice - and I would tell them the name of the individual that I would be confessing my sins to on a regular basis. (James 5:16) I would tell them the name of the spiritual adviser whom I would be giving authority to hold me accountable, to challenge me and ask me the hard questions on a regular basis. My weekly radio address (a Presidential tradition) would include prayer for our nation - my people would hear me pray. And I would implement regular time of prayer and worship with my staff, and even invite members of Congress to pray and worship with me. (We might have to move that Bible study to the National Cathedral!)

I don't believe the God of the universe can be expected to bless our nation if we as a nation are not submitted and surrendered to Him in real, tangible ways. I believe that there must be evidence that we are actively service the Lord in our everyday lives. (It's called Fruit of the Spirit.) Most of all I don't believe any of this will happen without our country's leaders setting the example. So of course I'm very glad to see that Mr. & Mrs. Trump were in church yesterday. I only hope and pray that this will become a regular thing for them!

Won't you join me now in praying that the Lord put a fierce hunger and thirst for God's Word into the hearts of our President and First Lady? Let us pray that God will draw both of them to Himself, and that a desire to seek Him first will overwhelm both of them.

Strike Me Hard ... and Often, Lord

In just a few years it seemed that I poured my heart and soul into writing this blog.  And then it was over, almost as suddenly as it had started.  It seemed as if I woke up one day and there was nothing left to say.  Is that true?  Is there nothing left in me to say?  I very much doubt it.  So from time to time, I find myself examining my own journey with the Lord - seeking to understand it.

Today I had what I'd have to call a huge revelation.  It was followed by a most surprising prayer.  Let me explain.

Background
A few years ago I was faced with a very precarious employment situation.  Unexpectedly I found myself without a job.  But the Lord was faithful and He provided for my family even better than He had before.  However, His provision was temporary in nature.  And it came to an abrupt and unexpected ending over Christmas that year.

Suddenly I was thrust back into the ranks of unemployment.  This time it didn't even come with a severance package to help cushion the blow.  I dutifully surrendered my predicament to the Lord.  With (sometimes forced) resignation, I went about the plodding effort of looking for a job.  As always, the Lord provided.  He was faithful indeed.  This time His provision was a very tentative contract role though, for about a third less than I'd been making.  Still, it was enough. 

I was in a lowly, humbling role, and I knew it could end any day.  Honestly, I felt like the Israelites must have felt when they wandered for 40 years, picking up manna from the ground each morning to eat.  They hadn't known whether they would have food the next day or not.  They just had to trust God for that.  I was in exactly the same boat!  In fact, I felt as if the Lord had me on a very short leash - just to keep me humbled.

Being in a dilemma like the Israelites were helps do something.  It helps you maintain a laser-sharp focus on the Lord and His will for you.  Every day.  Every minute.  As I read and reflect on the story of the Israelites wandering in the desert, I see clearly that (at least) one of God's purposes for having them on such a short leash was that He wanted them to develop and keep a laser-sharp focus on Him.  Would our Lord want anything less from me?

So for months, I drove to work each day, praying in earnest that God would keep me safe.  I sincerely prayed and poured my heart out to Him each day, it seemed.  Often times as I drove into the parking lot tears were streaming down my face.  I'd park the car, dry my tears, and walk into the building literally praying as I walked.

Oddly enough, I never prayed for a better job.  I didn't pray for more money.  I prayed that the Lord would give me grace to honor Him in my circumstances.  I asked Him to show me how to honor those whom I worked for.  I asked Him to help me honor Him - with my words, my thoughts, and all of my actions throughout that day.  I prayed for those who would mistreat me (because they did).  I prayed for those around me, and I asked Him to use me to bless them (and He did).  Even in my painful circumstances, I guess I had enough wisdom to know that the reason(s) I was there might not be all about me.

As I look back, I remember it being a stressful time - almost terrifying in nature.  If not for my laser-sharp focus on the Lord, I would have no doubt been terrified.  But we made it through, and my testimony for the Lord was even stronger.  He has been so very faithful, and never failed me.  Out of the blue, I received a most unlikely job offer, making more money than before.  It seemed like a dream come true, and I rejoiced in the Lord.

Stricken By the Lord

To make a long story short, I walked out of those circumstances.  My God blessed me and my family with a wonderful job that most of us could only dream about.  It pays well and provides us with more financial security than we've ever had in our entire lives.  But it's been about eighteen (18) months now since I made that transition - from desperate need to bountiful provision.  I'm ashamed to say that my walk with the Lord has suffered during that time.  I've found it sometimes hard to seek Him first each day.  I've found myself bitter, angry, and unloving at times (at least in my head and heart).  At times I've asked the Lord to help me come back to Him. 

