Here is a fascinating excerpt from a post from John Piper, at this link: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/new-year-new-adjective-christ-exalting

It is related to this Bible verse where Jesus says "not to pray like the pagans" - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6:5-15

Do Not Pray Like Unbelievers

Third, this simple grammatical adjustment will help to prevent us from praying the way unbelievers pray.

You might ask if unbelievers even pray at all. They do. Muslims pray. Hindus pray. Jewish people pray. Animists pray. Members of cults, even Satanists, pray. Secularists pray in their most desperate moments. And millions of nominal church-goers pray who are not born again and do not trust Christ.

They ask God for a hundred things that you and I ask for: Daily bread. Protection. Health. Joy. Marriage wholeness. Wise children. A good job. The breaking of bad habits. Forgiveness for bad deeds. Unbelievers want all these things. And they pray for them. You don’t need the transforming work of the Holy Spirit to want any of these things.

What then is the difference between your prayers for these things, and theirs? One of the key differences is that your deepest desire, that pervades all other desires, is that Christ be exalted. You love Christ. You treasure him supremely. You have tasted and seen the all-satisfying glory of Christ. Christ is not your butler. And prayers are not your bell-ringing for him to bring you what you want. He is what you want. And you want him exalted, honored, glorified in everything. Listen as people pray. You will find out what they treasure most of all.

So my third reason for making “Christ-exalting” an adjective, which modifies everything for which you pray, is that this will show where your treasure is. It will set your prayers apart from the prayers of unbelievers.

Here's a good article by John Piper.

"How to find strength in the strength of God"

1 Samuel 19 -

"¹¹ Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. ....

¹⁸ Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth."

Samuel was the one who had anointed David originally, with the message that he would be king of Israel some day (1 Samuel 16).   David believed God, and Samuel his prophet, and this probably helped him in his bold exploits like fighting Goliath, etc... it must have been pretty nifty to have a prophecy spoken over you that you would some day be king... if the prophecy came from a trustworthy spokesperson of God (since God knows the future), one could be certain that one would not die before becoming king, and that would tend to give one great boldness in battle and life in general.

However, David's success as a soldier and general caused the existing king, Saul, to become envious of him and try to kill him, multiple times and over the course of many years  (1 Samuel 18ff).  David could have simply fought against Saul and captured the kingship.  But interestingly, he did not, though he repeatedly had "perfect opportunities" to do so, including twice sneaking up behind Saul when he had no protectors.  Instead, David kept running and hiding and fleeing, rather than fight against King Saul (who was also his father-in-law!).

1 Samuel 24 relates one of these times, when David was close enough behind King Saul to secretly cut off a piece of his robe, without Saul even noticing.  David's men urged David to kill Saul.  But he refused, saying "I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed."  In other words, David resolved to wait until he could have the kingship "in the right way", rather than seizing it for himself "the wrong way" out of impatience.

He believed (enough) in God's promise, such that he was content to wait, and wait, and wait.

From whence came this faith/trust?

Probably from many factors... but perhaps one of these factors was this brief meeting with Samuel in 1 Samuel 19:18.   David was telling Samuel.... "Remember, you anointed me the future king!?!? But then why is all this happening to me?  The king is trying to take my life!?  Where is God?  I try to follow God and do the right thing, and what do I get for it?  I'm on the run for my life.  My own king, the one I have served sincerely and faithfully, is trying to take me out.  Why?  What's the point of continuing this approach of 'waiting' and 'doing things the right way'??"

What did Samuel tell David?  ...that old prophet, who had counseled and provided justice for thousands of Israelites over the years, who had originally anointed Saul and had seen Saul's heartbreaking perfidy and turning-away from God... then had anointed David but had not yet seen the fulfillment of his prophecy.

His words are not recorded.  But he apparently listened to David, went with him on a trip to a town where he could be temporary safer, and gave him some powerful advice, which kept David on the path of walking with God for the next few months or years.  Many times in our lives too, the advice of an older godly person at the right moment can be extremely beneficial.   Maybe Samuel shared with David what he had seen in his own life, that God's answers to prayer are often very slow, but worth waiting for... and that God always keeps his promises.

