Prayer To Be Wise In The Things Of God

Serenity Prayer – Applying 3 Truths from the Bible

Prayer To Be Wise In The Things Of God

One of the most popular prayers today is known as the Serenity Prayer. Written by Reinhold Neibuhr (1892-1971), the prayer was widely used in sermons and Sunday school groups and studies. In the early 40s, the group Alcoholics Anonymous began to use a shortened version of the Serenity Prayer in their twelve step program. 

Serenity Prayer – Full Version (composed in 1940s)

God grant me the serenity  To accept the things I cannot change;  Courage to change the things I can; 

And wisdom to know the difference. 

Living one day at a time;  Enjoying one moment at a time;  Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;  Taking, as He did, this sinful world  As it is, not as I would have it;  Trusting that He will make all things right  If I surrender to His Will;  So that I may be reasonably happy in this life  And supremely happy with Him  Forever and ever in the next. 

Amen.

Shortened Version 

God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

3 Biblical Truths We Can Apply to the Serenity Prayer

1. “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.”

When life feels control, it’s easy to try to work harder at controlling everything and everyone around us! Some of us do the opposite and just throw our hands up and give up on the situation or person. Whichever extreme you go to, peace and serenity continues to move further from your life. 

Accepting and submitting to God’s control and plan for your life is the only way to find peace in situations you cannot control or change. We may not always know God’s plan but we can let go of trying to orchestrate and manipulate events and people and let God work through us. God promises a supernatural peace when we bring our worries and concerns to Him in prayer.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” – Philippians 4:7

“Be still and know that I am God!” – Psalms 46:10

2. “the courage to change the things I can,”

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have received the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is able to supply you with the courage to follow and act upon God’s plan for your life. Instead of fearfully ignoring hard decisions or running from what seems too difficult, we can call upon the power of God for courage to move forward into the full life He has planned for us.

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” – 2 Timothy 1:7

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6 

3. “and, the wisdom to know the difference.”

Wisdom is a gift that God promises to give to those who ask for it! You can grow in wisdom each day and make better decisions as you spend time reading the Bible and communicating with God through prayer. God will tell you, through his Word or answers in prayer, when to accept things and when to take courage to change them. 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” – James 1:5

 “and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:15-17

Adapted from: Single Moms & the Serenity Prayer by Donna Stanger

Share how the Serenity Prayer has encouraged you and how our large community can pray for courage for you in the comments below! 

This article is part of our larger Prayers resource meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Visit our most popular prayers if you are wondering how to pray or what to pray. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and God knows your heart even if you can't find the words to pray.

Prayer for Healing
Prayer for Strength
Prayer for Protection
Morning Prayers
Good Night Prayers
The Prayer of Jabez
Short Prayers
The Lord's Prayer
The Prayer of St Francis
A Birthday Prayer
Sinner’s Prayer
Prayer for Forgiveness
Prayer for Guidance
Intercessory Prayer
Irish Prayers and Blessings
 

Now available is our new Daily Prayer devotional! An easy way to find start your day with prayer, read today’s prayer and sign up to receive by email.

Источник: //www.crosswalk.com/faith/prayer/serenity-prayer-applying-3-truths-from-the-bible.html

The Lord Will Give You A Mouth And Wisdom For Every Situation In Your Life | Joseph Prince Ministries

Prayer To Be Wise In The Things Of God

God wants all believers to possess the Spirit of wisdom. It is one thing to have the Holy Spirit inside you, but it is another thing to have the Holy Spirit flow as the Spirit of wisdom within you.

Then God’s wisdom prevails, there is no problem that cannot be solved. There is no daunting task that cannot be accomplished. God’s wisdom surmounts them all. The Bible even says, tongue in cheek, that the foolishness of God is wiser than the greatest wisdom of man! (1 Corinthians 1:25)

A person can be very well-educated and full of knowledge, but still lack wisdom. When I was doing my National Service, I noticed this particular medical officer who was always smoking. It was strange to see a doctor smoking. He had a lot of knowledge, a lot of education, but no wisdom.