So today He did.  Today the Lord allowed me to be blasted by the enemy.  I was, as they say, thrown under the bus by someone I would have thought I could have trusted.  I was blamed, accused, and deeply wounded.  It was very unsettling.  My own brokenness was raging.  I prayed in the moment, of course, asking the Lord to give me the words to respond.  He did and I got through the meeting.  But if ever there were a picture of the "walking wounded" it was me after that meeting.

Later in the day, I had to go to the airport.  My first instinct was to head for the bar and load up on liquor to change the way I felt.  Instead, I found a carpeted hallway where terminal golf carts are parked for recharging.  I arranged my suitcase to give some privacy and lay down on the floor among them.  As I laid there and talked to God about what happened, the tears just started to pour out of my eyes.  My hair ended up being soaked by my own tears. 

But as I laid there on the floor of the airport, praying amidst my own tears, I had a moment of clarity.  I was suddenly laser-focused on the Lord ... like I hadn't been in months!  I talked to Him about that.  As He and I examined my heart we saw that I want nothing more than to please Him.  I don't want to be or have anything.  In fact, if it would please my Lord, I would be happy to cease to be all together.  Really!

As I prayed and reflected, it occurred to me that perhaps the Lord had stricken me (or allowed me to be stricken) in order to get me focused back on Him.  If He did, I would be eternally grateful.  And so I prayed.  "Lord, if You need to strike me and wound me to get me focused on you and keep me focused on you, then please strike me hard.  Wound me deeply.  And do it often.  For there is no greater joy in my life than to run to You - even if it's in my pain and fear."

I have to confess that this was a prayer that surprised even me.  But I am pleased to say that it is definitely a prayer that I mean.  "Lord strike me.  Wound me.  Do whatever it takes to help me keep the sharpest focus on you, Father.  In Jesus' name, I pray this. Amen."

Real Faith: How It Works

Last December, a man that I'd been counseling introduced me to a former colleague of his.  He said he "knew that the two of us would like each other."  So I met this gentleman for lunch and we did indeed find much in common.  It was quite a pleasure to meet him, and I left the lunch thinking that this is someone I'd like to stay networked with from now on.

A few days after my blind date, a package arrived in the mail from my new friend.  It was a brand new book, with a note that said he felt led to send it to me.  I have to admit that I found that rather odd.  I mean, why would someone I just met go out and buy a book, much less go to the trouble of mailing it to me?  It didn't make sense.  At any rate, I put the book on the nightstand by my bed, in the pile of other things I want to read when I have time.

A few months later, I finally got to read this particular book.  It was mostly a story of George Muller's ministry and his faith.  Overall the book was a good read.  But one aspect of it was truly riveting for me.  It was the fact that throughout his entire life, George Muller never did any fund raising for his ministries or the multiple orphanages he'd set up and ran.  Mind you, Muller was a man with a big vision for ministry, a big heart, and expensive ministries to run.  So the fact that prayer was his only method for fund raising seemed quite remarkable indeed.

I can honestly say that I hadn't known George Muller's story ... at least not that particular aspect of it it.  And as I completed reading, it turned out to be the most helpful book I've ever read in terms of casting vision for my personal faith.  Let me explain about that.

This year (2012) has been our worst financial year ever.  My wife and I have large commitments to ministry, and whatever could go wrong financially did.  It seems like we've taken one (financial) blow after another --- with money just gushing from our home.  So it was rather timely that I'd read a book which shifted my paradigm with regard to funding ministry commitments.

God showed me, through the book on George Muller, that I've mostly leaned on myself for our needs.  It would be fair to say that I've treated prayer more like insurance in case my own efforts might fail. That would be - in case you're not clear - sin.  Seriously.  It smacks of pride, and lack of faith in God's provision and timing.  At the very least.

Through reading this one little book, I've got a new perspective.  It's one that I very much needed to acquire.  I'm busy now repenting of my sin, and trying to quiet the noise of my financially demanding life ... so that I can focus on God and His provision ... which has always been perfect. 

As I look back now, I see that perhaps the blind date lunch with the stranger in December was not so ironic after all.  Instead, it was pretty providential --- with the apparent anointing from God.  The Lord knew that we were fixing to walk through the stormiest financial period of our lives.  And He knew that if I tried to go through that on my own power, I'd fail and become very overwhelmed.  So in his perfect provision, God used this stranger to bring me the story that would help me find amazing peace in the midst of the (financial) storms.

