How does renewal happen?

Did you ever notice how organizations tend to begin with optimistic enthusiasm about the future, but then decay over the years into bureaucracy and finally death? (Sound familiar in the days of bail-outs and problems at the Big Three auto makers?)

Sadly, churches aren't immune from the disease. Even in the New Testament, Jesus told one church, "I wish that you were hot or cold! But you are only warm - not hot, not cold. So I am ready to spit you out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:15-16 ERV).

This First Century church had already decayed to the point that Jesus Himself found it sickening. Tragic! And if it happened as far back as the time of the apostles, it's obvious that it happens today... and has happened often throughout history.

So, what's the answer to this recurring problem?

Renewal. The kind of spiritual renewal that has periodically exposed hypocritical church leaders and brought disturbing infusions of spiritual power to the Body of Christ ever since apostolic times.

How does such renewal happen?

Well, after 27 years in the same church, I've seen it happen... several times. And I've seen our church walk a long journey from the days of stiff religiosity to becoming a loving, praying, spiritually oriented family.

I don't pretend to be an expert on group renewal, or even spiritual renewal, but I can list some milestones we've seen along the path.

1. An emphasis on prayer. We've had a regular Tuesday night prayer meeting since 1994. We now emphasize prayer in various ways, but that didn't start until after several years of classes and sermons on prayer and its place in our life as a church. We didn't know it at the time, but God was renovating our focus, our emphasis as a church. As the apostles said in Acts 6:4 after turning much of the physical ministry over to deacons, "we will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."

When leaders teach, model and emphasize prayer, the church heads toward renewal.

2. A minimizing of controversies. As the apostle Paul wrote to the young preacher Timothy, he emphasized "Warn (the church) before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value and only ruins those who listen... Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly... Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel..." (1Timothy 2:14-26 NIV).

Churches that swim in the atmosphere of brotherhood issues, controversies and doctrinal wrangling can't grow spiritually. In fact, the Bible says you can measure spiritual growth (or the lack of it) by a church's attitude toward controversies and arguments (see 1 Corinthians 3:1-3).

3. A commitment to serious, in-context Bible study. Believers need to hear the word of life regularly. They need to hear it in context, without it being forced into some mold to fit the teacher's private interpretation. When a church emphasizes Bible study and regular Bible reading, members will grow in their faith and spiritual walk.

Churches that try to attract more people by shallow, semi-biblical junk food can't produce solid disciples. Such churches become a mile wide and an inch deep.

"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17 NIV).

4. A submission to the Holy Spirit. I know. That's controversial in many circles. But it's Biblical. In fact, if you examine the churches that find the Spirit controversial, you'll often find a distinct lack of spirituality. You'll see a church in desperate need of renewal.

Next time you read the Book of Acts underline every reference to the Holy Spirit. When I did so in the New International Version, I found Him mentioned 57 times in 28 chapters! And those references paint a picture. The Spirit was running the show. He was empowering the disciples to preach Christ in dangerous places. He was connecting preachers with prospects, sending missionaries to very specific places, forbidding them to go to other places and generally organizing and leading the church in her mission of preaching the gospel in a hostile world.

But, is what happened in Acts a guide for how the Holy Spirit wants to work in today's church? If not, why do we have the Book of Acts preserved? To give us a dry history book of what used to happen? And if Acts isn't a guidebook describing the Spirit's permanent place in the church's mission, why do the letters written to the churches also emphasize cooperation with the Holy Spirit?

In a world that's growing darker by the day, we can forget church as usual. Like the comment attributed to financial guru Warren Buffett about tough economic times, "You find out who's been swimming naked."

In the present spiritual warfare on this planet, we're finding out which churches are "swimming naked". It's time to find the the spiritual courage to submit to the kind of renewal we haven't seen since the Holy Spirit put Christ's church on the map... "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." (Acts 4:31 NIV).

Keys to praying in the Holy Spirit (2)

It's becoming more obvious that nothing in the Christian life works without the backing of the Holy Spirit.

In Olympia, Washington at the state capitol where the governor allowed a nativity scene (and other religious symbols) to be displayed, she also allowed atheists to place a sign near the nativity expressing their view.

According to Fox News, the sign read: "There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens our hearts and enslaves our minds."

So it's clear that we live in an unbelieving age, which is becoming progressively more secular. Which reminds me (or anyone else with even a casual interest in history) of the French Revolution.

During that revolution, Christianity became illegal in France. You can often find articles today written about the "dechristianization of France" that took place in 1789-93. So, how did the revolutionaries attempt such a goal?

They destroyed churches, murdered priests, made worship and Christian education illegal, destroyed crosses, bells and other outward symbols of Christianity, changed the days of the week to exclude Sunday, developed the "Cult of Reason" based on atheism and secularism, and wrote laws giving the death penalty to priests who wouldn't resign, and to people who harbored them. Then, they celebrated the Goddess "Reason" in Notre Dame cathedral.

But the cultural atmosphere of the French Revolution wasn't that different from the situation into which the early church was born. The First Century church found herself in a culture that couldn't tolerate her stand on revealed truth. Civilizations that pride themselves on being tolerant often can't tolerate anyone who claims to know truth. (Sound familiar?)

So today's church faces a rerun of the same cultural bias and bigotry that reigned in the past. We live in an increasingly secular (and hostile) world that has no use for us. (For more information on worldwide persecution of Christians, see Voice of the Martyrs website.)

There are two possible reasons they have no use for us: one could be that we're standing on revealed (inconvenient) truth. But another, more frightening, reason could be that we've become like the church that triggered such hatred during the Revolution - a hypocritical, self-serving, arrogant, tradition-bound, unloving group of religious people.

