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Pray for Wisdom

"If any man lack wisdom. let him ask of God who give to all men liberally. and it shall be given him" James 1:5. This must be a daily prayer request. I do it. It works!

"Happy is the man that findeth wisdom and the man that getteth understanding for the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies and all things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand and in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her and happy is every one that retaineth her" Prov. 3:13-18.

"Get wisdom, get understanding; forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not and she shall preserve thee, love her and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee; she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee" Prov. 4:5-9.

"When wisdom entereth into thine heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee; to deliver thee from the way of the evil man...to deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words...for her house inclineth unto death and her paths unto the dead" Prov. 2:10-18
 

What We Need

We do not need more education, nothing wrong with education, more learning, better plans, better methods but more wisdom. "Wisdom is the principal thing...more precious than gold, silver or rubies.." WOW! Do you really realize that?

How to get it
"If ay of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given unto him" James 1:5 "If any lack wisdom" boy, that is an understatement. NO ONE but God has enough. "Ask of God" keep on asking as the two parables on prayer teach in Lk. 11:5-9 and 18:1-8. "Give us this day..." ought to be every morning, every day of every person. Oh my, I get goose bumps, get this: HE GIVETH LIBERALLY. To me, a person would be very foolish not to ask for wisdom EVERY DAY. Doesn't that make sense?

A proof of having wisdom
"He that winneth souls is wise" Prov. 11:30. What is the most important thing that ever happened to you? Why, getting saved, of course. Nothing even comes close to that. Then what is the most important thing you can do for someone else? Lead them to Christ and see them get saved. Make sense? Jesus said to the man who accumulated riches, "Thou fool, this night will thy soul be required of thee, then whose will all these things be?" "What shall it profit a man if he gained the whole world (How many jillions is the whole world worth?) and lost his own soul." Oh, the value of one soul!
 

A Little Girl's Prayer

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator) and no special feeding facilities.

Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. "And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed.

As in the West it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. "All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.

During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, God," she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as baby'll be dead, so please send it this afternoon."

While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of corollary, "And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?"

As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, "Amen?" I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home; anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the verandah, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly.

Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas--that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out -- yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle!

I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted.

Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child -- five months before -- in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon."
 

Sumner's Personal Daily Prayer List!

This is my personal daily prayer list. This has transformed my prayer life. Lets pray what God told us to pray for and see great things happen on a daily basis. All because of Christ, Sumner

My Personal Prayer List-Ps 100:4
(Please read all verses at least once)
Think what you are praying, visualize!
1 Thankful-Saved,De16:3-BlessingsLk17:17
2 Praise-v4-Who He is and what He does
3 Laver-judge self-confess sin 1 Jn 1:9
4 Lovest thou Me? Jn21:15,Say:I love You Abba Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit
5 Ask for H.S. to fill-control you,1 Jn 5:14f
6 Widsom 1 Ki 3:7-9 Jas 1:5 Prov 3:13ff
7 What do You want me to do? Acts 9:6
8 Ask for lost souls-Jas 4:2;Acts 16:14
9 Give me boldness-Acts 4:29-31;2Tim1:7
10 Heal me-Asa sought not God 2Ch16:12 Biblical Prayer List 1 Tim 2:1-4
11 Pray-"first of all": vs 1; Lk 5:5 "I will"
12 "All men"6 billion-2-B saved-"Thy will "
13 All kings-to be saved-v4"Thy will done"
14 All in authority-Gov. etc-saved-Thy will
15 Send forth laborersMt 9:37;Acts13:2-4
16 Peace o Je-all Is-savedPs 122;Ro 10:1
17 Enemies-God bless-do good Mt 5:44 What to pray for people-Col 1:9-11
18 Put a hunger within them Ps 42:1,2
19 Put a hedge around them Job 1:10
20 Put Your hand upon them Ezra 7 & 8