The Lord's Prayer says, "Give us this day our daily bread ..."  I've come to understand that this is precisely what I can expect from God.

Lord Reign in Me

Did you ever have one of those days when you feel like you've been completely undone ... by Jesus?  I tend to think of following Christ as this orderly kind of movement.  I read my Bible every day and pray every day.  But there's something about getting older in Christ that just seems to make the circumstances that I'm in not quite so relevant to my spiritual state.  I had one of those days this past week, on Wednesday. 

I've just started reading through the New Testament, and was in Matthew 14 and beyond.  This is where Jesus learns that John the Baptist - who had baptized him - was beheaded.  In itself it's a grizzly story.  Herod had arrested John the Baptist and had him in prison.  But on Herod's birthday, his wife's daughter danced for him and it so pleased him that he offered to give her anything she wanted.  The little tart that she was, was coached by her mother and asked for John the Baptist's head on a platter!  Having no spine, Herod was unable to decline such a request - so he granted her that wish.

When Jesus found out, He was naturally very saddened by this awful news.  John's disciples went and got the headless body to bury it.  Then they went to tell Jesus what had happened.  Matthew 14:13 says that, "When Jesus heard what had happened, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place."  I can just imagine Jesus' sadness.  Most likely, He needed to grieve and pour out His broken heart to His Father in prayer.  But it was not to be. 

Matthew 14:13-14 continues, "Hearing of this (Jesus withdrawing by boat to be alone), the crowds followed Him on foot from the towns.  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick."  Did you catch that?  Jesus is going by boat to a place of quiet solitude to grieve and pray.  He needed to be alone.  But when He got there, He was again confronted with a crowd of people who wanted Him to deal with all of their pain and misery instead.  And Jesus had compassion on them.

Now if you're familiar with this story, you know that the next thing that happened is that evening approached and there was no food for the crowd.  The disciples wanted to send the crowds away so they could buy food in the villages.  But Jesus said no.  Instead He took the five loaves of bread and two fish, blessed them and fed 5,000 men, plus the women and children that accompanied them ... with 12 baskets of leftovers!

But again, Jesus needed to be alone.  The death of John the Baptist still grieved Him.  So Matthew 14:22-23 says that, "Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowd.  After He dismissed them, Jesus went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray."  Now I can just imagine what that looked like.  As I said earlier, I've no doubt that Jesus probably wept with grief and poured His heart out to God in prayer.  But again Jesus would be interrupted.

As the night wore on, Jesus was alone, but the boat with the disciples was in considerable trouble.  They were far from land and the wind had blown up some pretty choppy waves.  So Jesus went to them ... out in the middle of the water!  This is the place where another miracle is recorded ... as Jesus walked on water.  And of course it's the story where Peter gets out of the boat and walks on water too.

So here's the part that shook me this past Wednesday.  I'm reading this account and I'm picturing Jesus.  I can just imagine how I would feel if I had just heard that one of my dearest friends had been beheaded like that.  I would be consumed with grief.  So I was picturing Jesus ... trying to get away from the demanding crowds just so He could deal with His own grief.  But no matter how hard Jesus tried to take care of Himself, the crowds demanded that He take care of them instead.  And then there were those disciples He had to care for as well. 

This is who Jesus is though.  It is His character and nature.  You see, sacrificing His life on the cross for us was not the first act of sacrifice that Jesus made.  Throughout His entire life, we see stories like this, where Jesus was laying aside His own human needs to care for pitiful people like you and me.  Even as I type this blog now, my eyes are getting watery, considering how such a great man, such a great God, could love such a man as me like this.  And truly He does. 

When I think about who I was before I gave my life to Christ, I realize how far I have come.  Frankly raising someone from the dead wouldn't seem any more miraculous to me than where Jesus has brought me.  He raised me from something that seemed worse than dead.  And it's because of Jesus that I truly have hope.  But I started this blog today telling you how I was undone this past Wednesday.  It wasn't while I was reading this.

Later Wednesday morning, I had a meeting to attend and as I was driving to that meeting, I was listening to some of my favorite Christian music in the car.  And there it was, one of my favorite songs.  Lord, Reign in Me (by Benton Brown).  If you don't know it, here are the words:

Lord Reign In Me
Over all the earth You reign on high
every mountain stream, every sunset sky
But my one request, Lord my only aim
Is that You reign in me again

(chorus)
Lord reign in me, reign in Your power
Over all my dreams, in my darkest hour
You are the Lord of all I am
So won't You reign in me again?