Therefore, get wisdom. Make it a priority. When you exalt wisdom, which the Bible describes as a woman, and embrace her, she will promote you and bring you honor. (Proverbs 4:7–8)

There Is A Better Way

At your workplace, you don’t have to promote yourself by following the system of the world. You don’t have to slog and work overtime all the time. You don’t have to apple-polish your boss or compromise your ethics and values to rise up the ladder of success. There is a better way. There is a God-way of doing things and it is called the wisdom of God.

There are people who spend all their health to get wealth. Then, they spend all their wealth to get back their health! That is not very smart. 

The Bible does say that “the hand of the diligent makes rich”.

(Proverbs 10:4) But diligence in the book of Proverbs is not about slogging and working so hard to the point that you don’t have time for your family, and you don’t have time to be with the Lord in the house of God. That is not diligence but hard work.

Diligence has got to do with the wisdom of God. God has the wisdom for every situation you face. And His wisdom will carry you through and give you good success without all the sweat.

Our Young People Need Wisdom

Parents, it is good to teach your kids that the first thing to ask God for every day is wisdom. The Bible says that the boy Jesus increased in wisdom, then in stature and in favor with God and man. Notice that this happened after Jesus went home with His parents and was submissive to them. (Luke 2:51–52)

And it is good for our young people to realize this because some of them have a know-it-all attitude and think that they don’t have to submit to their parents. If there was anyone who knew it all, it was Jesus. Yet, He subjected Himself to His earthly parents. That is class. That is quality. That is cool.

It is cool not to retaliate even though you have the power to. Meekness is strength under control. Power that is running all over the place is not power at all. We all admire a person who demonstrates real power—someone who can retaliate but refuses to. Reminds you of Jesus, doesn’t it?

Ask For Wisdom

When Solomon was a young man, God appeared to him in a dream at Gibeon and said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” (1 Kings 3:5) Now, I want to show you how humble Solomon was. He told God:

1 Kings 3:7–9
“…I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.

And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted.

Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

Solomon said that he was a little child who did not even know how to go out or come in, let alone rule God’s people. He was humble enough to see his need for God’s wisdom and to ask Him for it.

Solomon, we need to be humble too. We need to see our need for God’s wisdom and to ask Him for it. The Bible says:

James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

“If any of you lacks wisdom…” I always see myself in this place. That is why my prayer is always, “God, give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ to serve you better.”

Beloved, we need wisdom to overcome the challenges we face in life. But wisdom does not come unless you see your need for it.

Doing Business With Believers

Now, one area that I want to highlight is: Doing business with believers. Be very careful when you do business in church among believers. Please, don’t have this foolish thinking that because the person is a Christian, you can trust him, and that there is no need to put things down in black and white.

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have seen good relationships sour because of this. “I’ll do this for free as a service to the church.” “It’s okay, I trust him. He’s a Christian too.” Then, later on, there is a falling-out. There is bitterness. There is anger. Why? Because things were not done professionally. Agreements were not put down in black and white.

There were two couples in our church who were good friends. Both couples got married at about the same time. One couple’s home was not yet ready, so the other couple invited them to stay in their home.

The next thing you know, the mistress of the house began to complain about the wet garments of the other couple not being hung up properly and water dripping onto the floor.

Needless to say, their relationship was affected.

Now, I am not saying that you can’t do business with Christians. If you do, make sure you put things down clearly in black and white. Don’t just proceed verbal agreements.

Be Wise As Serpents

Still, Christians can be quite gullible. That is why con artists love churches. So I want to say the same thing to all of you that our Lord said:

Matthew 10:16
“…I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. I don’t have to preach on the last part. All of you are harmless as doves, except maybe for a few who to gossip and backbite!

There are always people in church who are very trusting, but not discerning. A guy comes along and says to a girl, “Thus says the Lord: ‘My child, there is such beauty in you.’ Yes, no one sees it. But the Lord sees it, and I see it too.” The guy is trying to seduce the girl. And the girl says, “You’re such a man of God!” That’s not wise!

