Category Archives: Knowing God

Compassion: A Movement of the Heart

March 7, 2023 ITWMinistries Leave a comment

Motivation for compassion

Throughout this series we have focused on compassion: its definition, its motivation, and its costs. We defined compassion as a willingness to relieve the suffering of another. Compassion is generally motivated by an individual’s awareness of suffering and the effort it would take to relieve it. Included in that assessment is the costs to become engaged in extending compassion. The Parable of the Good Samaritan helped us visualize the different factors that impacted the extension of compassion.

How can I develop compassion?

There are various teachings in psychology and sociology that suggest that there are ways individuals can increase their compassion IQ.

One school of thought is that compassion is natural and it comes in the “flow of life”. We have compassion for our friends who experience loss or groups of people who experience displacement due to a natural catastrophe. “Feelings of compassion don’t need to be forced,” they say. Simply open your heart, let yourself be moved, and let compassion flow through.” They also recommend activities each day to “open oneself” to compassion’s flow.

However, as followers of Christ, we believe compassion is achieved by more than an intellectual assessment, the natural flow of life, or exercises we can practice. For believers, our display of compassion is motivated by something greater.

A meeting of the hearts

Brené Brown in her book, Atlas of the Heart, describes compassion this way.

Compassion is the daily practice of recognizing and accepting our shared humanity so that we treat ourselves and others with loving-kindness and we take action in the face of suffering. Compassion is a “virtuous response that seeks to address the suffering and needs of a person through relational understanding and action.”

In her description, Brené captures the connecting link between us and those we see suffering. It is our humanity. It is important that we continually acknowledge the “humanity factor” and the fact that we each are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27) and therefore, are to be treated with both love and respect. It is our humanity that extends beyond our intellectual lens of who are deserving of our mercy and kindness (Micah 6:8).

Compassion is a spiritual response.

The previous sources of compassion where intellectually derived. In contrast, God’s compassion is spiritually based. Can a non-Christian show compassion? Of course. The difference is the motivation that leads to their act of mercy and kindness.

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the first two travelers’ motivation to intercede was influenced by their flesh. Their final choice was based on what best satisfied their “flesh”: self-comfort, self-preservation, and self-importance.

The Good Samaritan, on the other hand, saw the need, and then resolved to help because he looked with “spiritual eyes”. He looked at the man and saw his humanity. Like himself, the beaten traveler was in the image of God and deserving mercy. Setting his fleshly responses aside, the Samaritan then showed him compassion.

Are we ready to show compassion?

Compassion for the believer is motivated by two things: our identity in Christ, and our relationship with God. Our spiritual position demands a “different response” to the situations and circumstances we experience in this “fallen world.”

To increase our compassion IQ, I recommend we become more like Jesus. Jesus’ compassion was extended to the helpless crowds (Matt. 9:36), the sickly masses (Matt. 14:24), the hungry people (Mark 8:2), and to all in need of “love and mercy” (Isa. 61:1-3).

The true center of Christian living is that we be extensions of Jesus to those in need. These needs can be social, political, or financial. They can be resolved through advocacy, philanthropy, sponsorship, or personal involvement. Jesus’ compassion still flows to and through us today. As the elect of God, holy and beloved, we are to put on bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and longsuffering (Col. 3:12).

Dear Jesus,

Help me to daily see the humanity in others. Let me not be moved by my head but by my heart. As You saw and were “moved with compassion”, let me be moved by love and bowels of mercy. Help me be your hands and help those whom You send into my life.

Knowing God

Am I Compassionate?

March 1, 2023 ITWMinistries Leave a comment

Ask me a question…I’ll tell you no lie.

This series on compassion was inspired by a question someone asked me. “Do you think I’m compassionate?” My first thought was, “why are you asking me this question?” Had I bored them with sharing the rigors of my last six-months including the death of my only sister? Had they been overwhelmed with the traumatic events rehearsed continually on the evening news and social media?

I didn’t have an answer. However, I thought it admirable that they cared enough to ask the question.

Do you think I’m compassionate?

That’s a good question to ask especially in this age when we’re often told to “suck-it-up and keep it moving’. We daily are traumatized and stressed by events of our world. We are awakened each morning with updates of the war in at least 2-3 countries, at least two “natural disasters” (one international and one nationally), and let’s not forget the threats “seen and unseen” (Psa. 91:5-6). Perhaps these fears are the reason we emotionally “tune out” what’s happening to us in order to protect ourselves. Why do we “shut down”?

