Category Archives: Prayer

Mission, Prayer

Mission Lazarus Day 3

This week I’m at Mission Lazarus in San Marcos de Colon, Honduras. During this time, I will be, for the most part, completely offline. Our team will be building a house, distributing food, teaching children, and serving as the hands and feet of Jesus. While I am away, I want to ask you to pray for our team. Below is a little info on what we will be doing today and a few prayer prompts that you can pray for us. Thank you in advance! Have a great week!

Monday, July 23
The team starts the bulk of their work schedule today. For the next several days, they will be working at a mission site, visiting ongoing ministries, building a house, teaching children, and other work Mission Lazarus may need them to do.

PRAY that each person would get over travel quickly so they will not be tired.
PRAY for them to assimilate all the information they need today.
PRAY that they would feel peace and security in God’s plan for them to be there.

Scripture to Pray:
“Be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18).

“But the Helper will teach you everything and will cause you to remember all that I told you…I leave you peace; my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don’t let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (John 14: 26-27).

Mission, Prayer

Mission Lazarus Day 2

This week I’m at Mission Lazarus in San Marcos de Colon, Honduras. During this time, I will be, for the most part, completely offline. Our team will be building a house, distributing food, teaching children, and serving as the hands and feet of Jesus. While I am away, I want to ask you to pray for our team. Below is a little info on what we will be doing today and a few prayer prompts that you can pray for us. Thank you in advance! Have a great week!

Sunday, July 22
After visiting and participating in a local church, the team will spend the day preparing for the rest of the week.

PRAY for God’s plans for each person to be accomplished on this trip.
PRAY for the team to have cultural discernment as they interact with those around them.
PRAY for the team to be flexible to whatever God has for them to do.

Scripture to Pray: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

“Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24b).

Prayer

Mission Lazarus Day 1

This week I’m at Mission Lazarus in San Marcos de Colon, Honduras. During this time, I will be, for the most part, completely offline. Our team will be building a house, distributing food, teaching children, and serving as the hands and feet of Jesus. While I am away, I want to ask you to pray for our team. Below is a little info on what we will be doing today and a few prayer prompts that you can pray for us. Thank you in advance! Have a great week!

Saturday, July 21
The team departs early this morning for Honduras. They will leave the building at 3:30am for DFW. After a brief layover in Houston, the team will travel to Tegucigalpa. The team will then drive 4 hrs into the mountains to Mission Lazarus in San Marcos de Colon for some brief rest, dinner, and orientation.

PRAY for all the final preparations to be made smoothly
PRAY for safe travel and health as they begin the trip.
PRAY for team unity and bonding while traveling.
PRAY for all to pass through customs smoothly and safely.
PRAY that there will not be any lost luggage.
PRAY for the Lord to prepare their hearts for service.

Scripture to Pray: “Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield” (Psalm 5:11-12).

Books, Prayer, Resources

Prayer Resources

This past weekend, I wrapped up a four week series on Prayer that I called The Prayer Circle. God uses prayer to help grow our faith in him and prayer is transformative because it challenges us to realign our hearts and minds with the Father. I was initially inspired by the book, The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson for this series. I used a good deal of Mark’s excellent material in week one and two in order to lay a foundation for the series. I would highly recommend that book as an excellent resource for you and your family. Be forewarned- it will rock the way you approach your prayer life from this point forward.

Below I’ve listed a handful of the resources I’ve found over the years that have positively impacted my prayer life. I hope that you can connect with one of the books and that you will continue to pursue a deep and meaningful relationship with the Father through prayer.

The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson
Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster
Prayer by Richard Foster
Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels
The Autobiography of George Muller by George Muller
Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
The Inner Life by Thomas a Kempis

Prayer

Circle Up

This week we I am kicking off a brand-new sermon series called, The Prayer Circle. This series is inspired by a great book called The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.

Since reading this book last December, I have been challenged to be more SPECIFIC in my prayer, to pray with more CONFIDENCE, to pray THROUGH the difficulties in life, and to pray FOCUSED, with laser intensity, on God’s will.