Dear God, the God who was always healing everywhere You went when You visited Earth two thousand years ago,

Please heal her.

Please help her with her various problems: workplace stresses, health problems, relationship problems.

But far more importantly, please heal her soul.  Please use her various problems to bring her closer to You.  Please overwhelm her with Your beauty and goodness.  Please heal the missing father's affirmation and love, filling the void with Your love and warm approval.  Please show her that no human romance will make her truly/permanently happy.  Please dissolve all her worries and replace them with settled trust in You.  Please fill her with contentment in You.

Please heal him.

Please help him with his various problems: workplace stresses, health problems, relationship problems.

But far more importantly, please heal his soul.  Please show him sooner rather than later that the things he is seeking will not satisfy him.  Money, prestige, successful career, the respect of his peers, successful family, a woman that respects him; all of the above: ultimately empty.  Please show Him Your power and Your glory.  Please show him how much Your approval is worth.  Please dissolve all his worries and replace them with settled trust in You.  Please fill him with contentment in You.

(the above prayers apply to many of my friends... somewhat de-specified for anonymity... but hopefully still worth pondering and perhaps reiterating...  please feel free to pray the same way for me, those of you who know our great God)

Consider this fascinating quote from Jesus Christ, in John chapter 12 -

²⁷"Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ²⁸"Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."  ²⁹So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him."  ³⁰Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.  ³¹"Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  ³²"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."  ³³But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.

Jesus here shares honestly that at this point in his life, his soul was very troubled... He knew that He was about to die, and not only die, but take upon Himself the sin of 'the world' and pay the penalty on behalf of His people.  The normal thing to do would be to cry out to God for deliverance, ("Father, save me from this hour!"), but in His case, Jesus knew that He had come to the earth precisely for this very task...  He knew it was God's will for Him to die.   Would Jesus resist His Father's will, saying 'it's too painful'?  Or would He submit?

He submitted himself to His Father's will...  He put God's glory ahead of His own desires... He trusted that His Father's plan was best even though it seemed like the most painful and least appealing plan at the moment...  As Hebrews 12 says, Jesus did this because of "the joy set before Him"...  He looked ahead and saw the awesome reward on the other side of the death that His Father was calling Him to.   He obeyed...

"Father, glorify Your name."

I've noticed recently, in reading the Bible, that there are good ways and bad ways to ask God for things.  The key difference is faith.  That is, trust that God exists and that He cares about us and will reward us some day. (Hebrews 11:6)

The Israelites in Numbers 20:1-5, faced with a lack of water (a legitimate problem/need) could have said "Moses, please pray our great God on our behalf, who brought us out of Egypt with awesome power and amazing compassion, providing for us at every step of the journey.  We humbly ask Him to now provide water for us."
But instead they said "If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! Why then have you brought the Lord's assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here? Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink."

The disciples in Mark 4, faced with a storm-induced drowning (a legitimate problem/need) could have said "Teacher, please do something!  We know you said that we will cross over to the other side, but right now we really need Your help!"
But instead they said, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, faced with being thrown into a fiery furnace (a legitimate problem/need) could have said in Daniel 3, "Our God seems to have abandoned us! God, why don't you care about us? We've been faithful to You!  Why have you brought us to this dismal end?"
But instead they said, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

The Jerusalem Christians in Acts 4, threatened with physical harm by the same people that had just killed Jesus (a legitimate problem/need) could have said "God, why have you brought this persecution upon us?  We're all going to die now, simply because we did what You told us to do.  Don't you care about us?"
But instead they said,
"O Lord, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,
'Why did the Gentiles rage,
And the peoples devise futile things?
'The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against his Christ.'
For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.
And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus."
When faced with your own agonizing life problems, how do you pray to God about them?
 

2011....

What is the "big picture" of your life?   What metanarrative do you believe that your life fits into, making sense of your life and where you are going afterward?

Here are six short quotes that describe the metanarrative that I have come to believe; one quote from my Savior, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.....  and four quotes from John Newton and one quote from Fanny Crosby.

