Prayer: For Such a Time as This - NDOP 2010

When is a good time for prayer? Always.  The question could be twisted up a bit to ask "When isn't a good time for prayer?"  Prayer is needed all the time.  That prayer could be of praise, thanksgiving, or petition.  One or more of those could be said at any given time.  It doesn't matter if it is about your life, job, health, or family.  Something good is happening.  Something to be thankful for is happening. Something needed is happening.

On Thursday, May 6th many people around the country will take part in the observance of the National Day of Prayer.  This years theme is "For Such a Time as This" and the scripture that is being used is from Nahum 1:7, "The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him". 

Locally, the Thomas County Ministerial Association will hold their annual observance on the lawn of the Thomas County Courthouse, from 12:15-12:45.  We are trying to respect people's time and, at the same time, would like to have as many people as possible take part in this activity.

The National Day of Prayer Task Force has set up seven areas to be praying about seven days a week: 1) government, 2) military, 3) media, 4) business, 5) education, 6) church, and 7) family.  These areas pretty much sum up the areas most would think about that needs to be prayed over.

Our government is always in need of prayer.  Democrat or Republican, it doesn't matter who the person in office is, they need prayers.  Local or national, each section of the government has to make decisions that impact all of us, in one way or another.  Pray for those in office.

Our military is in danger somewhere at all times.  Right now we may focus on the Middle East, but something could happen right here in our own country.  You may have family or friends in the military that are serving short or long commitments.  As I am reminded of our country's freedom, I not only appreciate those who serve, but want to pray for them as well.

The media does a lot to make sure that the news is covered.  It is not the easiest to keep people informed.  The media does a lot to cover local and national news.  Plus, there are a lot of people that work behind the scenes to help make the news, in any form, get to you. 

Economy.  Such a buzzword these days.  The economy has taken a plunge and is trying to grasp at about anything to get back up.  One positive point is that agriculture hasn't been too affected by this downturn.  That is good news for us who live in an agricultural area.  However, businesses themselves can come in and leave if we aren't able to support them.  Let's try to support local when we can. This will help our own economy.

Kansas is not in great shape in its education arena. Some of the reason has to do with the business and economy part of the state.  Locally, it has been hit hard. Loss of state aid has caused a loss of jobs and a loss of transportation within our school system.  Trying to grasp at various areas of which to save, many districts have cut raises, as well.  This also has had an effect on the retired educators as well.  Our local schools and administrators are needing your prayers on a constant basis to be able to have a quality education for our youth.

Churches are struggling as well. The smaller the church, the more difficult is it.  Whether it is from an economic standpoint or a spiritual one, there is always an obstacle. Pray for your church, its leaders, and its mission.

Family has changed over the years.  Unfortunately, the busier people get, the more difficult it becomes on their marriages and family.  Hence, I believe, it takes even more work than it used to take to have a good marriage and a strong family.  Kids are busy so evening meals are seldom.  Parents are working odd hours, so their not home with their kids.  Even when the family is at home, are they doing much together in quality time or are media devices (TV, cell phone, computer) taking precedence?  Let's pray that a new trend will emerge where family time is a priority.

Be praying.  Are you in a "time of trouble"? Be praying.  Keep these areas in mind as you look to be taking praises and petitions to God over the next year because "such a time as this" that we need prayer!

Living Wide Awake: Focus

When do you find yourself having the most difficult time to focus? Is it when you are approaching a deadline? Is it when your kids are screaming around the house? Is it when you take too much on? Is it when there is noise, in general, going on that is not pertaining to the task you are trying to accomplish? Is it when things just aren't going your way (i.e. in a slump, crises, etc.)?

Focusing is important to getting something accomplished. When you have an idea (aka dream) and are following through with the idea, you have to focus in order to be able to bring it to completion. So you dream, put your confidence in Him, and focus. Notice that these are all things you must do - you have to be active. Living wide awake means that you are active in doing different things.

As I've said, too often, Christians, "sleep" in between church assembly times. Other things are on such a priority list that being a Christian is something you do "on Sundays". But living wide awake means that you are an "awake" Christian every chance you get.

Yesterday, we looked at the concept of focus. Keeping focused on Him, as we dream, is vital to accomplishing our goal. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. Don't look down - Peter started walking on the water and looked down - Fright loses focus - This climbing phrase holds true when you are trying to accomplish anything of magnitude. Don't let your fears of getting higher, on the accomplishment scale, cause you to look down and see all that you've overcome and then get discouraged.
2. Keep focused on Him - That goes along with last week's word of confidence (in Him) - Everything you should be dreaming of doing is for His glory, not for anything to do with you.
3. Keep the Son close - Jesus' parents had an instance where they failed to keep their son, the Son, close to them, so when they left the feast, they didn't have Jesus with them. They were a days journey away before they realized that no one in their company of friends and family knew where he was. As you go through the day, don't forget to keep Him close to you and your daily events. Don't let Him so far away as to wonder where he is at in your life!
4. Keep Your Dreams Accountable - When you write down a dream, ask someone to hold you accountable for trying to do all that you can to make sure the dream is accomplished. This way, even if you slack a bit, you will have a friendly and humble reminder to keep working on it.
5. Rid the Noise - You may not have to cut something out completely, but you may need to turn off outside responsibilities once in a while to help make sure you are working on what you wrote down as your dream.
6. Praise God for the Accomplishments - As you go through life living wide awake you will notice that God is working. You may not see it right away because you aren't used to looking for Him in your every day. However, even if you look back and realize that God showed up in an unlikely place, give God the glory and tell Him "Thanks" for using you in that situation.
   

A friend of mine enjoys looking for God to show up in the media. From the time I learned of this interest, I started focusing in on shows to see when God shows up. Last Monday, on an episode of "How I Met Your Mother", God showed up (and not in an put-down-religion way). If you are not familiar with the show, here's a short synopsis. Three friends are sitting around a table, when another comes over, bragging he was just given a girls phone number. They discuss that there is a "three day rule" where you should not call her before three days. "Not the three day rule...that is stupid...who even came up with that?" are the comments that follow. The answer, Jesus. He was dead for three days before he waited to come out to reveal Himself. Hence, the reason to wait three days. There is much dialogue that goes on regarding this situation. I personally found the dialogue humorous. He wasn't poking fun at Jesus, but trying to prove his dating theory. Regardless, "Jesus" was spoken several times and the event that they were speaking of was a real event - the resurrection. I was impressed how God showed up. However, if you don't focus on looking for Him to show up in the media, you could have missed the greatness of this situation.

If you aren't focused your frazzled. If you are frightened you're going to lose focus. If you dream, you're going to look higher and when you get there, don't look down! You'll be amazed at how high God can take you when you team up and see what you can do together in your every day!

Focusing on Him in my every day...