Ministering in our daily lives!
I would be willing to bet (and I do not gamble) that most of us have heard that we are supposed to minister to people as part of our daily lives. We have been told by pastors that during our daily activities we are to share God's love any chance we get.
I can tell you I have encouraged people while I was standing in the pulpit to do just that. I have said that a pastor can reach people in church, but each person can reach dozens of people each week that the pastor would never come in contact with.
I remember during our men's group at Ninth Street hearing the encounters the men had each week. It was great to hear how they were living out there faith. Day by day how they would quietly witness to the people in their lives. It was great!
Since our recent move in May, I have been missing our church in Iowa. The people there are amazing and seeing how they served God faithfully week by week was very rewarding. Another part that I have been missing is the ability to witness to the church and the closeness to God that I would feel while doing so. Even better was seeing how the messages God gave me would minister to the congregation and change their lives.
I have been going through this time in my personal witnessing and sharing at work that has been a bit of a struggle. Most of the people I work with have been comfortable bring prayer requests my way, but that has been about it. I am still the new guy.
Until recently!
The other day after a meeting I was sitting with someone at work and following up on a prayer request they have brought my way. It was during this conversation that we got on the topic of prayer itself. This person had been praying earnestly for God to heal someone as many of us had been. My simple reminder that bringing requests before God is only one step, was a great reminder for this long time Christian.
As we talked I reminded this person that in addition to hearing our requests, God wants to hear that we love Him. He wants to hear that our love extends beyond how the situation being prayed about plays out. This does not mean we wont get angry at times, but that our LOVE for God exceeds anything we encounter on Earth.
The other part of prayer that I brought up was that God wants us to approach Him with thanksgiving.
Philippians 4:6-7
"6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
God wants to hear our prayers. He wants to know that we are comfortable bringing Him our deepest and darkest struggles, He wants to hear what is hurting us, and He wants to give us peace.
The other part of this is that God wants to hear that we are thankful for all that He has given us. In this situation the prayer was around someone being very ill. So the reminder when we go through those things, is to THANK God for the time we have had with the person who is ill. To thank God for the impact this person has had on our lives. It does not mean we are giving up, just that we are thankful for the blessings we have had.
Ultimately when we are praying to God He wants to know that we will love Him no matter what happens, He wants to hear that we are thankful for what He has given us, and He wants us to come to Him with our requests.
Having the opportunity to share with someone at work and hearing back from them that it has helped them is a great feeling. It was a great reminder that we are in the mission field each and every day. Remember we are serving our Lord in every aspect of our life, at work, at home, at school, at church, and even at the grocery store. Be on the lookout for those moments where you can share God's Love with someone in your life.
As you pick up your prayer list this week, remember to let God know that you love Him and that the love you have for Him is not dependent on how your prayers are answered. Thank Him for all that He has done in this situation and in your life, and then lay your concerns at His feet.
God loves us more than we can ever imagine. That love is so amazing that He sacrificed His only Son for each one of us, before we were ever born. The part that really gets me is that HE WOULD DO IT AGAIN!!!
God Loves Us!
Thanks for reading and God Bless!
Robert
I can tell you I have encouraged people while I was standing in the pulpit to do just that. I have said that a pastor can reach people in church, but each person can reach dozens of people each week that the pastor would never come in contact with.
I remember during our men's group at Ninth Street hearing the encounters the men had each week. It was great to hear how they were living out there faith. Day by day how they would quietly witness to the people in their lives. It was great!
Since our recent move in May, I have been missing our church in Iowa. The people there are amazing and seeing how they served God faithfully week by week was very rewarding. Another part that I have been missing is the ability to witness to the church and the closeness to God that I would feel while doing so. Even better was seeing how the messages God gave me would minister to the congregation and change their lives.
I have been going through this time in my personal witnessing and sharing at work that has been a bit of a struggle. Most of the people I work with have been comfortable bring prayer requests my way, but that has been about it. I am still the new guy.
Until recently!
The other day after a meeting I was sitting with someone at work and following up on a prayer request they have brought my way. It was during this conversation that we got on the topic of prayer itself. This person had been praying earnestly for God to heal someone as many of us had been. My simple reminder that bringing requests before God is only one step, was a great reminder for this long time Christian.
As we talked I reminded this person that in addition to hearing our requests, God wants to hear that we love Him. He wants to hear that our love extends beyond how the situation being prayed about plays out. This does not mean we wont get angry at times, but that our LOVE for God exceeds anything we encounter on Earth.
The other part of prayer that I brought up was that God wants us to approach Him with thanksgiving.
Philippians 4:6-7
"6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
God wants to hear our prayers. He wants to know that we are comfortable bringing Him our deepest and darkest struggles, He wants to hear what is hurting us, and He wants to give us peace.
The other part of this is that God wants to hear that we are thankful for all that He has given us. In this situation the prayer was around someone being very ill. So the reminder when we go through those things, is to THANK God for the time we have had with the person who is ill. To thank God for the impact this person has had on our lives. It does not mean we are giving up, just that we are thankful for the blessings we have had.
Ultimately when we are praying to God He wants to know that we will love Him no matter what happens, He wants to hear that we are thankful for what He has given us, and He wants us to come to Him with our requests.
Having the opportunity to share with someone at work and hearing back from them that it has helped them is a great feeling. It was a great reminder that we are in the mission field each and every day. Remember we are serving our Lord in every aspect of our life, at work, at home, at school, at church, and even at the grocery store. Be on the lookout for those moments where you can share God's Love with someone in your life.
As you pick up your prayer list this week, remember to let God know that you love Him and that the love you have for Him is not dependent on how your prayers are answered. Thank Him for all that He has done in this situation and in your life, and then lay your concerns at His feet.
God loves us more than we can ever imagine. That love is so amazing that He sacrificed His only Son for each one of us, before we were ever born. The part that really gets me is that HE WOULD DO IT AGAIN!!!
God Loves Us!
Thanks for reading and God Bless!
Robert
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