Recently published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology is this insight about why people resist experiencing compassion for others, despite it being a generally positive feeling.

More people are finding it increasingly difficult to engage with each other, and as people are overwhelmed with the amount of suffering right now due to the pandemic, it may make compassion particularly difficult.

The cost of caring

Without a doubt, showing compassion costs. The cost is expressed in both emotional commitment and physical engagement. The characters in the Parable of the Good Samaritan considered the cost. This would include their understanding of the situation which would determine their engagement. They would then consider the effort it would take to resolve the problem. A little or a great deal?

The priest “saw the traveler and moved to the other side.” The priest evaluated the situation. He probably thought the man was dead. What would he do with a dead man on the road? Bury him? Take him with him? He didn’t even know him. Too much work! He also knew that involvement with a dead person would make him ceremonially “unclean” (Num. 9:7). The uncleanness would last for at least seven days, until he could be purified again. He wouldn’t be able to conduct his duties at the temple. He had to protect his job. Based on the effort and his understanding of the situation, he left the man on the road. Do his responses sound like ours when we see someone in need?

The Levite “came and looked”. He saw that the traveler wasn’t dead, so why didn’t he help? The text doesn’t say, and we choose not to speculate. Regardless, the result was the same as with the priest, the Levite “passed by the other side.”

What would we have done in this situation? Hindsight is 20/20. We know the back drop for the parable and how the story ends. But in 2023, when we are faced with pain and suffering, do we also “pass to the other side”? Do we need to understand all the details and effort required before we engage in others pain?

Compassion—a mental or spiritual challenge

Why was the response by the Samaritan different than the priest and the Levite? What was the principle Jesus was attempting to share with the lawyer (Luke 10:25-29) and also to us living in 2023? We are to show mercy and compassion, like the Samaritan.

The word compassion in the Luke 10 passage is used almost exclusively to describe Jesus’ response in the Gospel accounts. It is a verb (action word) showing the deepest level of compassion (Luke 7:13). It means to have the bowels yearn. When Jesus’ compassionate response was described in this way, the occasion was often the turning point in someone’s life (Mark 1:40-42; Matt 9:33-38)

Called to be compassionate

While there are mental processes that we use to engage in compassion, we must focus our responses on that which God expects. God expects us to show compassion to those He places in our path and sphere of influence. Jesus expects us to act like the Samaritan and “show mercy” (Luke 10:37).

God calls each of us to have compassion for others. That call is more than an appeal for us to “feel pity for the needy”. It is a call to care enough to become involved. Like Jesus’ compassion, we are expected to take action that will set others’ lives on a fresh, new course.

Knowing God

Where do I go for comfort?

February 8, 2023 ITWMinistries Leave a comment

Where do you go?

There is a song I love to sing when I feel at my wits end (yes, even believers reach that point). The lyrics clearly describe the various resources I seek when in that state of mental and spiritual anguish. Today I even played it in praise as God answered a prayer of deliverance for a family member. The words are these:

Where do I go when there’s nobody else to turn to?
Who do I talk to when nobody wants to listen?
Who do I lean on when there’s no foundation stable?

I go to the Rock
I know He’s able
I go to the Rock.

Where do I go, where do I go?
When the storms of life are threatening?
Who do I turn to when those winds of sorrows blow?
And is there a refuge in the time of tribulation?

I go to the Rock
I know He’s able
I go to the Rock.

That Rock, in the song, is the Rock of our salvation—Jesus Christ. God has provided for us “The Source” as “The Resource” to the comfort we need in times when storms roar in our life. God does that because He is the only, real source of all comfort. He is the God of all Comfort.

All Comfort

“The God of all comfort” is an Old Testament description of God who is the ultimate source of every true act of comfort (Ps. 23:4; Ps. 119:76). The Greek word for comfort is related to the familiar word paraclete, one who comes alongside to help. It is another name for the Holy Spirit (John 14:16).

Comfort is often used to mean softness and ease. But this is not the meaning in 2 Cor. 1:3-4.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any [a]trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

The Apostle Paul is saying that God came to him in the middle of his suffering and trouble to strengthen him and give him courage and boldness.

