Yes, Yes, and Amen

Did you know that there are prayers that, if you seek God and are really sincere, God WILL grant your prayer request 100% of the time?  This is not one of those trick questions like: “God always answers prayer, sometimes he says “No” and “Wait”.  No…that’s not what I’m talking about.  For these particular prayers, He will ALWAYS answer YES and ALWAYS give you your petition.  Wow…right about now you are thinking “What are these prayers?”  This is better than Aladdin’s Lamp—definite answers from the Most High God, Creator of the World.  100% guaranteed.  Even more astounding, it’s not limited to just three!  Well, here they are:

1)     God—I want to know you.  Please reveal Yourself to me.

It always amazes me how few people have actually taken the time to pray this prayer.  There’s no end to the plethora of philosophies, religions and beliefs to select from.  I’m sure it gets confusing.  Which one is correct?  How can we be certain?  But, like the Fox News commentator, Bill O’Reilly likes to say—“I’m a simple person”.  Here’s my simple logic.  To me, it’s pretty obvious that God exists just by looking around at incredible marvel of the universe.  If He exists, He must be able to see and hear me.  “Hey God!  If you are really out there…I want to know You.”  Here’s what the scriptures have to say about this:

   

those who seek me find me.

~Proverbs 8:17

Come near to God and he will come near to you.

~James 4:8

There is just one very small requirement, as noted in these scriptures…He wants us to make the first move no matter how small or pathetic.  He’s respectful of our free will. 

2)     Please forgive me.

Again, I think we make this way too complicated.  The Bible is pretty simple and straightforward on this.  No hot coals to walk over. No hair shirts to wear.  No special incantations:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

~1 John 1:9

Like #1—you gotta ask.

     3) Please teach me how to live properly.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be completely satisfied.

~Matthew 5:6

Not only does God answer this prayer but it comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee! 

4)      Please teach me to love my neighbor.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

~Matthew 22:36-40

In addition to being a simple person, I like to think I am a logical person.  If God says that this is part of THE greatest commandment—that everything literally HANGS on these two requirements, then it stands to reason that he WANTS to help you improve in this area.  Ask Him for help—you’ll get a definite YES.  

     5) Please supply my daily needs. 

Or…“Give us this day our daily bread.”  Sounds kind of obnoxious at first like “Gimme”.  But that’s what it says—Jesus’ exact words.

 

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

~Matthew 6: 31-33

I came to the realization that we are God’s children.  He doesn’t want us focused on scratching around in the dirt every day trying to make ends meet.  Now…I am NOT about to go off here on some crazy prosperity themed message.  I don’t believe God wants you praying for Rolex watches and Mercedes.  However, I do believe he wants you to simply EXPECT that, as your heavenly parent, he is aware of His obligation to clothe and feed you—just like any good parent would acknowledge this obligation without hesitation. 

6)     Please give me wisdom.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

~James 1:5

Wow…this one is cut and dry.  There’s really no way to spin this scripture.  Ask…and without God giving you a lecture about how undeserving you are, He will simply give it to you.  Why aren’t we praying this one EVERY HOUR?  Wisdom is more valuable than gold and it’s FREE for the asking!   

     7) Please help me to grow up spiritually.

Friendly Warning on #7:  You’d better be really SERIOUS when you pray this one.  Be careful what you ask for!  It comes with a test.  If you pray for patience—your patience WILL be tested.

so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

~1 Peter 1:17 

If you’re like me, you may have prayed something like this:

“Lord—give me patience and give it to me NOW!” (for some reason that prayer never worked).  What DID happen is I would soon get a great opportunity to control my road rage--Or bite my sharp tongue while trying to curb a sarcastic reply. 