Without a personal walk with God, through prayer, we all can become what we detest most.

So, we'll never succeed at being light and salt without the power of the Holy Spirit. Dead churches will continue to wither away (with lots of help from a mocking culture) while churches that are full of the Holy Spirit's life and leading will flourish.

Read the Book of Acts, where the Holy Spirit gets mentioned 57 times in 28 chapters (NIV). What does that tell us?

And those references to the Spirit show Him leading, empowering, setting policy, rooting out church hypocrites, choosing mission fields, revealing future dangers and testifying to the risen Christ - the only hope for a culture saturated with evil and blinded by unbelief.

Since the Holy Spirit has been sent to the church on earth to lead, teach and empower her, hasn't He also been sent to teach her to pray?

"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13 NIV).

Keys to praying in the Holy Spirit

What does it mean to pray in the Holy Spirit?

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God..." (Jude 1:20-21 NKJV - emphasis mine).

From this verse, it seems ordained that Christians somehow "pray in the Holy Spirit". So what does that mean? And how can the believer do it? Is it a form of ecstasy, a feeling, a transcending this life into a trance, an experience of speaking in tongues, a mountaintop that only a few can experience?

Well, if it's something all believers should experience (according to Jude), it should be available to all, not just the super-spiritual.

When you think about the phrase - pray in the Holy Spirit - then you'll find some keys to praying that way.

The word "in" (en in the Greek) is a preposition - it describes position... "in the house" or "in the car". Christians are "baptized in water" and "baptized in the Holy Spirit" (Acts 10:47-48 & 11:15-16).

This means that God changed our positional relationship to the Spirit. We once had no relationship to Him, but now we are "in" Him and He is "in" us!

So if I'm praying in the Holy Spirit, I'm praying in relationship to Him. I'm not praying "in the flesh" but I'm praying in the Spirit. I'm letting Him control my thinking. Since the Holy Spirit lives in me, I'm "controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit" (Romans 8:5-8 NIV).

As I'm praying in concert with what the Spirit is praying, He "intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express" (Romans 8:26-27 NIV) and "by him we cry 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." (Romans 8:15-16 NIV).

This all happens because the Spirit dwells in us (1 Corinthians 6:19), because we have the right to be filled with Him (Ephesians 5:18) and because we dwell in Him and "are not in flesh but in Spirit" (Romans 8:9 Literal Bible).

So, just as the fish is in the water and the water is in the fish, believers dwell in the environment of the Holy Spirit. When that believer prays, he or she prays "in the Holy Spirit".

The easiest way to understand it is to ponder this: what would it mean to "pray in the flesh"? Well, the flesh is selfish, competitive, unholy, bent on doing its own will, uncaring, curious about evil, full of unhealthy desires, etc. Prayer in the flesh is prayer to get what I want so I can race ahead of everyone else. Prayer in the flesh can even be religious - "God, I thank you that I am not like other men - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector." (Luke 18:11 NIV).

So, praying in the Holy Spirit happens when spiritual people pray... and pray in concert with the Holy Spirit Himself.

(See more in H.A. Ironside's article on praying in the Holy Spirit.)

Would you like to meet God?

Someone once asked a famous talk show host (Dick Cavett, I think) which guest would be his most prized "get" - who would he most like to interview to boost ratings.

He replied, "I'd really like to interview God."

That would be a "get"! I'm sure all eyes and ears would be locked in for that one.

But can a person really meet God? Can one know God, not just know about Him? Is it possible to know God with an intimacy that transcends just attending church and casually reading the Bible?

Well, think about how Jesus described eternal life... "that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3 NIV).

Jesus characterized his whole mission as helping us know the Father, not just know about Him. He wants us in a living, walking, talking relationship with the Holy God of the entire universe, the Mind who spoke and created it all!

So, how does that work? How does one get to know God?

Well, think of two young people on a college campus who meet and become fascinated with each other. They date. They spend time together. They want to explore each other and soon they're building a "relationship". Before long, they marry. They spend their lives growing in their knowledge of each other and the relationship deepens, becoming more and more sophisticated in its intimacy. Relationships like that take time and they're built on purpose.

Or think of a friend of yours who meets a famous person and spends the day with her. What's your first question? "What was she really like?" You assume that interacting with a person will begin to reveal his or her true personality.

So, getting to know God demands a way of life tuned to His frequency, a life given over to seeking Him through all obstacles and interruptions. It means pursuit. It means loving Him with a passion that won't let go. (You know, the way He loves you - with no exceptions and no wavering.)

It's like climbing Mount Everest, not just because it's there, but because the One you love is at the summit. Such passion for God will usher you into this "knowing Him" sooner or later.

If that sounds a little intimidating, a little too much, take Paul's advice. He says that such a life of knowing God is not only possible, but it's within your reach through prayer. Watch how he prays for the church to know God:

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." (Ephesians 1:17 NIV).

Did you catch that? As an answer to prayer, God will give you the wisdom and insight to know Him better. Pray that way, and you'll begin to intimately know God in ways you can't yet imagine.

Paul also writes, "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith... that you, being rooted and established in love... may be filled to all the measure of the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19 NIV).

As fallible humans, it takes wisdom, insight and spiritual strength to be prepared to know God intimately. But, the good news is this - you can have these through a serious, dedicated prayer life.

"And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord... growing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10 NIV).

Can I be a Christian without being religious?

Religion isn't making it any easier for people of faith. With terrorist attacks in the name of God and narrow minded propaganda in the name of truth at an all time zenith, the sincere believer gets lumped in with the barbarians.