Over every though, over every word
may my life reflect the beauty of my Lord
You mean more to me than any earthly thing
So won't You reign in me again?

(chorus)

So picture me driving down the road in heavy traffic, singing this song at the top of my lungs.  And then it happened.  The mental imagery that I'd been through that morning with Jesus in Matthew 14, combined with my love for Him and my desire to honor and glorify Him with my life.  And the tears started to well up in my eyes.  Then they started to roll down my cheeks ... just as I arrived at my meeting place.  I had to pull the car over and just sit there, singing this song from the depths of my heart.  He had done it again.  Through Jesus, and because of Jesus, I was completely undone.

If you're reading this blog, my prayer is that you too can be completely undone by none other than Jesus Himself.  I have to tell you, there's no joy on earth that even comes close to that moment when I am in Him ... and He is in me ... and we both know it. 

Over all my dreams and in my darkest hour - Lord reign in me!

Answered Results

Are you the sort of person who prayers, literally expecting God to do something about your prayer requests? I am. Now sometimes that's turned out to be food for some laughter.

I remember, for example, having a pair of high-heeled platform shoes when I was in high school. They were all the rage for teen boys back then. Anyway, mine got a tear in them right before a big dance. They were pretty new, but I was sure my parents wouldn't take me to the store to return them. They had told me what a foolish thing they were to buy in the first place!

So I prayed over these shoes before I went to school that morning and sat them on the bookshelf (where God could fix them). When I returned from school that afternoon, I was shocked to find that the shoes were not fixed. God had actually not done what I'd asked Him to! The very notion that this could happen was well beyond anything I had ever considered!

Looking back, I see that having literal expectations of God can lead us into some disappointing situations. This is especially true when we aren't praying according to our Father's heart. When we ask in His name, we must also ask in His heart. God will never give us the desires of our hearts ... unless they've been transformed and conform to His heart. (Wish I'd known that a few decades ago!)

I don't know about you, but I tend to do some journaling. The most transformational period in my life was probably also a period of intense pain. As I faced that pain, I journaled. Recently I ran across one of my journals. I had written down the prayers requests I had of God. The date was 30 July 2003. Let's see what I was praying for, and I'll give you an update on each prayer request.

1. I asked God to get my eating under control. I was obese, and knew my own gluttony was the problem. (I gained even more weight and finally, in a 12 step recovery program, decided to have surgery to fight the obesity. Today I'm not morbidly obese. My eating is no longer compulsively out of control.)

2. I asked God to make my company into a viable business with operating profits. (It went bankrupt the following year.)

3. I asked God to sufficiently capitalize another company that I served on the board of, and enable it to implement a credible business plan. (It's Christian owner became one of the most un-Christian men I know, and the business folded earlier this year.)

4. I asked God to make my marriage rich and sweet like a flower, and for my wife to truly become my best friend. (We just celebrated our 26th year of marriage and it's better than it has ever been.)

5. I asked God for my children to function in their roles, growing as God wills it. (We've adopted 8 more children, and most of our 11 kids are functioning within a reasonable tolerance of what's expected of them.)

6. I asked God for a foundation I'd started to find community support and funding to take on worthwhile endeavors to glorify Christ. (Just last week I mailed the papers to the Secretary of State to dissolve the foundation entirely.)

7. I asked God to encourage our friends and loved ones through us. (Today, we have a few more loved ones and a whole lot more friends. Most would say they experience God's love through us.)

8. I asked God for my church and its leaders to have supernatural strength and vigor to pursue and prevail in God's calling. (Most of us have left that church on bad terms now - but are planted in several new churches that are prevailing.)

9. I asked God for our government and its leaders to have patience, spiritual purity and divine wisdom in the matters of their calling. (Today our government is in a shambles and it's leaders are making decisions that nobody supports.)

10. I asked God to grow my love for Him, as He would reveal to me the areas where I must focus and lead me through the changes He wants to make in me. (Today I'm more confident in my love relationship with God than ever before. In fact, I can't believe where He's brought me. I'm an entirely different man!)

Now if you're reading my comments in italics after each prayer request, you might wonder what my conclusion is about the results of those prayers. Quite candidly, I looked over this list and immediately nodded my head, thanking God for His faithfulness in answering all of my prayers.

