Pray

“...In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known unto God.”

Philippians 4:6

Hi saints in Christ,

Hope you all are doing great! I know for sure I am. And you should be too, and you know why? God is great! :D

Have you ever felt like you know you need to share the gospel with a certain friend or acquaintance, and you feel like you don't have the boldness?

Have you ever needed an extra dose of focus to have your daily time with the Lord, when you stayed up really late the night before, or maybe just really don't feel like spending that time with Him?

Do you have a constant struggle with bad habits, that seem to get better, and then worse?

Are you holding on to certain things of your old self, that if you were honest with yourself, you know are displeasing to the Lord? Personal possessions, goals and dreams, thoughts, vocabulary, activities, relationships, attitude, skills, talents... what are some others that a person might hold on to? you name them.

In addition to reading and meditating on the Word of God on a daily basis, at a consistent time, and surrounding yourself with godly friends and influences, there is something critically important that God tells us to do, that so many people miss out on. God tells us perfectly plain in His Book, to...

Pray!

“Pray?” some may ask.

“Pray” God says.

“Well when do I pray?”

Not just when we feel like it, “Pray without ceasing.” God explains.

(1 Thessalonians 5:17)

As of now, I haven't fully comprehended what that is like, but I can say I know that that's a LOT of praying!

I know in my life, the power of prayer has been very underused and/or abused.

And that's quite a shame, because we should really be excited about praying. One reason is because God actually shared with us the results of prayer.

“Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thankgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7.

The peace of God will keep our hearts and minds through Christ.
That's the result.

Think about this...

Paul the apostle, that really bold gentleman who lived from approximately the year 5 to 67, the man who wrote about three quarters of the new testament, actually exhorts his brethren in Christ to pray for him.

Ephesians 6:18-20

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

1 Thessalonians (V1:1, and V 5:25)

Paul, Silas, and Timothy exhort the Thessalonians to pray for them.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-2

“Finally brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.”

This verse really describes how I was feeling yesterday.

Story:

I was at Casey's gas station in Paw Paw after church on Mothers Day, sitting in my car about to get out and get gas. I noticed that in my rearview mirror that there was a shady looking car with 2 young, ghetto-ish style looking men at the pump right next to my car.

I watched one of them go inside the building, and the other one stayed outside by his car.

I got out of the car, already prepared with million dollar tracts in my pocket, and thought to myself, “Great! This is my opportunity to share the gospel today!”

But then my next thought was: “Wait, whoa, hold on a second. What if these guys have guns, or knives, or explosives and they want to hurt or kill me?”

And instead of saying hello, or walking up to him, I started to pump the gas. I recognized just how weak, and fearful I was, and it was at that point, when I had to give my situation to the Lord in prayer, and request, “Father, please give me boldness, and the words to speak.”

So I started a friendly conversation as I started pumping the gas by saying: “How you doing today, sir?”

“Good,” he said.

“That's good! How has your Mother's day been?”

And we made a little small talk. He told me about how he had called his mom, I asked where they were from, found out it was Las Vegas, and asked a couple more questions.

Then the other guy came out of the gas station.

And another guy came up on a bicycle.

And the old Landon thought: “Ah! I lost my chance! Now it's 3 versus 1! I dunno if I should do it.”

I basically started to feel the fear of man, and my flesh didn't want to bring up the gospel.

But I did anyway, and I want to praise God for answering prayer, and thank Him for His promises.

I walked up to them, and shared a Million Dollar Tract with the guy who I had talked to.

I asked the Million Dollar question: “Will you go to Heaven when you die?

He said “Yep, I will. I'm Muslim.” But I found out he was kidding.

Then he explained he was a “Christian and Catholic,” according to his definition.

They had to leave, so I had to cut the conversation short.

But guess what?

He didn't hurt me.

He thanked me.

But most importantly, Christ was preached.

So praise God! :)

Please pray for me. Just like Paul, I'd ask for boldness. And also for safety as I evangelize, because some people may be unreasonable and may actually resort to violence.

But God is good, and we know that no harm can come to us without God permission, and it will all work out for good. :)

Pray.

God bless you all this week,

May it be a week filled with prayer and love for God!
Your brother in Christ,

Landon

Recommendation: Mark Spence, OnFire

Mark Spence is an evangelist who works with Ray Comfort. He loves the Lord, and loves people.
This message is an inspiration as Mr. Spence shares how he, Ray Comfort, and Kirk Cameron all used to be afraid when sharing their faith, and more importantly, how they now share their faith anyway.