Tag: pray

Pursue a God-Honoring Contentment

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 10, 2021

Discern When to Be Satisfied with What You Have and When to Yearn for More

Though some of our world live in an environment of true need, most people have their daily needs met. Yet they aren’t satisfied with having their basic requirements covered. They want more. And the more that most people have, the more they want.

These people live with a materialistic outlook. They’re never satisfied with what they have. They always crave for more. This is the reality today in developed countries around the world. Regardless of what these people have, they’re not satisfied. Whatever they have isn’t enough; they’re always yearning for more, grasping for what they don’t have.

Material Contentment

Instead of always seeking for more, we should strive to be content with what we have. God has blessed us with material provisions. We should thank him for his gifts and not seek more. We must learn to be content with what we have.

In fact, an unrestrained drive to accumulate more money and more possessions emerges as a disrespect for God. It’s a slap in his face, effectively saying that what he’s given isn’t enough.

We must stop this. We must learn to enjoy what we have and be thankful for it. All we need is to have the basics of life covered. Everything else is a bonus.

With God’s help, we can learn to be content with what we have: the size of our bank account, our home, our car, our clothes, our possessions, the money in our pocket, and on and on.

Most people today live beyond their means. They’re one paycheck away from disaster. And a few people live at their means. This is a better perspective. My goal, however, is to live beneath my means, which gives me more opportunity to bless others.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t set goals to make our life better. But it does mean we need to keep our ambitions in check. In the Bible, James gives us some commonsense advice to do this, crouching our plans with a caveat “If it’s the Lord’s will . . . ” (James 4:15).

Spiritual Contentment

There’s another element of commitment however, that we must address. It’s not our physical comforts, but our spiritual situation. We must never be content with that.

Yet most people are satisfied with their spiritual condition and their standing with God. Too many people are coasting their way toward heaven. And it’s sad for what they’re missing.

As for me, this is one area where I want more. When it comes to my relationship with God, what I have is not enough. I crave a deeper connection, greater supernatural insight, and a spiritual reality that I’ve so far just read about.

Conclusion

Each time I asked God for contentment with his tangible blessings—to protect me from a materialistic mindset—I’m quick to add a clarification. I also request from the Almighty that I’ll always desire more on a spiritual level. And that he will provide it.

May we be materially content and spiritually hungry.

Take a moment now, and thank God for what he’s given you.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Tags blessing, connect with God, money, pray

Bible Insights

How to Respond to Pain

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 31, 2021

The Birth of Jabez

The obscure Old Testament character Jabez is only mentioned in two verses in the Bible. A reoccurring theme (if two verses can have a reoccurring theme) is pain.

The birth of Jabez is marked by pain and his mom gives him a name to let everyone know that.

What a terrible legacy to give a boy, a name that serves as a constant reminder—to him and everyone else —that he caused extreme discomfort to his mom and is likely destined to continue to cause pain.

Jabez could have opted to live up to those expectations, allowing his name to be a self-fulfilling prophecy or he could attempt to overcome it. He chose the latter, asking God to keep him from causing pain.

And God answered his prayer!

Regardless of our past or the hand that life has dealt us, we don’t need to let that define us. We can overcome it and become something else, something better.

God helped Jabez do just that and he can help us to; we only need to ask.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 1 Chronicles 1-4, and today’s post is on 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.]

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Tags pray, Prayer of Jabez

Bible Insights

Is Our Relationship With God More Important Than Obedience?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 1, 2021

The Old Testament Law Talks about Offering Sacrifices to God, but What If He Wants More?

King Solomon writes in the book of Ecclesiastes that we need to be careful when approaching God. “Guard your steps,” he says. This is wise advice.

Then he adds something more: “Go near to listen.” He even places listening over offering God the prescribed sacrifices.

Though the Old Testament Law gives many commands about offering God our sacrifices, I don’t recall one that tells us to listen.

Yet Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, places listening to God over offering sacrifices to him.