Late night TV comedy and the internet continue to push hard to expel religion, which many see as toxic, from modern life. They reason that a world without religion would be a peaceful place where all could live up to their potential. A place where logic and reason rule, causing superstition to disappear.

Talk about being delusional.

A quick glance at history turns up Stalin's atheistic experiment that murdered millions and Hitler's racist Reich that had no use for Christian principles - "Christianity is an invention of sick brains" as he once famously said.

So civilization's problem isn't religion, but evil hiding behind the veneer of religious practice. Evil that creeps into the folds of religion and infects it with human selfishness and pride.

I tend to oversimplify, but it seems that all valuables have a corresponding counterfeit. One's true relationship with the Supreme Being should be the goal of religion. But religion has become an end unto itself, like a gigantic government that once began in order to benefit the public, but now merely protects its own existence.

Therefore, we have toxic religion. So, what is this toxic religion? What distinguishes it from true faith?

It's summed up in Jesus' statement, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27 NIV). The Pharisees' hard hearts and slavish attention to man made religious details caused them to forget compassion for people.

Religious ideals should lead people to a healthier relationship with God and with fellow human beings. Religion that leads in the opposite direction is toxic.

It's this toxic form of religion that's now the butt of jokes and draws the ire of thinking people worldwide.

So how can one be a Christian without being religious (in the toxic sense)? By focusing on one's relationship to the Father. And by serving others in love (See James 1:26-27).

Both of these objectives demand prayer. And they demand that our churches become "houses of prayer" and loving harbors for shipwrecked people. We can't continue to ignore the great Biblical themes of love, compassion and spiritual formation without paying the price of becoming toxic.

It's time to drop the religious pretense and be authentic. Authentic believers in a risen Lord who cares about all humanity. Authentic believers who are willing to risk it all to serve Him and the people He created.

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him... Dear friends, since God so loved us, we ought to love one another." (1 John 4:8-11 NIV).

What does faith say on Thanksgiving Day?

Giving thanks isn't just a wimpish "counting your blessings" and trying to pretend that reality isn't so harsh after all.

Giving thanks takes maturity. It demands a spiritual sophistication that understands the connection between faith and thanksgiving.

One can't truly thank God without having faith. That's because faith gives voice to what it believes:

"But the righteousness that is by faith says... That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord'... it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved... for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (Romans 10:6-13 NIV).

Notice that faith does a lot of verbalizing. And one thing faith verbalizes is thanks for what God has done... and will do.

A muscular faith will always find ways to thank God for what He is doing.

Note this video and enjoy a great Thanksgiving!

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Ever heard of Black Friday?

Ever heard of Black Friday? It's the Friday right after Thanksgiving when all the stores run sales to get a head start on the Christmas shopping season.

Although black Friday isn't an official holiday, many workers take that day off, adding to the huge crowds. This gave rise to the title "black Friday" which supposedly originated in Philadelphia, PA due to the heavy traffic that day.

This year's black Friday (November 28th) promises to be interesting, due to the economic problems this year. Despite all the sales and coupons, will the day be as big as usual, or will people hold off on spending until later?

But here's a bigger question... will the war and our economic woes nudge us toward a deeper spiritual walk with God? Will these conditions make us downplay black Friday for something greater, like bright Sunday?

Maybe we should. Maybe our whole nation, our whole world, has been so caught up in greed and materialism that we couldn't think straight. While we've been partying at the Materialism Ball, our spiritual lives have been scattered all over the map. We've seen the growth of cults and paganism, along with an incessant attack on Christians from skeptics bent on replacing Biblical beliefs with secular-anity (a religion in itself).

While they have every right to do so under our legal system, Christians should know that we are under attack. The rules have changed. We get no special respect, no quarter because we're trying to do the right thing.

We must stand up for what we believe - or even better, stand up for what the Bible teaches. And we must develop Christians with steel backbones, like the persecuted believers in much of the world today. It may be our turn next.

How can we stand up for what's right without a serious spiritual life, one strong enough to back up such bold action? You can't be a Daniel, a David or a Paul without the framework of hours of dedicated prayer.

That's why the Spirit says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes... and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." (Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV).

The hairy side of prayer

I used to think that prayer was only for the weak.

You know, for those people who couldn't cope with life, so they leaned on the crutch of thinking that there's some divine entity who actually cares about their meaningless little lives.

Boy, was I wrong! Prayer, when you use it to tackle real life, is like the trek up Mt Everest. Or like a safari into the wild with danger at every turn.

Or like bull-rider Ed Rowell's comment about the first time he ever preached a sermon - he had found a replacement for the adrenalin rush he got each time he was nearly killed in the rodeo (see Preaching With Spiritual Passion).

"Prayer" seems like such a tame word for such a hair-raising, heart-pounding, life-altering experience. It's like a pro football player saying he "bumps into people" on Sunday. No, he crashes into people!

So, maybe we should rename "prayer". Call it cosmic combat. Call it warfare in the spirit world. Call it encountering El Shaddai face to face. Call it venturing into demonic territory and destroying strongholds with mere words - words pulsing with faith.

Whatever you call it, true prayer is a draining, sometimes scary, spirit-twisting, world-changing combat operation that can alter the course of history, even Divine history.

The championship prayer warriors of Scripture knew that.

Daniel did some combat praying for three weeks while an angel, who was sent to answer his prayer, mounted an assault on Satan's territory and engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat in the invisible spirit world (Daniel 10:12-21).

While angels fought, Daniel prayed. And he didn't give up. He wouldn't quit, even when his answer didn't show up the first day. He understood that combat praying sets in motion overwhelming cosmic forces - like the President giving his OK to start the D-Day invasion of World War II. Once you engage the enemy, you can't waver.

