Author: Matt Cecil

“The writers of the psalms are fully satisfied that there is no one to be compared to the Lord God. They may have their times when they question and complain, but when the vote comes in, there is no negative. The God of Israel is great, and greatly to be praised. Charles Wesley concluded one of his loveliest hymns with the line, “Lost in wonder, love, and praise.” The psalmists would have said amen to that. Or more likely, they would have said to Wesley, “You got that idea from us.” Dr. Ellsworth Kalas, “Longing to Pray”

Prayer prompt: Have you ever been, “Lost in wonder, love, and praise”? The best way to get lost is to forget your map and then set out on an adventure. Today forget your ‘prayer map’ and simply enjoy being in the presence of the Savior of the whole cosmos, Jesus Christ!

“our repentance should go beyond superficial thinking, so we consider why we have sinned, and what it is in us that inclines toward particular failings. With such realization we equip ourselves to walk more uprightly in the future, and to guard against carelessly falling into the same destructive patterns.” Dr. Ellsworth Kalas, “Longing to Pray”

Prayer prompt: This may be difficult but it is time to get specific with our sinfulness. Pick one sin. Got it? Now ask God WHY that sin has appeared in your life and listen for God’s answer so that you will be equipped to “walk more uprightly”.

“In this matter of petitioning God by specific names, I confess a simple faith, but one that is significant enough to me that I dare to recommend it to you. As I go about each day, numbers of persons come to mind. Some names appear logically – I see the person on the street, or hear form them by letter or e-mail. But some seem to come out of the proverbial blue. I take each such name as a gift from the Holy Spirit, and ask God’s blessing on the person. If I know something of the person’s circumstances, I speak to God from the particulars of my knowledge; otherwise, I simply recite the name prayerfully… I reason that perhaps it is the Spirit of God that has brought this person to mind, and that by my prayer I may help bring God’s will to pass in that person’s life.” Dr. Ellsworth Kalas, “Longing to Pray”

Prayer prompt: Has a certain person come to mind today, “out of the proverbial blue”? If so, simply pray for that person now. If not, take time to listen to the Lord for a name and pray for the one to whom God has directed you.

“When the psalmist repents, he isn’t content to make a blanket request for forgiveness. Rahter, he uses three different words for sin and three specific words for the kind of action he wants taken to his sins (“Blot out my transgressions./Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,/and cleanse me from my sin”)(Psalm 51:1-2).” Dr. Ellsworth Kalas, “Longing to Pray”

Prayer prompt: Take time in prayer today to be SPECIFIC about your own transgressions/iniquity/sin. Specific enough that Jesus can take all of it and blot it out and wash and cleanse your soul.

“A lazy relationship will be taken over by generalities. A great relationship is marked by the specific. You’ve been told that the good is the enemy of the best and that the pretty is the enemy of the beautiful. Let me add that the general is the enemy of the specific. The general has its place, of course; but in the most important matters of life, remember the importance of the specific.” Dr. Ellsworth Kalas, “Longing to Pray”

Prayer prompt: As you enter into prayer consider writing down the specific thanksgivings and petitions that you want to present to Jesus… then present them.

“The secret of exuberance is involvement. If we are to enjoy exuberance, we have to engage ourselves. The more nearly complete the engagement, the greater the level of fulfillment and of exuberance. And here’s the rub for most of us religious folk. We engage in too much of our religion at a safe distance. The saints are those persons – ordinary persons – who dare to involve themselves with God unreservedly. They perceive that God has gambled eternal love on them, so they in turn gamble wildly on God.” Dr. Ellsworth Kalas, “Longing to Pray”

Prayer prompt: Pray that God will erase the “safe distance” between you. As you pray try to envision what a worship service would look like if your only concern was to involve yourself with God unreservedly… Tomorrow you have the chance to make that prayer a reality, hope to see you in worship!

“any place can become sacred space. The secret is not location, but the attitude of the heart. Because of our psychological makeup, we do well to establish some given spot, whether in our home, our church, or a walking path. It’s important also that we mark that place by regularity and frequency. A prayer spot, no matter how sacred of itself, will soon lose its power if it is visited only rarely.” Dr. Ellsworth Kalas – “Longing to Pray”

Prayer prompt: Have you had this experience? Has some ‘sacred space’ ever felt less than sacred from time to time? Take a moment to ask God if the difference isn’t in the physical space but rather in the attitude of your heart. Ask God for a willing attitude to enter into and recognize your own sacred space.

Writing about the author of Psalm 96, “All of his vocabulary seems stunted and insufficient for the wonder he feels, so he yearns for a new way to declare the glory of God. He wants much more than new words, a fresh melody, or a different set of musical instruments; the poet wants a newness within his own person. You’ve known the frustration, I’m sure, in the experiences of human friendship and love, of saying to someone, “I just wish I could find the words to tell you what you mean to me” or “what our friendship means to me.” So it is that the psalmist wants “a new song.” And his exuberance is such that he calls on everyone else to join his choir”

Prayer prompt: Let’s join the psalmist’s choir today by praying Psalm 96. “1 O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols; but the Lord made the heavens. 6 Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! 8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! 9 Worship the Lord in holy array tremble before him, all the earth! 10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns! Yea, the world is established, it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.” 11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy 13 before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.”

“So is there a “right” time for prayer? The psalmists would endorse morning, noon, night, any hour, every hour. Saints in the Christian tradition would reinforce the idea that any time is an appropriate time for prayer; and most of them would also emphasize the importance of prayer early in the day – a logic which, even if unattractive to some, is hard to deny… it’s very clear that time, place, and posture all matter. They matter differently at different times, for different reasons… But whatever the formalities of time, place, and posture, the psalmists would tell us, as would centuries of saints since their time, “Pray. Just pray!” Dr. Ellsworth Kalas – “Longing to Pray”

Prayer prompt: Today take a moment to pray in part of the day that you usually would not. See what the Holy Spirit brings to mind at this time of the day that you may not have been listening for at any other time.

“So is a church – to move the Old Testament writer into our world – the best place to pray? In truth, there is something special about a church as a place to pray. Quite simply, when a building or a place is dedicated to a particular purpose, it takes on unique qualities of that purpose… not only has the altar been dedicated to the purpose of prayer and holy adoration, it has taken on the hallowedness of the many prayers that have been offered there. I confess I am somewhat mystical about this; a place where many have prayed has an aura of its own.” Dr. Ellsworth Kalas – “Longing to Pray”

Prayer prompt: Have you ever had an experience of praying in a place that just ‘felt’ like a holy place? Remember back to that place and time. As you pray today recognize that the same God who met you there is available to you now right where you are and give God thanks for that.