For the next few Tuesdays, I want to share some of Tozer’s prayers from His book The Pursuit of God They have profoundly impacted me and I hope they challenge and move you as you pray them too.
Oh God, I have tasted thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. Oh God, the Triune God, I want to want thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know thee indeed. Begin in mercy, a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.
In Jesus’ name. Amen
Thanks for reading. You can subscribe to my blog by Clicking here.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle
“Discipline is freedom.” Wrap your brain around that! I read through Foster’s book with an equal amount of conviction and excitement about a disciplined life. I’ve always considered myself a relatively disciplined person (at least in a few areas) but I know I could use an adjustment here and there. I learned a long time ago that praying for God to help me be disciplined was crazy talk like praying for longer hair or bigger muscles. Discipline is a choice and a daily decision. It’s not just going to come over you by supernatural influence.
The thing I’ve found though, is that it really DOES bring freedom! I meet with people all the time that are struggling. They struggle with their commitment to Christ, they struggle with their weight, they struggle with their marriage, they struggle with… everything! It astounds me how many times the answer just comes back to discipline. To the struggling believer, I ask, “How’s your prayer life?” The answer is usually a long list of activities that are taking priority over prayer. I see friends struggling with their weight that just can’t seem to establish a discipline of exercise and restraint, pastors with declining churches that won’t discipline themselves to read, grow, and learn a better way, and families falling apart that fail to discipline themselves to say no to all the things that compete for their time together.
I know that’s a pretty general approach to many of the problems that we face. My intention is not to come off as insensitive and all “Drill Sargent-y”. But isn’t it much easier to wish than it is to take practical steps to do? I turned my life over to Christ 25 years ago. I’ve seen many wonderful people turn away from the faith during that time, and I have the pleasure of worshiping alongside others who were with me when I made the most important decision ever. When I look at the lives of those who fell away, gave up the fight, and abandoned their relationship with God, I find only one common thread, only one difference between them and those who are still serving Him today, and it’s a lack of discipline to seek God. That’s it! We all had similar problems, obstacles, and issues. It’s just that the disciplined ones stayed. Hence the old saying, “He who prays stays, and he who fasts lasts“.
There’s an old man in his 90s that I know from the YMCA. His name is Ernie. He swims six days a week! Because of his discipline, he has energy, he’s strong, mobile, and sharp as can be. He didn’t start swimming when he turned 90. He’s been doing it for decades, and now he experiences a great deal of freedom for a man his age. Many men, younger than him, come into the gym feeble, sickly, and tired because they they spent so many years without discipline and now they’re there under doctor’s orders. I don’t know about you, but I want to be like Ernie!
Being disciplined helps you to last. It brings freedom from bondage. It conditions you to serve better. It creates a condition in you that allows God to transform you!
If you don’t believe me, give it a try. Pick a discipline, like prayer or reading, and stick to it every day for six weeks. You WILL notice a difference! Your desires change. You start to long for the good stuff. Your capacity for achievement increases because you’re growing and expanding. Your mind even starts to sharpen because you’re forcing yourself to develop new habits (a side effect to counter-intuitiveness).
I believe so strongly in the power of discipline that, if it doesn’t help you, I’ll refund the money I charged you for reading this blog 😉
One last thing. If you do decide to give it a try, think about posting your benefits on this blog. You never know who you’ll encourage!
With tears in his eyes and as much attitude that he could muster, my six-year-old son looked at me, flexed his right bicep, and yelled, “I’m as strong as a bear!” He took a pillow smash in the face from his older brother and it hurt. He just didn’t want anyone to know it. I tried to comfort him and intervene but he wasn’t interested. He just wanted everyone to know how strong he was.
He spent all night preparing a sermon he thought would mark a turning point in his church. He preached it with passion, then punctuated it with a well rehearsed song. When the appeal was made, no one responded. It was like God slept in that Sunday. What happened?
2nd Corinthians 12:9-10 says, “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Our weakness is the condition that allows God to work! He works in us and through us when we are weak. Every time I read this passage I’m amazed. “My power works best in weakness.” He didn’t say, “My power works best when your strong.” or “My power works best when you keep your chin up.”
Paul didn’t say that the power of Christ worked through him because of his speaking ability, education, ministry budget, musical talent, new sound system, or Bible software either. I’m not against those things but it floors me how many ministers will spend five hours preparing their message and five minutes preparing their heart.
It’s our weakness that drives us to our knees. It’s our weakness that keeps us centered on Jesus. It’s our frailty that allows Him to comfort us, heal us, and give us wisdom when we’re hurting or afraid.
In ministry, it’s the awareness of how feeble we are that keeps us fully depending on God to move, instead of using our talents to manipulate people to respond to our message. When we realize how truly useless we are without Him and cry out to him for help, then He can move in and do what only He can do.
So be free to be weak. You really aren’t as strong as a bear. Your abilities, talents, and budget are needed and are good things, but they really won’t change the world. When we stop flexing our muscle, God will flex His. And when He flexes… it changes everything.
What a terrific day! This morning we had a powerful prayer meeting with the people of Emmanuel Community Church in Dundalk. We prayed the Word of God, prayed for each other, and talked about praying with diligence and perseverance. Lots of prayers, hugs, and tears. It’s so amazing to see God moving in Ireland!
After prayer, the ladies from the church made s homemade soup and scones. The fellowship and food was so refreshing!
This evening, we were on the radio, with Pastor Peter Lynch, discussing prayer. It’s such a challenge to talk about prayer to an unsaved listening audience. What an honor to go on the air and share with thousands of people in Ireland about drawing nearer to God!
On our way back to Slane we stopped to see Slane Abbey one more time. Watching the sun set from such an incredible place is truly breathtaking!
Today was great! We visited Monasterboice to see some of the most amazing Celtic crosses anywhere. That wasn’t the highlight of the day though. The best part was going to Drogheda to lead a Furnace prayer meeting. It was so amazing! The people here are hungry for a move of God. They long to see the fires of prayer burn bright! What a blessing to get to play a small part of that! We even met in a coffee shop just like back home. Another cool part of our day was meeting with Rachael, a young lady who’s very interested in joining the Furnace Midwest internship in the fall. It’s a long way to come, but totally worth it!
