Bold Prayer or Not?

Do I think boldness really matters in my prayer life? Of course it does, why bother to pray for if you are not going to pray for bold things? Dave Earley says, “The more precise the prayer, the more faith it takes. If you want specific answers to prayer, you need to make specific request. If you offer only general request, how will you know if they are answered?”[1] This is a common problem in the Christian life, we are often afraid to ask for the things that we truly need and stick to only general request. Why do we stick to only general request? Fear, is the biggest culprit, it makes a stick to general request assuming God will answer those; because if we asked for specific request and never saw the response to our petitions our faith will grow even weaker in God.

            The very first thing I think of when I think of a biblical example where boldness made a difference in prayer has to be Joshua. Think of the boldness that was required for this man to pray to God to stop the sun for moving, so that he can continue in battle. Joshua didn’t just pray for victory he prays for the Lord to do something only he could do make the earth stop rotating around the sun. Joshua had to be taught this boldness; he learned it from his mentor Moses. Moses on more than one occasion stood in the gap for the children of Israel, causing God to turn his wrath away from them.

            Three applications that become can be taken away from Earley’s book are in no particular order fasting, praying more boldly (or more specifically), and to pray a larger variety of prayers. I have seen the effects of fasting personally in my life, back in August 2012, I was struggling with health problems and a group of brothers from Bible study unbeknownst to me individually fasted for me; and on the last day I fasted for myself. In regards to fasting Earley makes a great statement that we have to constantly keep at the forefront of our minds, “God is not an ATM into which we put our prayer and/or fasting and automatically get back what we want. God is God.”[2] also need to be more intentional and specific in the way that I pray. It’s often more convenient to pray a generic prayer; so that I can cross the task off my list. By praying more specific prayers, it will draw me closer to the Lord and increase my faith. Last but not least I need to pray a greater variety of prayers. Earley says

Not only did David pray, but he prayed a variety of prayers. David prayed simple prayers and complex ones. He prayed tears. He asked questions. He made both resolutions in prayed big prayers of faith. He also used balance. A pray prayers of adoration, confession, Thanksgiving, and supplication. God is a person. He has personality. We are people. We have personality. Prayer is expressing the many facets of our personality and our situation to the many aspects of God’s personality. One type of prayer will not do. We need to pray with all kinds of prayers (Ephesians 6:18).[3]

            There is always more that we can learn, but I hope this helps us all to grow and depend on Christ all the more.

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[1] Dave Earley, Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders. (Chattanooga: Living Ink Books, 2008)117.

[2] Ibid., 103.

[3] Ibid., 128.

A Glimpse at Different Forms of Theology

            Let’s begin by laying down the definitions for all of the different orders of theology that are mentioned above. First we have biblical theology, according to Elwell, “Biblical theology sets forth the message of biblical books by author or other scheme of grouping.”[1]Paul Enns in his handbook on theology clarifies biblical theology when he says, “In contrast to systematic theology, which draws its information about God from any and every source, biblical theology has a narrower focus, drawing its information from the Bible (and from historical information that expands or clarifies the historical events of the Bible).”[2]

            According to Elwell, “Historical theology traces the churches faith topically through the various eras of its history.”[3] In Elwell there is no mention of philosophical theology, however there is the mention of practical theology which is the application of systematic theology to every aspect of life.[4] There have been several references to systematic theology, but no definition; Elwell defines it like this, “Systematic theology incorporates the data of exegetical, biblical, and historical theology to construct a coherent representation of the Christian faith.”[5] Enns takes it even farther when he says, “Systematic theology may be defined as the collecting, scientifically arranging, comparing, exhibiting, and defending of all facts from any and every source concerning God and His works.”[6] Now that all of these different areas of theology have been defined it makes since to say that systematic theology is the gathering together of all the different forms of theology. Biblical theology builds upon Scripture, historical theology helped to build systematic theology of the centuries as certain doctrines have developed.

            Personally systematic theology with a good mix of biblical/covenant theology are the most important to my current ministry and hopefully my future role as a pastor. Without systematic theology it is hard to explain the concepts of the trinity, sin, Christology, and etc. Then being a reformed Presbyterian, I believe in covenant theology and showing how they continued to build upon each other throughout Scripture. It is through those promises we can take comfort, and seek to live lives pleasing and wholly devoted unto God. As a pastor they will all be important; however when doing aspects of evangelism systematic theology will be king, allowing me to break down different doctrines found throughout Scripture and supported by history.

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[1] Walter A Elwell, ed. Evangelical Dicitonary of Theology. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001)1164.

            [2] Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology. (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008)22-23.            

[3] Elwell, 1164.

[4] Ibid., 1164.

[5] Ibid., 1164.

[6] Enns, Moody Handbook, 149.

Review of One Month to Love by Kerry and Chris Shook

When I first heard of the premise behind this book, I was ecstatic. I mean who wouldn’t be ecstatic a book on how to grow and deepen your close relationship and 30 days is the, it’s the magic pill we’ve all been looking for. Some would say since it’s based around a 30 day set up that this would easily be a good devotional book, however, for me and my hectic lifestyle that is not the case. I tried several different ways to get involved with this book, and none of them mainly really enjoyed this book.