Listening is about connecting. Solomon realizes God wants a relationship with us. He talks to us, and when we listen, we hear his voice, his words.

Communication with God isn’t a one-way street, with us just asking him (praying) for things.

God can communicate to us, too, through the Bible and through his Holy Spirit, “a gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12, NIV) or his “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12, KJV).

In Psalms we read we need to “be still and know that I am God,” (Psalm 46:10). That is the best way to listen to God. That’s what he wants from us: our ears, our attention, a relationship.

Our relationship with God starts when we listen to him.

Ask yourself: How do you listen to God? How does God speak to you?

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Ecclesiastes 4-6, today’s post is on Ecclesiastes 5:1.]

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Tags communication, Law of Moses, obey God, pray, sacrifice

Christian Living

Deliver Us from Evil

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date April 11, 2021

Pray That God Will Protect Us from Harm

Do you ever ask God to protect you from evil? You can. It’s biblical. It’s part of my morning routine, and based on what I’m about to share, I want to be more intentional about making this request each day.

There are two key prayers in the Bible that offer scriptural support for asking God to deliver us from evil.

The Lord’s Prayer

What we commonly refer to as the Lord’s Prayer—because it came from Jesus, our Lord—we should more appropriately call the disciple’s prayer—because it’s for his disciples, and for us.

This stands as the most significant prayer in the Bible. First, because Jesus taught it. Second, because he gave it to us as a model to follow.

Consider the line in Matthew 6:13 from this prayer. In most translations, it says “deliver us from the evil one,” or simply “deliver us from evil.” Some versions use the word rescue, save, or free, but deliver is the most common translation.

Jesus gave us this prayer is a model to use, so we should follow it and pray that he will deliver us from evil.

The Prayer of Jabez

Another biblical prayer that I find significant is the lesser-known prayer of Jabez. (There’s even a book written about it.) Aside from the Lord’s Prayer, I call Jabez’s prayer my favorite prayer in the Bible.

Why is this? Because after Jabez prays, Scripture records God’s response. It says that God granted his request.

This means that God accepted Jabez’s petition and answered his prayer. Oh, how this encourages me when I pray.

One line in Jabez’s prayer is that God would “keep me from evil” 1 Chronicles 4:10). Though some translations use the word harm or pain instead of evil, most say evil.

Two Prayers to Deliver Us from Evil

It should be enough that Jesus tells us to ask God to deliver us from evil. But the Bible gives us a second example through Jabez, along with God’s confirmation that he answered Jabez’s prayer when he asked for the same thing.

This should encourage us that when we ask God to keep and deliver us from evil, he will do just that.

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Tags evil one, Lord’s Prayer, pray, Prayer of Jabez

Christian Living

There is Power in Prayer

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 7, 2021

God Is Always Just a Prayer Away

Prayer is part of my daily spiritual journey—at least most of the time. Each day. before I climb out of bed, I seek God’s blessings for my day. I ask that I will write well, he will grant me favor, and he will provide what I need.

Some days these requests seem more imperative than others, that I don’t dare start my day until I’ve invited him—sometimes implored him—to join me in it. There is power in prayer, and I so need it.

I also strive to end each day with prayer, but I’m not as consistent here. I ask that I will fall asleep quickly and awake refreshed. I pray for peaceful, God-honoring dreams.

I also intend to thank him for his blessings throughout the day, but too often I fall asleep before I get that far.

Prayer also occurs throughout my day. I ask for wisdom when making important decisions and insight for dealing with problems (James 1:5). I also ask for the supernatural ability to find things I’ve lost or recall things I can’t remember.

God always comes through when I seek him in these things. Yes, there is power in prayer.

Yet this isn’t to say that my day overflows with prayer and walking closely with my Creator. Sometimes I forget to seek the Almighty, even when I need him the most. A recent ordeal illustrates this point all too well.