Now, for the record, I am not Catholic.  However, I greatly admire Catholics as the earliest founders of the original Christian Church.  Not the Joe Biden or Nancy Pelosi kind of Catholics…the ones that say they are ProLife in their faith but ProDeath in their public lives.  Those kind of CINO’s (Catholic in Name only) are the worst sort of hypocrites.  They basically are saying…I will assist in the killing of innocent babies if I find it becomes advantageous to me in my career, even though I agree it is morally wrong.  Scary—it’s the same mentality that allowed Hitler to prosper in pre-WWII Germany.  No…it’s the Mother Teresa types that inspire me.  Lately, since the HHS mandate, I’ve also admired the Vatican’s unwavering conviction on sanctity of life issues.  These Catholics will not bow to evil, even at the point of a gun.  But since I am not Catholic, you may be surprised when I tell you that I do have a “rosary” that I say every day.

At this point…I’ve probably lost every Protestant reading this, but please allow me explain.  I don’t think God likes “rote” prayers.  It’s no different then when my children get in the car after school and stick their heads into their IPads or cell phones while talking to me.  “How was your day?” Grunt…”Anything interesting?”...Unh Unh.  “Did you do well on your exams?” Unintelligible…Usually by the third question, I am annoyed and say something like this:  "Do you want a million dollars?"  I know by this time I’ve completely lost their attention so I am mocking them.

This is how I think routine prayers sound to God—you tick off your prayer time on your “to do” list and expect God to be pleased.  He probably tried to tell you something really important but you weren’t even listening.  So this is not what I am suggesting. 

I am suggesting that you write down a simple format of what you want from God that is in accordance with his will (perhaps using the 7 points above).

There is something to be said about getting up each day and at least attempting to have a Godly focus.  Call it your spiritual business plan.  Every study ever done on business success verifies that those with a written plan succeed far better than those who are making it up as they go along.  We need a personal, written spiritual plan.  This will by no means ensure perfection.  There are many days when you will fail miserably.  Even the Apostle Paul struggled in this area:

For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

~Romans 18-19 & 24-25

BUT—slowly, over time, you will start to notice incremental improvements.  The change will come more rapidly as you GIVE IN to it. 

For some reason, having kids has helped me grow spiritually more than any other single factor in my life.  It’s one of the reasons I believe that we are supposed to spend loads of time with children, either our own (if we have them) or unselfishly with others.

Kids crystallize the moment.  They bring instant clarity to an issue like no other.  Ever tell a child that you planned on doing something with them or for them and then forget?  Well, we all know this line…But, YOU PROMISED!  No matter how many times you explain that you had a bad day, you have a headache, you will do it another day, you messed up…they will not let you off the hook.  Smart kids.  They WILL get their petition—trust me.

God doesn’t have a bad day.  If He PROMISED something—He simply wants you to remind him of his promises and be serious about receiving it. 

So…Don’t be afraid to BOLDLY approach the throne of grace on these issues.  Go ahead…Remind God…He wants you to say…YOU PROMISED!

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

~2 Corinthians 1:20

Interested in National Prayer and Repentance?

Go to the Congressional Prayer Caucus Website:

http://www.prayercaucus.org/

Annual National Day of Repentance: www.dayofrepentance.org
2013 Date: Yom Kippur September 13th (Sunset) through September 14th (Nightfall)

Feel free to join any number of events calling for National Prayer and Repentance as we lead up to the November 6th elections.

Gatherings:

• David's Tent Washington DC: (24/7 Worship of Jesus Christ on White House Ellipse)

http://dchop.org/?doing_wp_cron=1348948399.4002270698547363281250

Prayer Initiatives:
40 Day to Save America
40 Days of Prayer

50 Days of Decision

56 Days of Praying: Sept 16 - Nov 10, 2012 Aglow International: America Arising Prayer Initiative
Awakening America
Davidstentdc.com
God Save America
If My People 2012
My People Pray 2012
Pray 31
PrayPsalm64.com
40 Days of Worship in DC
Intercessors For America - Saving America Through Prayer The American Prayer Initiative 
Get America Praying - One Minute Challenge
Intercessors For America - First Friday Prayer Calls