“Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ Jesus responded, ‘Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!’ Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm. The disciples were amazed. ‘Who is this man?’ they asked. ‘Even the winds and waves obey him!’
The Sea of Galilee is an unusual body of water. Although relatively small (13 miles long and 8 miles wide), it is 150 feet deep at its deepest point, and the shoreline is about 690 feet below sea level. Sudden storms can appear over the surrounding mountains with little warning, stirring the water into violent 20-foot waves. These experienced fishermen had not foolishly set out in a storm. They were caught without warning, and their danger was very real.
Although the disciples had witnessed many miracles, they panicked in this storm. As experienced sailors, they knew its danger; what they did not know was that Jesus could control the forces of nature.
We often encounter storms in our lives where we feel God can’t or won’t work. When we truly understand who God is, however, we will realize that he controls both the storms of nature and the storms of the troubled heart. Jesus’ power that calmed this storm can also help us deal with the problems we face. And he is with us. Jesus is willing to help if we only ask him. We should never discount his power even in terrible trials.
Purim Party
“Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to the Jews near and far, throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes, calling on them to celebrate an annual festival on these two days. He told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy. ” Esther 9:20-22, NLT
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates when God saved his people from the evil Haman. I’m not Jewish, but growing up my parents always had special ways for us to remember the story of Esther during this time of year.
Here are a few ideas of how to celebrate:
Have a fancy family dinner and read the Book of Esther. The story of Esther has a lot of getting “fancy” in it. Esther becomes queen because of a beauty pageant, when she bravely goes to the king’s court she is wearing her royal robes, and later in the story she invites the king and Haman to a special banquet. Have fun finding something fancy to wear and then talk about the story during family dinner,
Make Purim Baskets. Part of the celebration in Esther 9 says to give gifts to each other. Purim baskets can be filled with food, candy, and other small gifts. Consider making these for your neighbors. They are a great way to start a conversation. Or you can make them for your pastors, friends, family members – anyone who needs a smile
Give to the Poor. Throughout the Bible we see that the poor are near to God’s heart. This is a great time to find a way to be intentional about how you as a family can give to those in need. It doesn’t have to be a monetary gift. Maybe you could volunteer at a shelter, donate food items to a food pantry, cleanup a local park, or spend some time with elderly neighbors who may need help with chores or outside upkeep. We also have people in our own circle of friends who may need an extra hand or help. This gives you an excuse to reach out.
Tell the Story of Esther in a Creative Way. In my family we loved putting on a play of the story Esther. We would make funny costumes and act out the story. Maybe play acting isn’t for you. Don’t let that stop you. Get your creative juices going and find a fun way to tell the story of Esther. You could create a storybook, illustrate a comic book, come up with a game, write a poem, make a movie trailer or find another activity that is out-of-the-box and fun for your family.
Looking for more ways to engage in the Bible as a family. Check out the Hands-On Bible.
“I was so excited when I got my Bible. I’ve spent the whole day reading it along with some other girls and I already feel closer to Jesus.” – Crystal
Crystal’s words challenge me. I love the Bible, but when was
the last time I spent the whole day reading it? Am I still excited when I go to
open God’s Word, or has it become a mundane routine? Crystal’s words challenge me
because we have very different lives. I wake up each morning and choose what to
wear, what to have for breakfast, and when to open the door and walk outside. As
a prisoner, Crystal doesn’t have those or many other choices. But the choice we
both have is to follow Christ and grow in our relationship with him through his
Word.
Through our partnership with Prison Fellowship we have been able to get The Life Recovery Bibleinto the hands of thousands of prisoners like Crystal who are in prison but hunger for the hope in God’s Word. At no charge to the prisoner they are able to receive a special edition Life Recovery Bible in English or Spanish through the Prison Fellowship ministry. Many of these men and women have been enslaved by addiction. Whether it’s an illegal substance, power, money, or something else, that desire is overwhelming and they’ve risked everything while in its deadly grip.
But God’s Word is a bondage breaker! Through his grace and
saving blood we are no longer slaves. The Bible is filled with stories of
people who needed second chances. We all have times when we have struggled and
needed God to forgive us and allow us to start again.
“Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of
evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were
dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do
what is right for the glory of God” (Romans 6:13, NLT).