Paul thanks the God of all Comfort for his deliverance from the trials and tribulations he experienced in Asia (Acts 19). Consequently, God delivered Paul from all these and provided for all his needs (2 Cor. 1:8-10). This deepened Paul’s love and trust in God. It was Paul’s personal need and God’s divine response–His mercy and comfort–that drew Paul even closer to God than before his trials. Are you closer to God after your trials and challenges?

God has not changed (Mal. 3:6; James 1:17). Though God is still in the heavens, He reigns over all the world (Ps. 103:19). God comes alongside us (paraclete) to help us during our time of trouble. God is there to provide divine comfort–strength and courage–during difficult times. He is the God of all comfort.

That we may be able to comfort…

Just as Paul shared with the church at Corinth, sharing how we endure afflictions and trials can benefit others (2 Cor. 1:5-6). As God comforts us, we can comfort others. In doing so, we not only encourage those going through difficult times, but also ensure their ability to persevere.

By extending our comfort, we can help our community not only survive but thrive in the midst of social upheaval and political rankering. We can help others increase their emotional capacity and their ability to move forward rather than being stuck in their past pain and hurt.

Most importantly, we can introduce them to the God of all Comfort. Gloria Gaither, Christian singer-songwriter, and author leaves us this observation about the God of all comfort.

God walks with us. He scoops us up in His arms or simply sits with us in silent strength until we cannot avoid the awesome recognition that yes, even now, He is there.

Knowing God

Rehearsing God’s Mercy

January 31, 2023 ITWMinistries Leave a comment

Rehearsing helps us remember.

When we hear the word “rehearse”, we conjure up visions of singing, dancing, or acting. A rehearsal is a preparatory event that is performed before the official public performance, as a form of practice. The intent of a rehearsal is to ensure that all details of the performance are adequately prepared and coordinated for presentation.

This Psalm is a timely rehearsal that help us to remember God’s loving protection and provision in our lives. It is a time that we reflect when God has shown His great mercy to us (Lam. 3:22-23). It is, then possible, by repeating God’s example, that we can begin to expand our mercy and our compassion to others. It is in preparing that we begin to conform to the image of Jesus (Rom. 12:2). We can begin to rehearse God’s mercy.

Rehearsing prepares.

In Psalm 106, the psalmist prepares the Jews who have returned from Exile by recounting the mercies extended by God to the nation of Israel. Can you imagine returning to your hometown after a 70-year absence?

Many of the older Jews had died in captivity; younger Jews had little to draw upon to refresh their memory of God’s love and provision for Israel during her glory days. Instead, they arrived to find burnt gates and broken walls.

Many would have forgotten God’s reason for allowing them to go into captivity. It was their habitual, sinful nature and rebellious lifestyle (v.43) that resulted in their 70-year banishment from Israel. It was the psalmist’s intent to prepare the returning Jews’ hearts and minds for spiritual revival—a return to God.

Rehearsing increases wisdom.

The Psalmist takes time to share with the returning Jews, the errors that contributed to their exile. Here are a few key learnings that are still appropriate for today’s believers.

- Confess and repent of your sins to avoid God’s judgment. “We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.” (v. 6)

- Seek God’s wisdom in all your decision making. “They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel.” (v. 13)

- Eliminate complaints about what you don’t have and express gratitude for God’s provision.“They despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word: But murmured in their tents and hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD.” (vv.24-25)

Even in Israel’s rebellion and sin, God never failed to extend His mercy and grace (vv. 44-45).

“Nevertheless he (God) regarded their distress when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered His covenant and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.”

Rehearsing makes for great testimonies.

If we were to “rehearse” God’s mercy in our life, what would we write? Would it be similar to Israel’s history reflecting a life pattern of sin and backsliding? Do we see evidence of God’s love and mercy regardless of our rebellion and spiritual failures? Take time to reflect on where you’ve come from and then write your own psalm reflecting when and how God’s love and mercy was extended to you.

Satan uses our memory to evoke shame and guilt for things we have done that were not God honoring. However, we can use our past errors as our testimony to others about the saving love of Christ. If we now walk under the guidance and direction of God’s Spirit, remembrance of our life B.C. (Before Christ) should not be an indictment against us but evidence of the immense love God has for us.

There is nothing better than living in God’s A.D. (Abundant Dominion). Let us continually rehearse God’s mercy in our hearts and minds as we prepare for effective service and kingdom building.

Knowing God

What is fellowship with God?

June 21, 2022 ITWMinistries 1 Comment

God in and among us

There are two (2) biblical truths that should motivate us to live our lives “more fully and abundantly” (John 10:10).

