My beloved grandmother, Pattima, died in the first week of December over a decade ago and my family’s hearts were broken as we loved her so much.  We had a memorial service here at church and then had to go a week later for her funeral in Los Angeles. It had been a stressful and exhausting 5 months of terminal illness caregiving Pattima in our home while also facing friction. I was filled with deep grief at her loss, while also trying to console my children who were crushed. In essence, I was crumbling with the weight of it all.

We had to go to Bangalore soon after despite the overwhelming grief and exhaustion to celebrate Peter’s parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Despite an antagonistic relationship, we had been the main proponents of a joyous anniversary celebration to honor them and make them happy. We had to push ourselves to be there on time so as to help prep and pay for most of the two big celebrations they desired – but our grieving hearts cried for postponement. I am so glad we were able to put our grief aside to honor Peter’s parents. The grand celebrations beautifully brought many friends and family together filling them with great joy. We ofcourse had to pay a hefty change fee plus the extra cost of rebooking at last minute prices for our tickets. This was on the heels of last minute funeral tickets for the family to go to California.

As we were making all these changes, we realized that leaving Mum and Dad alone for the next month here in Redmond during the Christmas holidays while they were grieving would have been too overwhelming for them, especially for Mum.  So we decided to buy them last minute India tickets and asked them to join us.  We made sure we took care of all their needs there in Bangalore as we wanted to give them some joy and rest in an extremely hard grieving season for Mum. They were able to visit many of their older relatives on that trip which brought her great comfort. The trip was a balm to her hurting soul and they returned rejuvenated.

I am sure there must be other times we  missed stepping out but this was one critical time we can see and be glad that we loved well on all sides, especially since we will never have such opportunities again. Looking back I don’t know how we pulled it all off in the midst of my own grief and stress along with comforting our kids in their grief and end of semester tests along with the  financial pressure as we were living off only one income (Sandeep had just started college too)! Added to that, we desperately needed a family vacation as with elder-care responsibilities and virtual schooling, we had not taken any vacations in a long time and were very tired. Everything in me screamed rest, and pampering but thankfully love and duty won instead.

“Joy and sorrow are never separated. When our hearts rejoice, we also know that somewhere, someone weeps. When we experience pain, we trust that someone else is being healed.” – Henri Nouwen

This experience has taught us many valuable life lessons, more so since we now walk in our parents’ shoes and we see the importance of giving and receiving loving care even more in this stage of life. That joy and sorrow can coexist and that making room for both in our hearts is important. That we can rejoice and celebrate with those who rejoice but that we must also sacrificially care for and weep with those who weep. May God continue to help us see our fellow human beings’ needs through His eyes. May we also learn to do good to those who hurt us even as we serve those who love us. May we daily die to self so we may live in love and service for that alone leads to eternal rewards. The time to care is now for tomorrow is not guaranteed. Reminder to self: I can truly love and selflessly serve only because He (Jesus) first loved me and served me by laying down His life for me! His resurrection power is mine to avail as I sacrificially serve.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds . . . (James 1:2)

In and of themselves, our hardships are emphatically not joyful. That’s part of what makes them hard. What could it mean, then, in circumstances like these, to “count it all joy”?

When James charges us to “count it all joy,” he does not mean it all — all our pain, all our trials, all our hardship — is joy in and of itself. Pain is pain, not joy. Trials are trying, not sources of pleasure. Rather, what James has for us — and what the gospel of Christ provides — is a lens on life, and a true vantage point on reality, through which even life’s most painful trials have a vital part to play in our joy.

And not just “even,” but “especially.” In God’s strange and wonderful ways of ruling this world, life’s most painful trials serve a special purpose for our good. God often draws his straightest lines from life’s greatest difficulties to our deepest and sweetest joys. And not just in the long run, but even in the midst of trial. When trials assault our surface pleasures, we’re pressed to consider our deepest, fullest, richest treasures — and to tap those roots for sustenance in ways we simply do not when all is well.

Don’t think that James only has little trials in view here. He says “trials of various kinds” because he means the big ones, too. It can be easy to see how God is at work in life’s little inconveniences, but our greatest tragedies press the hardest, darkest questions on our soul.

Has God abandoned me? Is he really in charge and also good? Is he even there?

James will not have us relegate his charge to “count it all joy” simply to the easy stuff. The very issue at stake is the hardest things — the “trials” of tragedy, loss, distress, despondency, and long-term despair.

Verse 2 may be straightforward enough, but our souls need more than just a command to own this and see it come to life in us. Our minds and hearts need reasons, or at least a reason. Which is exactly what James supplies in what immediately follows.