Here are some examples of people who have found new life while reading The Life Recovery Bible and are living out the transforming power of God’s Word.
Delivered from the Sting of Spiritual Death
Bound by sin, my life
a mess.
Taken by trials, I failed the test.
A slave to drugs that
kept me in chains.
Smoking and shooting was burning my brain.
That list hit of dope
should have been the final blow.
But because of God’s love, mercy said “No!”
I ended up in prison.
It should have been the end.
Then God sent me Jesus, my heart He will mend.
I found true love
from my Creator and Lord.
So I walk with him, my Helmet, Breastplate, and Sword
This might sound
strange but take it from me.
I had to come to prison so I could be free.
“I was in a long, deep prayer to God. It was a very difficult day, and I was praying for comfort, for strength, just crying out to my Abba Father. I asked him to fill me with his Holy Spirit. With my eyes still puffy and red from crying, my heart still bleeding and aching, I saw an officer come to my cell door and place a newLife Recovery Biblein my hands. God heard me. He came to me. He held me. He showered me with His great, powerful, sovereign love. God always knows what we need when we need it.” –Melody
“I put my Bible to good use every day. I spread the seeds of God’s Word and even started a small group of believers. We get together and love to read God’s Word daily. Thanks to the powerful notes and information in The Life Recovery Bible,we’re able to have a better understanding of the Bible.” –Tylor
“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? And also, ‘If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?’ So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.” 1 Peter 4:12-19, NLT
First Peter is focused almost exclusively on Christian suffering, especially unjust persecution at the hands of people hostile to the faith. The several themes about suffering that are woven throughout the letter find their climactic expression in 1 Peter 4:12-19. Peter makes the following points about suffering:
1.We should not be surprised when suffering comes (4:12). Christians who live a countercultural lifestyle in obedience to God should expect the culture to respond with hostility. We should expect mockery, discrimination, trumped-up charges, and even violence.
2. God has a purpose for us in suffering: It brings us into fellowship with Christ, who suffered before he was glorified (4:13; see also Rom 8:17).
3. By suffering in fellowship with Christ, we can be confident of enjoying the glory that he has already won (4:13; see Rom 8:17).
4. We need to commit ourselves to doing what is right when we face suffering (4:19). Our difficulties can always provide an excuse for sinning, but when difficulties come our way, we must live exemplary Christian lives, characterized by love for others.
5. Our loving response to enemies in the midst of trials can be a powerful opportunity to share our faith. By treating our persecutors with love and kindness, we can make our faith respectable and even attractive to them.
6. We need to remember in our trials that God is both sovereign and faithful (4:19). He controls all the circumstances of life, and we don’t need to fear that a trial will come our way apart from God’s oversight or will.
I love to Bible journal. I find myself these days spending any spare time I have, sitting at my table thirsting for time in his word. Ever since I discovered Bible journaling, I have a hunger for God’s word like I have never had before. I am so thankful for this community and for what it has taught me. I have many journaling Bibles but the one I always reach for these days is my NLT Reflections Bible. I have the hardcover cloth, teal version. This is actually my second one that I’ve had. The first one, I sent off as a Traveling Bible to be journaled in by ladies all over the United States and eventually gifted to a family who lost their daughter to cancer. It was such a special gift!
Bible journaling is a way for me to connect with my Savior. It’s a form of worship for me. It allows me to meditate on his word and grow creatively while I study it. When I begin my journaling process, I pray over the verse I’m journaling and ask the Lord to speak to me. I always have my worship music keyed up as well. This is another way for me to connect with him. With the music going, prayers being said, meditating on the verses, it’s an amazing time to spend being creative!! Whether it’s using stamps, watercolors, printables, acrylic paints, or distress oxides (my absolute favorites), it’s time spent in his word.
I love how the Reflections Bible has white pages because all the colors and designs just seem to pop off the pages and when you highlight the verses, it seems to show up even more. After I am finished with creating, I will usually write a small prayer, date my entry (I hope to pass my Bibles on to my family someday for them to enjoy, that’s why I date them, plus I like to look back on the entries and see where the Lord has brought me from on those days), and close with prayer. If I decide to share that particular page with social media, I’ll snap a picture sometime after. It’s time well spent, I’ve learned a new verse or revisited an old one. I’ve been able to use my creative skills and I’ve had alone time with my Savior all rolled up into one. My heart couldn’t be fuller!
