Answered Prayers

During the last blog, I posted about how The Lord's Prayer can be used as a template whenever you are praying to God for something.  The funny thing about praying for something, is that we often-times want an answer back from the Lord.

How often have you felt like Job when he said "I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. (Job 30:20)?

I am surprised how often I get an answer to my prayers.  It seems the more I pray, the more I feel I get answers.  It is not always the case however.  Here are some reasons that I think I don't always feel heard:

1. We learn in James 4:3 is that "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.  So I guess that means if we ask for things selfishly, or in a way that will only be used to satisfy ourselves, we shouldn't be surprised if we don't hear back from God.
2. In Psalms 37 we are told to "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him," Have you ever taken time to consider that the Lord was answering a prayer and you were just too busy to take the call?  I truly believe one of the most powerful tools the Devil has over a leader is the power of distraction.  There are so many things that need to be done in a day....so many meetings.....so many tasks...Have you ever been reminded by a loved one about a conversation that you had with them, that you totally forgot because you were "multi-tasking" when you were talking to them?  How many times have you tried to multi-task God?  Take quiet time EVERY day to listen.
3. In Ecclesiastes 3:11 Solomon states "He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end."  When I read this verse, I remind myself that God is not my assistant.  I need to remember that I worship him, not the other way around.  Often times, when I don't hear an answer, it is because I have put God on my schedule.  As leaders, we are used to other people getting back to us in a "timely" manner.  However, God's time is different than ours and he will answer your prayer when HE sees fit.  One way to test this is to keep a prayer journal.  Jot down what you pray for every day.  On a weekly basis, review the prayers that you made and check off the ones that were answered.  Continue to revisit the ones that go "un-answered".  I found that over the course of time, most of my prayers were answered. (I'm sure all were answered, I just may have missed a couple, or the answer may have been "no")
4. Finally, learn how to listen.  When I was a boy and read the old testament, I expected God to speak to me like he did to Moses.  That I would hear a booming voice that made my bones shake.  What I have experienced is something much more subtle but no less impactful.  God doesn't need to shout to get his point across.  However, I am always sure when I am supposed to do something.  It is very hard to explain, and it has taken me practice, but I can feel when I am supposed to do something.  I think it stems from responding to something that I felt lead to do, and then seeing the result.  As I continued to act on these "feelings" I noticed that more often than not, it lead to outcomes that I had prayed about.  Bill Hybles wrote a book called "Whispers" that does a great job talking about this topic.  I would recommend reading the book if you are interested.

The whole topic of hearing God's voice is something that is very polarizing.  Some people think that it is crazy to think that an all powerful God would respond to every person in the world who wants to speak with Him.  But if God so loved the world that he gave his only Son for us so that we would not parish but have eternal life, don't you think he would at least take the time to get to know us?  And when it's all said and done, isn't that what prayer is all about?

How to Pray as a Leader

One of the most important things to understand as a leader is that you can't do it alone.  Leaders, of any kind, are faced with hard decisions that impact others.  If you are prudent, you would seek advice and council from others before you make any major decision.  With that in mind, ask yourself: "Do I pray to the Lord about the decisions that I make?"  If the answer is "no", then I would like to submit a couple of things for your consideration.

Throughout history great leaders have asked their heavenly father's advice when they are in need.  George Washington was found on his knees praying when his troops were struggling through the winter at Valley Forge in the Revolutionary War.  There are also prayers published that Abraham Lincoln used to help guide him during the Civil War.

So how do you pray as a leader?  How do you pray a all?  These are questions that I have struggled with, and still do, since I can remember.  Over the next couple of blogs I will give you my thoughts on how I try to pray when I need to make a decision.  In this blog I want to focus on Matthew 6:5-18.  This is where Jesus first introduces the world to the "Lord's Prayer".  This can be used as a template whenever you talk with the Lord.  While it may sound basic, I am going to break down the Lord's Prayer and explain how I use it to guide my prayer, especially when I am asking for something.

Our Father, Who art in heaven - Well this part is pretty easy to expalin.  This just tells me that I need to be conscious of who I am about to pray to.