We could rehearse many of the clear biblical reasons why we can “count it all joy” when we encounter various trials. “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). We can write over every trial, “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). And we can say with the apostle, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). Or with Jesus, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” (Matthew 5:12).

But James has something particular in mind: “for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:3).

“Steadfastness” is not a word we use frequently today, and so likely this does not feel especially compelling at first glance. Another word for it would be endurance. Endurance on its own isn’t necessarily desirable (for instance, enduring in error). What makes it compelling is what we endure in. And what James has in view is very clear: faith in Christ. And for Christians, enduring in faith is what life is all about. If we do not endure in faith, we will be on the wrong side of what matters most in the universe: being right with God, and enjoying him forever, in Jesus.

In other words, one of the things God is doing when he tests our faith is he is preserving our faith. When he lovingly brings trials into our lives — and he does so lovingly for all who are in Jesus — he is working for us, and in us, one of the greatest goods imaginable. When he tests us, he is taking action to keep us. And he keeps us not just by protecting our present level of faith, and not just by growing, enriching, developing, and maturing our faith. But in testing our faith, he is keeping it alive.

God’s preserving work in us through our pain and difficulty is essential to what matters most, and James makes that connection explicit: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).

Faith does not flourish when it lies untested. It atrophies when it goes un-exercised. And eventually it dies. So, when God loves us with his saving love, and gives us saving faith, he commits, because he cares for us, to inject our lives with various trials to train, grow, sweeten, strengthen, and mature what matters most in us. Our “various trials” in this life are not superfluous to our enduring in faith. And they are not just threats to losing our faith. They are one of God’s essential means through which he preserves the faith he has given us and keeps us as his own.

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/suffering-that-strengthens-fait

Strange as it may seem, one of the primary purposes of being shaken by suffering is to make our faith more unshakable.

Faith is like muscle tissue: if you stress it to the limit, it gets stronger, not weaker. That’s what James means here. When your faith is threatened and tested and stretched to the breaking point, the result is greater capacity to endure. He calls it steadfastness.

God loves faith so much that he will test it to the breaking point so as to keep it pure and strong.

For example, he did this to Paul according to 2 Corinthians 1:8–9,

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

The words “but that was to” show that there was a purpose in this extreme suffering: it was in order that — for the purpose that — Paul would not rely on himself and his resources, but on God — specifically the promised grace of God in raising the dead.

God so values our wholehearted faith that he will, graciously, if necessary, take away everything else in the world that we might be tempted to rely on — even life itself. His aim is that we grow deeper and stronger in our confidence that he himself will be all we need.

He wants us to be able to say with the psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25–26).

https://fighterverses.com/blog-post/how-to-count-it-all-joy-james-12-3/

My first thought upon reading these verses is that steadfastness had better be worth it. Be joyful in the midst of your pain, because it will give way to steadfastness? Really?

In order to understand what James is doing, let’s put three definitions underneath all of this. “Joy” is not glib, naive happiness. The Bible refers to joy as contentment in Christ above all else. “Steadfastness” carries similar connotations. It means to be confidently rooted in Christ; in other words, it means that all of our confidence comes from belonging to him, not depending on our own effort or resources. “Faith” is believing that the promises of God that we cannot yet see or feel as reality will someday come true, because he said so.

Now, we can rephrase what James is telling us, and ask how it is possible to live out these words. He is saying, “Seek to be happy in Christ above anything else, and you will find that, even in trials, He will prove Himself and make His promises real to you again.” By implication, then, it will be worth it. All of it will be worth it.

I have personally wrestled with these things. I was born with a spinal defect called Spina Bifida, which took away my ability to walk a few years ago. Amidst approximately 20 surgeries and daily inconveniences, the question of “Why?” has arisen in my heart more than once. What’s the point, the end of all this? Ultimately, the answer has always come back, “Jesus is the point.” I am constantly reminded of how he has worked, of all the people I would have never met, and opportunities I would have never had if I hadn’t been given a disability. But this is not some inspirational story about a human being. This is a miraculous story about God.

See, the idea that “joy is a choice” is an incomplete truth. I can choose joy in having Spina Bifida, and you can choose joy in your trial, only if God gives our hearts joy. Joy is not simply one in a buffet of virtues, from which we can take at random as we feel the urge. It’s not a light switch we can simply flip on in our minds. This is where faith and steadfastness come in.