But as I read the specific requests and see what's happened in the last seven years, it occurs to me that the answers rarely looked like I thought they would. In fact, not a single one of the ten prayer requests has been answered in a way that I expected. In fact, if you'd told me when I prayed these things how God would answer my requests, I would have been dissatisfied. Isn't it ironic that I'm not?

God has been faithful. He has been gracious beyond measure. He has been my provider in all things. And there is a peace that envelops me as I read these seven-year old prayer requests. I see that God not only gave me His answers, but He re-aligned my questions too. He is that good.

I wonder how many of us are aware of the fact that our prayers are only human. But the ears that hear them are divine. How many of us realize that God works to change our wants and needs and then supplies them abundantly. You know, I'm grateful that I wrote these prayers down and stumbled upon them seven years later. It helps me see that my contentedness is perhaps the greatest measure of my faith. He makes me content. He satisfies my every need and my every desire.

It happens that I don't always get what I want the way I want it or when I want it. And yet I am content. Why is that? Because through all the prayer, I finally learn that Jesus is enough.

Prayer Requests

I almost didn't answer the phone when it rang. Then I looked and saw that it was her. She's been a dear friend for a few years now. Quite an extraordinary individual actually, I've been privileged to make her acquaintance.

God has apparently used me to confront her sometimes, a truth that she's actually expressed gratitude to me for. To be honest, He's used her to teach me a thing or two as well. Kindred spirits, we live hundreds of miles apart and labor on, trying to be the people that God created us to be.

A little while ago, this dear friend had discovered a rare tumor at the base of her spine - threatening her central nervous system and of course her very life. There being no doctors in her entire state who could properly diagnose or prescribe a treatment for her condition, she was referred to the famed Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/aboutthissite/aboutmayoclinic) in Minnesota. There, she'd been given sobering news, and put on a grueling (and grisly) course of treatment that in itself seemed to threaten her very life.

Recent phone calls have included some tears and some prayer. I've tried my best to encourage my friend. As we've ended those calls, I've always been consciously aware of the fact that it could have been our last conversation. I wasn't sure if she had weeks, months or years to live. But the threat on her life seemed very real.

Nevertheless, I have prayed, many times. "God, if it would please You, please deliver her from this savage cancer. I know she has much to give. If You won't take this cancer from her, would You at least give her peace with this course in her life? I ask these things of you, dear Lord. in Jesus' name. Amen."

Now when the phone rang the other day, and I saw it was her, I frankly expected more of the same. More of her sharing her misery. More of me trying to be supportive. Maybe some tears to be shed. And certainly more prayers. Quite honestly though, I was not prepared for what she said.

"The tumor is gone." She continued. "I was at the Mayo Clinic again last week. They did a PET scan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_scan). That tumor they've been treating? It's somehow disappeared. The doctor said she didn't know how to tell me this, but there is no tumor now. And there is no explanation. They are certain the tumor was there before. But now it's not."

Well, that is remarkable. The tumor is gone. Of course the doctor wants to finish the treatments of chemotherapy, etc. You'll have to finish your submission and surrender in that process. But the tumor is not there now. "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! I'm so happy for you!"

Hang on a minute though. What do they mean "there is no explanation?" Of course there's an explanation! How many people were praying for you? Did none of us really expect God to answer those prayers? Do we really expect that when we pray for terminally ill people they will still die? Didn't we say all along that you've got a powerful testimony being written here? How could our own expectations not line up with our actions (prayer)?

So there it was. The problem with prayer. Many of us pray and pray, and if we're honest, it's usually not a terribly rewarding proposition. Most often, people I've known (including myself), describe an experience where we prayed fervently, but eventually slack off. It's not that we gave up (at least that's what we tell ourselves). It's just that we began to lose sight of any point in the prayer. Worse, we often become a bit callous toward God on the issue we were praying about. He didn't meet our expectations, so He must not care. Right?

The reason many of us leave off praying and become hard towards God is because we have only a sentimental interest in prayer. It sounds right to say that we pray; we read books on prayer which tell us that prayer is beneficial, that our minds are quieted and our souls uplifted when we pray; but Isaiah (in the Old Testament) said that God is amazed at such thoughts of prayer.

Worship and intercession must go together, the one is impossible without the other. Intercession means, if we're successful at it, that we share the mind of Christ about the one for whom we pray. Too often instead of worshipping God, we just make statements as to how (we think) prayer works.

Are we worshipping or are we in dispute with God when we say or think things like, "I don't see how You are going to do it." This is a sure sign that we are not worshipping. When we lose sight of who God is and how He works, we become hard and dogmatic. We hurl our own petitions at God's throne and dictate to Him as to what we wish Him to do. We do not worship God, nor do we seek to share the mind of Christ. And of course, if we are hard towards God, we will become hard towards other people.

