“Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples, said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.’” – Luke 11:1

“And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him;’ and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you?’ I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.” – Luke 11:5-8 NKJV

The apostles grew up around praying people. They were Jewish after all. I don’t believe they were looking for new religious ways to pray. They probably saw amazing miracles, healings, demons being cast out and they drew a connection between Jesus’ prayer life and the power they were seeing.

In response, Jesus told them a parable that would be paradigm altering for the apostles. First, Jesus tells them in this parable that God is their friend. That had to be mind-blowing for the apostles. What kind of friend does someone need to be to have the liberty of inconveniencing him or her at a very late hour? Jesus was saying in the same way that you can approach a good friend anytime, day or night, so you can approach God. Friendship with God gives us the confidence and boldness to approach Him with whatever our need is. Jesus is in essence saying, “God does not want you praying out of some legalistic compulsion to pray to satisfy your conscience that you have done your religious duty. No, rather, He wants you to come as someone He really likes and someone who really likes Him when you come to pray.” In other words, God wants to be liked for who He is not the end result of what He can do.

Jesus then tells them the next paradigm breaker. He will not answer your request because of your friendship though He is your friend. Oh, it gives you boldness to come before Him to be sure. He just will not answer you for that reason. Jesus says He will answer you BECAUSE of your persistence.

About 10 years ago I worked for a homebuilder as an office administrator. One day he asked me to come to a basement-remodeling job at a customer’s home and assist them in some manual labor. One of the objectives we had was to create an opening in the concrete floor of the basement so they could run plumbing for a bathroom. The first thing the homebuilder did was take a concrete saw and cut about a three-foot square on the floor. Afterwards, he had his assistant, Phil, beat the target with the point of a digging iron. A digging iron is like a very long, iron pole with a tapered end for the purpose of, well, digging. So Phil beat it and beat it. He must have struck the concrete at least 100 times or more. As I was watching this, I said in unbelief, “There is no way that concrete is going to break with him hitting that.” “Have you ever heard of a Jack Hammer?” I asked sarcastically. The homebuilder replied, “It will break, you watch.” Back and forth our contentious dialogue continued until I noticed a strange “flashing” in the floor as Phil struck it. He hit it 97 times, then 98, 99, 100… Boom! The breakthrough came.

Immediately following, the Holy Spirit interpreted this parable-like experience to me. I represented the devil, the homebuilder represented an intercessor, and Phil represented the Holy Spirit. The intercessor marked their target that they are seeking God in prayer about, the place where they need a breakthrough. As they seek God, the Holy Spirit begins to pound away at the stronghold each time the intercessor prays. About that time, the devil says, “You won’t get your breakthrough. You don’t have enough power.” The faithful intercessor responds in faith to God’s word, “We will get the breakthrough. You watch and see.” On and on the temptations to give up come, but the faithful intercessor resists giving up and “pounds the target” in prayer. Suddenly signs of the impending breakthrough show, and then at last, success. The breakthrough comes.

When your feelings tell you that God will not answer, Jesus appeals through this parable to God’s goodness, promises and your friendship with Him to not give up. Your breakthrough is coming if you keep striking the target!

Anyway, I want to let those who have supported MESSENGER for however long, that we will be finding ways to serve those with articles, video and just updates from our blog through this website.  If you have any questions about what we are doing, drop us a line.  We will be glad to discuss it.

Also, when people don’t believe there are consequences for their choices, they will do what seems good to them without regard to those their choices will affect, like the generations that will follow.  I often wonder with where things are going in our country what kind of life my children will inherit from this selfish generation of leadership in our land.  The leaders simply reflect those that elected them.  So what does that say about us?

One day, we will all stand before a judgment seat.  A place where the only opinion that matters is that of Jesus Christ.  A place where God has rendered all judgment to Him alone.  How should we live in the light of that knowledge?  What should we value now that will affect us then when we stand or fall before Him?

Think about it.

“Do you think Jesus would have carried a pocket calendar?  Would He have consulted it before making commitments?  Would He have bypassed the leper because His calendar said He was late for the Nazareth spring Banquet?