If God does the miracle of changing our hearts, and if He gives us the gift of faith, we will have the eyes to see where all of our pain is going. To know that whatever suffering we endure really is working for our good. To see that Jesus shows Himself to us more profoundly in our trials, and that this changes everything. To place our confidence in Him; really believing it doesn’t matter if everything is perfect here, because this world is not our home. Our hope is not in the things of this world. James goes on to write that the one without faith will be “like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.” Only if God causes our hearts to remain steadfast will we be able to rest joyfully even when our world is caving in. Only if He does all of these things in our hearts can we “choose joy” in our suffering.

Conclusion? Oh, suffering saint, you must pray. I must pray. We must pray together for eyes of faith, hearts of steadfastness. We must seek God in our trials, asking Him for the faith to know He is in the fire with us, and the joy to believe that this is enough. In the end, brothers and sisters, we will see our Savior with unveiled faces. We will know, then, that it was worth it. That He is worth it.

https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/james-1-5

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:5

Life is full of pitfalls and snares, and we often make wrong choices, but it is comforting to know that no matter what trials we may be called upon to face, or what foolish choices we have made in the past, we can go to the Lord and ask Him for godly insight and spiritual understanding, and He has promised to give us all that is needed for the task.

In this passage, James, the half-brother of the Lord Jesus, is particularly referencing the wisdom we need when compassed about by the various difficulties we encounter in our everyday lives and the tough choices we are all required to make. James was at enmity with God and scornful towards his older sibling. It must have been shocking for this young man to discover that the brother whom he had treated with such contempt, during his life, was his Lord and his Savior.

This bond-servant of Christ may have lacked wisdom in his earlier days but was ready to admit his folly and willing to share with us how easy it is to gain godly wisdom and spiritual understanding. James began his lesson on wisdom by pointing out that the suffering of this life produces patient endurance, which will furnish us with spiritual maturity

There are times when we do not know what to do or which way to turn, and I am sure that James was shocked and mortified when the resurrected Christ visited his petulant, younger brother. But James was a young man with a teachable spirit, who was quick to embrace the wisdom of faith he lacked, and encourages those of us who are deficient in spiritual insight to ask the Lord for the necessary wisdom we need – and not to doubt that He will provide for us liberally.

God knows that we are weak and frail and He knows that the testing our faith can cause us to complain or murmur or to become unsteady in our Christian walk.. but God provides all the wisdom we need to maintain a steady heart, patient endurance, and an unwavering, un-compromised faith in Him. God delights to give generously to all who ask – but we must be prepared to ask Him, to listen to His voice, and to obey His Word.

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-stability-of-our-times

Have we ever ached for stability as much as we do now — for the semblance of some new normal, for a return, unmasked and un-distanced, to human life?

Many of us alive today have lived through little societal turmoil and upheaval. We have not endured wars on our native soil. Until now, we have not faced anything like a global pandemic months on end, and the uncertainty and chaos it’s brought around the world, even to the seemingly steadiest of societies.

In wisdom and love, Jesus allowed Peter to be sifted (Luke 22:31). So too his church has been sifted in these days. Our plans, our work, our finances, our relationships, our information sources, our preferences — we have seen that many of the structures and seeming givens in our world are not as sure and steady as we assumed. The instability has exposed a softness, fickleness, and frailty in those around us, and in our own selves. Some humble, long-overlooked saints are shining like never before. Other people have been washed away, revealing they had built their lives on sand.

The stability we need most in days like these, however, is not first and foremost our own. We need the fulfillment of the great prophetic promise that our God “will be the stability of your times” (Isaiah 33:6). How does he do that? We look first to a stability outside ourselves. The old word for it is steadfastness, as Paul prays,

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. (2 Thessalonians 3:5)

In their respective Christian virtue-progressions, Peter, Paul, and James all highlight the need for endurance, or steadfastness (Greek hupomoné) — the ability to bear up under trial. “Make every effort to supplement your . . . self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness” (2 Peter 1:5–6). “Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character” (Romans 5:3–4). “The testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:3–4).

Steadfastness, holding fast, is a critical facet of Christian maturity. We do not become complete or godly without it.

The virtue of steadfastness presupposes such waves, big and small — trials, conflicts, difficulties, pressures that would move the ship, and even send her out to sea, were it not for the steadfast anchor, holding the vessel firmly in place. Peter, Paul, and James mention the waves that threaten to carry us away: “our sufferings” (Romans 5:3), “trials of various kinds” (James 1:2) , “the corruption that is in the world” (2 Peter 1:4). Steadfastness isn’t a virtue that shines in comfort but in conflict — under trial (James 1:12), in persecutions, afflictions, and sufferings (2 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Timothy 3:10–11).

https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-do-i-wait-for-god

So, the first thing that waiting on God means is this: before you make one peep of an effort to solve your own problem or hire a human agency, pray. Seek the counsel of God. What is his way to solve this problem and bring you out of trouble? It says in Psalm 106:13, “They soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.”