Make no mistake, prayer is work. Intercessory prayer (i.e., praying for the benefit of others) is especially hard work. It is also especially important work. Unfortunately, most of us go about it without the right heart. And we go about it without the right expectations. Want proof of this? Think about how surprised we are when someone calls to tell us, "The tumor has just disappeared."

Let's all get on our knees and confess that we've had pretty low expectations of God. We can confess that we haven't been believing in miracles, or the power of God to answer prayer. And we can confess that we've haven't been praying with a worshipful heart, expecting supernatural solutions to life's problems.

He is an all-powerful God. And when I pray with a grateful and worshipful heart, He loves to amaze me.

Praying for Obama

I blogged earlier this week about my fantasy of a presidential appointment to be the "Secretary of Discipleship." It's a pretty sure bet that this plan of mine won't be happening. But I will not be deterred. You see, I have a plan.

I'm going to pray. I hope you'll join me. Let's pray often and with passion for our new President. Why? Well, for starters, it's part of God's will for me (and you). "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all the men; for kings and for all that are in authority ... (1 Timothy 2:1-2) Perhaps more selfishly though, it is something that I can do - which I know will have purpose, meaning and impact. (And that's pretty rewarding!)

How should we pray for Barack Obama as our new President?

• Let's pray for his protection, health and physical safety, and ask for the same for his family.


• Let's pray for him in his roles as a father and husband - that he not be delinquent as a father or husband while he's busy being President.


• Let's pray that he would have a hunger for God and the things of God.


• Let's pray that he would seek God and seek (and find) godly counsel.


• Let's pray that he will have discernment in forming his cabinet and staff, and in all other important decisions he is called upon to make.


• Let's pray that God will give him wisdom in leading this nation and addressing the key problems and issues the way God would want them addressed.


• Let's pray that during the months ahead, and during his presidency, the United States will become a nation turning to God in repentance and obedient faith.

So will you join me in this prayer effort? If so, we can all be playing the role of "Ministers of Prayer."

Secretary of Discipleship?

President-elect Barack Obama has been busy lining up his "team." Perhaps the most newsworthy appointments have been Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton --- two people who ran against him in the Democratic primaries and said publicly that he was not as qualified to be president as they were. My how things change in such a short period of time. Rush Limbaugh was on TV today, talking to Barbara Walters about how genius Barack is to "keep his friends close and his enemies closer." I don't know if that's true. I don't know if Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton would really be enemies of Mr. Obama. They will certainly make interesting government.

But amidst all the flutter about the appointments Mr. Obama has been making, I found myself wondering how such positions evolve in the first place. Who decided there would be a Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense or other positions? When were those decisions made? How were they made? Perhaps what I'm really thinking about is how such a decision could be made today. What if, for example, Mr. Obama decided to appoint a "Secretary of Discipleship?" The purpose of this role would be to disciple our president and his top leaders. They would be the pastor or chaplain who would see to the spiritual needs of Mr. Obama.

I've blogged before about the concerns I've had with Mr. Obama's discipleship. He spent twenty years sitting in a sick church, being discipled by a misguided fool. It concerns me that he himself have a strong, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I'd like to see our president be grounded in prayer, getting discipled with Biblical truth. It would benefit our nation, I believe, if our president were making decisions based on God's eternal priorities.

Imagine if Mr. Obama were to call me and ask me about being his new "Secretary of Discipleship." Where on earth would I start? I think the first priority would be to get the Obama family into a good church fellowship near their new home. I'd set up daily meetings with the president ... to look at Scripture in light of whatever might be on his calendar that day. We'd end that session with prayer. In fact, I'd help the president "pray without ceasing." Perhaps most importantly, I'd be with the president to ensure that satan's attacks could be fought effectively. Whether he needed encouragement or accountability, I'd try to help the president reconcile his beliefs with his behaviors and his decisions.

Don't get me wrong. I don't have any fantasy that I could be so important that President-elect Obama would pay me any attention. But if he were to ask me, I'd say he's still missing one important appointment. Who's going to see to the spiritual needs in the White House? The change that Mr. Obama promised us should definitely include a spiritual realm. We Christians just can't sit outside the White House fence and send prayer chain e-mails around to each other to pray for our president. The spiritual needs and demands are just too great. It's time to put the spiritual needs of the president where they need to be addressed --- in his cabinet.