Romans 8:27 (NASB)
27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Tucked in between two well-known verses is one that caught my eye this morning. Isn’t it wonderful that God searches our hearts and intercedes for us through His Holy Spirit?

About four centuries ago, Francis DeSales, who taught on the path of prayer, said that the first step in praying is “to place oneself in the presence of God.” Doing that is much more difficult than it seems, because we spend a lot of time in our lives creating an identity of ourselves that hides our true self, sometimes even from ourselves. Putting ourselves in the presence of God requires that we first, and foremost are honest with God about who we are. After all He created us and knows it anyway. So if we are to rightly commune with Him, we should take off all the layers of masks.

C.S. Lewis once said that the prayer that precedes all prayers should be “May it be the real I who speaks”.

The verse in Romans is a true comfort, knowing that no matter how we try to mask ourselves from others and even from God, He intercedes for us in prayer. And one day when we are glorified in heaven, we will know it all. Somehow though, my soul aches for the ability to commune with Him even now in complete honesty. Have you ever prayed for that too?

There will be no prayer meeting this Tuesday night as VBS will have their last session on July 26th. Please continue to pray for the children, that many would come to Christ and that His Kingdom would come here on earth.

Always praying for the glory of God,
Chris McKean

Matthew 5:3 (NASB)
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“We do much more by a gentle and tranquil concentration in the presence of God than by the greatest eagerness and all the efforts of our restless nature” Francois Fenelon

I have been reading writings this week from Francois Fenelon, a 17th century priest. He has a clarity of thought which is based upon an amazing knowledge of scripture (that knowledge of scripture is something that Pastor Kevin strongly encouraged us today to pursue). Knowledge of scripture is where prayer begins.

“A necessary foundation to prayer is meditating and thinking on the great truths that God has revealed. We should be familiar with all the mysteries of Jesus Christ and the truths of His gospel. …These truths should become so familiar to us that we acquire the habit of never forming any judgment except in their light, so that they may be our guide in what we do. … It is when these truths are inwardly incorporated in us that our praying begins to be real and fruitful.” Francois Fenelon

Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount that we must consciously depend on Him rather than ourselves. We are “poor” inwardly, having no ability within ourselves to please God. That starts with knowledge of His Word and a prayer life that is steeped in that knowledge. It continues with prayer that is focused on God and not ourselves.

We will not meet for prayer again this Tuesday as VBS continues. Please continue to pray for VBS, that a great harvest would be accomplished through what God is doing in and through the children.

Always praying for the glory of God,
Chris McKean

3 John 1:4 (NASB)
4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

For the next three Tuesdays, VBS will be ministering to children, bringing them the truth of the gospel.

This is a special time that needs our prayers. And while we won’t be gathering in corporate prayer on the Tuesdays when VBS is held, please dedicate some time in prayer to this ministry.

Here are some things to pray for (just to get you started):
1. Pray that God would bring many children to Crossgate this year.
2. Pray that the Gospel would be shared with clarity and that those attending would open their hearts and minds to hear the truth.
3. Pray for the parents of the children attending.
4. Pray for the workers that will be helping and leading VBS.
5. Pray for physical protection of all those present during VBS.
6. Pray for the facilities used during VBS; that all things would function perfectly.
7. Pray for Seneca and surrounding areas; that word would spread about this ministry and people would be drawn to participate.
8. Pray that God would be glorified by what is done.
9. Pray that the time would be joyful for all attending.
10. Pray that this would give the children wonderful, lasting memories.
11. Pray that many children would come to Christ for the salvation of their souls.
12. Pray that many parents would come to Christ for the salvation of their souls.

Finally, I challenge each of you (this very moment, don’t delay) to identify a specific time each day for the next three weeks, where you will pray for this year’s VBS. I then challenge you to keep that time sacred, dedicated to prayer for this ministry.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Chris McKean

Proverbs 3:6 (TLB)
6 In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.
Genesis 2:24 (TLB)
24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife in such a way that the two become one person.
John 2:1-5 (NASB)
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.”
4 And Jesus *said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother *said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

You might be thinking… What do these verses have to do with each other? And what does this have to do with prayer?

As I was studying the Bible and meditating on scripture this week, I was thinking about the institution of marriage. How interesting it is that God created man and woman, individuals with our own unique abilities and gifts. And yet, He also established in the beginning a union between man and woman in such a way that both become one person.

Is that the way you look at marriage? Was that your motivation for getting married? It seems that the primary motivation in “the world” can be quite different.

I used to think that pride was probably the biggest sin that we deal with in life, but recently I’ve realized that selfishness might be right up there. Especially when you look at how couples approach their marriage. There seems to be a strong motivation these days for people to remain as individuals, to be separate and unique, not to become one person under God.

There also appears to be a trend these days for individuals to wait later in life to marry. Nothing wrong with that as long as our motivations are in the right place. Do the youth do that so that they establish God first in their lives, so that when they marry they can come together as one to fulfill God’s will? I do see that in some, but others seem to delay because of selfish reasons.

How can we live our lives in marriage and make decisions in marriage that is honoring to God. Certainly prayer has to be a high priority. We can’t live together as one without help from the Holy Spirit. If you are married, do you constantly pray for your marriage, asking God to purify your heart in a way that is honoring to your spouse? Do you frequently pray with your spouse? If you are contemplating marriage, do you both put God first, then the other, before thinking of your individual needs? Or do individual needs take priority? Do you pray with and for each other?

I don’t think it was a coincidence that the first miracle that Jesus performed was at a wedding. Our union in marriage is to be just like our union with Christ, where two become one. And His mother’s command to the servants summarizes to me what is written in Proverbs 3:5. In everything you do, put God first.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Chris McKean