The first act of waiting, therefore, is prayer — before we make one little move to solve our problem. And I know, if you’re like me, you’ve come through many efforts, and an hour into it you say, “I forgot to pray.” And we need to work to form the habit of stopping again and again and again. That’s what Paul means, I think, when he says, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Before you do anything, at every little occasion of your life — every interview, every encounter — whisper a prayer. “How would it go if I relied on you? What do you want me to do?” And then do what the Lord says.

We are like patients. Prayer is like getting on the phone and calling up your doctor and saying, “I’m in trouble; there’s this pain. What should I do about it?” Before you gulp down any medicine or start doing jumping jacks, call the doctor. God says to the people,

“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
     in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
But you were unwilling, and you said,
“No! We will flee upon horses”;
     therefore you shall flee away;
and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”;
     therefore your pursuers shall be swift.

Then Be Still and Rest

So, the second thing that waiting for the Lord means is this: after you’ve prayed to the doctor and he says, “Be still,” be still and rest.

But now here’s the essence. Now, get this carefully, because we’re so prone to think that waiting means stillness, but as soon as we start acting — preparing a sermon or a lesson, going to work, preparing a report, staying up late to work, work, work — we don’t have to wait anymore. That’s not the case because — and this changes all of life — there is a spirit of waiting in the midst of work. Proverbs 21:31 says this: The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord. It means that when the Lord says “Go,” he doesn’t stop waiting. He carries with him into battle a spirit of expectancy, a sense that “Yes, I will fight with all my might, but I must wait on the one in whose hands alone is the victory.” No matter how hard you work, there should be a spirit of waiting, a spirit of expectancy, a spirit that out of and through all this activity is going to come lightning from heaven to do supernatural work.

Even when we are watchmen doing our duty, we must be waiting for the Lord, for he alone brings safety. So, the third form of waiting is this: even when the Lord says “Act,” we act with a spirit of reliance on his work, and we wait for the Lord in a spirit of expectancy that even though our labor is vulnerable and paltry, the final result of all we do lies in the hands of the Lord. And on that we wait in all our work.

So, whether we lie still and sit, or whether we work, let us have this in common: that we wait for the Lord, that we have a spirit of expectancy that no matter how paltry our labors are, the final issue is in the hands of the Lord. And he loves to work for those who wait for him.

The Reason God Sometimes Delays His Answers

https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/why-does-god-wait-to-answer-prayer/

Why would God wait to answer our prayers?  Wouldn’t we expect that since God is all-powerful that He would answer immediately?  What is the purpose for God’s delaying our prayer requests?

One reason that God may not answer our prayers or that He waits is that we are asking for the wrong thing.  We may be asking for something that is not in God’s will for our lives and we might be asking for selfish reasons.  James, the half-brother of Jesus wrote, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures”(James 4:3).

In the  Lord’s Prayer, we are to ask that His will be done on earth just as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10).   We know that God’s will for believers is to grow in grace and knowledge, so we can ask for spiritual understanding of His Word just before we read the Bible.  There is confidence in praying when we know His will for out lives as it says in I John 5:14-15, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

When we pray, we may have serious doubts about God’s ability or willingness to answer our prayer.  James 12:6-7 indicates that if we pray in doubt, God will not honor our requests saying, “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.”  God may be waiting for us to pray in real faith, in expectation of receiving an answer, or to see if we are serious enough to continue to pray for it.

God will not answer the prayer of a believer if they are in a state of perpetual, unrepentant sin (I Pet. 3:12). Psalm 66:18 is clear that “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.“ If we are obedient, He will hear our prayers (John 15:7) but if we are unforgiving, He will refuse our petitions before His altar (Matt. 18:35). 

God also expects us to wait patiently on His perfect timing (Psalm 66:18).  In Hebrews 10:36, “For you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.” The minor prophet, Habakkuk speaks for all of us when he grew impatient in waiting for God to answer his request in 1:2, “How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen?” 

https://www.georgemuller.org/blog/god-often-delays-answering-prayer-by-charles-spurgeon

Our Father has reasons peculiar to himself for thus keeping us waiting. Sometimes it is to show his power and his sovereignty, that men may know that Jehovah has a right to give or to withhold. More frequently the delay is for our profit. Thou art perhaps kept waiting in order that thy desires may be more fervent. God knows that delay will quicken and increase desire, and that if he keeps thee waiting thou wilt see thy necessity more clearly, and wilt seek more earnestly; and that thou wilt prize the mercy all the more for its long tarrying. There may also be something wrong in thee which has need to be removed, before the joy of the Lord is given. Perhaps thy views of the Gospel plan are confused, or thou mayest be placing some little reliance on thyself, instead of trusting simply and entirely to the Lord Jesus. Or, God makes thee tarry awhile that he may the more fully display the riches of his grace to thee at last. Thy prayers are all filed in heaven, and if not immediately answered they are certainly not forgotten, but in a little while shall be fulfilled to thy delight and satisfaction. Let not despair make thee silent, but continue instant in earnest supplication.