Hallowed by thy name - I think that this is the part of the prayer that gets overlooked.  We often times forget that we are about to converse with the all powerful God who's name alone should inspire respect.

Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven - This reminds us that whatever our need or our request, we recognize that it is in God's hands.  It is an understanding that I am ok with whatever God decides.

Give us this day our daily bread - This is where Jesus tells us that it is okay to go to the Father to ask for things that we NEED in order to survive.  I interpret "daily bread" as meaning that God does not give us the green light to ask for whatever we desire, but only the things that we need to get through the day.  It also implys that the Lord will not give you answers for the next 3 years, He will provide you with just the right amount of what you need to get you through the day.....and that is enough.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors - Jesus tells us that when we pray, we need to be clean with the Lord by asking him to forgive our sins.  There is a second stipulation as well.  We are expected to forgive those around us.  I always think of the story that Jesus tells in Matthew 18:24 about the man who can not afford to pay the debt that he has to his master and so he begs him for mercy.  The master grants the forgiveness of the debt and releases the man.  As the man walks down the street, he meets another man who owes him money.  He brutally demands the repayment of the debt with no mercy for the other man.  When the Master hears of the injustice, he no longer shows the man pity, and has him thrown in jail.  I think that is the same expectation that the Lord has for us.  He is willing to forgive our unpayable debt, but his expectation is that we do the same for others when we get the chance.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil -  This is the safety claus of the prayer.  When I am making a request to God, I always include a portion of the prayer that asks the Lord to use his discresion and not grant my request if it will lead to trouble down the road.  I defer to God's knowledge of what the potential pitfalls of a request may be and use his judgement when listening to my prayer.  Discipline kicks in when I don't get the answer that I want.  It is very hard, in the moment, to not rationalize to get the outcome you want.  But if you don't feel like you have gotten an answer from the Lord, then that very well might be your answer.

I use the Lord's prayer to structure my time with God, especially when I am going to him for a request about a leadership decision that I need to make.  It insures that I am going to him appropriately and in a manner that insures that he is open to my request.  Then I really try to do my best to listen...and wait...
One of the things that I have learned is that the earlier that I go to God with my concerns or needs, the more often I feel like I have a clear answer.  My thoughts have always been that God wants to be part of the entire process, not the "closer" that you call in near the end of the game to bail you out of trouble.

Next time you know you have important decisions that you have to make, or that you have needs that you could use some help in meeting, remember the structure of the Lord's prayer as you go to the Father.  You can even recite it verbatim and just include your specific requests at the appropriate time.

There are many different ways that I like to pray, especially when it comes to trying to be a better leader.  Today I covered how I structure my prayers when I am going to the Lord to ask for something.  I will write about a different type of prayer next time.

Pride and Time

My blog this week will be very short.  Over the past couple of months I have posted a lot about Pride and the different ways that it can impact leaders.  Something happened this week that really impacted my perception of how Pride and time interact.

Very dear friends of mine lost one of their children this week.  My prayers and heart go out to them, and I know that the one thing that they would give ANYTHING for, is more time with their son.

The impact of that thought has caused me to pause this week and think how much of my time, when I am not at work, is spent on selfish things vs humble things.....

Earlier this month the blogs suggested that the best way to prove that pride is not in the driver's seat is to focus on others and not on yourself.  The best metric that will judge your performance against this is how you spend your time.

So as a leader and a person, I challenge you to look at how you spend your TIME.  You can make almost anything, except time, so how you spend it is a direct reflection of where your priorities lie.  Think about it, you always find time to get done what you determine is a priority.

So here is a little bit of homework: Look at your calendar, evaluate how you have spent your time over the last week.  How are you spending your free time? Your work time?  Can you do a better job of including others in how you spend your time.....Are you including the right people?

Never forget that nothing is guaranteed.  So taking for granted that you can "make it up" to someone is pure folly.  The Lord is in control, on his timing.  The only thing that we can do is to impact the world, and our loved ones, at every opportunity that we have..... starting now.