This Sunday’s message will focus on being specific in your prayers. While I will talk about the Battle of Jericho and Jesus’ interaction with two blind men in Matthew 20, I will also focus on John 15-17. Jesus tells us that he is the true vine and invites us to remain in him and he will sustain us. In the High Priestly prayer, Jesus specifically names his disciples in his prayer- both those that were with him in life and those who will believe in him because of the Good News.

One thing I have really learned about being specific in my prayers is that being vague and unspecific in prayer can cause us to become bored and listless in our prayer lives.

In prayer, we are bring our family members, friends, neighbors, leaders, and lives before the God that hears us and has the power to intercede and change us. When it comes to prayer, Jesus is asking us the same question he posed to the two blind men, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Will you trust and believe enough in him to take whatever is on your heart before him in prayer? Be specific and don’t hold back.

 

Experience, Faith in Action, Leadership, Mission, Prayer, Self-Leadership

Setting Goals for 2012

1 Comment

I hope everyone had a very, Merry Christmas and that you were able to spend time with your family and friends over the holiday weekend. In less than one week, we will be celebrating the New Year so today I want to give you a few tips on planning and preparing so that  2012 can be a great year for you and those closest to you.

For the last week, I have been taking a few minutes out of each day in order to plan and set some goals for 2012. Over the years, I have gathered a handful of tips that have helped me set and achieve goals. I have come across these tips in books or at conferences or from practical experience. It is my hope that at least one of these tips will help you. Nelson Searcy talks about living a philosophy of “Learn & Return.” He says that anytime you learn something significant you should gladly return it back to the Kingdom by sharing what you’ve learned with others. It is my hope that by sharing some of what I’ve learned about setting goals that your life will be impacted in such a way that you will want to share this with someone else.

Begin and End In Prayer
When setting goals you definitely want to begin with prayer. You want to make sure that the plans you are making or the things you want to accomplish are firmly set and find their meaning within the purposes of God. When I am in a season of setting goals I often start by praying through Psalm 139. Asking God to search your heart and to test your motives is a difficult but crucial task if you are going to do anything of real significance for God this year. The psalm ends by asking God to lead you in his way- his will for your life. You can pick some things to do this year or you can ask the God of the Universe to help you accomplish great things that will have a lasting impact on you and those around you. To me, the choice is easy. Spend some time praying before you just start listing things you’d like to do this year.

Also, make sure to end your planning time in prayer. Thank God for the wisdom and insight he has provided. Pray that he will give you the strength and focus you need to carry out the goals he has given you. Praying before and after your planning puts a Prayer Parenthesis around your goals.

Think in Categories
In 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey encourages you list out the various life roles you play on a daily basis. For me, I have about six roles and relationships that I do life in every day. I am a Disciple of Jesus, a Husband, a Father, a Minister, a Friend, and a Son/Brother. Each of these roles call for a different set of responsibilities and growth happens differently in each of the realms. I have a different set of goals for developing my relationship with Jesus and I have different goals to help me be a greater spiritual leader in my home as a husband and father. There is a sense where growth in one area will impact the others but I feel like God calls me to list specific goals for each of these separately.

You can also break up your goals in to areas such as Emotional, Spiritual, Relational (What are my goals for my relationships this year?), Influence (Who do I need to influence this year and how?), Physical (What are my goals for my physical health this year?), Financial, and Intellectual (How am I going to grow intellectually this year?).

Breaking you goals up into categories helps you see what areas need growth and it can help you be specific about what goals to set.

Be Specific
Often, our goals are pretty vague. Getting specific helps us craft a plan for actually achieving the goals we set before us.

“I want to grow closer to God this year.” Ok. How? What steps are you going to take to grow closer to him? Will you spend more time reading your Bible? Will you make it a goal to pray more consistently? Be specific with this goal by stating something like this:

It is my goal to grow closer to God this year. In order to do this I will start my year off with a fast and I will read one of the gospels each week for the entire year.