Some ladies have even gone out for coffee with married men. And when I asked them why they did it, they actually said, “But Pastor Prince, he’s already married.” So I tell them, “All the more you shouldn’t do it!”

By the way, the care group leaders in our church have been told not to send any girls back in their cars. They cannot call up the girls and say, “I missed you last week at care group. Where were you?” If I know of any of my leaders behaving this way, I will deal with that leader!

Be wise as serpents. Don’t let anyone think that you are a fool just because you are a believer.

Wisdom In Courtship

Ladies, learn to say “no” when you are courting, and the guy will respect you, he will run after you. Say “yes” all the time and, one day, he will run away from you. After he has gotten whatever he wants, he will leave you.

Think before you say “yes” all the time. Learn to be wise as serpents.

And if you are always paying for the guy, or if he is always borrowing money from you, your antennae should go up. A guy who does not want to work and who is always sweet-talking you into lending him money is not a good candidate for a life partner. Tell him to get a job!

Wisdom Is A Spirit

After Jesus tells us to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, two verses down, He says:

Matthew 10:18–20
You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

Here, Jesus says that when you are brought before VIPs, governors and kings for His sake, do not worry about how or what you should speak because God will give you the words to speak, “for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you”. Notice that He says that it is the “Spirit of your Father” who speaks in you. In other words, wisdom is a Spirit.

God told Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship”. (Exodus 31:2–3)

Paul prayed for the Ephesian church that God may give them “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him”. (Ephesians 1:17) And Joshua was “full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him”. (Deuteronomy 34:9)

Once you learn that wisdom is a spirit, ask God for wisdom every day and then learn to flow in the Spirit. Learn to walk in the Spirit.

One thing about spirits is that they are contagious. If you hang around people who are depressed, you can walk away depressed. Just if you are in an environment where a lot of people are smoking, even though you do not smoke, you walk away smelling of smoke.

In the same way, wisdom can come by association—”He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” (Proverbs 13:20)

A Mouth And Wisdom For The Hour

Jesus says that “the Spirit of your Father” will give you the words to speak when you are brought before governors and kings for His sake. (Matthew 10:18–20) So you don’t have to worry about what to say.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says the same thing:

Luke 21:14–15
Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.

He tells us that we do not need to think beforehand how to answer our adversaries because He will give us “a mouth and wisdom” which all our adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist! This reminds me of Stephen in the book of Acts. The Pharisees “were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke”. (Acts 6:10) This is what I pray for every time I preach. I pray that God will give me a mouth and wisdom that no adversary can contradict or resist.

I remember many years ago when our church was pretty small, I was just an elder in the church. There was a girl who got saved. Her boyfriend then was a gangster. After she got saved, she did not want to do certain things that they used to do together. She was radically transformed.

So her boyfriend got really angry and said that he was going to confront us in church. During one of the church services, I bumped into him. I was going down the stairs and he was coming up. It seemed he was on his way to whack somebody.

Of all the places, I had to meet him at the stairs. There was no one there to help me should he attack me!

I still remember, when I saw him, I said, “Oh, hello.”

“Don’t ‘hello’ me! I’m here to whack somebody!” he replied. “You church people tell my girlfriend to…” I could see his fist. He was very angry. He was a bit drunk too.

Not knowing what to do and afraid that he would punch me, I said silently, “Lord, help!”

And I am telling you, God is faithful. Right at that moment, a river flowing out, I looked at him and said, “Did anyone ever tell you that you look the Hindi film star…?”

You see, he is an Indian and he reminded me of this famous Hindi film star. When I was growing up, I watched a lot of Hindi movies because my mother loves Hindi movies. She kind of wished that I had become a Hindi star, but it is not that different being a preacher—you get to be on stage too. I’m joking, of course!

Honestly, he really did look the Hindi star. So I was not lying to him when I said that.

He looked at me and said, “You really think so? A lot of my friends tell me that too.” He began to relax and let go of his fist.

