praying effectively: Do Not Gloat Over Misfortune (Ob.1)

(Obadiah 1:1-21)  The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom—

We have heard a report from the Lord, and an envoy has been sent among the nations saying, “Arise and let us go against her for battle”—
2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you are greatly despised.
3 “The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in the loftiness of your dwelling place, who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to earth?’
4 “Though you build high like the eagle, though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.
5 “If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—O how you will be ruined!—Would they not steal only until they had enough? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings?
6 “O how Esau will be ransacked, and his hidden treasures searched out!
7 “All the men allied with you will send you forth to the border, and the men at peace with you will deceive you and overpower you. They who eat your bread will set an ambush for you. (There is no understanding in him.)
8 “Will I not on that day,” declares the Lord, “Destroy wise men from Edom and understanding from the mountain of Esau?
9 “Then your mighty men will be dismayed, O Teman, so that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.

10 “Because of violence to your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame, and you will be cut off forever.
11 “On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth, and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem—you too were as one of them.
12 “Do not gloat over your brother’s day, the day of his misfortune. And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah in the day of their destruction; yes, do not boast in the day of their distress.
13 “Do not enter the gate of My people in the day of their disaster. Yes, you, do not gloat over their calamity in the day of their disaster. And do not loot their wealth in the day of their disaster.
14 “Do not stand at the fork of the road to cut down their fugitives; and do not imprison their survivors in the day of their distress.

15 “For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head.
16 “Because just as you drank on My holy mountain, all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and swallow and become as if they had never existed.
17 “But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions.
18 “Then the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau will be as stubble. And they will set them on fire and consume them, so that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau,” for the Lord has spoken.
19 Then those of the Negev will possess the mountain of Esau, and those of the Shephelah the Philistine plain; also, possess the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria, and Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20 And the exiles of this host of the sons of Israel, who are among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the cities of the Negev.
21 The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau, and the kingdom will be the Lord’s.

Reminder:  "praying effectively" involves knowing God's will.  When we pray in His will (in His name), He may choose to not answer those prayers in the time period that we would like, or HOW we would like - but He will answer those prayers!

It is God's will:

- that we do not gloat over other people's misfortune, distress or destruction, whether they deserve it or not (1:12-13)

- that we do not steal or take advantage of anyone when they are down (1:13-14)

Today's prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, I am so thankful for the work You accomplished on the cross, and I am so thankful for Your grace.  When we become believers, You forgive all our sins and choose to remember them no more, because You understand that we are still not perfect.  Your love for us extends so far that You protect us not only from our enemies, but from ourselves.  But help us to remember that You will still allow us to suffer consequences of our own sins while here on earth.  And You also allow us to go through tests.

Our testing should not produce more strength and trust in our own abilities.  Our testing should cause us to look to You!!!  In everything, help us remember to lean on You - Your strength, Your wisdom, Your patience, Your love, Your contentment, Your peace, Your joy...  And may we not judge each other or rejoice over someone's misfortune, but rather, guide us towards healing and encouraging each other in Your forgiveness and lovingkindness.  

Again, we pray for Israel - for them to see their need for You.  You have not forgotten them!  Thank You for Your faithfulness, knowing that You will bring justice to this earth, and You will fulfill all covenants and promises!  Amen.

praying effectively: Hate Evil, love Good (Amos 5)

(Amos 5:1-27)

 Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel:
2 She has fallen, she will not rise again—the virgin Israel. She lies neglected on her land; there is none to raise her up.

3 For thus says the Lord God,

“The city which goes forth a thousand strong will have a hundred left, and the one which goes forth a hundred strong will have ten left to the house of Israel.”

4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel,

“Seek Me that you may live.
5 “But do not resort to Bethel and do not come to Gilgal, nor cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal will certainly go into captivity and Bethel will come to trouble.
6 “Seek the Lord that you may live, or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph, and it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,
7 For those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness down to the earth.”

8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion and changes deep darkness into morning, Who also darkens day into night, Who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the Lord is His name.
9 It is He who flashes forth with destruction upon the strong, so that destruction comes upon the fortress.