“I want to love my wife more deeply.” What are you going to do to achieve this goal? Will you write her a love letter each week? Will you arrange a babysitter each week so that you can treat her to a weekly date night? Specific example:

It is my goal to love my wife more deeply through daily sending her a text message telling her how much she means to me, weekly sending her a card by mail, and monthly planning a date night to reconnect as a couple.

Don’t set vague goals. Vague goals do not change lives.

Tell Someone
Accountability is setting goals is a must. Tell someone your goals. Share with someone you hope and plans. Let a friend celebrate your victories and lift you up when you fail. Goals set in community impact a greater number of people. Don’t keep your goals to yourself.

Pray Hard, Work Hard
A phrase that I have always loved is “Pray like it depends on God, Work like it depends on you.” I have been using this phrase since I first heard it in college. This idea of Praying Hard and Working Hard recently popped up again because it played a big role in Mark Batterson’s The Circle Maker and Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership (two of my top 5 books for 2011). Batterson writes that too often we set goals, pray to God about what we want,and then fail to do anything because we want God to just give us what we’ve asked for. We shouldn’t simply pray and walk away. We should pray and entrust our needs and desires to God but then we should be faithful to get after it and work toward that end. Sometimes God is gracious and drops things in our laps. Most of the time though God answers our prayer when we are obedient to him. You aren’t working to curry God’s favor so that he will give you what you desire. You’re work is carried out as an act of faith and trust in the One who truly determines every outcome. God delivered his people from the hand of Pharaoh but Moses still had to travel to Egypt. God gave Jericho to the Israelites but Joshua still had to march. Jesus prayed that God’s will be done but he still had to go to the cross. Praying hard and Working hard are not at odds. Both are acts of faith and both are needed when you set out to plan and achieve godly goals.

Celebrate
There are 366 days, 52 weeks, and 12 months in 2012. Celebrate little victories along the path of achieving your goals and celebrate big time when you are able to cross a goal off of your list. Two passage that will help you celebrate small and large victories are Ecclesiastes 3:11 and Lamentations 3:22-24.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV)

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:22–24 ESV)

God wants to accomplish great things in and through your life this year. It is my prayer that you will set aside some time in the next few days to plan and dedicate your time, talent, and treasure to following after the goals God sets in your heart.

For more on prayer and setting goals, check out The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson which helped inspire and give structure to today’s post.

Christmas, Prayer

21 Prayers for the Holidays #1

Pray for those who have experienced the pain and heartache of losing a loved one this year.

Christmas can be an incredibly hard time for those who have lost loved ones. The pain and hurt is only magnified if this is the first Christmas without them.

I’ve always appreciated the way Eugene Peterson translated Matthew 5:4 in the Message. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives comfort to those who mourn saying, “You’re blessed when you feel like you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.”

Take some time today to pray that those who are hurting and missing their spouse or child or friend will be comforted by God. Pray that he will embrace them as only he can and will carry them through their grief.

Additional Scriptures:
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:1–3 NIV11)

“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 NIV11)

 

Advent, Prayer

21 Prayers for the Holidays

During the month of November, people all across Facebook used their status updates to express their Thankfulness for the people and the blessing they have received in their life. While I didn’t personally participate by posting status updates, I was impacted by reading what my friends and family members we thankful for. They helped me reassess my life and what I was truly thankful for.

As November came to a close, I began thinking how I could start something meaningful through the month of December to continue a heart posture of thankfulness. This morning, I heard God issue me a challenge.

As of today there are 21 days until Christmas Day. The holidays can be a wonderful time filled with family, friends, music, celebration, and joy. In fact, this is probably my favorite time of year. However, just below the surface of this joyous season, pain and hurt and confusion and sorrow are also present.

What if I spent the next 21 days praying for different groups of people during the holiday season? What if we prayed for people who were hurting and struggling? What is we prayed for people that were experiencing times of joy and love this season? What if prayed for those overseas?

What if we did it together?

For the next 21 days, I will be posting a prayer each day here on the blog and through my status update on Facebook.

So, I’m issuing this challenge: Will you join me in praying for people over the next 21 days? Between now and Christmas day, will you take time out of your day to lift others up in prayer?

