A Time To Pray

This past Wednesday, our students and adults met at school flagpoles to pray. What did we pray for? Change. Change of hearts; change of minds. We asked God to reveal himself. But hopefully the reality has set in that a one time prayer at one time a year event is not sufficient.
The challenge is to pray daily for change. Not a cursory prayer over dinner or before bedtime, but dedicated moments through the day when we beg and plead with God for change. The time is now!!

Praying in Participation with God

Our college group studied Numbers 14 Monday night and tried to wrestle with the implied/suggested thought that Moses was able to change God's mind. I don't want to get into the whole Open Theism discussion because I firmly believe the transcendent God knows all things from beginning to end. But, you have to wrestle with what is the purpose of Numbers 14?
Throughout the New Testament, we are called God's fellow workers. What does this mean for our prayers? Jesus told us that we are to pray for God's will to be done. Since God allows us to work alongside him in bringing about his kingdom and will, shouldn't our prayers also be in participation with what he is doing? Mose's prayed toward God's intended & original purpose with the Israelites...God wanted to make them a great nation by his power and might and let it be a declaration of his glory and power. Praying in participation with God is praying toward God's intended purpose & glory.

To pray is to change.

Richard Foster in his book Celebration of Discipline states that "to pray is to change." What does he mean? In short, when we pray, we should become so attuned to what God wants that it changes our desires, passions, and plans towards God's will. The best example I can think of is when Jesus was praying in the Garden before his arrest. He asked God if there was another way, another plan that would accomplish God's glory and renown. Yet, in the end analysis, Jesus changed his mind to God's plan. Do your prayers change you?