The
Reflections Bible has another favorite of mine, it’s in the NLT translation.
When I’m reading or listening on audio to the Bible, it’s one of my favorite
translations to use. It’s so easy to understand and still holds true to the
original text. If you look on Tyndale.com, you can read in detail how they have
translated the Bible, what process what used, ancient texts, and much more
information is given. I love to read the history and know in detail about the
translations I read. This is why NLT is one of my favorites.
We could go on forever about how much we love creative Bible journaling. It’s so much more than coloring or drawing or expressing our faith—it’s worship! It’s our personal response on the page to what God is doing in our hearts. As you may know, Bible journaling has become a deeply treasured devotional practice for many. It is drawing people into Scripture like never before. Journaling Bibles are not sitting on shelves collecting dust. Scripture is being read, meditated on, studied, prayed over, colored, embellished, and responded to!
God speaks to us through the Bible, and faith is strengthened, wisdom is gained, truth is proclaimed, wounds are healed, minds are transformed, relationships are mended, hurts are forgiven, hearts are surrendered, courage and strength grow, and so much more! God’s Love is flooding into hearts as people meditate on his Word, and God’s Truth is spilling off the page and out into the world!
We invite you to indulge in the 14 reasons why we LOVE Bible
journaling! We also invite you to try it for yourself. You might discover
you’re a lot more creative than you think, or it might open up a whole new way for
you to read and engage with Scripture that radically transforms your time with
God! One thing is for sure: God’s Word never returns void.
1. The Bible was written for you and me to read and study
and learn from. Bible journaling is a fun way to respond to what we’ve read.
God’s Word is alive and powerful!
2. God speaks to us through the Bible, and no matter how
many times we’ve read our Bibles, there is always a fresh word or perspective
or learning. No two journaling Bibles are ever alike.
3. Bible journaling is an act of worship and can even be
done in community!
4. Being creative in our Bibles draws us deeper into God’s
Word and helps us remember the truths that we learn so we can apply them to our
lives.
5. It’s 100% meaningful; time spent in God’s Word never
returns void.
6. It’s a creative process that calls out the creativity God
gave you. You were made in his image. He is creative, and so are you!
7. It’s a unique way to study God’s Word. We can express
ourselves to God and discover God’s truth in a new and exciting way.
8. It’s a great way to share your legacy of faith with your
children or grandchildren and can even become a family tradition.
9. It encourages time in God’s Word.
10. It doesn’t have to be beautiful to be meaningful.
11. It’s a way to reflect our hearts to our Creator and to
respond to what God is doing in our hearts through his Word.
12. Bible journaling is colorful! Our colorful Bibles are
beautiful reflections of our time spent in God’s Word! We can go back to them
time and again and revisit the pages we’ve journaled for encouragement and as a
reminder of God’s faithfulness.
13. We are inspired by God’s Word!
14. It’s fun!
Click on the images below to download some pages from our journaling Bibles and try creating Bible journaling for yourself.
The book of 1 Samuel begins with the birth of the prophet Samuel
and ends with the death of King Saul. It contains a catalog of lives for us to
learn from—some exemplary, others not. Samuel was born in the time of the
judges, when “people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges
17:6). The people were far from God. Eli was high priest, but the flaws in his
leadership can be seen in the dysfunctions of his own family. Since Israel
lacked strong spiritual leadership, God chose Samuel and prepared him to lead
the Israelites back to God.
Near the end of Samuel’s ministry, the people demanded a king;
they wanted to be like the surrounding nations. God was not pleased with
Israel’s demand, but he chose Saul to lead them anyway. Saul, though a man of
great potential, was self-centered and disobedient; he never achieved what God
had intended for him.
While Saul was still king, Samuel anointed David to be the next king. David became a national hero by killing Goliath, and he won numerous other great battles with God’s help. But when Saul realized that David was in line for the throne, he was consumed by bitterness and tried to kill him.
