3-28-20 Today in the Word

Enter In: Gates and Doors in Scripture
THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED 
Saturday, March 28, 2020 | Luke 11:1–13
Have you heard the term “arrow prayer” or “javelin prayer”? These are short, perhaps urgent prayers that you can pray throughout the day. A longer prayer time or praying with a friend might not be possible at any given moment, but God is always listening and hears not only our spoken words but our heart’s language as well. Practicing short prayers can help us obey Paul’s exhortation to “pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17).
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He began with a model (vv. 1–4). Today’s reading is a shorter version of the “Lord’s Prayer” (Matt. 6:9–13). Its ingredients include worship, submission to the will of God, and requests for physical (daily bread) and spiritual (forgiveness) provision, as well as one against temptation.
Second, Jesus exhorted His disciples to be bold and persistent in prayer (vv. 5–8). He told a story of asking a friend for bread at midnight. To us, this sounds borderline inappropriate, especially when the word is translated “shameless audacity” (NIV) or “impudence” (ESV). But this idea of “presuming on a friend” shows deep confidence in the relationship and is thus a picture of strong faith.
Third, we should pray with expectation (vv. 9–10): If we ask, it will be given. If we seek, we’ll find. If we knock, the door will be opened. Prayer is not magical or manipulative, but God loves us and is eager to respond to our prayers. We don’t need to beg or appease a cranky deity. Instead, our Lord invites us to bring everything to Him in prayer (Phil. 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7). Fourth and summing up, Jesus viewed prayer as relational (vv. 11–13). God is our Father—of course He desires to give us good things! The best gift, now given to all believers, is the Holy Spirit.
APPLY THE WORD
The verbs in verse 9 are present imperatives: Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Today you might focus on one prayer request throughout the day, asking God persistently, boldly, audaciously—even shamelessly—either to grant your request or change it.
PRAY WITH US
Today’s key verse says, “Everyone who asks receives.” We invite you to intercede for our country, our families, our leaders, and workplaces. In addition, following the prompt in the devotional, focus on one prayer request especially close to you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-17-23 Not in a Billion Years

Not In A Million Billion Years :: By Dave Hubley Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles (There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.) Several years ago, I had a conversation with a guy in a waiting room while getting an oil change (in the car, not me). I don’t recall exactly how the conversation originated or how it progressed, but I have never forgotten it. As I recall, it had something to do with evolution and an article that was contained in a “waiting room magazine” that was available there. He made the observation that God was “something that man had made up.” I can’t recall the exact reason he used to justify his opinion, but it had something to do with the usual reasons people give: Weak-willed people needing a crutch, and blah, blah, blah. I engaged him in a “witness,
Read more

9-16-23 Santa Staleness

Santa Staleness :: By Edwin Tan Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles My one and only trip to Israel had more than a profound effect on my present-day psyche. It might have been three decades ago, but there is more than a lingering aftertaste. It happened smack in the last fortnight of the year. Surprisingly absent were the familiar sights and sounds of the Christmas most people are accustomed to. Hardly any Christmas decorations in downtown Tel Aviv, if not any of the shopping thoroughfares across the Holy Land. Hanukah was a breath of fresh air – not anything resembling a Christmas carol most people grew up with did surface. The Christmas Eve service in a small Protestant church not far away from Jerusalem’s Old City was awesome; songs that truly celebrated the virgin birth of our Lord, which though seemingly unheard of, were a welcome inspiration to many a soul. There was even one sung in Arabic! So it began, my overt disdain for the secular Christmas t
Read more

9-15-23 Miracles 2

Miracles 2 :: By Jim Towers Published on: December 21, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles This story is a continuation of the exciting things God continues doing in my life. I was supposed to have died a while back, and sometimes I feel as though I may do so soon. But since I’m ready to meet my maker, I have no fear of death. In fact, my evangelistic zeal has only increased, especially as I see the fast approaching of the “Tribulation period” mentioned in the book of Revelation. Insofar as my acting career is concerned, I just finished filming a soliloquy featuring Melchior, one of the three Magi who followed the star to Christ lying in the manger, and am preparing to portray a Jewish Priest on stage. Like I said, God is working overtime in my life, and I will be appearing on stage singing Broadway show tunes sometime in March, so I have a lot of rehearsing to do. In the meantime, I will be signing Christmas carols acapella at a park here in Naples. Since it is a spontaneous th
Read more