10 They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks with integrity.
11 Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor and exact a tribute of grain from them, though you have built houses of well-hewn stone, yet you will not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.
12 For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great, you who distress the righteous and accept bribes and turn aside the poor in the gate.
13 Therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps silent, for it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and thus may the Lord God of hosts be with you, just as you have said!
15 Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the Lord God of hosts may be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, the Lord,

“There is wailing in all the plazas, and in all the streets they say, ‘Alas! Alas!’ They also call the farmer to mourning and professional mourners to lamentation.
17 “And in all the vineyards there is wailing, because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the Lord.

18 Alas, you who are longing for the day of the Lord, for what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light;
19 As when a man flees from a lion and a bear meets him, or goes home, leans his hand against the wall and a snake bites him.
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it?

21 “I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; and I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings.
23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.
24 “But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 “Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? 26 You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. 27 Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.

Reminder:  "praying effectively" involves knowing God's will.  When we pray in His will (in His name), He may choose to not answer those prayers in the time period that we would like, or HOW we would like - but He will answer those prayers!

It is God's will:

- that Israel should seek God for eternal salvation (5:4, 6)

- that we live righteously, otherwise our advice to others will be rejected (5:12-13)

- that we seek good and not evil (5:14)

- that we love good and hate evil (5:15)

- that we do not pervert justice (5:15)

Today's prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, guide us in seeking and living out Your righteousness.  Fill us with Your Holy Spirit so we can love what You love and hate what You hate.  Give us wisdom so that we may be just in our actions and decisions.  

Help us to be a pleasing aroma to You and to those around us.  Help us to be a light to the world, especially to the nation of Israel.  May they see their need for You and recognize that You were and are their Messiah.  Amen.

praying effectively: Tell Your Children (Joel 1-2)

(Joel 1:2-3)

2 Hear this, O elders, and listen, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this happened in your days or in your fathers’ days?
3 Tell your sons about it, and let your sons tell their sons, and their sons the next generation.

(Joel 2:12-27)

12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning;
13 And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.
14 Who knows whether He will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him, even a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?
15 Blow a trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room and the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17 Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord, and do not make Your inheritance a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’”

18 Then the Lord will be zealous for His land and will have pity on His people.
19 The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil, and you will be satisfied in full with them; and I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.
20 “But I will remove the northern army far from you, And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land, and its vanguard into the eastern sea, and its rear guard into the western sea. And its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up, for it has done great things.”

21 Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad, for the Lord has done great things.
22 Do not fear, beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, for the tree has borne its fruit, the fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.
23 So rejoice, O sons of Zion, and be glad in the Lord your God; for He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, the early and latter rain as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of grain, and the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil.
25 “Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you.
26 “You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; then My people will never be put to shame.
27 “Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other; and My people will never be put to shame.

Reminder:  "praying effectively" involves knowing God's will.  When we pray in His will (in His name), He may choose to not answer those prayers in the time period that we would like, or HOW we would like - but He will answer those prayers!

It is God's will:

- that we hear God's words and recognize His mighty works (1:2)

- that sinners go to God and humbly repent (2:12)

- that our confessions to God are sincere and from a broken heart, not done as an external show for the world (2:13)

- that Israel as a nation should gather and prepare their people, so that they will be ready for when Jesus returns to the earth to set up the Millennial kingdom and fulfill all covenants (2:15-16)

- that Israel as a nation will one day rejoice and be glad in the Lord God (2:23)

- that we do not fear, but rejoice and be glad that God fulfills His promises (2:21)

- that we tell our children, and their children tell their children, etc., about God's words and His mighty works (1:3)

Today's prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, may our ears and eyes always be open to hearing Your words and seeing Your mighty works.  As we realize Your holiness and get to know all of Your attributes more and more, we should be more and more aware that we need You for everything.  Allow Your Holy Spirit to work within us, to make us more like You.

May our confessions be sincere.  May all of those who call themselves Christians, examine their hearts and the sincerity of their walk with You.  Out of sincere love should flow Your words of life and spiritual healing to those around us.  

May there be fruit from the efforts of those who bring the good news out into the world, specifically to Israel.  May the people and specifically Your chosen ones recognize their need for You in their hearts.  May our neighbors see a difference in us because of You and yearn to know more.  Amen.