The Power of Prayer

On Friday I uploaded my long-awaited audiobook for Women of the Bible to an audiobook distributor. A professional narrator had optimized the files, so I anticipated I’d soon see my audiobook for sale around the world.

On Saturday, however, I received a notice from the distributor that they had rejected my files for technical issues. They listed multiple problems with every single chapter. I was dismayed, and my narrator was shocked.

On Monday I received another email repeating their determination. They reminded me that until we fixed every file to their satisfaction, my book would not be available for sale.

Perplexed, my narrator reworked his schedule to block out time later in the week to tackle the lengthy list of problems.

On Wednesday I mentioned the ordeal in my weekly newsletter. After sharing my disappointment, I wrote:

“God’s perspective is different, though I can’t yet see it. What I do sense is that God is not disappointed, which fills me with hope. I’ll cling to that.”

I concluded by saying:

“When we’re disappointed, it’s God’s perspective that matters.”

I sent the email and prayed it would encourage others who were dealing with their own disappointments.

I wasn’t expecting readers to reply, but they did. One response was from a friend providing encouragement and offering blessings and prayers for a quick resolution.

At that moment I realized I had not prayed for a quick resolution. I had not prayed at all.

n fact, over the eight months since I first started working on the audiobook version, I had not prayed for it one bit. And this was despite encountering delays and frustrations along the way.

I confessed my lack of prayerfulness and added my prayers for a quick resolution to my friend’s, along with others who were also praying.

Having not yet made any changes to the files, three hours later the distributor emailed me with a correction, saying that they had now approved the recordings, and I could move forward.

That is the power of prayer.

May we remember that there is power in prayer and pray throughout our day, rejoicing and thanking God (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Thank you, Jesus, for hearing our prayers and answering them.

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in e-book, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags pray, prayer

Christian Living

Pray to the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 24, 2021

Praying to the Godhead

Last week we looked at God as Trinity and used the image of a tripod to illustrate how one God can exist in three parts: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Now we’ll build upon that understanding and use it to inform us so that we can better pray to the Trinity.

When you pray, who do you pray to? Many people address their prayers to God. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it’s a bit impersonal and keeps him at a distance.

God doesn’t want that, and we shouldn’t either. God desires that we have an intimate relationship with him.

This should be our intent as well. One way to do this is to stop addressing our prayers to God and start talking to him using his Trinitarian parts: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That is, our Creator, our Savior, and our Advocate.

To inform us as we move forward, consider the characteristics of each part of the godhead.

Pray to the Trinity When We Offer Thanks and Praise

God deserves our adoration and are thankful hearts. Out of gratitude for what he’s done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us we should praise and thank him.

To help make this come alive we can address our appreciation, as appropriate, to the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit.

For example, we can praise the Father for creating us (knowing that his Son took part as well, John 1:1-3). We can thank Jesus for saving us. We can thank the Holy Spirit for living in us and guiding us.

Likewise, we can praise Father God for his blessings and provisions. We can praise Savior God for his example, words, and sacrifice to save us. We can praise Holy Spirit God for living in us and guiding us.

Pray to the Trinity When We Make Our Requests

We can also use this idea of praying to the Trinity to inform our petitions. For example, James writes that if anyone lacks wisdom, they should ask God (James 1:5).

This is correct. But which part of the godhead can best grant this request? The Holy Spirit. So ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom.

If we seek a blessing, who might we ask? Go to God the Father. Ask the Father for his provisions, and he will provide.

If we desire to live a more holy life—not to earn God’s attention but as an act of worship—we might ask this of Jesus, since his life serves as an example for us to follow.

In Whose Name Should We Pray?

Jesus tells us we are to set our requests before him, asking in his name (John 14:13-14).

Some Christian traditions follow this by adding a phrase to the end of their prayers: “in Jesus’s name we pray, amen.” Of course, Jesus also tells us to pray to the Father (Matthew 6:6). Which is it? Both.