The Lord's Prayer List Lk.11;Mat.6:9-15
21 "Say": Hallowed be Thy name Lk 11:2
22 Thy kingdom come-U come Rev 22:20
23 Thy will be done on earth-as in heaven
24 Give us this day our daily bread-needs
25 Forgive us our sins as we forgive 11:4
26 Lead us not into temptation 11:4
27 Deliver us from evil (the evil one)11:4
28 Thine is the kingdom-Mt16:15 Lk 6:46
29 Thine is the power-not mine Zech 4:6
30 Thine is the glory-not mine Isa 42:8
31 List family, children, loved ones, friends
32 Pastor, church, ministries, missionaries
33 Special requests: Matt 6:10,Eph.6:18 Upgrade lists regularly on 3x5 cards; Jabez' prayer list 1 Chron 4:10
34 Bless me indeed cf Jacob Gen 32:26
35 Enlarge my borders, ministry, impact
36 Let Your hand be upon me Ezra 7 & 8; 7:6 "requests" 7:9 Came to Jerusalem; 7:28 ...strengthened 8:18 Brought help; 8:31 Delivered "by the hand of God"
37 Keep me from evil; Jabez was a nobody and God granted him his requests!
Ask, He is still doing it today! Ja 4:2
 

The General's Advice

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 26:26b
“The generals and captains and other officers of the army had dedicated to the Lord” NLT

Once while traveling the General’s car broke down. He took advantage of the opportunity while waiting for repairs to talk with a group of factory workers who were laid off and looking for work. The General said, "Some of you men never pray, you gave up praying long ago. But I'm going to say to you; won't you pray for your children that they may be different?" Within minutes hundreds of men knelt in silent prayer for their families.

Some time later two employees of the General’s decided that their satellite branch was not working out and suggested the General close it down. The General sent back a telegram with two words on it, "TRY TEARS." They followed his advice and a mighty increase resulted.

During his life time the General traveled nearly 5 million miles to 58 countries in the early 20th century when travel was difficult at best compared to today. His message was clear and he was well received wherever he went. You and I know him as General William Booth the founder of the Salvation Army.

And his spiritual advice wherever he traveled:

"Work as if everything depended upon your work, And pray as if everything depended upon your prayer."
 

Let's Pray What God Asked Us To Pray

We gladly pray for Joe's toe like he asked us to pray
We pray for Jack's back like he asked us to pray
We pray for Jane's pains because she asked us to pray

Why on earth don't we pray for the things God specifically asked:

1. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love Israel Ps 122:6
2. Pray the Lord of harvest that he will send forth laborers" Matt 9:38
3. When you pray say, "Hallowed be Thy name" Don't you want His name hallowed. He does Luke 11:3.
4. "Thy kingdom come" That is the only way to have world peace Lk 11:2.
5. "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" No president or king can make it happen
   Lk 11:2.
6. "Give us this day our daily bread" Lk 11:3
7. I exhort that prayers be made for all men..who would have all men to be saved" 1 Tim 2:1-4
8. I exhort that prayers be made for kings--to be saved 1 Tim 2:2-4
9. I exhort that prayers be made for all in authority--to be saved 1 Tim 2:2-4

Praying what God asked for has transformed my prayer life. It is thrilling. You know you are praying in the will of God.
 

A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan. 'While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the halfway point.

On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, purchase medicine, and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital. Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time talked to him about the Lord. I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without incident.

Two weeks later I repeated my journey. Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had treated. He told me that he had known I carried money and medicines. He said, 'Some friends and I followed you in to the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards. At this, I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone in that jungle campsite. The young man pressed the point, however, and said, 'No, sir, I was not the only person to see the guards, my friends also saw them, and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.'

At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day this happened. The missionary told the congregation the date, and the man who interrupted told him this story: 'On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong, I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?' The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary wasn't concerned with who they were, he was too busy counting how many men he saw. There were 26.

This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in behalf of those who love Him. If you ever feel such prodding, go along with it.
 

Keep On Asking!

You have heard over and over that when a sports team gets down and out, losing game after game, the coach will say, "lets get back to the basics."

I want to get back to basics about prayer.  If your prayer life isn't producing, working, getting answers, is a chore, here are some basics that work:

There are two parables in the Bible about prayer.