The first truth is that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, presently lives within us. Jesus promised this to us who “believeth on and in Him” (John 14:16-17).

The second is that we live continuously in the presence of God (Ps. 139:7). There is never a time nor is there any circumstance in our life where we will find ourselves outside God’s love and purview.

Both truths are “spiritual blessings” gifted to us from our heavenly Father (Eph. 1:3). But even with God’s commitment to be in and among us, we have a responsibility to draw “near to God” (James 4:8) by entering into intentional fellowship with Him. God will not force His presence upon us. He will, however, invite us into fellowship with Him.

What is fellowship?

What does “fellowship with God” look like in our life? Fellowship has been described as the sharing of experiences with likeminded people.

However, fellowship with God is much more, because “who has known the mind of God?” (Romans 11:34) Our fellowship with the Father is dependent upon accepting His Son as Lord and Savior. It is through Jesus Christ that we begin to “know by experience” God’s heart and mind.

Such was the case with the Apostle John and the disciples who were uniquely privileged to witness, first hand, the person and works of Christ.

“That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.” 1 John 1:3-4

Can I get a witness?

“That which was seen” included the many miracles of Christ; miracles that would attest to the coming of the promised Messiah (Matt. 11:2-5).
“That which was heard” were truths that Christ declared concerning the kingdom of God and His offer of eternal life (Luke 4:43; 9:11).
“That which was looked upon and our hands handed” recounted the disciples’ examination of Christ’s glorified body after the resurrection (John 20:27).

All of the disciples’ senses were engaged as Christ manifested (revealed) Himself and the Father. Since Father and Son are one (John 17:11, 22), the disciples concurrently experienced fellowship with the Father (v. 3). The disciple’s experience with Christ was not viewed from a distance but up close and personal.

Unending communion

Fellowship (koinonia or koy-nohn-ee’-ah) is translated as “communion” and “joint participation in a common life.” John’s personal witness was an invitation to the early church to participate in a lifestyle that centered on relationship–an unending communion with God the Father and the Son. Therein is the basis for John’s reason for sharing about fellowship with God: so that their “joy may be full” (1 John 1:3-4).

Joy (pleroo or play-ro’o) means “to fill to the top so nothing is wanting; to complete”. Joy can also be explained as “God’s will obeyed” and “God’s promises fulfilled”. Joy begins and ends with fellowship with the Father and the Son (Luke 4:21).

Fellowship with God as a lifestyle

Ask yourself these questions. How would I describe my fellowship with God? Have I seen, heard, and looked upon Christ’s presence in my daily walk of faith? Do I have joy and is it full?

Many times, we miss opportunities to fellowship with God. Perhaps we have become distracted by competing priorities and the busyness of life. Have our sinful behavior patterns and unhealthy influences interrupted our fellowship with God?

We are to walk daily in fellowship with God, armed with the knowledge that we are no longer “slaves to sin”. Instead we are to be “servants of righteousness” producing fruit of holiness (Rom. 6: 22).

Get up close and personal!

Though John’s letter was written thousands of years ago, its message is still relevant for us today. Therefore, it is an invitation for us to participate with the only true Source of joy.

Jesus invites us to draw near with faith (Heb. 10:22) and learn of Him (Matt. 11:29). In return, we can enjoy glorious fellowship with Him. Let us be faithful witnesses to what it means to live in fellowship with God.

Knowing God

What is God revealing?

May 30, 2022 ITWMinistries 1 Comment

As stated last week, secret things belong to God. Revealed things, however, belong to us and to our children so that we may follow God’s law. They are truths which God has communicated through the Bible and His Holy Spirit. These also include those things revealed through the whole counsel of God.

This truth, found in Deuteronomy 29:29, falls in the fourth address to the children of Israel by Moses. It is a summary of the covenant demands and an appeal for covenant obedience (Deut. 29:2-29).

For the Israelites, the secret things of the LORD probably referred to future details that God had not revealed to Moses. Yet what He had revealed (e.g., future judgment for disobedience, future blessing for obedience, His requirement for holiness, etc.) was enough to encourage the Israelites to follow all the words of the Law.[1]

Is God’s revealed truth enough to encourage 21^st century believers to trust and obey the LORD? To answer this question, let’s consider four (4) tenets of faith currently revealed by God in His Word and through His Spirit.