I said, “Yes, you do. Which of his movies have you watched?”

“I have watched all his movies because my friends always tell me that I look him,” he said.

Then, he told me that he was not really there to cause trouble, but to see what went on in our church because his girlfriend had been behaving very differently. As I said earlier, she had been radically transformed. Some time later, he even received Christ and came to church quite often.

My friend, it really helps when God gives you “a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist”. (Luke 21:15)

Jesus, Your Wisdom

One time, the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Should we pay taxes to Caesar?” Their intention was to trap Jesus, and here is my paraphrase of what happened.

If Jesus said, “No, you should not,” they would accuse Him before Pontius Pilate of breaking the Roman law. If He said, “Yes, you should pay taxes to Caesar,” they would say to him, “See, You are with them.”

But Jesus, knowing what they were up to, said to them, “Give Me a coin. Whose picture is on it?”

They all replied, “Caesar’s.”

“Well, give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and give to God the things that are God’s,” Jesus said.

The Pharisees marvelled at His answer and kept silent. They could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people! (Luke 20:21–26)

Beloved, God will give you a mouth and wisdom for every situation you encounter. Whether it is what to say or what to do, He will give you the wisdom to handle the situation.

So ask God for the Spirit of wisdom to operate in you. Remember, one who is greater than Solomon—Jesus—is in you. He is the wisdom of God. He is at the Father’s right hand and He is ready to become your wisdom in every crisis of your life, in every situation you face.

© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.

Looking for more grace-inspired articles? Check out the rest of them.

Источник: //www.josephprince.org/blog/articles/the-lord-will-give-you-a-mouth-and-wisdom-for-every-situation-in-your-life

10 Awesome Bible Verses About the Power of Prayer

Prayer To Be Wise In The Things Of God

Who is your source of power? This list of awesome power of prayer Bible verses is meant to encourage you today. I pray that you read through these Bible verses and then take them to God in prayer.

Ask God for the wisdom and discernment to teach you how He wants you to pray and for what He wants you to pray for.

For a great Christian song check out the video to the right Shout to the Lord by Darlene Zschech.

Ask

Matthew 7:7  “Ask, and it will be given to you seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Matthew 21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

Mark 11:24  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

John 14:13-14 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it

Pray in Faith

This list of awesome power of prayer Bible verses is meant to encourage you today.

Mark 9:29  And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

Acts 9:40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.

James 5:14-16 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another,that you may be healed.

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Always & With Thanksgiving

Ephesians 6:18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Philippians 4:6-7 do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Christian Quotes About Prayer

Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan. ~ John Bunyan

The fewer the words the better prayer.  ~ Martin Luther

Prayer is an effort of will.  ~ Oswald Chambers

Our prayer and God’s mercy are two buckets in a well; while one ascends, the other descends.  ~ Arthur Hopkins

If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.  ~ Charles H. Spurgeon

It is because of the hasty and superficial conversation with God that the sense of sin is so weak and that no motives have power to help you to hate and flee from sin as you should. ~ A.W. Tozer

Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue. Gods voice in response to mine is its most essential part. ~ Andrew Murray

Don’t pray when you feel it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees. ~ Corrie Ten Boom

Prayer is the acid test of devotion. ~ Samuel Chadwick

Prayer – secret, fervent, believing prayer – lies at the root of all personal godliness.  ~ Williams Carey

My prayer for you today is that you take these Bible verses you just read and do something with them. Too often we just take information in and then move on to the next project or thing. Use these awesome Bible Verses and put them into action by being obedient to what they teach!

Resources

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version

“Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Image courtesy of [image creator name] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Would you to get the daily question in your messenger? Just click the button below to get started.

as: Bible Verses, power of prayer, Prayer

Share this post: SU | Reddit | Digg |  | 

Источник: //www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/10-awesome-bible-verses-about-the-power-of-prayer/

Prayer Changes Things. Right? Or Does It?

Prayer To Be Wise In The Things Of God

Let’s talk about prayer.