And Daniel wasn't the only one. Paul praised Epaphras, the preacher at Colossae, because "He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured." (Colossians 4:12 NIV). This amazing preacher knew how to go to war in prayer for his flock.

And even Jesus won his greatest battle on earth by using prayer as his weapon against Satan - "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission." (Hebrews 5:7 NIV).

Are you one of those? One of those who can hold on and pray despite hell's attack? I've know people like that. And I've seen them get results.

But more than that, I've seen them touch the face of God through their unwavering courage in prayer.

What if there is no God?

When you write about prayer, you work from this fundamental assumption - God, an actual, real Presence to whom we pray, exists.

But we're almost overwhelmed today with skeptics who deny that same assumption.

Many of them find work as successful, professional mockers hiding behind a pseudo-intellectual mask while railing at religion in general, Christianity in specific and the very idea of God.

While such people might be irritating to the believer, we still should face the question... what if they're right? What if there is no God?

Then several things must be relatively obvious. If there is no God...

1. Mankind is the most advanced life form we know. He stands at the top of the animal kingdom with no being above him. Note how man has devised ways to master his environment and manipulate it to his advantage. Despite the protests of environmentalists, just look at man's dominance over the animal kingdom around him.

2. Therefore, man has no "umpire" to buffer his actions. If man is supreme, he can make the rules, enforce them as arbitrarily as he pleases, and change them to suit the "values" in vogue at the time. "Justice" gets defined only by the whim of the times.

3. Individual human beings mean little. They have no real existence nor any special intrinsic value unless they can serve the ends of the tribe. The individual is a brief candle, burning for a while and then being extinguished by time's winds and passing into oblivion.

4. Cognition of any objective reality outside the self is a hoax. One's thoughts are merely electrochemical events signifying nothing special. The individual life is meaningless.

5. Villains, victims and heroes are only defined in the eye of the beholder. One man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter. There is no objective truth, so each fights for his own version of "truth".

6. All human aspiration becomes pointless. One can try to leave a legacy behind for future generations, but the individual will never see those aspirations come true. No one lives long enough to see any transcendent desires come to fruition.

7. Violence becomes a legitimate tool to get one's way. Although we protest it and decry it... in the Godless world, violence still works and has no lasting, meaningful consequences to the perpetrator (even the death penalty is merely a relatively painless shove into oblivion for the one who kills).

8. If there is no God to reveal a higher life to us, Hitler is no worse than Jesus. Stalin (and all the other secularist dictators who murdered millions) merely did what any other cunning super-animal would do - destroy the competition.

Depressing, isn't it?

Which leads to another question? Why, despite all the problems and contradictions in religion, do people still hope there is a God, and a better way?

Solomon, the wise Jewish king, explained it this way: "He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men..." (Ecclesiates 3:11 NIV).

We crave a better way because we have an antenna planted in us that responds to the eternal, the supernatural.

Like a man trying to check the temperature with a crescent wrench, the secularist wrongly assumes he can understand the supernatural with human capabilities. The supernatural doesn't come by investigation but by revelation. And that revelation comes primarily through God's Spirit as He uses the Bible to reveal God to man.

"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned... But we have the mind of Christ." -1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NIV.

What is spirituality? (3)

I love this old story; I think it came from Naval Times magazine several years ago:

The ship's captain strained to see ahead in the darkness and saw faint lights headed toward him. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message:

"Alter your course 10 degrees south."

Promptly a return message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north."

Angered, the captain sent a second message: "Alter your course 10 degrees south--I am the captain!"

The reply was: "Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am seaman third class Jones."

Immediately the red-faced captain sent a third message: "Alter your course 10 degrees south--I am a battleship!"

Then the reply came "Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am a lighthouse."

Here's why I laugh at that story every time I read it: it's funny when the absolutes of life rudely confront people who don't believe that life has absolutes. Watching them try to avoid the absolutes can be great entertainment. Or it can be sad.

I feel some of that sadness when I see churches try to avoid the obvious conclusion: the Holy Spirit came to earth to oversee the church's effort to spread the gospel. The Father rules from His throne in heaven, the Son reigns glorified at His Father's right hand, but the Holy Spirit is here. He's on earth to guide the church to victory in her assignment.

So many of us spend so much time trying to avoid that. We search for just the right program, the right preacher, the right book on church growth, the right entertaining agenda, the right seminar speaker, the right... well, you understand.

These things are fine in themselves, but they aren't the answer. The answer is to deepen the church so she can grow wider. A "spiritual" group of people will have little or no problem attracting converts or keeping them.

Here's an illustration. When the church at Antioch wanted to launch new missions to the Gentiles, their prophets and teachers gathered to fast and worship the Lord (unique idea... wonder if that would work today?).

When they did so, "The Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabus and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'" (Acts 13:1-3 NIV).

Did you catch that? The Holy Spirit said? The Holy Spirit has a voice? He can speak and make Himself understood by the church? And He intends to guide the program Himself? Amazing.

And notice this. After the church at Antioch had "fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off."

Look at how, from then on, the Spirit actually "micromanaged" Paul's work:

"Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to." (Acts 16:6-7 NIV - emphasis mine).

The Holy Spirit aggressively led the early church through her mission. As you read the 28 chapters of the Book of Acts, you'll notice the Holy Spirit mentioned 57 times (NIV)! He was running the operation.

So, to be "spiritual", a church today must recognize the absolute authority of the Holy Spirit over her work on earth.

"And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ... those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." (Romans 8:9,14 NIV).

What is spirituality? (2)

Does spirituality make life better? That's the assumption, isn't it? That if one pursues a deep spiritual life, their natural life will be happier, more complete.