Finally, faced with defeat in battle, Saul took his own life. This book portrays some who moved toward God and toward wholeness and others who moved away from God and toward disaster. Jealousy, bitterness, and disobedience destroyed the life of King Saul. But forgiveness, trust, and obedience brought David great success. This book clearly shows that the only way to wholeness is by trusting and obeying God and following his program.
THE BOTTOM LINE
PURPOSE: To track Israel’s transition from the period of the judges to the era of kingly rule. AUTHOR: Unknown, but probably most of it was written by Samuel. Nathan and Gad were also contributors. AUDIENCE: The people of Israel. DATE WRITTEN: The book was probably started during Samuel’s lifetime and finished around 930 b.c. SETTING: In Israel, between 1120 and 971 b.c. KEY VERSE: “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice” (15:22). KEY PLACES: Shiloh, Gilgal, Ramah, Bethlehem, Gath, Adullam, Hebron, the wilderness of Judah, Ziklag, Endor, Beth-shan. KEY PEOPLE AND RELATIONSHIPS: Samuel and Eli, Samuel and Saul, and Samuel and David.
The authors of the Life Recovery Biblehave recently released four workbooks that meet the needs of people dealing with compulsive behaviors that go beyond alcohol and substance abuse. These workbooks complement The Life Recovery Bible and focus on developing a biblical foundation for both understanding and successfully overcoming specific areas of struggle. Learn more
Will We Be Daring Like Daniel?
“But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.” Daniel 1:8, NLT
Daniel was among the young men of Judah’s leading families who were exiled to Babylon after King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem. Daniel and others were chosen to be trained in the language and customs of their captors. This was a golden opportunity to escape their indignity of living as slaves and refugees. But the privilege and training they were offered required them to give up a part of their ethnic identity and moral purity.
Although he was a young man, Daniel understood the implications and resolved not to eat food that would have defiled him. God honoured Daniel by causing the Babylonian official to deal favourably with him and his three friends when they suggested a test.
Tribal wars, political and religious clashes, terrorism, and poverty cause many of us to live as refugees, both within and outside of our continent. Many young people seek to escape a life of poverty by becoming economic migrants in foreign lands.
The reason why many of us are refugees or in unfamiliar situations may be different from the reason Daniel was in Exile. And many of us living in other cultures may be considered second-class citizens instead of privileged officials, the way Daniel and his friends were. Nevertheless, we face the same pressures to abandon our culture and faith that Daniel and his friends faced.
It is sad that in their quest for a better life, many believers in Africa are forgoing their Christian and cultural identity and allowing themselves to be contaminated with the evil of the world around them. Daniel offered Nebuchadnezzar’s chief of staff a plan to test God’s power. Let us dare to be a Daniel and hold to God’s values and plan for us wherever we are.
Look Inside the Africa Study Bible
Am I Committed?
Many of us make New Years resolutions, but we get a few weeks or maybe even a few months in and we start to get tired. The excitement wears off, the busyness of life sets in and our commitment to that resolution starts to diminish. But it’s not just resolutions where our commitments start diminish. It can happening in relationships, where God has called us to serve, and even in our faith.
Read what the Bible has to say about the importance of commitment from the HelpFinder Bible
The achievement of any goal or purpose requires commitment—whether for good or for evil. The Bible speaks of commitment in both negative and positive ways: “committing” a sin (Deuteronomy 22:22) and “commit everything you do to the Lord” (Psalm 37:5). Each alternative involves making a decision, turning oneself over to something or someone, a focused and sometimes costly perseverance, and then reaping the negative consequences or positive rewards of our commitment. Understanding commitment and learning to commit our hearts, minds, and bodies is central to a life of faith. In fact, faith devoid of commitment is dead.
Why is commitment so important? • PSALM 25:10 | The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.
When you are committed to following God, he will lead you to his will for your life, the satisfying and fulfilling goal for which he has created you.
• PSALM 31:23 | For the Lord protects those who are loyal to him.
When you are committed to God, he is committed to watching out for you and caring for you.
• RUTH 1:14 | And again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye.But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi.
Commitment is the true mark of friendship.
