Tues.- Day 9...Want your life to Change? It Starts with a New View of God

How wonderful it is that the King of the universe would desire to spend time with those who rebelled against him. But Christ took the wrath we deserved and the Father has adopted us and now rejoices over us with singing. Wow! He sees us for what we will be, not just for how we are now. (May we have that kind of vision and words of encouragement for our loved ones and those whom we will invite to M3.) We may struggle to feel connected when we read and pray to the Lord, but our feelings are deceiving. The most unstable element in the universe is not plutonium or ununoctium, but our emotions! Note how much they change in one day. But God doesn’t change in his devotion to us. So how should we begin our devotional time with our Father in his book of life? Since the author of the book happens to our Father, let's ask him for divine assistance as we begin. 

It only seems fitting that we should begin by asking God for his favor in learning and living out his word. I’m not talking about having a lengthy time of prayer first. Instead, many great saints recommend a brief prayer in preparation for reading God’s word. Prayer prepares us. Then let's begin reading. But what should we pray and say to God before opening his word? Here’s a prayer I’ve used many times from Ps.119:18- “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” It reminds me that though my natural eyes are open to read, I need God’s Spirit to enlighten me. Paul prayed for believers “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened...”Eph.1:18.

But rather than assigning that prayer verse to you, I want you to pen your own short prayer that you will often use before you read. The author of Psalm 119 lifted up several short prayers before he evidently approached God’s word. So look up any of his following prayers to adopt or modify for yourself- Ps.119:12,18,27,29,66,73,125,135.

1.- Now write out your prayer and share it with us. It can be an exact quote from any verse above or elsewhere, or you can craft your own. If you are creating your own prayer, see if you can make it short so you can easily remember it. 

2.- Also write out your above prayer on your MP3 card. (You know what to do now- Write “Did it” when you did it.) 

Go to the GREAT scoreboard and fill in the total number of times you shared your MP3 card with others since you blogged yesterday. And give yourself credit for blogging today.

Of course such prayers are not magic words that guarantee we will always interpret things correctly (though I've met proud and unteachable people who think that.) That is why we need to read and explore God’s word carefully, not just prayerfully. God himself tells us we are to accurately handle His word of truth (2 Tim.2:15). And that is what we will look at tomorrow. Until then, may I close in a prayer for you? May the Lord open your eyes to behold wonderful things and your wonderful King. 

Here are other categories on the GREAT scoreboard you may be able to give yourself credit-

R? Did you right any wrongs? Then you have R Respect.

E? Did you write some words of encouragement to a brother on the blog above you? Then give yourself a point for every one for which you did so. Remember to pray for him too.

A? Since we focused on prayer today, let's introduce to you the letter A. As you may have discovered by now, A stands for lifting up Attack prayers. We are warriors in God's kingdom army. We are seeking to attack the gates of hell and set captives free. Thus, we do not content ourselves to say we've Attack prayed if we've just prayed for our food, family and friends. There's nothing wrong with that-I long ago taught my children to thank God for such. But we are forcefully seeking to advance against the enemy. So if you haven't already, begin praying daily with us Attack prayers. Pray daily that God would activate the many sidelined saints to want to join us in the fight. Pray Attack prayers such as for Power H.O.U.S.E. men that God would raise up to battle with us. H.O.U.S.E. stands for men who are Hungry for God, Obedient, Unstoppable, Strong in the Lord, and Encouraging. They may not be such yet, but that's why we are praying so much. 

Speaking of the vital importance of prayer, have you mailed me the names and email addresses of at least two Christian friends who will often pray for you? They will get weekly M3 prayer warrior updates. Again, these are to be people other than fellow M3 men. If you're married, feel free to recruit your wife. Also consider asking men whom you think you would like to invite to join M3 down the road. You will be credited even now for any person that ends up joining because of your initial invitation. (Having at least 2 prayer partners is also a prerequisite to receiving your Unstoppable award pin, so make sure to soon turn them in by the end of this week, if you haven't yet. Thanks.) 

Also as soon as you have recruited these prayer warriors, please put their names on the Contacts tab on our Spreadsheet. This is a quick way for me to see that you and everyone are covered with prayer power.