In addition, the Holy Spirit can help us when we pray. He will intercede for us (Romans 8:26-27). Should we then pray in his name?

How about all three? This may be why other Christian traditions pray “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Enjoy Freedom as We Pray

This idea that we can pray to the Trinity is to free us so that we can move into a closer and more meaningful relationship with God. In doing so we should hold loosely our desire to identify the correct part of God to pray to.

If we ask Jesus for something that more appropriately should go to the Father, it’s not a problem. They are one (John 17:22).

Praying to one is praying to all three. If we get the name wrong, it’s not a big deal.

This idea that we can pray to the Trinity is not a command to follow but one option to enhance our prayers. As we pray to the Trinity, we can breathe life into our prayers if our words mired stuck in a rut.

In the same way, this can also draw us into a closer relationship with God if he seems distant. Remember, it’s not him who’s far away from us but we who are far away from him.

When we pray to the Trinity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we draw ourselves to God in greater intimacy. Isn’t this the purpose of prayer?

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Tags Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus, pray, prayer, trinity

Bible Insights

Opposition to Nehemiah

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date December 15, 2020

Learn More about Nehemiah

Under the wise leadership of Nehemiah, the walls of the city of Jerusalem were rebuild in only 52 days. That’s less than two months.

That seems quick and it sounds like it would have been easy, but it wasn’t. Nehemiah faced severe opposition, in multiple ways, that threatened progress and could have easily derailed the project.

Yet he stood firm, with his vision firmly fixed on his objective. At each step he deftly dismissed each interruption that could have distracted him from his mission.

This opposition took various forms, from ridicule to political, bad advice to prophetic subterfuge, and well-sounding distractions to a strategy of physical attack.

In response to the plan to attack and kill the workers, Nehemiah prayed first and then took tangible action to protect themselves.

Too often, when faced with adversity, we take action first and then pray as an afterthought, if at all. It’s not until we’ve exhausted all our own ideas that we seek God for him to rescue us.

This is not what wise leadership does—and its not what we should do. We need to seek God first—and then take reasonable precautions.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Nehemiah 1-4, and today’s post is on Nehemiah 4:9.]

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Tags leadership, Nehemiah, pray

Christian Living

Will You Pray for Us?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 15, 2020

The People of Israel Ask Samuel To Intercede for Them

Throughout the Old Testament, the Philistines show up as a recurring nemesis for God’s chosen people, the nation of Israel. The Bible mentions the Philistines 191 times in seventeen of the Old Testament’s books.

In most of these cases the Philistines are doing something to harass the Jewish people.

Today’s passage is one of many such examples.

Pray for Us

The Philistine army advances to attack Israel, and the people fear what will happen. They go to the prophet Samuel and ask him to “pray for us,” to intercede and seek God’s provision for deliverance from their enemy.

“Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God,” they beg, “so that he will rescue us from the Philistines.”

Though the Bible doesn’t specifically say that Samuel prays, we can assume he does. Then Samuel offers a burnt offering to God.

When the enemy army draws near, God produces a mighty thunder and the Philistine army goes into a full-scale panic. In complete disarray, the Israelite army easily routes them, killing many and winning a significant victory.

Then Samuel sets up a stone as a monument to commemorate the event. He calls it Ebenezer, which means “stone of help.” This serves as a reminder to the people of how God worked through nature to bring about a victory for the Israelite army.

Pray for Yourselves

This passage is a tribute to God’s power and of Samuel’s intercession for the people. Yet why did the people need Samuel to pray for them? Why did they need him to be there liaison to God?

They could have sought God directly and personally asked him for deliverance. But they didn’t. It could be that their faith was weak, and they didn’t feel they could approach God.

Another explanation is that their theology was in error, and they didn’t realize they could pray directly to God.

Today, we can go right to God in prayer. Do we do this or ask someone else to pray for us? What does this say about our faith and our theology?

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 1 Samuel 5-7, and today’s post is on 1 Samuel 7:8.]