• 1 CORINTHIANS 13:7 | Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Commitment is the evidence of love for one another.
by Dr. Barry C. Black, Chaplain of the United States Senate
The One Year Pray for America Bible provides springboards for prayer that enable you to pray more effectively. It gives a different prayer prompt each day, encouraging us to pray for our government and make petitions on behalf of our leaders and fellow citizens for security, forgiveness, mercy, justice, humility, and wisdom. Prayer enables us to make our voices heard in heaven regarding America’s needs.
Prayer helped to make America a beacon of freedom. At the
birth of this nation, people sought God’s help in making the dream of Liberty a
reality. At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, when the participants had reached
an impasse, Benjamin Franklin suggested that they pray, and they eventually
did. Those prayers aided in our nation’s birth.
One of the first acts of the new American legislative branch
in 1789 was to establish a chaplaincy. A key responsibility of this chaplaincy
was to begin each legislative session with an invocation. Prayer has continued almost
uninterrupted since that time, because seeking God’s assistance for a person,
nation, or world is laudable. The Bible reminds us, “Godliness makes a nation
great, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Humanity can
cooperate with Divinity in making a nation great.
If our nation started with prayer, perhaps we should also
sustain it with the same. We should get back to praying because, after all, God
is sovereign over all nations. Job 12:23-24 says this about God: “He builds up
nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them. He strips
kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.”
These verses make it clear that humanity will not have the ultimate word in
what happens to nations; God will.
Getting Back to
Praying for Our Nation
We should get back to praying for our government because God
has ordained government to establish order in society. The apostle Paul puts it
this way:
Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all
authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed
there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God
has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike
fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you
like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will
honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you
are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to
punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing
those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid
punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.
Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government
workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone
what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect
them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. (Romans 13:1-7)
God ordained government for our good. Paul instructs us that
government officials deserve our prayers, finances, honor, and respect.
We should get back to praying for our government because God
commands us to pray for it. We find these words in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, “I urge
you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on
their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are
in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and
dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be
saved and to understand the truth.”
We should get back to praying for our government because
life should not be divided into sacred and secular. God has sovereignty over
all our lives because in him we live, move, breathe, and function (Acts 17:28).
According to Proverbs 21:1, even the king’s heart is in God’s hands; the sovereign
God guides the king’s heart as he desires. Our lives are sustained by a
powerful divine providence, and the sacred permeates every part of our
existence, including government.
We should get back to praying for our government because
people of faith have a role in influencing public life and policy. We must give
to Caesar what belongs to him (Matthew 22:21), fostering morality in government
and holding authorities accountable. The Bible challenges us to be salt and
light to our world (Matthew 5:13-16). This means refusing to be missing in
action when it comes to governmental affairs. Esther, Nehemiah, and Daniel are
just three examples of how believers should relate to government constructively.
We should get back to praying for our government because the
ends sought by the government should be morally acceptable. In short, when Caesar’s
dictates collide with God’s commands, we must obey God instead of Caesar (Acts 5:29).
When the Babylonian king demanded that Daniel and his friends eat inappropriate
food, Daniel negotiated an acceptable alternative that satisfied this demand
(Daniel 1:5-16). When, however, the same king insisted these young men bow and
worship an idol or be executed in a fiery furnace, the young men chose to risk
death rather than compromise their faith (Daniel 3:1-18). Therefore, we must
cooperate with government whenever it does not violate our allegiance to God
and resist it when it does. Part of our cooperation entails praying.
We should get back to praying for our government because we
are urged to pray for others. In Jesus’ model prayer for his disciples (Matthew
6:9‑13),
the pronouns are plural. It does not say “My Father” but “Our Father.” We are
not told to pray “give me today the food I need,” but “give us today the food
we need.” Jesus does not admonish us to pray “don’t let me yield to temptation,
but rescue me from the evil one,” but “don’t let us yield to temptation, but
rescue us from the evil one.” Although some may find it difficult to believe
that the effectiveness of prayer goes beyond the private and interior life of
the intercessor, the Bible urges us to pray for others (James 5:16).