Why do we assume that to be true? Well, we hear it often from preachers, pundits and other voices pushing us toward a higher life.

Yet I think the assumption (that spirituality increases well being) comes mostly from own experience. The happiest people I know are those who hunger to be spiritual the way a plant stretches toward the light.

In fact, happiness (joy) tops the "fruit of the Spirit" list (Galatians 5:22). Which brings me to the main point: one can't truly be "spiritual" without the Holy Spirit.

Notice how the Holy Spirit radically changed Jesus' own disciples and caused them to grow in spirit:

Jesus had nicknamed James and John "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17) - probably because of their hostile approach to any who weren't part of the group (Mark 9:38) and their eagerness to call fire from heaven down on those who insulted Jesus (Luke 9:54).

Yet, after the coming of the Holy Spirit, John later writes, "We should love one another... Anyone who does not love remains in death... Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 3:11; 3:14; 4:8 NIV).

And Peter had the same radical experience. Although seemingly bold and assertive, when the crisis came he wilted. After protesting to Jesus, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death", Peter couldn't even admit that he knew his Master when the trial started (Luke 22:33, 54-62).

But after his encounter with the Holy Spirit, Peter preaches boldly in Acts chapter two to the same mob that shouted for Jesus to be crucified. And he even went against fifteen centuries of Jewish law, entered a Gentile's home and spoke the gospel to the Centurion's family (Acts chapter ten).

So true spirituality hinges on one's relationship to the Holy Spirit. If He is present and active in your life, He will increase the strength and and maturity of your spirit.

"People who do not have God's Spirit do not accept the things that come from His Spirit. They think these things are foolish. They cannot understand them, because they can only be understood with the Spirit's help. " (1 Corinthians 2:14 ERV).

What is spirituality?

I've often had people say to me, "I'm actually a very spiritual person... I just don't attend church."

As the conversation progresses, I can usually tell the person doesn't have a comprehensive definition of spirituality, nor a grasp of the Bible's definition of it. They also tend to live life on their own terms, skeptical of joining the community of man in any meaningful way.

I know. Those are generalities. And they certainly don't apply to all the church-avoiders who claim to be spiritual. But it's been my experience that the generalities above generally hold true... which tells me that many remain locked-in to a cafeteria style of spirituality - choose a little from this TV talk show or from that religion, or some from this tradition or that one.

So, what is spirituality? I mean, what is true spirituality, according to the revealed, Biblical point of view?

Well, first of all, a spiritual person believes in (and seeks) the spirit world... a realm of existence outside time and space that we can't experience directly with the five senses. And he or she believes that such a world is more complex and detailed than even the natural world we see.

In the Bible, the word "spiritual" comes from the word PNEUMA, a Greek word meaning "air", "wind" or "breath". This word paints the portrait of an environment in the ethereal, invisible regions of God's creation.

Since God Himself is "spirit" (John 4:24), most of His creation could be defined as "spirit" or "spiritual". In fact, the natural world we can experience with the five senses grew out of the invisible, the supernatural. When God created the world, He did it from the pre-existent, supernatural realm.

And since He also created the spirit realm, the people He labels "spiritual" focus their energies, goals, hopes and their whole lives on the spirit realm. They want a life there and plan to live in that realm forever.

Labeling someone as "spiritual" compares to calling someone an "American citizen". It describes the person by describing his origins and cultural environment.

Second, a spiritual person is connected to that invisible realm by having his or her spirit linked through the Holy Spirit.

Notice this contrast in the Bible between the "spiritual" person ("pneumatikos") and the "natural" person ("psuchikos" or earth-oriented, animalistic):

"But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one." (1 Corinthians 2:14-15 NASB).

So there's a stark difference between the spiritual man and the natural one. The spiritual man knows the Holy Spirit and accepts the things that come from God's Spirit. But the natural man can't appraise or understand the spirit realm and its operation on this earth.

That's why so many have a counterfeit spirituality. The real thing eludes them because they don't know about, or haven't experienced, the working of the Holy Spirit. The world is full of counterfeit spirituality, even in the major world religions.

And that's why Jesus deflected the religious (but unspiritual) approach of Nicodemus by saying, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3 NASB).

Then he said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (Verse 6).

One can't be "spiritual" without surrendering to the work of Christ through his Holy Spirit.

Spirituality comes, not be being a good person in human terms or by being religious. It comes by surrender, in prayer, to the working of God's Spirit. Then one is "born from above" into a new life... a spiritual one.

Sometimes God says no... or does He?

A scholar several years ago actually counted all the prayers of the Bible and wrote a book about it. The publisher's preface to the book says there are 650 definite prayers in the Bible and 450 recorded answers. (See All The Prayers Of The Bible by Dr. Herbert Lockyer.)

Wonder how many of those answers were "no"? Most of us struggle with the "no" answer and puzzle over why others get positive answers and we don't.

We just had a friend die with cancer. He was prayed over many times, anointed with oil, and many tried their best to pray in faith. But he died. It seems the answer was "no".

And yet, we read optimistic verses throughout the Bible promising us affirmative answers. So, what's the problem?

Well, look at some of the rare "no" answers in the Bible.

Moses begged God to allow him to cross over the Jordan River and lead Israel into the promised land. But God said "Do not speak to me any more about this matter... you are not going to cross this Jordan." (Deuteronomy 3:26-27 NIV).

It seems that Moses lost his chance to lead Israel into the land because he had failed use his faith when causing water to come from the rock (Numbers 20:12). God was dishonored and Moses missed getting his answer.

Although the answer was "no", Moses later enjoyed the promised land when on the mountain top with Jesus and Elijah (Matthew 17:3).