Saul: Punishment for Pride

Over the last couple of blogs I have focused on the impact of Pride on leadership.  I am a member of a men's Bible study and we decided that it might be helpful to look at examples of leaders in the Bible who dealt with pride, and what the impact was on their legacy.

The leader that I would like to study this week is Saul.  Saul was the first "king" of the chosen people.  The Lord had used Judges to lead his people up to this point.  Until now, God had taken an active role in the leadership of his people.  He had been present as the one who lead them out of Egypt.  The people had seen the results of his interactions with Moses.  They also experienced his help in helping Joshua fight the Battle of Jericho. The Lord worked through his judges, but was always the leader of his people.

Pride played a role in Saul's reign even before he was anointed.  The pride of the people of Israel took over when they rejected Samuel's leadership, and the active hand that God was playing in their success. Then they requested that a human king be placed in order to lead the nation.  The people chose Saul based upon his looks and his stature as a strong warrior.

The way in which Saul was anointed may not have been ideal, but given the situation, Saul had an opportunity to set a strong precedent as the leader of the nation of Israel.  Things began well with Saul leading the Israelites against the Ammonites.  He let God work through him and was able to defeat the Ammonites Army.  After the victory, even those who opposed Saul became loyal.

The first sign of trouble came when the Israelites had to fight the Philistines at Gilgal.  Saul was at Gilgal with his troops, who were very scared to fight the Philistines.  They stayed there for 7 days, waiting for Samuel to come to raise an offering to the Lord.  When Samuel did not arrive within the 7 days, Saul's men began to scatter.  Saul decided to take matters into his own hands and do the sacrifice himself.  This was the turning point in Saul's legacy.  Saul did not have the patience to wait for Samuel, and in not doing so, disobeyed an order from God.  This impatience was a result of pride.

Patience and pride may not seem like they are related, but Saul had been given rules to follow by God, and his decision to work on his own schedule, and take matters into his own hands, is an example of how he put his goals and decisions above Samuel and God's.  When Samuel found out, he rebuked Saul.  He informed him that the Lord would not let his rule endure, and that another king "after the Lord's heart".

The lesson that can be taken from this example is that pride can present itself in many ways.  Depending on the situation, it can only take one event of selfish pride to drastically change the course of your life.

The second example of Pride exhibited by Saul (1 Samuel 15:1-20) resulted in the Lord rejecting him as king.  This was another example where Saul put his own decisions over those of God.  God gave Saul direction to attack the Amalekites and to not spare anything. Saul and his army did attack the Amalkites, but Saul chose to spare the king and the best of the cattle and sheep.  To make matters worse, he erected a monument in his own honor at Carmel.

Pride presented itself in this situation by allowing Saul to think that his judgement was better than God's.  By deciding what would survive or be destroyed, Saul was placing himself as all powerful in this situation, and not God.  Pride also presented itself as vanity, when Saul built the monument to himself.  He was giving himself credit for the victory that the Lord had provided.  This was the second time that Saul had disobeyed the Lord's orders, and God rejected him as king.

The final example of pride that I want to review concerning Saul takes place in 1 Samuel 18:5-9.  David returned from battle and Saul overheard women singing, "Saul has slain his thousand, and David his tens of thousands."  This enraged Saul that David was getting credit for more success in battle than him.

Pride presented itself in this situation through jealousy.  By getting angry about the song that the ladies were singing, Saul was saying that he believed he was better than David and should be getting more credit.  Jealousy is a dangerous form of pride because it can cause the offender to take action against someone else in order to make themselves feel better.  This jealousy that Saul felt would be the final straw that ended up driving him mad.

As the story plays out, Saul spends the remaining time as king letting this jealous rage drive his actions.  He spent the rest of his time trying to hunt David down to kill him.

I think the tragic story of the reign of Saul is a fantastic example of how pride, presenting in four different way, ruined his legacy.  The lesson to take away is that pride is the grandfather of many sins, all of which lead to death....Impatience, self-importance, disobedience, and jealousy.  Any one of these behaviors can derail a career, or a life.  So we need to learn from Saul and closely monitor the motivations and feeling that we have before we take action.....the results could mean the difference between life and death.

