Together in Prayer

Holding to the truth

Today is a day of confusion regarding truth, and that confusion has invaded the church.  Confusion reigns where the church fails to hold firmly on to the Word of God.

The letter to the church at Pergamum starts this way:  "These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword." (Revelation 2:12)  This double-edged sword is the word of God, which comes out of Jesus' mouth…

Perhaps no area of our walk with God is more challenged by our culture today than the area of sexuality.  Having strayed from the truth of God's word, as a society we no longer even know how to define gender.  More and more, our culture reflects Paul's warning to the Romans:

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools…

A civil worker in Kentucky loses her job for refusal to issue a license for a gay marriage due to her religious convictions.  A baker on Colorado is sued for refusing to bake a cake for a gay wedding, again due to religious convictions.  Celebrities who are believers get criticized for positions taken by their pastors on controversial topics.  Long-standing mottos like "In God We Trust" get challenged.

All around us, the church is challenged and squeezed by a culture that…

According to Christianity Today, the United Methodist Church's General Session this weekend will be determining the church's stance on LGBT/gender issues.  At stake are questions like whether to ordain LGBT ministers, whether to perform gay marriages, etc. (1)

The stakes are high in all of this, and there are believers on many sides in this issue.  Words like "love" and "grace" get tossed around a lot, with definitions being assumed and never really spelled out (if you don't…

I watched a message from David Jeremiah today on the question of "Why Doesn't God Answer My Prayers?"  He covered all the typical answers - cherished sin, praying with wrong motives, praying outside God's will, lack of faith, etc.  Nothing he said was scripturally wrong, but I confess that I have difficulty with the hidden premise behind this approach to prayer.

The premise seems to be that prayer is a means to get what we want from God.  And if we remove all the obstacles,…

As we head to the polls today to vote in the mid-term elections, here are a few final thoughts for prayer:

Thank God for the process

• Thank God for the blessing of free elections and the democratic process.  Thank him for giving us the right and the means to vote and determine our leadership.

Pray for the elections

• Ask God to protect each voting place from all harm; to protect our elections from outside influences…

Pray for the candidates

As the midterm campaigns enter their final couple of days, one way we can impact the races for God's glory is to pray specifically for the candidates and those who are campaigning on their behalf.  This may be the hardest part of prayer for the elections, because it can be difficult to separate our own preferences from God's leading.  But there are some Scriptural principles that we can use to pray God's will into…

Contrary to what some may say or believe, the mid-term elections will not determine the future of the United States.  To be sure, the elected officials will have a significant impact.  But God is ultimately in control. 

 A large part of how God controls the affairs of men is through the prayers of his people.  In fact, God has repeatedly called his people to prayer for their country:

 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

“May those who love you be…