1. Luke 11:5  Jesus tells about the man who went to his friend at midnight asking him for three loaves because a friend of his came to see him and he had nothing to feed him. The friend he came to said, "It's midnight, I can't get up and give you now." His friend was desperate and kept on knocking until the man said because he kept on knocking he got up and gave him his request. The lesson? Keep on asking and asking and asking to get your answers

2. Luke 18:1-8. The widow who went to the unjust judge and asked, "Avenge me of my adversary" but the judge would not. She kept on asking and the judge granted her request.

They both teach one main thing. KEEP ON ASKING. Too often people pray for something a time or two and wonder why they get no answer. Two things, either you are not ready for the answer or God is getting you ready for the answer and you give up too easily. Lesson number one. "Don't give up too easily, Keep on asking until He answers. More on this later.
 

Pray Fervently For Your Pastor

WE MUST PRAY FERVENTLY FOR PASTORS. I believe this is an attack of satan. Sumner

Too often, we fail to recognize how close our ministers and their families are to burnout. Studies and articles reflect the hard truth about American pastoral ministry:

The average tenure in ministry has declined from 21 years in 1990 to 12 years today.
94% of pastors say they feel pressure to have a perfect family.
90% feel inadequately trained to cope with the demands of ministry.
80% of pastors say ministry has a negative impact on their own families.
70% say their self-esteem was higher before they began ministry.
40% consider quitting every Monday morning.
25% of clergy marriages end in divorce.

Pressures like these drive 1,600 shepherds out of the ministry every month. That's 19,000 pastors each year - not including the missionaries and specialized ministers who add the pressures of crossing cultures and raising funds to the mix.
 

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem,
They Shall Prosper That Love Thee - Ps 122:6.

Out of obedience to the only living Lord God of glory, we ought to "pray for the peace of Jerusalem." Of of course, that does not mean we "hate" the Arabs or anyone else. Just pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Make sense?

It does not take a rocket scientist nor great Bible scholar to see enough to make you realize the coming of the Lord Jesus draws nigh! As I hear my dear pastor friends say, "Any minute now."

Sadly, I do not hear enough said about "They shall prosper that love Israel." What ever you do please don't fall into the trap of thinking prosper materially. I am fed up with the worldly, materialist Christianity invading the church of the Lord Jesus. "Having food and raiment, therewith be content." Bless God, every Christian and every church I know needs desperately to prosper spiritually.

Oh, how we need to see more people born of God and made new creatures in Christ Jesus. Then every church needs to see a revival of that first love for the Lord Jesus, for one another and for the lost. Make sense?

Do you love Israel enough to pray for the peace of Jerusalem? This should be on our daily prayer list not an annual urge to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Go a step further with Paul who said, "My hearts desire and pray for Israel is that they might be saved" Rom 10:1. You will glad you did or wish you had one day! Make sense?

With the world as it is and country after country turning against Israel and I find so many Christians do not pray for the peace of Jerusalem, I feel an urge to run this again. What say ye?
 

Overcoming Opposition to Prayer

Daniel 10:12-14 (KJV) - read Daniel chapter 10 for context
Then said (the angel) unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. {13} But the (fallen angelic) prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days:

Many Christians may feel God's presence as they go through the day, but when they stop to pray, and really talk to Him, suddenly a thousand things are running through your mind, and it is hard to concentrate on the Lord. Is there any good way to pray without getting sidetracked by other things? This problem can become so annoying that Christians may give up trying to engage in lengthy and fervent times of prayer.

This is probably a universal phenomenon which accompanies prayer, especially serious prayer, since Satan will do anything to disturb our prayer-life or distract us from praying. He knows that when we pray, he is in greatest danger of being defeated with regard to some person he is tormenting or some other evil scheme he is cooking up. If he can stop us from praying, his defeat is deferred.

I can remember when our four children were little, I would settle down to pray at home, all of a sudden my kids would start yelling, or want to sit on daddy's lap or have a question or decide to pull each other's hair out. They could be playing quietly all night and not disturb me, but the minute I would attempt to pray, they started in.