We should get back to praying for our government because
intercessory prayer is an affirmation of faith in the God who desires to serve
humanity. God says in Ezekiel 33:11: “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign
Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to
turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O
people of Israel! Why should you die?” In his book on prayer, Eric Hayman
observed, “The power of our intercession is not our isolated pressure on a God
remote from us. It is the action of His Spirit in and through our little souls,
self-offered to the purpose of His will. So our intercession depends on our
keeping open both to the perfect will of God and also the need and suffering of
the world.”* Perhaps this is why Elton Trueblood speaks of the church as a
“fellowship of the concerned.”†
We should get back to praying for our government because God
blesses nations that acknowledge him. Psalm 33:12 states: “What joy for the nation
whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance.” God
shows special favor to those who respect his sovereignty. He protects these
nations, surrounding them with the shield of his love (Psalm 5:12).
How We Should Pray
So, how should we pray for our government? First, we should pray for our government’s needs. One Greek word that can be translated as “supplication”in 1 Timothy 2:1 is deēsis, which is a word that suggests that God expects us to ask him to meet our government’s needs. God has promised to supply all our needs out of his celestial bounty (Philippians 4:19). He invites us to cry out to him when we are confronted with trouble (Psalm 50:15).When our government is overwhelmed by moral, financial, and even safety concerns, we should intercede for its needs. We have an example of praying for the needs of the government in James 5:16-18. These verses remind us that Elijah prayed and asked God to stop the rain from falling. Elijah was concerned because the government under King Ahab had endorsed the worship of Baal. The government seemed certain that it was Baal who sent the rain and produced a bountiful harvest, not the God of Israel. Elijah was concerned about governmental deviation from God’s law. He wanted the sovereign God of Israel to assert himself, and God answered his prayer,which was prompted by this need.
Second, we should pray with total dependence on God. Another Greek word in 1 Timothy 2:1 that can be translated as “prayer” is proseuchē. This word suggests that we should seek God as the sole provider of our government’s success. This dependence on God’s power is implied in Psalm 127:1: “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.” The notion of total dependence upon God is also captured in the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai: “You must not have any other god but me” (Exodus 20:3). God desires to be our sole provider.
Third, we should pray confidently, knowing that we have complete access to God. The Greek word enteuxis in 1 Timothy 2:1 can be translated as “petition.” In this word, we can see an admonition to come boldly before God’s throne of grace to receive help in the time of need (see also Hebrews 4:16). We hear this same sentiment in 1 Peter 2:9, which describes believers as royal priests. A priest is someone who has access to both God and the people and is a bridge between God and the people. When we pray for our government, we should intercede with an awareness of our complete access to God in heaven.
Finally, we should pray with thanksgiving. The final Greek word in 1 Timothy 2:1 that shows us how to pray is eucharistia, which can be translated“thanksgiving.” Thanksgiving adds perfume to our petitions ascending to God’s throne. Philippians 4:6 says: “Pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Everything includes our prayers for our government. Believers are also encouraged to give thanks in every circumstance (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Continual thanksgiving is God’swill for our lives.
The Difference Prayer
Can Make
Imagine the difference our prayers would make if we asked
specifically for God to deal with the needs of our nation. What would happen if
we prayed for a stronger economy, or more harmonious race relations, or greater
civility among our political leaders, or better cooperation between our
branches of government? Specificity matters. God is waiting for us to be
specific about our needs.
Imagine what would happen if we sought God as our first
option—not the fourth or fifth. It would be wonderful to avoid the mistakes of
the disciples in a storm at sea. They first attempted to save themselves; they
waited before awakening Jesus (Mark 4:35-41). Our prayers for government can be
energized by understanding that God is the sole source of our strength and
help.
Imagine what would happen if we took frequent advantage of
the complete access God has given us to his throne because of our status as
royal priests. It can take months to meet with a government leader, but God has
provided us with continuous access to his presence, mercy, grace, and might.
Imagine what would happen if Thanksgiving came every day instead of once a year. How much more effective our prayers would be if we decided with the psalmist to praise the Lord at all times, with his praises constantly on our lips (Psalm 34:1). Perhaps then we would know experientially the truth of Psalm 22:22-31, which envisions a holy God who is continually praised by his people. The greatest days of our nation are linked to the holiness of its citizens. By God’s grace, let’s get back to prayer. The One Year Pray for America Bibleis a great starting point.
* Eric Hayman, Prayer and the Christian Life (London:
Student Christian MovementPress, 1948), 122-123.
† Elton Trueblood, Alternative to Futility (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1948), 58.
