Ever Thankful That Your Prayer’s Are Not Answered?

It’s frustrating and just plain hard when our prayers are not answered. We pray for God’s will to be done and in Jesus’s name with the assumption that our prayers align with how God intends. Sometimes, however, it’s true that our prayer requests are not answered. Consider these three examples from Scripture.

Join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there, so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed. The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
(Ro 15:30–33).

Paul asked for prayer that he be rescued from Jewish unbelievers in Judea and that his ministry would be acceptable to the believers in Jerusalem. His hope was that he would be “refreshed” in Rome on his way to more ministry in Spain. But, Acts records different results and tells us how things really turned out (Acts 21:15ff). Paul was not rescued from the unbelievers in Judea but was arrested (Acts 21:33) and he did not go on to Rome for “refreshment” but eventually stood trial in Rome after incarceration in Caesarea for some 2 years and suffering a shipwreck along the way.

I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
(2 Cor 12:7–9).

Paul explicitly asked God to remove a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:1-10). Yet God saw fit to say no but instead supply more grace to endure rather than merely answer his request as he prayed.

He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
(Lk 22:41–42).

Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane was for God to “take this cup from me” (Lk. 22:42), which either was a) his impending death, b) the weight of the world’s sin he would soon bear, or c) both a) and b). Regardless of your answer I’m thankful to God that Jesus’s prayer was not answered!

Risen Jesus: New Ministry from Mike Licona

Risen Jesus is a new ministry led by Mike Licona. I had the chance to hear Mike’s presentation at the 2010 Evangelical Philosophical Society’s annual meeting in Atlanta. The room was packed and many sat on the floor (including me) as this humble servant presented details around and answered questions on his methodology for developing The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach.

Visit Risen Jesus and download a free article entitled “Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock: What to say to Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses when they knock on your door”.

Mike argues (and I agree) that one reason why so many are leaving the Church is a lack of solid answers to difficult questions about the Christian faith. His new ministry seeks to fill the gap left by Churches that are weak in providing a foundation in sound apologetics (see my “Why Apologetics is Important to Your Church”). While churches are answering the “What?” and the “So What?” questions (what does the Bible say and how does it apply to my life), many fail to explain why the Bible is true. Apologetics answers the “Why?” question offering people not only reasons to embrace the faith, but providing support for those searching for reasons to hold on to their faith.

Follow Mike’s new ministry!

Check out these endorsements, the video by Mike below where he reveals his vision for Risen Jesus, and please consider a contribution!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Enjoy!

Why Serve?

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Pt 4:10). 

We reap from others what we sow into their lives. In service we actively and willingly employ our gifts and resources to meet the needs of others so we might train ourselves in the selflessness of Christ. We serve others, not merely because it will meet another’s need, but because it promotes Christlikeness in us.

1. Service strengthens the weak and frees us from resentment. Those whose service is relatively unnoticed know the value of their efforts because every act is an act of “serving the Lord Christ” (Col 3:23-24; see also Deut 13:4). At the end of the day we serve an audience of “One.” Mundane tasks, therefore, become our greatest endeavors because we serve others as if serving Christ himself. And so, when we “do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col 3:17) there’s no chance for resentment to creep in, since what we do is for Christ and not merely for others.
2. Service weakens the strong and frees us from arrogance. Anyone, and especially those in positions of leadership and authority, can easily view their status as more important than it really is, or tacitly permit others to do so. Jesus challenges “greatness” by showing us that the way up is really the way down (Mt 20:25-28). “Greatness” in Jesus’s kingdom is measured by selfless service. Ironically, the terms “minister” or “pastor” originally meant “helper” or “shepherd”, but have come to be seen as a badge of honor or prestige. Yet Jesus cries, “It shall not be so among you!” To be “great” is to live as a servant and vice versa. There’s no room for superiority or conceit among God’s children because there’s only room for one King in the kingdom.
3. Service frees us from the pitfalls of pretense and performance traps. With our singular orientation toward Christ, we serve at the feet of others (Jn 13:14-15) where the only quality that matters is humility. With service we refuse the call to honor or notable recognition (Pr 15:33). Instead, we are free to count others better than ourselves, eager for their success rather than pursuing our own (Philip 2:3-4).
4. Service helps us maintain objectivity and find our “fit” in the Body of Christ (Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12:12-31). In one sense, all of the spiritual gifts are gifts of service, so we no longer need to be in control because “each of us needs all the others” in Christ’s Body (Rom 12:5, NLT).

P.S. Why not post on all-things-Christmas this season? Well, in a sense this is about Christmas. After all, the greatest gift given to us or that we can offer to others is the gift of service. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45).

On Practical Spirituality

I’ve written before on the spiritual disciplines and have been challenged by them in practice. Tullian Tchividjian has an excerpt from his new book Jesus + Nothing = Everything and he has given me not only more to think about but even far more to implement. What Is True Spirituality? is a vigorous call to radical spirituality. Is true spirituality merely inward growth, outward focus on service to others, or both? He writes:

To be sure, personal disciplines are indispensable aspects of staying tethered to the truth of gospel (you’ll shrink without them), empowering and nurturing love for God and others. But it’s interesting that when James makes his strong point in 2:14-26 about faith without works being dead, what he describes are not works of subjective “spirituality” but selfless service:

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? (James 2:15)

Read it all.