In another case, King David prayed for his infant son to live, but he died. Although this child had never done anything in life, either good or bad, the whole relationship that produced him was toxic. David had stolen another man's wife and then had the man murdered. God's "no" answer must've had something to do with that situation.

Although the answer was "no", David still said, "Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:23 NIV). David saw the child again, this time joining him in the perfection of paradise.

And what about Paul's prayer for his thorn in the flesh? He says this "thorn" harassed him so he wouldn't become conceited after experiencing great revelations. He prayed three times for it to be removed, but God said, "no". He said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV).

So, Paul dodged a ministry-crippling conceit but retained his thorn in the flesh.

Did you notice a common theme in these three stories? It seems that human failings shredded these prayers and made them unanswerable. But did you notice this... God answered all three with something better!

When prayers don't match my rhetoric

The other day a friend blessed me with free tickets to hear a business man speak. And to enjoy a free meal. I accepted.

The meal was Chick-fil-A and the speaker, amazingly enough, was Dan T. Cathy, President and Chief Operating Officer of the corporation. He's also a son of the founder, S. Truett Cathy.

I already knew a little about the Chick-fil-A company. You know, the fast food restaurant that still remains closed on Sundays and refuses to violate their principled policy on the subject. I also knew that the Cathy family seemed to preach good moral values and church-going behavior.

Judy, my wife, and I arrived on time at the Convention Center but the place was already packed, so we chose one of the long lines headed toward the chicken buffet and visited to pass the time.

As we got closer to the serving line, we noticed another line coming from the other direction, but instead of receiving food, they were helping carry plates to the tables. With a towel over his arm, like any good waiter in a classy restaurant, a pleasant, polite man took my plate and said, "Let me help you to your table."

We chose a table and joined some who were already eating. I thanked the man who carried my plate, and he replied, "My pleasure."

When we began to sit next to Mike Riley, a friend of ours, I noticed him rise and go behind me saying, "Mr. Cathy, I've always wanted to shake your hand!"

Dan Cathy, President of Chick-fil-A, had served me by taking my plate to the table and I didn't even realize it. I had been served by the most important man there, the man who was about to speak on how to build a company by going the extra mile (Matthew 5:41).

Maybe this is one reason Chick-fil-A has experienced 39 years of positive sales growth. Maybe it's why they've grown to become the second-largest fast service chicken restaurant chain in the US with 1,340 locations and annual sales of $2 billion.

So what does this have to do with prayer? Well, it's fun to talk about prayer, read about it and study about it, but my prayer life doesn't often match my rhetoric. I want to be one of those God-chasers (as Tommy Tenney puts it) who actually prays, who prays often and prays consistently.

After Jesus had taught on the extra mile principle, and other wonderful things, in His sermon on the mount, he ended by talking about those who hear His words and put them into practice.

They are the wise ones. They get results. They build on solid ground. Their actions don't cancel their rhetoric.

I'm always amazed at this Prayer Workshop

This year's Prayer Enrichment Workshop continued to amaze me.

The people who sacrifice to attend amaze me.

Like Gene and Marsha. Gene continues to fight off stage 4 colon cancer, but he and Marsha and his parents came to the Workshop (and stayed for the whole program). He had told Marsha, "I'm going to the Prayer Workshop even if I have to lie in the floor on a pillow!"

Or like the two twin sisters who came - one who recently had a serious bleeding in her brain that has partially paralyzed her and the other who just buried her husband. They came. And they beamed with enthusiasm.

Or like the bus load of joyous worshipers who evacuated from hurricane-threatened Houston, Texas and came to the Workshop (they come every year). They courageously left homes behind to Ike's wrath and traveled uncertain roads just to get in on our Prayer Workshop. They inspire me and they humble me. Many of them will return to flooded homes, no electricity and shortages of supplies.

Each year we're blessed to fellowship with some amazing people who put up with significant hardships just to participate in this Prayer Workshop at a small Louisiana church.

The speakers who come keep on amazing me.

Like Terry Rush - a true mentor and hilarious, joy-filled proclaimer of God's huge heart. Terry pulls me upward and makes me better each time I'm around him.

And like Albert Lemmons, the greatest man of prayer I know... A man with 52 years of preaching experience behind him... a man whose main mission in life is to see God's people truly know Him in prayer.

Or like Barry Stephens, a loving, people-oriented preacher who always comes well-prepared and well-prayed... and who wants the Lord's church to catch the vision of what prayer can do to reach the broken people around us.

And like Larry Burrell, a powerful voice in the African American community as he and his congregation call people to search the Lord's word for the truth... rather than half-truths.

Or like Hugh Gower, who has always remembered where he was when God found him... and who can never forget God's grace. He found out that God loves him and he hasn't gotten over it yet. And he continues to work to see others find that same grace.

And the Calhoun Church still amazes me at Workshop time.

Our volunteers work so hard and so long that it must be a "God-thing". They spend their time, donate significant sums of money and invest their emotional energy in seeing that this Workshop happens.

But more than that, they are true servants. They make sure that our guests have meals, a pleasant place to meet and CDs of the sessions to take home with them. And above all, they make sure our guests get hugs, encouragement and the therapeutic atmosphere of true Christian fellowship. They are remarkable, sacrificial servants.

Whether guests, speakers or volunteers, I'm amazed at them because I see why they do it. They're connected to Him - the One who loved us and gave Himself for us... they do it because of a love that has pierced their hearts and made them alive to the higher life.

Annual Prayer Workshop; one of those remarkable hidden treasures

"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" (John 1:46 NIV)

Sometimes the most remarkable treasures come from the least likely places.