These are not meant to be exhaustive, but have proven to anchor one’s faith during tumultuous times (Heb. 6:19). As we look at our current world situation, it is easy to become weary. Hopefully, these revealed truths will encourage us not to “lose heart” (2 Cor. 4:16-17).

What has God revealed?

Our Knowledge of Him (2 Pet. 1:3-5). Jesus came not only to acquire our salvation but to also manifest (reveal) the Father’s name (nature) to His children (John 17:6; 26). Armed with that knowledge, we believers have access to divine power and precious promises. God has also provided us with spiritual wisdom and insight through His Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:9-10).

Our Identity (Eph. 1:3-4). Identity is defined as the set of characteristics by which a thing is definitively recognized or known. God chose us to be adopted as sons, heirs and joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). Our identity also connects us with other believers in God’s universal Church. Because of our identity we have access to everything we need to accomplish God’s purpose for our life and His kingdom. (Eph. 2:10)

Our Salvation (2 Cor. 5:17). We are new creatures in Christ. Because of Christ’s substitutional death on the Cross, we have been set free from the penalty and power of sin in our life. This freedom will be fully experienced once in heaven where we will be delivered from the presence of sin (Rev. 21:4).

Our Hope (Rom. 4:18-21). Hope is simply defined as the expectation of future good. “Biblical hope is the anticipation of a favorable outcome under God’s guidance. More specifically, hope is the confidence that what God has done for us in the past guarantees our participation in what God will do in the future. This contrasts to the world’s definition of hope as a feeling that what is wanted will happen.”[2]

What keeps us from trusting what God has revealed?

One reason we may not trust what God is revealing is because we fail to recognize it. In the 2020 Barna study, “Signs of Decline & Hope Among Key Metrics of Faith”, it is noted that there are fewer “faith engagements” occurring among both believers and non-believers. These include Bible reading, prayer, and church attendance. These activities are critical to gaining an understanding of what God has revealed in the past and what God is revealing in the present.

The U.S. population is undergoing major religious, social, demographic and digital change. The rise of digital life, including social media, the economic crisis, changing attitudes about social issues and the emergence of younger generations on the scene are some of the factors that are likely to form undercurrents recalibrating Americans’ connection to faith and to Christianity.

Another reason we may not trust what God is revealing is because we choose not to believe. One’s disbelief may be tied to the feeling that religion and the Bible are no longer relevant to 21^st century living. Such beliefs are not new. The Apostle Paul warned the young minister Timothy that the time would come when people would not endure sound doctrine (2 Tim. 4:3-5). People are choosing other forms of spirituality that “better accommodate” their chosen life style and worldview.

Finally, we may not trust what God is revealing because we choose not to obey God. Have you ever noticed that when a person is auguring over a specific teaching from the Bible, it is often connected to a personal obedience challenge they are facing in their life? Obedience is more than just following the letter of the law. It is discerning what God would want and then seeking that outcome.

So where do we go from here?

As we discover things revealed (and the list is infinite), we gain access the very mind of God (Rom. 11:33-36). Things revealed may be answers to those persistent questions concerning God’s purpose for our life. Our receptivity to things revealed may be our entry to God’s power, presence, and provision.

Our life and the current challenges of 21^st century living may seem impossible, but with God’s grace and favor, nothing is impossible. In the midst of this health pandemic, strained human rights, and cries for human justice, we need only to seek Him in the things revealed.

[1] The Bible Knowledge Commentary , Old Testament

[2] Holman Bible Dictionary

Knowing God

Does God have a Secret?

May 24, 2022 ITWMinistries 1 Comment

Who doesn’t love a good secret? Secrets by definition are unknown or unseen. They are by design created to be kept from others. As we move through these tumultuous times, we may question, “what is God doing?” Is there some secret thing God is doing and not sharing with us?

As the children of Israel prepared to enter the Promised Land, they, like us, were curious as to what God had planned for their lives. Moses addressed their curiosity with a clever statement of fact about the revelations of God that still holds true today—“the secret things belong to the LORD but the things revealed belong to us.” (Deut. 29:29 (NIV)

Does God have secret things in 2022 that are known only by Him? And what are the things God is revealing to us? Does this verse still hold true as we face the new challenges of 21^st century living? How do the secret things of God affect our life and purpose?

Curiosity and secrets—good or bad?

