What role does prayer play in your life? Do you pray before meals, even in public? Do you pray when you arise from bed? Do you pray when you pillow your head at night? Do you pray in times of deep sorrow? What about in times of great joy? Prayer should play a significant role in a Christian’s daily life. Yet over the years for many Christians, prayer disappears from their life outside the assembly. Paul said we should “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5 :17). This is not a reference to the opening and closing prayers of the assembly. This is not referring to the prayer before meals. As important as these are, Paul is referring to the importance of prayer in life itself.

Kevin Rhodes in his book “Building Blocks – Strengthening Your Faith” said regarding prayer, “We also minimize prayer’s meaning for us personally. If we do not pray, it is because we have convinced ourselves that we do not need to pray or maybe that we do not think that it will do any good. We worry, but we do not pray (Philippians 4:6). We get depressed because people do not care, but we do not pray (1 Peter 5:7). We have bountiful blessings from above, but we do not pray (James 1:17). The problem is that while we read about these things in the Bible, we often fail to personalize it. When we run into problems at work, we agonize over it but not pray about it. When we feel alone and dejected, we brood and may even cry, but we do not pray. We enjoy blessings every day, but we do not think to pray. While we might think that these would be the times that prayer would come naturally, it does not do so because we have not made prayer our personal natural reaction.” pg. 53.

Many people recognize that their prayer life is not what it needs to be (including this writer -JDS) and they do not know how or where to begin improving it. Making changes in our daily lives regarding prayer is a good place to start.

First, resolve to give thanks before each meal, both privately and in public, at home and at work. While there is no command that says we are to pray before eating, what we do see in Scripture is examples of Jesus giving thanks before eating a meal. “And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.” (Matthew 15:36). See also John 6:23 and Paul in Acts 27:35.

Second, put a note on your bathroom mirror to remind you to pray in the morning. The psalmist said in Psalm 88:13, “But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.” Jesus prayed in the morning, “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35).

Third, before you go to bed at night, go to our heavenly Father in prayer. At all times of the day we should be ready to bow our hearts to God in prayer. Psalm 55 :17, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.”

With diligence on the part of a Christian, Paul’s exhortation to “pray without ceasing” can be a description of your life. However, such a commitment is not just for a few weeks but for a lifetime.

-Jerry D. Sturgill

The time on the mountain was such an exciting event. Elijah stood toe to toe against 850 false prophets. He was bold and powerfully anointed by God. He even taunted the false prophets when they could not get their gods to bring down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice. God received all the glory when fire came down from heaven in response to Elijah’s prayer.

When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” (1Kings 18:39)

Elijah was so full of victory that he ran from Carmel to Jazreel. Hallelujah! Victory is sweet! However, when things returned to normal, Jezebel said that she was going to have Elijah killed. He ran for his life and actually wanted to die. The big events are exciting and energizing, but daily life can be such a drag.

Peter witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus, Elijah and Moses. (Matt. 17:1-8) It was so glorious that Peter wanted to build three tabernacles in honor of the three. Later, when they came down from the mountain, they encountered a young man with a demon. (Matt. 17:14-21)

The disciples had not been able to help him. Jesus had to take care of the matter for them. The transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain was so glorious; real life with real people and real disciples when they came down from the mountain was a bit more difficult and not nearly as exciting.

Oswald Chambers reminded us, “After every time of exaltation, we are brought down with a sudden rush into things as the really are, where it is neither beautiful, poetic, nor thrilling. The height of the mountaintop is measured by the dismal drudgery of the valley, but it is in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God.” (“My Utmost for His Highest”)
As Christians, we should not always be looking for some thrilling and exciting new thing. People quit jobs, churches, and relationships just because they become routine or hard. We should be led by the Spirit of God about what we do; bot quit something just because it bores us. Character, holiness, perseverance, and faithfulness can often be developed when we come down off the mountain to face the grind of the daily world below. Daily prayer, daily Bible study, and being a daily witness where we are is vitally important. (James 1:2-4)
Consistency, faithfulness and perseverance are important characteristics of a mature Christian. Let’s not just live for what is exciting on the mountain top, let’s also be faithful to live for the Lord Jesus, daily, even if that daily life finds us sometimes in the valley.

–Mike Barres, 12 St. Church of Christ, Shallowater, TX as published in Bulletin Digest, Sept. ‘05

Hebrews 4:12 says the Bible, “…is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,” and like a sword it pierces to the very depths of the inward man. God intended His word to be, “…profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Just as Nathan confronted David with his sin and showed him the responsibility he must take for his actions (2 Sam. 11-12), so the word of God will show us where we are wrong and how to be right. James 1:22-25 describes the Bible as a mirror that accurately reflects the true character of the individual who stares into its pages. The one who applies the Bible to the various issues faced in life can truly say to God, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
But if we do not go to the Bible for counsel, and neglect to diligently study what it has to say and apply it to the various situations of life, we douse the light that God has given to help us see our way clear. In effect, we are adrift on life’s sea having thrown our compass overboard, choosing rather to grope along, trusting our own faulty powers of spiritual perception (Prov. 14:12; Jer. 10:23).
Many today, while they may give lip-service to the Bible, rely more heavily on what psychologists, professors, or scientists say about matters than the words of God. While there are godly men and women who serve faithfully in these fields, not every psychologist, professor, or scientist has a biblical worldview. Instead of confronting man with his sin, many educated individuals today, working on the basis that the theory of evolution is true, consider man to be a highly evolved animal, subject to his instincts and not responsible for his actions. In their minds heredity and environment are the culprits rather than man choosing to do evil. This, of course, is easier for the sinner to hear since the underlying message is that people are not responsible for their actions. Like Ahab, many seek the counsel of the majority that say everything is fine rather than the truthful minority that elucidate the real consequences of their actions (1 Kings 22). Like Ahab, many consider those who do care enough speak the truth troublemakers (1 Kings 18:17-18).
As Christians, we need to lovingly confront individuals with their responsibility before God, making them aware that everything is not fine if one lives in rebellion to His Word (2 Cor. 5:11). There are even many in the Lord’s church who through spiritual slothfulness need to wake up to the spiritual realities God’s word teaches. Read how Paul addressed this in Ephesians 5:11-17.
Can God get a word in edgewise in your life? Or are you too busy seeking counsel from men on what you should do in life? Do you take an objective look at yourself with the word of God, or do you seek people to tell you that you are fine? Your life will be blessed if you trust in the Lord’s word rather than relying on the advice of men (Jer. 17:5-8).