We've witnessed that for fifteen years at our church's annual Prayer Enrichment Workshop right here in Calhoun, Louisiana.

For the past decade and a half we've been honored to hear the best speakers we can find on the subject of prayer. Most of them are well-known in the Churches of Christ and Independent Christian Churches for the power of their presentations and the depth of their study.

This year isn't any different. Look at the list of awesome speakers slated to be with us this week - September 12-14.

Dr. Albert Lemmons has taught hundreds of prayer seminars on nearly every continent in his fifty-two years of ministry, and has written extensively about prayer and spiritual growth. He's a recognized scholar on the subject of George Muller and has spoken at our Workshop here in Calhoun for nearly its entire life.

Terry Rush directs the amazing International Soul Winning Workshop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which draws thousands each year. He also serves as Preaching Minister for the Memorial Drive Church of Christ in Tulsa.

Dr. Barry Stephens teaches Bible at Lubbock Christian University and serves as Senior Minister for the exciting Monterey Church of Christ in Lubbock. Barry is also one of the Instructors in our CrossView College of Prayer audio series.

Larry Burrell, Senior Minister for the predominantly African-American Parkview Drive Church of Christ, has served that church for 29 years and has a local television broadcast titled Let God Be True.

Hugh Gower served the Calhoun Church for several years as our Prayer Ministry Coordinator and Director of our Food Bank. He's often asked to speak in churches about the subject of prayer. He now preaches for the Ward Chapel Church of Christ in North Louisiana.

And then there's me - Keith Roberts, author of Why God Waits For You To Pray, and Preaching Minister for the Calhoun Church.

Join us for this life-changing event... there'll be three and a half days of study, prayer, fellowship, food and networking with other prayer ministries and intercessors. Here's the schedule:

FRIDAY:

3:00 PM - Special Seminar - Albert Lemmons - "Preparing Your Heart & Your Faith For Revival"

7:00 PM - Terry Rush - "God Works!"

SATURDAY:

8:00 AM - Breakfast (provided by Calhoun Church)

9:00 AM - Terry Rush - "Envisioning the Invisible"

10:00 AM - Keith Roberts - "Why God Waits For You to Pray"

11:00 AM - Terry Rush - "An Attitude of Gratitude"

Lunch Break (provided by Calhoun Church)

1:30 PM - Albert Lemmons - Intercession's Power For Revival

2:30 PM - Larry Burrell - "Prayer Life of the Early Church"

3:30 PM - Hugh Gower - "Praying Together"

4:15 - 5:30 - Prayer Time & Fellowship

5:30 - Cajun Cookout

7:00 PM - Barry Stephens - "Let God Be God"

SUNDAY:

8:00 AM - Breakfast (provided)

9:00 AM - Worship - Barry Stephens - "The Church at Prayer"

10:00 AM - Barry Stephens - "An Intrusive God"

11:30 - Pot luck lunch - Calhoun Church's 43rd Homecoming!

Want to see remarkable answers to prayer?

Every time it happens I'm reminded of how important it is to study prayer.

It's happened twice to me this week.

Talking to a friend named Jimmy the other day, he reminded me of his remarkable answer to prayer several years ago.

He lay dying in a hospital far from home with no hope of recovery. The doctors gave up, the family gathered and churches prayed. Finally, a group of elders from his home church arrived to pray, but were prevented from entering the ICU. Yet they persisted and gathered at Jimmy's side, prayed and anointed him with oil.

Though he'd languished in a coma for several days, he responded when they touched him with the oil. After that prayer he grew stronger and stronger, and within a few weeks was home and working again.

Then it happened to me again - confronted with another remarkable answer to prayer.

This one happened when the call to prayer went out on behalf of a young father named Derrick because fluid on his brain was building up, pushing him into a coma-like state. A previous shunt in the brain was failing and doctors prepared for radical surgery.

But as local prayer groups prayed, the doctor decided to take one more set of scans prior to surgery. This time the scans showed no fluid! It had all disappeared. No surgery required.

The doctor asked Derrick's mom for the names of those who were praying. He said, "I want them on my side."

I've seen it again and again. And yet it still amazes me when God answers prayer in such a powerful way that even medical professionals are stunned.

Prayer has the power (because God does) to turn the world upside down.

So we try hard to learn and grow in this art of speaking with the Almighty on behalf of mortals.

We do it each year in our local September Prayer Workshop here in Calhoun. Join us.

Get in on three days of intense training, networking, fellowship and practical application of the art of prayer.

Check it out on our website link. See you there!

Can answers to prayer be guaranteed?

The closest thing in the Bible to guaranteed answers to prayer appears in Jesus’ word to his disciples the night before the cross:

“And I will do whatever your ask in my name…” (John 14:13 NIV).

That’s an amazing promise, yet Jesus restates it again four more times—in 14:14, 15:7, 15:16 & 16:23.

So this concept—praying in his name—meant a great deal to Jesus, and then to his disciples.

The first description of a healing performed by the disciples comes in Acts 3:6. where Peter said to the beggar, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

When the healing happened, Peter described it as happening “By faith in the name of Jesus… It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing…” (Acts 3:16 NIV).

It seems clear that remarkable things happen when Jesus’ disciples pray in his name.

So, what does that mean?

A name is a verbal tag, a container for all the attributes and authority belonging to a person or situation.

Think about what these names represent: dynamite, nuclear bomb, Hitler, Viet Nam, Iraq, Billy Graham, President Bush, Paris Hilton, General Motors, Mother Teresa, etc.

Each name represents a whole complex of ideas and associations.

If someone has accomplished great things, he or she has “a name” and can gain access to high places. If someone or some institution has authority, things are done in its "name".