It is the nature of man to be curious about secret things. These are things that remain hidden from our immediate view. This curiosity has led to man’s fascination with astrology, fortune telling and other future gazing activities. Secret things have contributed to the bizarre growth in social media followings, gossip tabloids and entertainment shows that uncover the latest exposés of the rich and the famous.

Secrets have enormous power. They add to our nervousness about the future especially when we don’t know what “we don’t know”.

The secret things

The secret things are those things known only by God. The prophet Isaiah best captures this truth in the difference between human and divine knowledge: “His (God’s) thoughts are not our thoughts, nor our ways His ways. As the heavens are higher than earth, so are His ways and thoughts higher than ours” (Isa. 55:8-9).

While we may feel that we have the right to be aware of all plans pertaining to our future, it is sovereign God who ultimately determines what needs to be known and what must be accepted by faith alone. “The just shall live by faith” is an iconic expression of trust and hope. Its intent is to encourage us to confidently proceed without all the answers (Jer. 29:11-13).

The things that belong to us

The things that belong to us are those truths which God has communicated through His Holy Spirit and through His Word. With the coming of Pentecost, we as believers have been gifted with the Holy Spirit to live within us. Jesus provided not only a Comforter with the Holy Spirit but also His Presence to guide us in all truth (John 16:13).

God’s Word continues to reveal His nature and His never ending love for us. From Genesis to Revelation, God discloses Himself as the Master Creator seeking to restore His relationship with His beloved Creature.

The greatest evidence of God’s persistence and love is His plan of salvation. Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the penalty of death and reconciled us to our Father. In addition, we have been empowered to live victoriously with the promise of eternal life, beginning now (1 John 3:2).

Knowledge of the revealed things

Our challenge as Believers will come in our ability to walk in the truth that God has revealed to us and to obediently follow His directions. Through the things that belong to us we gain a thorough knowledge of God and what is needed to live godly lives (2 Pet. 1:3).

Shifting societal and moral norms will force us to “stand fast” in that which has been clearly revealed by God (Eph. 6:11-13; 2 Thess. 2:15). Such shifts will lead to continual rejection of Christian beliefs and persecution by this fallen world (2 Tim. 3:12). The current health pandemic, financial downturn and civic discord have added even more pressure on our walk of faith.

Recent studies indicate that we are one generation away from losing our belief in God. Therefore, it is critical that we also teach the revealed truth of God to our children and grandchildren (Deut. 11:19). Our failure to do so could result the loss of our families to the world.

Go with what we know

Jesus has more than adequately prepared us for such a time as these: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). As believers we need not concern ourselves with the secret things we don’t know BUT to trust and obey that which we do know.

Next week we will explore the truths God has revealed to us.

Knowing God

Listening Prayer: Engaging in a Prayer-filled Life

February 22, 2022 ITWMinistries Leave a comment

The Needful Thing

Last week, we discussed the prayer-filled, contemplative life. The contemplative life acknowledges the importance of a personal relationship with God and the intimacy gained through focused attention on Him. Fulfillment of this life involves both love for God and the desire to be in His presence continually.

For many believers, such a pursuit necessitates a return to our First Love (Rev. 2:4) and the desire for “the needful thing” (Luke 10:42). Both can only be found in fellowship with Infinite God. So today we will spend time looking at a key practice in the prayer-filled life—listening prayer.

Listening Prayer

Listening prayer is about joining with God at the “heart”. By heart, I’m not speaking about the emotions only, but that “intuitive part” which instructs the mind and the will. It is a place of union with God.

In listening prayer, we exchange our “intermittent” requests for “continuous” dialogue with the all wise, all-powerful God. Through the eyes and the ears of the heart we see and “hear” God—who He is and how He operates.

Listening prayer was a new experience for me. I admit my prayer life was one-sided—asking, seeking, and knocking (Matt. 7:7). I invested much time in learning what I thought was the “right way” to pray. I followed the PAPA prayer formula. I prayed the Scriptures. I employed the ACTS model (adoration-confession-thanksgiving-supplications). While I wanted to better communicate with God, I failed to realize what God wanted. God was not concerned with “correct communications” but God did desire “attentive conversation” with me.

Barriers to Listening Prayer

Hindrances to listening prayer are generally found in two areas: the desire for an “experience” versus the “presence” of God and the modern split between “head and heart” knowledge of God.

In our society, we are accustomed to being “stimulated” by what we are doing. Unfortunately, that is how we judge whether something has really happened. We expect to hear God speak in a loud, audible voice. That is not necessarily how God may choose to communicate. Remember Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-12).