----------

Matthew 13
44"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,
46and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
-- Jesus Christ

---------

"I went one day to Mrs. G---'s, just after she had lost all her fortune. I could not be surprised to find her in tears... but she said, 'I suppose you think I am crying for my loss... but that is not the case; I am now weeping to think I should feel so much uneasiness on the account.' After that I never heard her speak again upon the subject as long as she lived.
Now this is just as it should be. Suppose a man was going to York to take possession of a large estate, and his chaise should break down a mile before he got to the city, which obliged him to walk the rest of the way; what a fool we would think him, if we saw him wringing his hands, and blubbering out all the remaining mile, 'My chaise is broken! My chaise is broken!'"
-- John Newton

This is my story
This is my song
Praising my Savior
All the day long
-- Fanny Crosby

"The people of this world are like children. Offer a child an candy and a bank note, he will doubtless choose the candy."
-- John Newton

"The heir of a great estate, while a child, thinks more of a few dollars in his pocket than of his inheritance. So a Christian is often more elated by some frame of heart than by his title to glory."
-- John Newton

"I feel like a man who has no money in his pocket - but is allowed to draw for all he needs upon one infinitely rich. I am therefore, at once both a beggar and a rich man."
-- John Newton

"Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body."  Hebrews 13:3

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/17288

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

Three separate items in tonight's blog post:
1. "What is natural?"
2. Modern usage of the word "Church"
3. Son Jong Nam - inspiring modern-day Christian hero of the faith

1. On the question "What is 'natural'?" - cool quote from http://creationsafaris.com/crev201007.htm#20100727a -

"Materialists can’t have it both ways.  They cannot argue that only particles and natural laws exist, then turn around and blame humans for global warming, pollution, war, acid rain, extinction, or anything else.  Nature is what nature does.  If humans are a part of nature, whatever they do is only natural....

The only perspective that permits natural/unnatural distinctions is the Judeo-Christian world view.  Sin is unnatural, because God is holy.  Death and disasters are unnatural, because God created a perfect world that was cursed because of sin.  Human beings stand between the natural and the supernatural by having the image of God implanted in their nonphysical souls.  These foundations allow for politics, economics, criminal law, and all the institutions that engage us, including science."

2. A thought on the modern usage of the word "church", compared to the ancient usage, and a comparison:

"church" (modern english term) = "christian community center" (what Bible-era folks might call it if they observed it)

"small group" (modern term) = "church" (Bible-era usage)

"What church are you attending?" (modern) = "What Christian Community Center do you regularly attend and drop your kids off at?" (Bible-era)

"I feel called to be a pastor." (modern) = "I feel called to be the director of a Christian Community Center." (Bible-era)

etc

3. Son Jong Nam  -  modern hero and role model... recent North Korean Christian martyr

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gdZrqqz2CUFMIoE9WoGEBDkKU6QAD9GOARA00

Why would a 50-year old man return secretly with Bibles into North Korea, from which he had escaped a couple years earlier, knowing full well that if he was caught, he would be jailed and tortured to death?

As far as I can tell: (1) Because Son Jong Nam believed that the Bible's account about Jesus Christ was true (that Jesus Christ really did come, die, and rise again as the Bible relates); (2) Son Jong Nam believed that Jesus Christ was His Lord and so he took seriously the command to make disciples of all nations, and (3) Son Jong Nam loved his own countrymen, and was willing to sacrifice his life (if necessary) to bring them the gospel.

Son Jong Nam died in some secret dungeon, penniless and unknown to the vast majority of the world.  It would seem that he wasted his life and his efforts to help his North Korean countrymen.

But his life and death were not in vain.  God saw everything.  And when the King returns, Son Jong Nam's reward will be incalculably awesome.

For His eyes are upon the ways of a man,
And He sees all his steps.
Job 34:21

And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven." Luke 6:20-23a

And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on." Mark 12:41-44

Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might,
With His arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.
Isaiah 40:10

"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done."
Revelation 22:12