Humble Leadership Through Diverstiy

All leaders face, at one point in their life or another, a piece of news that impacts the direction their career was going.  It could be not getting the promotion that you were going for.  It could mean getting a poor performance evaluation.  It could even mean losing your job.  The easiest time to lead, is when you are feeling confident.  Decisions come easier, you are more convicted and convincing, and your belief in your cause is un-shakeable.  The million dollar question is, what happens to your leadership when your confidence falters?

Before you can answer that question,  You need to understand where your confidence was coming from in the first place.  I would suggest that if you believe that you were the reason for your perceived success, your approach to your leadership may be slightly different than if your confidence comes from knowing that God has a plan for you, and you are heading in the direction that he has planned.

Where things get a little bit tricky is when you know that God has a plan for you, but your pride gets in the way of letting that plan work out the way God intended.  How often have you felt that you deserved something, or that the company or somebody "owed" you something, when things did not turn out the way that you expected?  Did you ever stop to think that God knows exactly why you received the news that you did, and if you don't stop complaining, or acting angry, you might miss the opportunity that God is providing you.

Let's consider Jesus for a moment.  He received some news from his father that was definitely going to impact his future plans.  After hours of prayer, Jesus understood that he was going to have to go through amazing hardship and pain by the hands of strangers.  He did nothing to deserve this treatment.  He had been a great teacher and healed many people in agony, yet he was told that he was going to have to suffer.

Many things could have gone through his mind.  "Do these people know who I am?"  "Do they have any idea what I could do to them if I wanted?"  "Why is this happening to me?"  "I don't deserve this!"
"All I was doing was trying to help people."

All of these complaints would be justified.  You could definitely be sympathetic to his situation.  The problem is that all of the above statements are prideful.  Pride takes place when you think of yourself before others.  Pride also happens when you think you are in control of your situation and not God.

Lucky for all of us, Christ decided to walk in faith that the situation that was presented to him was what God wanted to have happen.  Although no one can imagine the struggle, betrayal, pain, and anguish Christ went through, the result changed the life of all believers, forever.  There could never have been a resurrection, if Christ had fought the circumstance in which God had placed him.

So the next time you are challenged with a set-back, or a disappointment, instead of getting angry, and being prideful, or panicking, walk in faith that God is using this situation for his purpose, and you may find yourself in a place that you never thought possible.

"How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow?  Your life is like the morning fog-it's here a little while, then it's gone.  What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that." James 4:14

Pride and Humility

The privilege of leadership is a blessing from God.  The best leaders make the best use of the gifts that God has given them, combined with the timing and opportunity to use them.  In previous blogs, I have discussed the importance of understanding your spiritual gifts, and asking the Lord to help you use them for his purposes through your leadership.

Today, I wanted to take some time to discuss what happens when you don't pray about how best to use your gifts, or for God's will to be done.

We can all think of that leader, that had everything going for them, and them ended up in utter ruin, while everyone wondered what happened.  For most of the stories that you can recall, the culprit of the downfall was pride.  Go back to the beginning of time....Adam and Eve had EVERYTHING that they could ever want.  The Lord only asked that they not eat from the tree of knowledge.  However, the serpent was able to appeal to Eve and Adam's pride.  He convinced them that they could do whatever they wanted and that if they took matters into their own hands, they could be as powerful as God.  That moment of Pride, changed the course of humanity forever.

Throughout the Bible there are warnings about the dangers of Pride....Sampson lost his strength because he felt he could choose who to share his secret with.  Saul lost his kingdom, because his pride led him to believe that he could work on his own timeline and not wait for Samuel.  Pharaoh, ultimately lost his first born son, because he would not bend to the will of God.....

In Proverbs, the writer states that Pride comes before the fall.  So as a leader, how do you avoid the fall?

1. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourself (Philippines 2:3)  Have you ever found yourself using your power or position or influence to do something, just because you can?  Have you been irritated because you did not get the position at a table in a meeting?  Have you ever expected to be treated better than subordinates, due to your title?  At meetings, do you expect a different sleeping room than others?  Do you expect extra perks?  When was the last time that you appreciated all of the things that people do well in order for you to even let your leadership be effective?