What to Do While Waiting

https://unlockingthebible.org/2017/08/what-to-do-while-youre-waiting-on-god/

Ten things to do while waiting on God

• Believe that the God who saved you hears your cries (Micah 7:7).
• Watch with expectancy, but be prepared for unexpected answers (Psalm 5:3).
• Put your hope in his Word (Psalm 130:5-6).
• Trust in the Lord, not in your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).
• Resist fretting, refrain from anger, be still, and choose patience (Psalm 37:7-8).
• Be strong and take courage (Psalm 27:13-14; 31:24).
• See it as an opportunity to experience God’s goodness (Psalm 27:13; Lamentations 3:25).
• Wait for God’s promise instead of going your own way (Acts 1:4)
• Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2)
• Remember the blessings yet to come (Isaiah 30:18)

Susannah Spurgeon, wife of Charles Spurgeon, counseled her own heart with these words: The Lord has strewn the pages of of God’s Word with promises of blessedness to those who wait for Him. And remember, His slightest Word stands fast and sure; it can never fail you. So, my soul, see that you have a promise underneath thee, for then your waiting will be resting and a firm foothold for your hope will give you confidence in Him who has said, ‘They shall not be ashamed that wait for Me.’”

Live for God’s Glory

https://gbfc.org/blog/2018/5/6/living-for-gods-glory

The concept is simple, really. We, as Christians, have been, the Bible tells us, bought with a price, and so we now belong to Him. Christ ransomed us, purchased us, made us His, and so we now, being His, are to live our lives for His glory. That is what each of these three verses speaks to.

In the first one, Ephesians 1:12, Paul spends several verses just talking about the gospel, the fact that Christ came, Christ saved us, God chose us, we are His, our sins are forgiven in Christ. He talks about the splendor, the mystery, the eternal, majestic gift of salvation, and then comes verse 12 which is kind of a purpose statement that tells us the result of these fantastic truths. What is the purpose, the reason for all that Christ has done for us? It is so that we might be “for the praise of His glory!”

The issue in 1 Cor 10:31 is to do all for the glory and honor of God. If you eat, do so for God’s glory, if you drink, do so for God’s glory, if you do anything else, do that too for God’s glory. This means do all things in obedience to Him, in a way that is loving and honoring toward Him. All things, everything for His glory.

One thing I really like about this passage is how it is all-inclusive. What I mean is that at the end Paul adds, “or whatever you do.” That includes everything we do. In everything we ought to think, how can I glorify God, how can I make Him known, how can I present Him with my speech and with my life? 

2 Cor 5:9 has context that is important for us to understand to get its full meaning. Paul is not talking about home in your house or on vacation away from your house. He is talking about home as alive in your current body and away being away from your current body, having left this life as we know it.

So Paul is saying whether you are dead, away from this body, or alive, in this body, either way we are to make it our aim to please Him. To please Him is to glorify Him. Our place, our mission, our aim is to be to do what is pleasing to God, to glorify God on this earth.

Chapters 23, 24 – Questions

1. Pg 174 ( Thrasher ) “ He loves us so much that He has not sentenced us to serve Him with an anxious heart and distracted mind. The Lord wants to train us to enjoy Him in all of our endeavors.“ Read and discuss Luke 10:38-42 and pages 173-175 in the book. Share good points, new insights of Thrasher’s interpretation.
2. Pg 178 -180  “ In prayer God is seeking to get us under His loving authority”…..discuss what it means to submit to God.  Read scripture and discuss what it means to” live for His glory “ ( see pages 182-183 )
   • Ephesians 1:12 – so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
   • 1 Corinthians 10:31 – So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
   • 2 Corinthians 5:9 – So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
3. There are 5 purposes of God in prayer in Chapter 24. What area is most difficult to follow ?
4. Pg 177-178: Three stories of people praying to God, but their prayers were not answered the way they wanted, and the result for them was anguish, disappointment, cynical skepticism, and bitterness. What can you say to these people to help them better understand why their prayers were not answered.
5. Good verses on waiting….. ( just something extra !!!)
   • Isa 30:18
   • Psalm 130:5
   • Psalm 27:14
   • Isa 64:4
   • Psalm 40:1
   • Lam 3:25-26