After a while it became apparent to me what was happening. This was not just a coincidence. It was a cheap trick of Satan, to try to make me have to choose between praying, and paying extra attention to my little ones. What a dilemma...to make me choose between those precious ones and my precious Lord. Sometimes, I would recognize the ploy, and get annoyed at Satan for putting me in this dilemma, but then if I got angry, it would look to my children that I was angry at them. And so it was a multi-layered victory for the evil one.
 

The Still Small Voice

Not long ago I heard a story about a young man and an old preacher. The young man had lost his job and didn't know which way to turn. So he went to see the old preacher. Pacing about the preacher's study, the young man ranted about his problem. Finally he clenched his fist and shouted, "I've begged God to say something to help me, preacher, why doesn't God answer?"

The old preacher, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply, something so hushed it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across the room. "What did you say?" he asked. The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper.

So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher's chair. "Sorry," he said. "I still didn't hear you." With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. "God sometimes whispers," he said, "so we will move closer to hear Him."

This time the young man heard and he understood. We all want God's voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our problem. But God's is the still, small voice ... the gentle whisper. Perhaps there's a reason. Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper. God's whisper means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my head is bent together with His. And then, as I listen, I will find my answer. Better still I find myself closer to God.

And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. (1 Kings 19:12)
 

Morning and Evening
Spurgeon, Charles H.

“Therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you.” - Isaiah 30:18

God often DELAYS IN ANSWERING PRAYER. We have several instances of this in sacred Scripture. Jacob did not get the blessing from the angel until near the dawn of day-he had to wrestle all night for it.

The poor woman of Syrophenicia was answered not a word for a long while. Paul besought the Lord thrice that “the thorn in the flesh” might be taken from him, and he received no assurance that it should be taken away, but instead thereof a promise that God’s grace should be sufficient for him.

If thou hast been knocking at the gate of mercy, and hast received no answer, shall I tell thee why the mighty Maker hath not opened the door and let thee in? Our Father has reasons peculiar to himself for thus keeping us waiting. Sometimes it is to show his power and his sovereignty, that men may know that Jehovah has a right to give or to withhold.

More frequently the delay is for our profit. Thou art perhaps kept waiting in order that thy desires may be more fervent. God knows that delay will quicken and increase desire, and that if he keeps thee waiting thou wilt see thy necessity more clearly, and wilt seek more earnestly; and that thou wilt prize the mercy all the more for its long tarrying.

There may also be something wrong in thee which has need to be removed, before the joy of the Lord is given. Or, God makes thee tarry awhile that he may the more fully display the riches of his grace to thee at last.

Thy prayers are all filed in heaven, and if not immediately answered they are certainly not forgotten, but in a little while shall be fulfilled to thy delight and satisfaction. Let not despair make thee silent, but continue instant in earnest supplication.
 

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving
Psalms 100:1

The priest, the believer of the Old Testament, entering the house of God, the tabernacle (Exodus
25:8), to go to the altar of incense, the place of prayer (Revelation 8:3,4), came through the one "gate" (Exodus 37:14). Trying to enter any other way would have meant death. Jesus said, "I am the door" John 10:9, "no man cometh unto the Father but by me" John 14:6. The first thing the priest would have seen, and he could not have missed it, was the huge brazen altar where the lambs were slain, sacrificed and the blood was shed. It is the picture of Calvary.

God says enter with "thanksgiving." Do you remember when the Lord Jesus healed the ten lepers, leprosy was worse than aids, and only one turned to give thanks and He asked, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine" Luke 17:17? That is totally inconceivable. How ungrateful can you be? The word of God says, "Be ye thankful" Colossians 3:15.

You remember that awesome passage in Romans 1:21-23 where we are told about the world, "Because when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were they thankful...Wherefore God gave them up to uncleanness...vile affections...and to a reprobate mind." Some suggest that there are millions of people and probably nations that God has "given up..." because they were not thankful and did not respond to what God showed them. What a tragedy. "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be unthankful," 2 Timothy 3:1-4. Did you notice that in the midst of such horrible sins and atrocities is the sin of "unthankfulness."

God places a very high priority on thankfulness and we should too. In fact, God says, "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" 1 Thessalonians 5:18. No wonder He says, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving." To enter into His presence or to enter into any day with thanksgiving will transform your prayer life and your life.