2. Look not to your own interests, but the interests of others. (Philippines 2:4)  This is the number one rule to guard against Pride ruining your leadership.  Pride is non-existent when you are thinking and working for others, more than for yourself.  You can't feel that you are being slighted, when your focus is on helping someone else.  Pride, by definition, can only take place when you are focusing on you, and not others.

3. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. (James 3:16)  Have you ever found yourself frustrated because you seem to be stuck in a rut, while you see others seemingly move ahead?  How does that feel?  We should be happy and supportive when others succeed.  The Lord has us exactly where he wants us, in order for his will to be accomplished.  Instead of worrying about how soon you can get "what you deserve", why not invest in doing your best to help those in the place that you are?

As always, Jesus gives the best example of how to lead with humility and grace.  Jesus never expected to be treated better than anyone else, in fact, he actively served others, instead of expecting them to serve him.  He had the power to do anything he wanted, yet he chose to lead by example.  You never heard Jesus complain about how he was treated.  Instead, he allowed people to crucify him on a cross, in order for God's will to be done.

Pride is the most dangerous tool that the Devil has to ruin a leader....It leads to false expectation, greed, arrogance, and jealousy.  So remember:

Pray: To the Lord for his guidance on the best use of your skills.

Focus: On others, remember, your pride can't get out of control if you are not focused on yourself

Monitor: Take time each day to review your actions and interactions.  By staying vigilant, your chances of losing control of your pride decrease

Apologize:  The best way to mend your prideful actions is to find those who were the recipients and show them that you understand that your actions were not pure and that you are sorry.

Spiritual Gifts: the Gift that SHOULD keep giving

In the last blog, I wrote about the final chapters of 1 Peter.  Part of the discussion was around the importance of being an active learner when you are younger, and a good mentor as you gain more experience.

I also touched on Spiritual Gifts.  These are the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to those who accept Christ as their savior.  Every follower of Christ has been given a gift.

So what are the gifts, and why do we have them?  I found a good list of Spiritual Gifts, and their definitions at this site: www.mintools.com/gifts-list.htm

So now that you have a list of the gifts, what do you do next?  There are multiple tests that you can take online to help determine what spiritual gifts you have been blessed to receive.  There is also a good online class given by Cedar Creek Church that can better help you understand Spiritual Gifts : www.cedarcreek.tv/get-connected/online-classes/

So now that you are aware of Spiritual Gifts, and have the ability to find out more about them and which ones you possess, what is next?

Let me submit that you need to be careful using your gifts.  They were given for a specific reason:

1. "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good" 1 Corinthians 12:7
• That means that you are supposed to make sure that you are using your gifts for the GOOD OF OTHERS, not yourself.  Some of the gifts that you may have been given can very easily be used to manipulate others and bring power to yourself.  The devil likes nothing more than to twist a gift given by God to be wasted on yourself.
2. "..to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ might be built up" Ephesians 4:12
• Again we see another example of how the gifts are meant to prepare you for works of service to build up God's name
3. "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others..." 1 Peter 4:10

The important thing to remember is that one gifting is not better, or more important than the others.  They are all meant to serve a purpose in God's plan.  It is not what gift you have, but how you use it to serve those around you.

I didn't write much this week, because there was no need for it.  The sites that I reference are far better at explaining and helping you uncover the Gifts of the Spirit.  My goal is to get you to take action!  Christianity is an action word.  Christ was the best leader that ever lived.  He was knowledgeable, powerful, personable, active, and above all humble.  There are not many stories about Jesus lounging around, waiting for something to happen.  Jesus used the all of his many gifts to DO things that helped others.

My challenge to you is this:

1. Do some research into Spiritual Gifts
2. Determine what gifts you have been blessed with
3. Use your gifts to DO something!

Start small, or go for it right out of the gate, just don't waste your blessing by sitting on the sidelines.  Now that you are aware that you have been given a gift, FROM JESUS, with the expectation that you should use it to help others.....what are you waiting for?