http://www.philipkosloski.com/how-to-make-time-for-prayer-in-a-busy-schedule/

…..from Stephen Covey’s book First Things First. He explains how often when we create a daily schedule, we try to add things on to our busy schedule without prioritizing what is most important. Covey writes, “The key, however, is not to prioritize your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” If we sit down to make our daily schedule, write down everything and then try to add prayer, it will never happen. However, if we sit down and schedule prayer first, then we are setting ourselves up for success and we will be able to get a lot more done.

We need to discern what our priorities are in life, schedule those first, and then everything else will fall into place. Too often we make the “sand” or “little rocks” in life more important and that is why we end-up failing when it comes to prayer.

Another essential principal that will help you develop a daily prayer routine is to schedule prayer in the morning and evening. I have learned from personal experience that if I don’t pray first thing in the morning, it never happens. I can never rely on the day being the same, as something always comes up. However, the time in morning and evening are like blank slates that typically stay constant.

The key is to make it a habit. We all have daily habits, such as brushing our teeth. We don’t need to think about habits, they simply “happen.” Habits are so ingrained into our daily schedule that if we disrupt a habit, we feel like something is missing.

The most important part of establishing a schedule of prayer is to be intentional about it. We can’t say to ourselves that we will pray every day and then expect it to happen. We need to be deliberate and make it a priority, putting pen to paper.

https://bacc.cc/5-ways-to-overcome-the-struggle-to-pray/

“….And when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of their afflictions and pains, and spreading out their hands toward this temple— then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive, and deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know the human heart)” 2 Chronicles 6:29-30  (NIV)

When we’re too busy, tired, stressed or unmotivated to pray,  it’s because we’ve become hardened from living in denial of what’s going on inside our hearts and lives. The struggle to pray reflects our resistance to be influenced.  It is through the scriptures and honest conversations with friends that God helps us develop awareness about our  true motives, emotions, thoughts, sins and desires. (Hebrews 4:12-13, Proverbs 20:5)  We can’t be vulnerable with what we are unaware of. Rather than isolate, welcome the daily influence of spiritual relationships and the Bible to develop heart awareness that will make your prayers real rather than religious.

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” Matthew 6:6 (NIV)   

No meaningful conversation (especially prayer) can be had in a place filled with distractions. Find a specific place where your only focus is God, which means closing the door to any distractions, whether from your phone, home, school, workplace, or social media.  God wants to hear from you, not your texts, emails, or the stressors around you. Set out inspiring places and times where he’ll have your undivided attention.

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” James 5:16 (NIV)

We struggle to pray when we stop believing our prayers really matter. Specific confession of sin is what makes our prayers effective. To confess means to agree with with God about our sin—how he views, thinks, and feels about the impact of our sin on our relationship with him and others. (2 Corinthians 7:10-11) When our primary aim is to deny or minimize our sins (Psalm 66:19-20), prayer becomes a religious practice in ineffectiveness, rather than a refreshing turning point to transformative change.

The struggle to pray is marked with a disinterest in understanding the lives and needs of others. Without understanding we can’t genuinely love others. Inspired prayers are fueled by love. Love invigorates us to overcome the walls we hit. When we expect God to attend to and understand our every need and struggle, but lack this same understanding and concern for others (e.g. husbands for wives), how can we expect God to be moved? Specificity reflects our depth of care and understanding for people. We develop understanding for others through prayer and by spending more effort considering others and less time on self. God reveals to us original thoughts and ways to inspire, involve and influence others through us when we pray about others specifically.

“Always be joyful and never stop praying. Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (CEV)

The times when we hit a wall, quit praying specifically, or stop praying altogether, we can be sure it was preceded by a loss of gratitude. Gratitude is what jump-starts our prayer life, renews our faith, and inspires others about what God can do rather than what we cannot. Evaluate your prayer life not by length of time, but how much more gratitude for God and love for others you walk away with. The resilience to overcome our walls is developed in this kind of prayer.

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-heart-of-spiritual-disciplines

Many of us struggle to read our Bibles and pray on a daily basis. Therefore, when we do, we rarely question our motivation. It’s easy to assume that Bible reading and prayer are magic bullets — if we read and pray, we will grow. It’s not that simple. As Charles Spurgeon puts it, “It is not enough to do the correct thing; it must be done in a right spirit, and with a 
pure motive. A good action is not wholly good unless it be done for the glory of God, 
and because of the greatness and goodness of his holy name.”