I will post the first prayer later today- around 2pm CST.

Best Practices, Personal Leadership, Planning, Prayer, Preaching

Plan Your Work

I had a fabulous weekend at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. ACL celebrated it’s 1oth Anniversary in style with big name artists like Coldplay, Kanye, Stevie Wonder, My Morning Jacket, and Arcade Fire. I got to see some of my favorites too including Ray Lamontagne, Brandi Carlile, Cee Lo Green, Iron & Wine, and, a new favorite, Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses. I had a blast and I hope I can attend this festival again.

The festival gave me an opportunity to relax and rest but it also gave me a chance to get some planning done. I spent most of Saturday and Sunday planning out my preaching calendar. I already have everything laid out through the end of the year but after this weekend I have the next 10 months of my preaching calendar planned out. For me, this is huge and very exciting.

I believe that planning ahead is a great way to trust in the Spirit and allow him to move  through the entire process from prayer to planning to study to execution. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been listening to God, praying, and asking for wisdom in planning this calendar and I feel like God blessed me this weekend as he helped me put it all together.

Here are 4 Reasons I Am Preparing My Preaching Calendar Months in Advance:

1) Planning ahead simply helps give me DEPTH in my preaching through advanced studying and preparation.

2) Planning ahead aids in giving the Spirit room to help me share the message of Jesus more CREATIVELY. (Note: I believe that it is next to impossible to go deep and/or be creative at the last minute.)

3) Planning ahead makes sure that I am being faithful to the WHOLE of SCRIPTURE and not simply preaching on the flavor (issue) of the month.

4) Planning ahead helps me ENLIST HELP in gathering resources, help, buy-in, prayers, and fuels an excitement among the leadership about what God will be saying to us. (I would like to see us move to sermon based small groups in 2012. To do this, you need help from other leaders and those leaders need material and time to pray, plan, and prepare.)

Are all of these series set in stone and immovable? No way! Will some of these series change or be scrapped? Maybe. What if God calls you to speak on something else? I’ll submit willingly and gladly!

I started planning out my teaching series about 4-5 years ago and it has helped make all the difference in the way I pray, plan, study, and prepare my lessons. Less pressure and more reliance on God to help and guide me means more encouragement and focus on what he has called me to do. That is a great place to be!

General, Prayer

Planning to Pray

Unless I’m badly mistaken, one of the main reasons so many of God’s children don’t have a significant prayer life is not so much that we don’t want to, but that we don’t plan to. If you want to take a four-week vacation, you don’t just get up on summer morning and say, “Hey, let’s go today!” You won’t have anything ready. You won’t know where to go. Nothing has been planned. But that is how many of us treat prayer. We get up day after day and realize that significant times of prayer should be a part of our life, but nothing’s ever ready. We don’t know where to go. Nothing has been planned. No time. No place. No procedure. And we all know that opposite of planning is not a wonderful flow of deep, spontaneous experiences in prayer. The opposite of planning is the rut. If you don’t plan a vacation you will probably stay home and watch TV. The natural, unplanned flow of spiritual life sinks to the lowest ebb of vitality. There is a race to be run and a fight to be fought. If you want renewal in your life of prayer you must plan to see it. – John Piper

This hit me like a cast iron skillet to the face when I read it.

I plan out my reading. I plan out my lunches. I plan out my studying. I plan out everything… except intentional, specific times of prayer. I really feel that God laid this quote out for me in order to challenge my schedule and prep time.

I desperately desire to see God’s fruit from my prayer life and I’m unwilling to continue to stumble my way there. It’s not that I believe that scheduling time for prayer will curry God’s favor. It won’t! I’m under no illusion that I can or ever will be able to impress God with my prayer routine or words.

No, the fruit I desire is a deeper level of intimacy with the Father. I want a strong dependence on Him. I want to simply sit in his presence.

Piper is right. There is a race to be run and a fight to be fought. I’m taking steps right now to make sure my heart, soul, and mind is prepared and ready to go. It is time to plan for prayer!!!