Like an ambassador representing a government, we believers can speak in our Lord’s name… on his behalf… with his authority. And we can pray to the Father as if we are Jesus doing the praying.

If we “remain in him and his word remains in us” we can ask whatever we wish and it will be done.

Amazing.

Keys to Success in Prayer

Because I teach on prayer, people often ask me to pray for them, saying “I know you have an inside track with God.”

It might surprise you to know that I don’t. God will listen to your prayers just as quickly as to mine, or to anyone else’s—if you know the key.

So what’s this “key” to getting prayers answered?

The Key

Here’s something I’ve discovered that will make your prayers more effective—the principles that cause success in life, will also bring success in prayer.

That may not sound right to some, but here’s what I mean.

Whether you’re a believer or not, if you fall from a tall enough building, you’ll be killed. The Law of Gravity works for everyone.

Whether you’re a Christian or not, if you don’t pay your bills, you’ll soon be bankrupt. The laws of finance apply to all of us.

Even though you’re a believer, if you ignore the basic principles of prayer, you won’t get answers. God created prayer to operate based on certain principles, just like the rest of life.

Jesus’ disciples understood that. They once asked, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1.)

What did they want to be taught? Specific principles about successful prayer, which both John the Baptist and Jesus taught regularly.

How Prayer Works

And here’s one of those basic principles we often overlook—your prayers filter themselves through your spirit. There aren’t any “generic” prayers. Your prayers approach God from within you, and filter themselves through your attitudes and expectations, not anyone else’s.

That’s why it’s important for your thinking to be right. If you contaminate the attitudes of your inner life, your prayers will be shredded before they ever reach God’s throne.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying you have to be perfect. But you do have to be willing to learn certain key attitudes if you want your prayers to be effective.

So what set of attitudes does one need in order for prayer to be successful?

Principles of Successful Prayer

(1) BE SPECIFIC. Instead of just praying, “Lord, bless me today” have goals in mind.

When blind Bartimaeus cried to Jesus, “Have mercy on me!” the Lord asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51.)

That’s a strange question to ask a blind man! But Jesus wanted him to be specific. And when he told Jesus, “I want to see” he got his prayer answered.

We understand the disaster of a ship without a rudder, a car whose steering fails, or an airplane that loses its guidance system. But too much of the time we’re cruising through life without any specific direction. And if that’s how you’re praying, you won’t see many answers.

(2) PERSIST. When you complained that your prayers weren’t being answered, was it because you quit too soon? Remember, when Jesus’ own disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray” he immediately taught a lesson on persistence.

He told of a man who had visitors late at night needing a place to sleep. The man had no bread to feed them, so he went next door to borrow some. His neighbor wouldn’t give him the bread at first, but because of his persistence he soon got it (Luke 11.)

And later Jesus told them another parable “to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (Luke 18:1.)

Understand this principle; if you quit too soon, your prayers will fail.

(3) PRAY IN FAITH. Here’s one of the most common mistakes in prayer—assuming that prayer will work despite one’s attitude. When your prayers become a whining “pity party” God won’t listen. That’s why Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years and lost their inheritance (Numbers 14:22-35.)

But when your prayers drip with optimistic faith, mountains move. Jesus taught the principle in Mark 11: 22-25—“whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

In other words, what you believe about the future influences it in that direction. (That works for both fear and faith; fear the worst and it will happen, but have faith in God for the best and it will happen.)

So since faith is “being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1), you must see the outcome before it happens, and you must believe God will answer before He answers.

That’s why James, the Lord’s brother, said the man who prays without faith “should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (Jas. 1:7.)

So, how would you describe your prayers? Like this? - “God, I don’t know why you don’t answer me. I try and try, but I still have a terrible life. I try to live right, tithe, go to church, but everything is still against me. I don’t know why I bother…”

Obviously, that’s not a prayer of faith. A mountain-moving prayer of faith sounds like this—”Thank you God that you’ve given me everything I need for life and godliness through Christ—I can do all things through Him who gives me strength…”

What’s the difference, and how can you pray with more faith? Notice the next principle.

(4) PRAY SCRIPTURE. Here’s an ancient method for praying with more purpose and faith—pray the Scriptures.

Even Bible characters prayed the Scriptures: the prophet’s prayer in Daniel 9:1-19

was based on Jeremiah 29:10-14. And King Jehoshaphat’s prayer of faith in 2 Chronicles 20:6-12 grew out of Solomon’s dedication prayer for the new temple in 2 Chronicles 6:14-42.

It’s fairly common in the Bible to see people pray by using Scriptures that were written before their day.

So how can you do that? By scanning the word of God for the prayers found in it—they number around 600! (Write to us at the address on the front and ask for a free listing, 40 Days With The Bible’s Great Prayers.)

If you’re overwhelmed by the Bible, start with the Psalms, and make each prayer fit your situation. This will increase your faith, since “faith comes from hearing the message… the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17.)

4) RESPECT PEOPLE. Remember, your prayers approach God from within you, and filter themselves through your attitudes and expectations—and that’s also true of your attitude toward other people.

Jesus himself said “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him…” (Mark 11:25.)

If you want your prayers to be powerful, get rid of the bitterness that comes from past hurts. Consciously forgive, in prayer, anyone who has harmed you.

If you don’t treat your husband or wife with proper respect, it will hinder your prayers (1 Peter 3:7.)

In fact, Jesus said that we should be willing to pray for even our enemies, asking God to bless them and forgive them (Matthew 5:43-47.)

So be careful in your relationships. Lack of respect for other people can quickly put the brakes on your prayer life.

Use these keys to success in prayer, making your prayer life a tool in building a better world.