– Mark Day

The Bible shows that throughout human history there have always been conflicts. Adam blamed Eve for causing the first sin (Gen. 3:12); the first set of brothers had a conflict that resulted in murder (Gen. 4:8). What brought about God’s judgment of the flood was the fact that the earth was filled with violence (Gen. 6:11). The herdsmen of Abram and Lot had conflict (Gen. 13:7). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had many family conflicts. The rest of Old Testament history is filled with wars among nations and conflicts between individuals, and the New Testament is no different in this regard.

In examining 1 Corinthians, it seems there are are three classes of people in the world who vary in their understanding and ability to have peace. The first class is unbelievers, who because they have no peace with God render the prospect of peace with others implausible. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 lists the various people in unbelief with the sins that characterize their lives: fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners. Among these would be the princes of the world, who did not know God’s wisdom and because of the blindness of their sin crucified the Lord (1 Cor. 2:8). The second class would be worldly believers. This was the main problem that Paul was confronting in this letter to Corinth. In 1 Cor. 3:1-3, Paul pointed out their immaturity, writing, “…ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” Thus even though all of the members of the church at Corinth had obeyed the Gospel, many of them had not grown spiritually and were still acting worldly, with envying and strife among them. These were those who were taking each other to court over “the smallest matters” (1 Cor. 6:2). To them Paul wrote, “Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men” (1 Cor. 14:20). The third class would be spiritual people who not only had a good understanding of Christianity, but also let it control their thinking and actions in regard to others. One example of this class is the house of Stephanas who “addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints” (1 Cor. 16:15). Paul is a great example of a spiritual person, who encouraged the Corinthian brethren to follow him as he followed Christ (1 Cor. 11:1), who sent Timothy to remind them of his ways in Christ (1 Cor. 4:17). Paul worked tirelessly to bring peace to the Lord’s church based on all uniting on following Christ.

Which of these three groups would you be placed into? Do you thrive on conflict? Have you made peace with God and others by obeying Christ and being added to the church (Eph. 2:14-16)? Romans 12:18 urges Christians, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” While this implies that there are some people in the world with whom it is not possible to have peace, it shows that Christians are to be amiable people. Paul commanded the Thessalonian brethren to, “be at peace among yourselves” (1 Thess. 5:13). Though it may be impossible to have peace with certain individuals in the world, it is expected by God for peace to exist in His church.

-Mark Day

When considering the existence of God, the law of excluded middle says that either something exists or does not exist, there is no middle ground. It would be illogical to say that God exists and does not exist at the same time. Either God exists or He does not exist. The arguments that can be made for the existence of God are additional evidence that can be used with the atheists, agnostics, skeptics, or any who will not turn to the Bible. While in sermons and articles, reference has been made regarding two classical arguments, The Cosmological Argument (cause and effect) and The Teleological Argument (design demands a Designer), consider with me 3 additional arguments for the existence of God:

The Ontological Argument: There is nothing greater than God that can be conceived, man is incapable of creating God himself, therefore, God must exist. If man can have the idea of a perfect God then He must exist. If God only existed in the mind of man, he would be an imperfect being. What kind of God would man invent? Wouldn’t man conceive a God closer to man’s liking? Would man create a God that 1) Would impose regulations that were contrary to the impulses of the flesh, 2) Who seemingly robs man of his freedom to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, in whatever way he wants, 3) Would judge violators of His law and bring punishment on man if he violated that law, etc.? Would man invent a God like the God of the Bible? No! God did not come from the mind of man, man knows of God because God exists.

The Anthropological Argument: The existence of morals implies that God is. Man is a moral being, whence does this morality come from. Morals occur only in man. Morals are not found in nor did they originate from lower animals. For example, does a dog feel guilty when it steals a bone from another dog? No. So morals did not come from the lower animals. It did not originate from amoral lifeless matter. Yet morality implies an absolute standard of authority of right and wrong. If there are no absolute values then one act would not differ from another. Even the most avowed atheists would not affirm that. Man needs moral law outside himself, from the moral person – God. This the Bible affirms. Jeremiah 10:23 says, “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” Then in Romans 7:7 the Bible says, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Therefore the absolute authority of right and wrong is God, therefore God does exist.

The Aesthetical Argument: This has to do with the beauty found in the universe. While this is one of the weaker arguments it is still a valid argument. When one is flying in an airplane and looking down on the magnificence of the earth, or when one considers the beauty of a snowflake or the color of the sky in the fall as the sun sets in the west, one must wonder, where did this aesthetic appreciation come from? Man has response to beauty found in art and other works of men’s hands and the evolutionist would say it came from the lower forms of man’s evolution. However, we can know this appreciation for beauty did not come from lower forms of life for they have no artistic abilities. The only rational conclusion to draw is that such aesthetic appreciation came from our Creator, God.

These arguments taken together point to the undeniable conclusion that Yes Indeed, God Does Exist!

– Jerry D. Sturgill
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth… And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” Genesis 1:1, 26a.