I mean, prayer changes things, right? After all, that’s what prayer is. We present our requests to God and he responds. God answers prayer. We’ve known this since Sunday school.

But it also raises some sticky questions. , does God change his mind? If God responds to prayer, does that mean he alters his sovereign plan in response to our requests? Or is God the ultimate chess player – a Kasparov on steroids – answering prayers by outsmarting the devil, the universe, fate, karma, or whatever else he has to outsmart?

To prevent us from drifting into heresy or having our brains explode from exhaustion, let’s look at the Scriptures.

Prayer Does NOT Change Things

In one sense, prayer doesn’t change things. God really is sovereign, and he rules the past, the present, and the future. One common heresy (“open theism”) is that God doesn’t know the future and only responds to it a chess player.

Scripture is pretty clear that this isn’t the case. God knows the future (the word “future” doesn’t really apply to God since he is omnipresent, but you get the point).

Isaiah 46:9-10 says:

I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’

Throughout the Old Testament, God routinely told the people of Israel EXACTLY what would happen. In Jeremiah 25:11-12 God spoke to Israel through Jeremiah, telling them that they would be exiled to Babylon:

This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste.

This was foreordained by God. It wasn’t a mystery to him. He wasn’t hoping that Nebuchadnezzar would invade Israel. It wasn’t on God’s life-goals list.

It was a sure thing, set in stone, absolutely going to happen.

Our prayers don’t alter God’s sovereign plan. It’s not we pray and God says, “Woah, hey now! Didn’t expect that one. Okay, gotta change things quickly. Time to shift things around. Let’s see, I’ll put this here and this here and…”

God isn’t the ultimate project manager, trying to juggle the lives of 7 billion people as they make their choices apart from his sovereign plan. He has planned and ordained history, and he knows precisely what will happen.

My prayers don’t change the wise, good, sovereign plan of the King.

Phew. Thank God.

Prayer Changes Things

But in another sense, prayer really does make things happen. Scripture is clear that God wants us to pray and that he really and truly does respond to our prayers.

Scripture makes it clear that prayer changes things. In James 5:13-15, it says:

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

The logic here is pretty simple. If you’re sick, call the elders to pray for you and God will hear and answer that prayer. On the flip side, if you don’t pray the prayer will not be answered.

When Solomon dedicated the temple, he prayed:

Now, O my God, let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place (2 Chronicles 6:40)

Our Father wants us to pray. He loves when we come to humbly with our requests. He’s a good God who loves to bless his children, and he really and truly does respond to our prayers of faith.

Charles Spurgeon said:

My heart has no deeper conviction than this, that prayer is the most efficient spiritual agency in the universe, next to the Holy Ghost.

God isn’t a sadistic freak who loves to manipulate our emotions. He’s a good God who invites his children to pray.

Prayer changes things. Phew.

Embracing The Mystery

Let’s acknowledge that we don’t know how these things work together.

God’s complete sovereignty and my free will and responsibility don’t really make sense to me. I can’t logically reconcile them. When I do try to reconcile them, I usually end up reducing things to heresy.

My Western, Enlightenment-influenced brain doesn’t mystery. It makes me feel uncomfortable. Sometimes I think that if I can’t explain something it must not be true.

Frankly, that’s pretty stupid.

God is God. He is infinitely above me, and his ways are most certainly NOT my ways. How could I possibly think that I could comprehend the workings of the One who sustains all things by the power of his word. I can barely change the locks on my front door, let alone understand how God works.

Yeah. That’s lunacy.

I know two things, and both give me immense comfort.

NUMBER ONE: My good God rules, controls, and ordains all things for my good and his glory. 

NUMBER TWO: God invites me to pray to him and promises to respond to my prayers. 

That’s enough for me.

Источник: //theblazingcenter.com/2017/03/prayer-changes-things.html

Поделиться:
Нет комментариев

    Добавить комментарий

    Ваш e-mail не будет опубликован. Все поля обязательны для заполнения.