Most Christians today suffer to one extent or another from “post-enlightenment” mindset—the split between thought and experience. This split in most Christians is characterized by an acceptance of their conceptual knowledge about God as reality while they simultaneously deny the primary ways of knowing, loving, and walking with God. This is more intuitive than rational. As a result of this split, even committed Christians, do not believe in Christ’s real presence with and within them.[1]

We must be careful to guard against these hinderances to true intimacy with God.

Where to begin?

How do we begin to incorporate listening prayer into our life?

First, we must believe that God desires to communicate with us (Gen. 35:13). God is not some distant deity disinterested in His children. We cry “Abba Father” (Gal. 4:6) knowing He hears our every word. `

Secondly, we must know that God wishes to be in relationship with you (James 4:8a). By instituting His plan of salvation, He created the means to restore that which was loss in the Garden of Eden—fellowship with mankind.

Thirdly, we must declare our intentions and ask to hear His voice. Hearing God is not natural (remember we loss that in the Garden), so we must be intentional (Matt. 11:15). Initially, we may need to set aside time, to listen for His voice, perhaps during our morning or evening devotional time.

Finally, we must invite God into time with us and expect to hear (1 John 5:14). We may receive a fleeting impression, an image, even a scripture or a song. Don’t ignore it! Write it down, then ask God to explain what we experienced. This is where our journal comes in handy.

Time to begin!

Listening prayer is not a method, but a walk with God where we intentionally listen for His voice. It’s more than “doing”, it is about “being” aware of His presence. Listening prayer is about inviting God into the daily rhythm of our life knowing that He speaks to us continuously. It is an exciting time of fellowship and discovery. It is what God has always wanted.

[1] Listening Prayer: Learning to Hear God’s Voice and Keep a Prayer Journal, Leanne Payne

Knowing God

Desperately Seeking God: A Prayer-filled Life

February 15, 2022 ITWMinistries Leave a comment

“Desperately seeking God”

What would we think if we saw this request in the personal column of our local paper? Desperately seeking God for ___. We can fill in the blank with those things that reflect the needs of the human heart—financial security or emotional wholeness, food and lodging or creature comforts, our daily bread or deliverance from evil.

All these qualify as valid requests we can make known to God (Phil. 4:6). Today, however, we are invited to move from our “needs-based” method of prayer to a more robust and satisfying “prayer-filled life” that will lead to greater intimacy with God (James 4:8). What exactly is the prayer-filled life?

The Contemplative Tradition and the Prayer-filled Life

In Streams of Living Water by Richard Foster, the prayer-filled life is called the Contemplative Tradition. Foster describes it as “a life of loving attention to God.” Imagine, “loving attention to God.”

It includes not only the activity of prayer but also periods of solitude and meditation in which the presence and fellowship with the Lord is nurtured.

It can be likened to the Lord’s encouragement to His disciples to “abide” in Him (John 15: 4, 8). Jesus describes His intimacy with the Father through the image of the “vine and the husbandman”. It was through Jesus’ union with His Father that He was able to do all things (John 5:30). Jesus desperately sought God.

Practicing the Presence and the Prayer-filled Life

Father Lawrence described the prayer-filled life in Practicing the Presence of God. “Practicing” is the recognition of God intimately present with us and addressing ourselves to Him every moment.

Prayer is considered “divine conversation” that occurs throughout the day—not exercised as an isolated activity or relegated to a specific place. Prayer is continuous and never ceases (1 Thess. 5:17). Father Lawrence desperately sought God.

David and the Prayer-filled Life

David serves as our biblical example of one who sought the prayer-filled life. Throughout the Psalms we can experience the passion and appreciation David had for his private time with the God of Creation (Psalm 19).

As a shepherd boy, he experienced extended periods of solitude and fellowship with the Great Shepherd (Psalm 23). In the wilderness of Judah, David’s soul “thirsted” for the Lord and longed for the time he could return to the Temple to reunite with Him (Psalm 63). David desperately sought God.

Which description is right?

Descriptions of the prayer-filled life differ in method and experience. “Loving attention to God”. “Divine Conversation”. “The soul’s thirst for the Lord”.

However, what these descriptions do have in common is the results—greater intimacy with the Lord. This is the offer of a prayer-filled life; one that is more relational and less transactional.