The state of our heart is of utmost importance as we practice spiritual disciplines. It’s possible to read our Bibles, pray, attend Lord’s Day worship, and even take the Lord’s Supper for all types of carnal reasons. Unless we do it for God’s glory, and our joy in him, it does us no ultimate good.

An inherent danger in spiritual disciplines is a propensity of the human heart to look to self-effort or practices or methodologies for growth. It is important to understand what is going on underneath the disciplines. What is the motivation for the discipline?

So one of the most significant things in spiritual disciplines is understanding the affections of your heart. Is the motive Christ? Is the means Christ?

Take for instance, the proverbial quiet time. If you ask someone anonymously, or maybe on a survey, What do you really think? What do you really think is happening when you have your quiet time or when you don’t have your quiet time? I think most evangelicals actually believe they phase in and out of God’s love based on their performance.

Consequently, the quiet time often becomes simply a means by which they follow the discipline of reading Scripture versus a time where they use the Scripture to adore and worship God in Christ for who he is and for all he has done for them. But what is fascinating is: You can’t tell when you are just looking on the outside.

Chapter 15 Questions

• Pg 114 (top of page) ” but steal their time so they do not have time to have an intimate fellowship with Christ “  How is your time stolen….or how do you thwart Satan when he tries to steal your time !
• Pg 114 “Devote yourself to prayer “. What does this look like ?  How is our devotion different than Daniel’s ?
• Pg 114 – Hudson Taylor  “ As wounds when healed often leave a scar, so the sin of neglected communion may be forgiven and yet the effect remain permanently “. Please discuss this quote.
• Pg 115 ” the problem of maintaining a systematic devotional time was identified as their greatest spiritual struggle. “   Is this true or false for you ?
• “ Cultivating meaningful disciplines in our lives is a struggle, and if a person has never known anything of a struggle there is likely a lack of depth in the persons development “. Please discuss these statements  .
• Pg 116-117   Recap the the words of Pastor J. Sidlow Baxter in these pages and discuss what he was saying  . What can his words teach us ?
• Were there any new insights/thoughts in the book or in the notes that you would like to share ?

• Temptations and snares (1 Timothy 6:9, Hebrews 12:4)
• Difficult circumstances (death, divorce, loss of job, sickness, etc) James 5:14;
• Social and economic persecution (James 2:6)
• God’s discipline (Hebrews 12:5-11). Can also be consequences of sin (addiction, jail, etc)
• Due to choices we make in following Jesus (1 Peter 4:12-19, Hebrews 10:32-39, 1 Cor 4:9-13)

Our greatest tragedies press the hardest, darkest questions on our soul. “Has God abandoned me“? “Is he really in charge and also good“? “Is he even there“?

Are there exceptions which do not apply regarding our trials in James 1:2? If so, what are they?

I have often wrestled with whether some of these promises really apply to me since I am sinful.

• But the gospel is all about Jesus being my righteousness. The promises apply to me, because I have been clothed with the righteousness of Jesus
• EXCEPT – and this is a big exception: this is only for true believers! It applies to James “brethren” (vs 2). In that case no promises apply, except the invitation that if we come to Christ He will not cast us away.
• For believers, there are no exceptions at all. There are no qualifying statements about what kind of trials this applies to.
  • Romans 8:28
  • 2 Cor 4:17-18

What does James mean by “Count it all joy”?

• Joy does not come naturally, but we are being encouraged to choose joy.
• Joy is not the same as happiness. It does not depend on our circumstances.
  • Present joy: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you … ” (John 15:11)
  • Future joy: ” … and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).  Jesus endured the cross “for the (future) joy that was set before Him” (Heb 12:2).

This is the sense in which we are to count it all joy. A future joy is promised to us, that is fantastic.

James 1:3-5: Why does James tell us to be joyful in the midst of trials?

• Trials “produce” steadfastness. We can think of our trials as a “steadfastness factory”. The more the trials, the greater the steadfastness.
• Even Jesus “learned” obedience by the things He suffered (Heb 5:8).
• For true believers there is no other possible outcome. This is a cause and effect. See also 2 Cor 4:17-18

It plays a critical role in making us become like Jesus, and ends in His as well as our glory (Rom 8:28, 2 Cor 4:17, Rom 8:18, Matt 5:12, Rom 5:3-11, 1 Peter 1:6-7).

