Is it OK to pray for yourself?

That’s an easy question to answer:  YES.

But what should you pray for yourself?   Here are some excellent prayers that Nancy Leigh DeMoss has repeatedly prayed for herself that certainly are some samples of biblically-based requests we should pray for ourselves:

• Guard my heart. Make and keep it pure. Protect me from the schemes and attacks of the Evil One.
• Fill me with Your love. Help me to love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Make me compassionate and sensitive to the needs of others around me.
• Fill me with Your Spirit. May I be emptied of myself and filled with Jesus. Anoint my life and ministry with supernatural power.
• Clothe me in humility. May I be poor in spirit. May I esteem all others as better than myself. May I not seek to impress others, but only to please You.
• Make me a servant. Help me to serve You with gladness; to render each act of service as unto Christ; to joyously accept even “menial” or “unfulfilling” responsibilities.
• Guard my tongue. May I speak only words that are true, words that help and heal, words that are wise and kind.
• Give me wisdom and discernment. Help me to see all of life from Your point of view. May my life be ruled by the wisdom of Your Word.
• Give me a grateful spirit. Help me to give thanks in everything. Help me to acknowledge and express the benefits and blessings that I have received from You and others. Protect me from a discontented heart and a murmuring tongue.
• Help me to walk by faith and not by sight. May my life show the world how great You are. May I be willing to step out in faith when I cannot see the outcome, and may my life not be explainable in human terms.
• Teach me the fear of the Lord. Help me to practice the conscious, constant awareness of Your presence. Help me to live my life in light of the final judgment and as one who will give account to You.

Do you have any other prayers you would like to share that you pray for yourself regularly?

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If you bite and devour one another. . .

Alexander Strauch’s latest book has just been published. and the title is based on Galatians 5:15: If You Bite and Devour One Another: Biblical Principles for Handling Conflict. He explains in the introduction his aim and his outline:

My aim for this book is to provide a better understanding of what the Bible teaches about conflict and to help believers learn how to respond to conflict according to biblical principles.

In order not to present an overwhelming amount of information, the book focuses strictly on the presentation and exposition of scriptural passages that address conflict in the New Testament churches. . . .

The manageable size and easy-to-remember outline of this book make it a helpful resources for anyone who is dealing with conflict and for church leaders who are teaching God’s truth about handling conflict.

The first three chapters lay down the foundational biblical principles:

(1) Act in the Spirit
(2) Act in Love
(3) Act in Humility

The remaining seven chapters deal with specific principles for handling conflict:

(4) Control the Anger
(5) Control the Tongue
(6) Control the Criticism
(7) Pursue Reconciliation
(8) Pursue Peace
(9) Face False Teachers
(10) Face Controversy

I have benefitted from each one of Strauch’s book I’ve read and this one sounds like it will be very helpful as well.

(HT: JT)

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Don’t trust yourself!

“Are you indeed Christ’s sheep? Then beware of trusting in yourselves. Nothing offends the Good Shepherd more than to see the members of His flock, forgetting that in Him alone is all their safety, and glorying in their own attainments and performances. Think not of your weak endeavors. Think not to say, “I do very little, and therefore have very little hope—in the future I shall do much, and then I shall have much hope”. Your best performances and attempts towards heaven are in themselves but broken reeds, and can bear no weight. They are precious as evidences of spiritual life—but they cannot justify. Think only of your Savior Jesus Christ, trust Him entirely, love Him affectionately, look to Him continually. As long as you lean on Him you are strong and none can touch you. Without Him, and in your own might, you are weak and unstable as water.

~ J.C. Ryle

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You might be an idolator if. . .

Stephen Altrogge writes:

How do we know if we love something too much? Where is the line between a healthy enjoyment and an idol? Idolatry is often subtle. It can creep up on us in the form of good desires, like getting married or excelling in the work place. You may have created idols for yourself if:

• You are crushed when you don’t get what you want. When that end of the year bonus you have been anticipating for months is taken from you, does it shatter your joy?
• You stake your happiness on getting what you want. All of your friends are finding their soul mates and getting married, and you can’t even find a date. Do you resign to bitter hopelessness in your singleness?
• You grumble and complain when you don’t have what you want. Are you angry with God for not creating you with the supposed external beauty that everyone around you seems to have?
• You demand what you want. Have your humble prayers for healing from a physical ailment turned to angry demands of God? Do you feel you deserve to be healed?

When good gifts (like marriage, beauty, healing, or money) turn into idols, they become terrible and consuming masters.

Keep reading . . .

Excerpt modified from chapter 4 of The Greener Grass Conspiracy

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Hope for today 05.06.11

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. ” (1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV)

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