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Prayer? Now? When? How?

December 11, 2012 in prayer, Tampa Church with Comments Off

This is directly from a www.YOUVERSION.com devotional I am reading.  Its called: “Seeking God” and this entry is all about prayer.  I think you will find it helpful.

 Today, live out God’s will, and pray to Him! Different Types of Prayers:

Simple prayer. You don’t have to pray a long and fancy prayer. You can just say, ‘God, I thank you for this day.’

Authentic prayer. Be transparent and real. Tell God how you are feeling, and humbly ask for His help. Kneeling prayer. Get on your knees in reverence to our God Most High. This posture can also help you focus.

Quick prayer. These are just short prayers that lift up what is on your heart at that moment while driving, thinking, or talking with others.

Continual prayer. Practice having an ongoing conversation with God. Pray when you wake up, and keep the line open all day. It’s like when you call a business and they put you on hold for seven minutes and then again for four more. I don’t know about you, but I put the phone on speaker while I am waiting. Remember, prayer is listening as well as speaking!

Fasting prayer. Go without food for a period of time, and use the time you would normally spend eating in prayer. Allow your hunger pangs to remind you to pray for something you are seeking God about.

Scripture prayer. God’s word never returns void. If you don’t know what to pray, pray the Word. Our family loves to pray Ephesians 1:17-20 together.

In the Spirit prayer. When you don’t know what to pray, ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for you and pray in the Spirit..  “But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 1:20).

 If you want to check out this devotional- Here is a link (they have all kinds of devotional online and free!).  Seeking God Devotional

Why Africa?

November 7, 2012 in Love Your Neighbor Offering, prayer, Tampa Church with 1 Comment

Next Tuesday I am going to Africa with a group of 12 pastors.  Brian Bloye, lead pastor at Westridge Church (Dallas, Georgia), is the trip leader.  Brian’s heart is church planting in the United States and around the world.  He is the president and co-founder of the Launch Network.  Last Spring, Sandy and I went up to meet with Brian about Launch Strong Church Planting Network and how our church might be involved.  As we talked and he shared his vision he mentioned what their church was doing around the world by planting churches.  I love the stories and then came the awkward moment- “Hal, would you like to go to Africa with us this fall and see first-hand what God is doing?”  My first thought was “yes” and then I remembered- I am a large human being and planes are not my friend.  When I fly to California- I struggle (as do the people sitting beside me).  My knees are jammed, my neck is cricked and my attitude is less than pleasant upon arrival.  I am good on 2 hour flights but that is about it.  Then I thought- I love cruising- I wonder if Royal Caribbean has a ship headed that way.  But alas, they do not.  So I asked Brian, “Would you pay to bump me up to first-class?”  Sadly (and selfishly I think) he said no.  But I knew I needed to go- so I told him I would love to.

Let me tell you about what Pastor Brian’s church does in Burkina Faso and why.  Burkina is one of the poorest countries in Africa.  They have a population of a little over 15 million and the country is about twice the land mass size of Florida.  The good news is it won’t be the rainy season when we go but the temperature currently hovers around 98 during the day.  Here is the number that God used to wreck my heart-

  • 1 in every 3.4 children will die before their 10th birthday because of water born diseases.

That number shouldn’t be! Westridge Church is making an impact and we can join them.  Their strategy looks like this- they drill wells and then start churches.  They have drilled over 100 wells and started 20 churches.  I believe the church must meet humanitarian needs and share the Gospel.  So drilling a well is good- but, drilling a well and starting a church is even better.

We do a year end offering called- “Love Your Neighbor Offering.”  This year the offering will go to 3 areas:

  • A new church plant in Bradenton- Good Life Church- Pastor Jason Smith
  • Haiti- we sponsor an orphanage there and they often have needs beyond the basics for the kids.  When the Hurricane caused major damage this summer- our “Love you Neighbor Offering” was able to step in to help repair the walls and roof of the church located in our Orphanage.
  • A well for Burkina Faso.  The cost is $7,600.

Every year Sandy and I consider a budget for Christmas and we make sure that we give more to this year end offering than we spend on Christmas.  That is our plan and may not be yours- would you seek God and see where He leads you?  Here is how this plan has helped Sandy and I over the years

  • It has kept our overall spending for Christmas in check- it sure is easy to get out of balance at that point.
  • It has helped our family (we discussed with our kids) understand that the greatest gift we can give at Christmas is Jesus.

So, my prayer is that this year you (and your family) will seek God for what gift you should give Him this Christmas.

Back to my trip- I leave Tuesday November 13th and return Monday night November 19th.  Would you pray for the following:

  • God to give me clarity on our involvement in Burkina Faso
  • Safety for our trip (yes I have my shots)
  • The people sitting beside me on the plane.  I plan to not bathe for 5 days and not wear deodorant- this should clear out some space around me.  I am kidding… or am I?

Thank you and when I get back- I will have stories!

Congrats President Obama!

November 5, 2008 in prayer with 2 Comments


We have a new president (and many new senators and congress people) and some of you are happy and some are not. This political season has been more divisive than any time I can remember. Honestly- I am glad it is over and we can move on. We have had politically charged TV, radio and the internet. So now what? Whether your guy made it or your guy lost- the Bible challenges all of us to a common action- PRAY!
I don’t need to lecture you about the challenges President Obama will face- his task seems overwhelming. The Apostle Paul challenged his young partner in ministry, Timothy, to PRAY for all government leaders. Listen in to his challenge:

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Several insights from these verses:

  • Ask God to help them lead
  • Ask God to meet their needs
  • Thank God for them

The reason for these prayers are not so our 401k’s will grow (although that wouldn’t make me mad) or so that our home values will increase. Instead, we pray for them so we can bring honor to Jesus Christ and in turn more people will come to faith in Jesus Christ.

You see it is still not about me or you-
it is still about us making Jesus Christ famous!

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What do you pray about? pt.4 (of4)

October 24, 2008 in prayer with 1 Comment

The 3rd prayer I am praying is “God heal me”. I really did not think this was necessary until I began to do some personal inventory. I began to notice that I have some wounds that have not healed. As I looked further, these wounds seemed to be infecting my response often, causing or contributing to my lashing out, getting angry and rushing to judgment. You know the drill- bad day at work and you come home and kick the cat (as opposed to the loyal dog). So I began an inventory mentally of wounds I discovered asking God to help me:

  • forgive people who have not forgiven
  • heal the wounds that have affected me
  • make me conscious when I am operating out of my wound

The truth is the longer we live the more wounds we incur- that is life- no need to whine, just tip your hat to the facts! But, if we are not careful we begin to lead, respond and attack because of our past wounds. We have all heard it said- hurt people… hurt people. I, we need to allow the healer to heal us! Chuck Swindoll said years ago, “I treat everyone as though they are wounded, and I am right more times than I am not”. I wonder what responses you give and receive that are because of an un-healed wound?
God would you heal me (us) so you can use me (us) to heal others.

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