I really wanted to like this book; I just couldn’t do it. I found some of the stories to be interesting and slightly entertaining, but found it hard to implement anything they were trying to introduce to us as a reader. This book is also been previously released before as Love at Last Sight; I believe they chose to republish it under a different name due to the success of the One Month to Live book written by the same couple. While this is not the worst book I’ve read recently it’s also not among the best. I would have a very hard time just recommending this to someone seeking help for their relationships, because it gives the illusion that it is a cure-all. However, this book does have its good points as long as you’re willing to work with them; those points being at the end of every chapter they offer a few actions or things to do to reach out and deepen your relationships and to make them strong they call them “challenges”.

Out of a good conscience I cannot fully recommend this book to someone trying to restore a relationship, but if you’re looking from minor tune-up than this may be the book for you. By law have to let you know that Waterbrook Press gave me a free copy of this book in exchange for my review; there were no guarantees that it would be positive. To find out more you can visit these links:

·  Author's Web Site

·  More Info

·  Author Bio

Role of Prayer in Spiritual Leaders

How important do you think the role of prayer plays in the life of a spiritual leader? Read Col. 4:2 and comment on how this verse applies to a spiritual leader. Dr. Earley states that prayer saves time. “Prayer allows God to do more in days, hours, minutes, or even seconds than we could accomplish without Him in months, or even years, of work…..Once we understand this principle, we will learn to say, ‘I’m too busy not to pray.’” Can you affirm this statement? Give a specific example from your life or ministry.

From the five chapters you read (Earley chs. 1–5), what are 3 applications you can put into your own prayer life? Be specific regarding where this is coming from, (i.e. the textbook material or the Bible, etc.).

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 4:2, ESV)

Outside of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ there is no more important aspect to that man/woman’s life than prayer. Prayer can be defined simply as speaking with God. If you are going to be a leader especially a spiritual one you have to stay connected to God. When you evaluate Colossians 4:2, we are told to stay in prayer; and not just to ask for things but to be thankful for what we have. As leaders we can easily fall into the pit of only asking God to give/do things for us; all the while forgetting to recognize what He already has done and thanking Him for it.

My whole school career has been an example of the Lord using less time than the average person would imagine getting things accomplished. I have been blessed to be able to accomplish a lot of work very quickly only by His grace. He has given me the ability to write large essays/papers in a matter of hours because of His response to prayers where other people it may take days or whole semesters to organize them. I really like the reference Pastor Earley makes to Martin Luther in his work, when I was a new Christian I valued my prayer time and would spend hours at a time, and like Luther felt/fell the more I pray about it the better it will be dealt with.[1]

There is so much that we can take away from this book by Dave Earley. While this assignment only ask for us to give three takeaways on how to impact our own prayer life, each of the five chapters lays excellent ground work for us to build upon.  One of the things I must make time for is making the time to pray. We will make so many other things in life a priority and mark it on our schedules, but will not do the same for time with God! This thought comes directly from chapter two of his book, where he goes deeper and tells us to determine a set amount of time to pray.[2]

I tend to be a very private man about a lot of things and then there are areas you will find plastered all over social media. Dave points out the importance of asking people to pray for us. As many of you know I suffer constantly with pain from my fibromyalgia, and while I still long for relief, I no longer ask for those prayers which I probably should. Earley reminds us that the Apostle Paul constantly in his letters asked those he was keeping in touch with to pray for him and the struggles he faced.[3] Once you examine this area it reveals that there is a source of either pride or fear that keeps us from asking for help. Will you pray for me; that the pain will not be so unbearable I cannot focus on my task at hand, and I all I do will bring glory to the Lord? Thank you in advance for your prayers.

While I practice intercessory prayer often I need to be more specific about the things I am seeking the Lord for on behalf of others. It is very easy to get caught up in just praying very generic prayers for those on your list; it requires great love to pray intentionally for someone else. This is an area I will seek to grow in more, because Earley says, “Intercessory prayer is a primary tool used by effective spiritual leaders.”[4]

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[1]Dave Earley, Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders. (Chattanooga: Living Ink Books, 2008)5.

[2] Ibid, 26.

[3] Ibid, 54.

[4] Ibid, 34.

A Review of Risk is Right by John Piper

             Risk is right sounds like a funny phrase. As I read through this work however, it started to become more like a mantra that every Christian should live by. Pastor John has had this worked published before as a chapter in his popular work Don’t Waste Your Life, it does not take away from its impact. David Platt lays and excellent ground work of expectation for the work.

            Pastor Piper speaks in a way that should light a fire under you and make you ask yourself “How am I living my life, do I live willing to give it all or do I live for comfort?” No matter the level of your faith or where you are in your walk with Christ this work will be like a five hour energy shot to motivate you seek and serve God so in the end He is glorified. This small work (weighing in at 51 pages) will be one that is easily read and re-read for encouragement in trials and tribulations. I would suggest that you get as many copies of this work that you can or even the work it came from and give it to those you care about and encourage them to take a risk for Christ.

            I was given a copy of this work by Crossway in exchange for a fair and honest review; I was not bound to give a good review of this work.