Unfortunately, the distractions of this life, our weakened flesh, and the deceitfulness of Satan continually draw us away from a prayer-filled life. Left unchanged, we will continue our intermittent prayer routine while Jesus invites us to return to our First Love (Rev. 2:4).

Psalm 42:1-3a offers an excellent illustration of what the prayer-filled life looks like.

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night.”

Let us learn from the deer and seek God. It is in pursuing and lingering in God’s presence that the prayer-filled life is experienced. It is in Him, that our desperate seeking ends.

Knowing God

Life as a Sponge

February 1, 2022 ITWMinistries Leave a comment

My Curiosity

In What I Learned in 2021, I shared a quote from one of my favorite writers, F.B. Meyer, about the privilege of being one in Christ and the intimacy that comes with that relationship. Meyers offered the comparison of that relationship in Christ as that of the life of a sponge.

“We must be one with Christ:

we must be in Him as the sponge is in the ocean.”

A sponge! I must admit, I had failed to remember that a sponge at one time was a living being. So with that reminder in hand, I decided to dig deeper. What I discovered and with the Spirit’s enlightenment is our WordBytes today.

Life as a sponge

There are two basic forms in the life cycle of a sponge. Most sponges live their lives attached to a reef. They don’t move around. There was a time in their lives when they were little larvae swimming around the water all by themselves.

Sponges have unspecialized cells. Sponges do not have nervous, digestive, or circulatory systems. Instead, most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes.

Interesting? Yes, but where is the connection between our being in Christ and a sponge?

In John 15:1-8, Jesus uses the vine and the branch analogy to describe what an intimate relationship with Him would look like. In Christ, we would abide in Him. The branch apart from the vine, the source of life and nutrients, could do nothing (v. 5).

So what’s with the sponge?

In Christ Recap

In Christ is the present experience of the risen Christ indwelling our heart by the Holy Spirit. This results in incorporating the personality of Christ into our life. It is more than an imitation of the life and teachings of Jesus. It is our union with Christ as a result of the divine action of grace by God. The result of that action: we are transformed into a new creation.

In Christ describes our identity with Christ and our position before God the Father. We (in position) can now begin the process of being conformed to the image of Christ (in practice)—righteous and holy. (Romans 12:2)

In Christ, God makes his superabundant blessings available to us by faith in Christ. What Christ has is ours! We are able to draw upon the wealth of Christ to accomplish God ‘s purpose and will.

Striving for Oneness

Meyer’s sponge analogy can be described even more accurately in the Apostle Paul’s statement to the Athenians: “For in him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

It is this oneness with Christ that Meyer’s was describing. Our oneness is not only our connection by faith alone (Gal. 3:26). But it is also our life lived in singleness of thought. And that thought is the glory of God—His will and His purpose.

What do I mean? What does that look like? The best example I can give is the relationship Jesus had with God the Father.[1]

John 14:10

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

John 17:21-23

That they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.

Like Jesus and the Father, our oneness in Christ recognizes both our dependency AND celebrates our interdependency.

Live like a Sponge

In our study of the sponge, there are similarities we may note as we strive for oneness in Christ.

The sponge relies on maintaining a constant water flow through its body to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes.

The first is constancy. Constancy is defined as the quality of being faithful and dependable. The sponge attaches itself to the reef, a place that will supply the flowing water current needed to live. As believers, we must seek out those places where we can “attach ourselves” and “grow in faith” (2 Pet. 3:18; Heb. 6:1). Communities of faith strengthen our spiritual endurance and maturity, so that we can stand fast in the midst of trials and persecution.

The second is discernment. Water flows through the sponge’s simple systems. It doesn’t hold on to everything but only keeps what is needed to continue its life cycle. It removes waste. In our spiritual life, everything we’re exposed to isn’t “necessary” (1 Cor. 6:12-15). We must be diligent to carefully filter what flows into our eyes, ear, and mind.

As we seek oneness in Christ our constancy and discernment keep us focused on what really is important for living. It recognizes our dependency and interdependency with both the Father and Jesus.

Like the sponge, we live life knowing “Christ is the center “of our existence and acknowledge that apart from Him we can do nothing. Therefore, let us strive moment by moment to live the life of a sponge— “one with Him.” (John 14:20)

[1] I encourage you to read these in your personal Bible study. They are amazing spiritual “nuggets” for meditation and prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to “open your eyes to see” (Ps. 119:18) what God will share with you on pursuing oneness with Him.