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Tags faith, pray, Samuel, theology

Bible Insights

Ask God to Go with Us

God Promises to Go Before His People and Be Their Rear Guard

In Isaiah’s lengthy prophecy, he tells God’s people in Jerusalem that they need to leave. However, they don’t need to leave in haste. This is because God will go before them and he will take up the rear.

That means, God will pave the way and he has their back.

That’s so comforting. However, this promise is to God’s people in Jerusalem. Does it apply to us today?

Yes and no.

Since Isaiah specifically gives this prophecy and its promise to the people in Jerusalem, we would take it out of context to apply it to us today.

We would be wrong to read this passage and automatically conclude that God will always go before us and watch our back.

However, that doesn’t mean he won’t do this. For God to travel with us, going before us on our path to pave the way and guarding us from a rear attack, we need to ask God to do this.

Instead of Claiming a Comforting Verse, Ask God for It

Since God promised to do this for his people in Jerusalem, this idea of him going before and bringing up the rear isn’t unprecedented. If he took care of them then, he’ll likely take care of us today. But we can’t claim this verse as our own.

It doesn’t apply to us. Instead we must pray it. We must ask God to go before us to prepare the path for our journey. And we must ask God to follow behind us, to protect us from surprise attacks that might catch us off guard.

We should keep this principle in mind as we read the Bible. Just because we see a comforting verse doesn’t mean it automatically applies to us today.

We’d be in error to claim it as our own when it belongs to someone else. However, we can certainly seek God’s provision and ask him to apply it to us today.

After all, if he did it for his people once, there’s a good chance he’ll do it for us again.

[Read through the Bible this year. Today’s reading is Isaiah 52-54, and today’s post is on Isaiah 52:12.]

Read more about the book of Isaiah in For Unto Us: 40 Prophetic Insights About Jesus, Justice, and Gentiles from the Prophet Isaiah available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags pray, read the Bible

Bible Insights

Are You Spiritually Selfish?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date March 4, 2020
2 Comments on Are You Spiritually Selfish?

Look to the Wellbeing of Others and Not Focus on Ourselves

In Isaiah 39 we read a prophecy given to King Hezekiah by Isaiah.

This occurs after Hezekiah does something foolish. He graciously receives envoys from the powerful behemoth, Babylon.

Not only does he show off his nation’s wealth, he also provides his enemies one more reason to invade his country. God is not pleased.

Though Hezekiah’s actions cause this prophecy, he will not suffer personally. His family will. He is spiritually selfish. When Babylon attacks, some of his descendants will be castrated and carted off to serve the king of Babylon.

While the predictions are horrific, Hezekiah’s reaction is pathetic.

Realizing he personally will not suffer, he accepts God’s decree. Hezekiah will enjoy peace. He will encounter no pain. True, others will not experience peace. Other people will undergo the consequences, including his own family.

But the king doesn’t care. He thinks only of himself. He will be fine, and that’s all that matters.

Hezekiah Is Self-absorbed

While peace and security are physical issues, there is a spiritual component at play here as well. Hezekiah does not confess his wrong actions.

He does not ask God to change his mind. He does not intercede for his descendants and the turmoil they will endure because of his folly.

He is spiritually selfish.

It’s easy to be spiritually self-centered. We are content with our standing in God and lose sight of the struggles others face, both physically and spiritually. We fail to pray for them; we don’t seek ways to help.

Our life is good—or at least good enough—and we dismiss the suffering of others. And, like Hezekiah, we do this to our discredit and to their demise.

Following Jesus is not about our comfort. It’s about loving others in his name and pointing people to him.

Anything less is being spirituality selfish.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Isaiah 39-41, and today’s post is on Isaiah 39:7-8.]

Read more about the book of Isaiah in For Unto Us: 40 Prophetic Insights About Jesus, Justice, and Gentiles from the Prophet Isaiah available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags follow Jesus, Isaiah, love, pray