“Faith does not flourish when it lies untested. It atrophies when it goes un-exercised. And eventually it dies. So, when God loves us with his saving love, and gives us saving faith, he commits, because he cares for us, to inject our lives with various trials to train, grow, sweeten, strengthen, and mature what matters most in us. Our “various trials” in this life are not superfluous to our enduring in faith. And they are not just threats to losing our faith. They are one of God’s essential means through which he preserves the faith he has given us and keeps us as his own.” – David Matthis

James 1:3,4 – What does James mean by “steadfastness”?

• It is important to note that this does not mean “perfect, steady faith”. The whole point is that trials are often designed to stretch our faith to its limit. We struggle, we falter, we stumble, our faith sometimes fails.
• Steadfastness means “staying the course. persevering to the end”.
• Through the worst of trials, we cling to God in hope and in faith even if we wander temporarily

What do we learn about God related to our trials and temptations?

• God is in control in the midst of our trials. There are no accidents – Jesus rules the universe: Matt 28:18, Eph 1:22
• He is working out His purposes within us during our trials

Examples

1. Christians during the plague (Ad 265). “Then, a century later came another great plague. Once again the Greco-Roman world trembled as, on all sides, family, friends, and neighbors died horribly. No one knew how to treat the stricken. Nor did most people try. During the first plague, the famous classical physician Galen fled Rome for his country estate where he stayed until the danger subsided. But for those who could not flee, the typical response was to try to avoid any contact with the afflicted, since it was understood that the disease was contagious. Hence, when their first symptom appeared, victims often were thrown into the streets, where the dead and dying lay in piles. … the impact of Christian mercy was so evident that in the fourth century when the emperor Julian attempted to restore paganism, he exhorted the pagan priesthood to compete with the Christian charities. In a letter to the high priest of Galatia, Julian urged the distribution of grain and wine to the poor, noting that “the impious Galileans [Christians], in addition to their own, support ours, [and] it is shameful that our poor should be wanting our aid.” But there was little or no response to Julian’s proposals because there were no doctrines and no traditional practices for the pagan priest to build upon…. Christians believed in life everlasting.“
2. John Paton. Two missionaries landed in 1839, and were killed and eaten by the cannibals soon after they went ashore. Paton goes there. His wife and child die within his first year of being there. He continues there alone under incredible circumstances of constant danger. “A wild chief followed me around for four hours with his loaded musket, and, though often directed towards me, God restrained his hand … Looking up in unceasing prayer to our dear Lord Jesus, I left all in his hands, and felt immortal till my work was done“. “My heart rose up to the Lord Jesus; I saw Him watching all the scene. My peace came back to me like a wave from God. I realized that I was immortal till my Master’s work with me was done. The assurance came to me, as if a voice out of Heaven had spoken, that not a musket would be fired to wound us, not a club prevail to strike us, not a spear leave the hand in which it was held vibrating to be thrown, not an arrow leave the bow, or a killing stone the fingers, without the permission of Jesus Christ, whose is all power in Heaven and on Earth. He rules all Nature, animate and inanimate, and restrains even the Savage of the South Seas.” “My constant custom was, in order to prevent war, to run right in between the contending parties. My faith enabled me to grasp and realize the promise, ‘Lo, I am with you alway.’ In Jesus I felt invulnerable and immortal, so long as I was doing his work“. The entire village came to Christ by the end of his serving there over 45 years

James 1:5-8 – What wisdom is James encouraging us to ask for?

• The wisdom he is referring to in this context, is the wisdom to know this at the deepest levels in our hearts.
• The wisdom to choose to make difficult choices even if it invites trials, in following Jesus.
  • Choosing not to sin when we are tempted
  • Knowing when we are wandering from our faith or hardening our hearts
  • Choosing to repent before God and others, and to make it right with those we wronged.
  • Being a bold witness at work
• Ultimately, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 9:10). So having the right understanding of God and His purposes is true wisdom.

James 1:6 – How are we to ask God for wisdom?

• Confidence that God will give it to us without doubting
• This kind of wisdom is supernatural. We need to trust that God wants to give it to us.

James 1:2-8 – The long term effect of trials

• Sometimes we have the benefit of hindsight when we see God’s bigger purposes in our past trials.
• These experiences begin to build a reservoir in our hearts and in our minds
• We can recall examples of Scripture (e.g. Joseph, Ruth, Daniel, etc)
• We can recall our own past experiences of God’s faithfulness.
• This enables us to grow in our faith and to grow in steadfastness (“if God was so faithful in my life before, I can trust Him to be with me now, and to use this for my good”).

Questions to Think About

1. What is my response to trials in my life?
2. Do I ask God for His wisdom?
3. How has God sustained or grown me through trials and temptations?