Do you think Jesus would have worn a wristwatch?  What would have been His reaction if the temple service extended past noon and alarms went off in the crowd?  Would He have driven out the clock watchers along with the money changers?  What would He have thought of the parishioner I knew who weekly timed the pastor’s sermons with a stopwatch and reported the statistics on the way out of church?

Do you think Jesus would have carried a beeper?  Would Martha and Mary have paged Him to come raise Lazarus from the dead?  Can you imagine Him being paged out of the Last Supper?

The clock and the Christ are not close friends.  Imagine what God thinks of us now that we are so locked into schedules that we have locked ourselves out of the Sermon on the Mount — it is hardly possible to walk the second mile today without offending one’s pocket calendar.  We jump at the alarm of Seiko but sleep through the call of the Almighty.”

An excerpt from Margin, by Richard A. Swenson, M.D., Copyright © 2009 NavPress

“Let us not forget that the ‘kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power’ (1 Corinthians 4:20).  Words, by themselves, are an illusion.  They are merely the labels we use to define reality; they are not the reality they represent.  Remember, the major difference between the kingdom of God and traditional religion is that the kingdom possesses in substance what religion has only in words.

Our goal is to seek and find the holiness that leads us into the true presence of God.  Let us also bear in mind that the Lord dwells in the secret place.  No book, no teacher, no individual can discover for us what God’s love demands we find for ourselves.  If we know that we should seek God, we are debtors to our knowledge until we find Him.

Finally, simply, do what you know to do.  If you stumble, get up.  If you sin, repent.  Whatever you do, in spite of your feelings, do not lose your vision of Christlikeness.  Your vision is your surest hope.  Guard it.  If you are faithful to your goal of Christlikeness, God will give you the grace to live in His presence.  And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed, you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Colossians 3:3-4).”

The software can save HOURS of normal Scripture research work when you know how to use all its bells and whistles.  I am quite sure he did not teach us ALL there is to know about this incredible software, but if you need good software, it is awesome.  Also, there is a $20 version sold by Thomas Nelson Publishers that has over 100 books ($1500 value) and is a great way to experience the software for a small investment.

Regardless, you will want to get trained.  Morris Proctor has all kinds of ways to get trained.  If you cannot attend a live seminar, you can buy the seminar in video format and study at home, office or environment of your choosing.

On top of all that, no one is paying me to say this!  Both the software and the seminar are that good.

Recently, I took 5 days off for the Easter holiday.  I haven’t done that in years.  I did not have much on my plate except updating this website which, for me, is fun.  As I was spending time with the Lord in worship and prayer one morning, I had a flood of fresh ideas and energy to carry out the desire entering my heart.  I began to ponder why I have all this renewed energy.

Story of 2 Lumberjacks

Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant and he was hired.  The pay was really good and so were the work conditions.  For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.  His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work.

The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees.  “Congratulations,” the boss said.  “Keep working that way!”

Very motivated by his boss’ words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring 15 trees. The third day he gave even more effort, but he only could bring 10 trees.

Day after day he was bringing in less and less trees.  “I must be losing my strength”, the woodcutter thought.  He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on. “When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” the boss asked.  “Sharpen my axe? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been too busy with cutting trees…”

I have lived so much of my life like that.  The reality is none of us can go full energy non-stop.  We NEED rest and renewal.  This is not optional for human beings.

If you are burning your candle at both ends, why  don’t you take some time to blow out the burning ends…  That is, take some time to cease what you are doing and simply rest.  After a little rest, consider your life and ask God how you can improve what you are doing, whether it’s in your marriage, family, business, ministry, etc.

Though I did not receive it the same several days off, I did run into an article on managing volunteers, which Gateway House of Prayer is made up of 178 of them that really gave me many good ideas and I think effectively helped “sharpen my saw.”

God gave us sabbaths because we need them.  Take a sabbath this week and rest.  Blessings! – Jimmy Nimon