While you’re doing some housecleaning, take some time to examine some of your possessions. Do they generally reflect God in your life or would they indicate to others that Christ is only a part of your life and not Lord? We are instructed in Romans 12:2:

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

As you are cleaning up your office, garage, backyard or some other area in your home, pray while you’re cleaning and throwing things away. Ask God if there are any areas in your life that need cleaning up. Are there some habits that need to be thrown away? Are there some attitudes that need refining? Perhaps you should make it a goal to do a spiritual cleaning once a month so that issues never grow to the point of needing a complete overhaul.

Since learning of Dorcas’ situation, I began to pray that God would enable her to be strong, that He would shield her from getting an infection and that she would be healed and able to walk out of that hospital room. I wish that I could be the bearer of good news and report that my prayers were answered. The reality is that Dorcas died, went home to be with the Lord and was buried a few weeks ago.

It has been a very difficult time at ROW, and especially for Omba and his family. The pain and the sorrow are very real. Death hurts those who are left behind to grieve. However, death is a part of life. Being born, growing up, living your alloted amount of time here on earth and then going to be with the Lord is merely the cycle of life. We all have the same plan for our lives. The only difference is the choice we make in this life as to where we will spend eternity.

Do not think for a second that the Lord takes lightly the dying of his children. We are precious in His sight, regardless if we are serving Him or not. For those of us who have made Jesus the Lord of our lives, we can find comfort in Psalm 116:15 when one of our loved ones goes through the doorway to eternity. This verse says:

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”

Although we certainly rejoice in the memory of Dorcas and in knowing she is healed and safe in the arms of Jesus, we still ask that you take time to remember her family in prayer. This precious family is part of the ROW family and when they hurt, we hurt.

Dorcas Ngandu sings for ROW

We have been involved in one particular country for four years. We have written permission in this country to conduct medical mission services. We take full advantage of this opportunity by also doing a lot of evangelistic work as well.

Several questions have been raised regarding ROW serving in this country. Logistically, it is difficult to get to, it is expensive, there are many challenges and we don’t have a partner in that country. This is where I need your advice. ROW has invested quite a bit already in this country. We either need to establish a full-time presence or we simply need to move on. What would you do if you were in our situation?

When Christ ascended to heaven, He left the Holy Spirit to serve as a comforter, counselor, helper and guide. If you are facing a difficult time in your life or a challenging decision, read Psalm 32:8:

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”

Help is always just a prayer away. In decisions great and small, we should always seek to know the will of God. Follow His leading and you will remain on the straight and narrow path.

Sam has had one of the most distinguished careers of anyone I know. He was a former Merrill’s Marauder in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II, he served as a CIA field case officer, was a Special Forces group commander and served as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Sam was also appointed the 22nd president of Hampden-Sydney College in 1992.

During the dedication ceremony, Sam got up to speak and in his usual humble and eloquent way he reminded us that leadership today and leadership in the future for this nation must include a strong spiritual foundation. As I was sitting in the audience, in my mind I saw Gen. George Washington on his knees at the crossing of the Delaware, lifting his men to prayer and seeking God’s guidance.

Personally, if that cannot become a part of who we are once again, we will simply be lost as a nation. Let me encourage you today to take the lead in this by getting on your knees and praying for the leaders of this country. Ask God that our leaders will be restored to a very strong and very vocal faith.

The Apostle Paul understood the importance of prayer, particularly for those in positions of authority. We read in 1 Timothy 2:1-2:

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

If we have godly men and women representing us at all levels of politics, we can be certain our lives will indeed be more peaceful and blessed.

I just happened to notice a huge African thunderstorm brewing between two large mountains. I didn’t want these people to miss the movie so I stood there and said, “Storm, I have come all the way from Georgia to show these people this movie. If you come blowing in here you’re going to ruin the whole thing so you just stay right there.” So for the next two hours, me and my friend, Mike Reinsel rebuked that storm. Sure enough, two hours later that storm was still between those two mountains!

As we were packing up everything to leave that village, I noticed the storm was advancing. In the midst of the rain, thunder and lightning, we had to get in a dugout canoe and head up the river a couple of hours back to our base camp. We arrived at our camp and tents were rolling down the sandbar. Once we got our tents situated again, it was discovered that one tent was missing. That meant that I had to share my two-man tent with a father and his daughter. All I could hear that evening was snoring!

I recall lying there having a conversation with the Lord in my mind. I said, “You know Lord, what did I do to deserve this!” The Lord said, “Do you remember that storm?” I said, “I couldn’t miss it.” The Lord said, “You know, when that storm blew up you could have told it to go away, but you didn’t. So I let that storm just stay there and then I let that storm follow you out of the village and chase all of you down the river. I further let that storm destroy your camp and now I’m going to let this father and his daughter, along with this storm, keep you awake all night long so you can think about the fact that you have grown comfortable in your faith and your faith wasn’t strong enough to tell the storm to go away.”

Has it ever occurred to you that Jesus desires for us to present our petitions to Him specifically? Do you recall the story of blind Bartimaeus? When he discovered that Jesus was nearby, he cried out asking Jesus to have mercy on him.

Read Jesus’ reaction in Mark 10:51-52:

“What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked him. The blind man said, ‘Rabbi, I want to see.’ ‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”

Notice that Bartimaeus asked Jesus specifically for the ability to see. Jesus in turn answered that prayer, crediting Bartimaeus with having faith. But, notice too that Bartimaeus was so grateful for his sight being restored that he immediately followed Jesus. When you pray, ask the Lord precisely what you desire, expect Him to answer according to His will and then praise Him when the answer is brought forth.

Pulling into the sandy parking lot, we grab some plastic chairs and walk to the gathering spot. The “church” consists of a big tin roof, open on the sides with no electricity. Watching the Congolese people worship is truly a life changing experience. Their deep abiding faith in God is evident upon their radiant faces and can certainly be heard in their powerful singing.

The church experience includes people reading scripture, preaching and vibrant singing. Thousands of Christians from all different backgrounds gather under this open air church. When we start praying, you can hear at least 40 different languages petitioning the throne of God. As we are all kneeling in the sand, the thousands of prayers being spoken sounds like a huge thunderstorm rolling across that tin roof, rising and falling in a wave of people praying.

The first time I attended a service at this church, I asked Omba Ngandu, Congo program director for Rivers of the World (ROW), what were the prayers being offered up by the people. He said to me, “For the first time in 45 years, our country has a chance to be free and we know that unless we fight the forces of darkness in our country, we will not be free. We come here to pray the basics of our faith. We come here for spiritual combat.”

I wonder what would happen in America if we set aside our denominational differences and we all came together in a common bond of loving Jesus and glorifying God. It is time that we get back to the basics of our faith, unite together and exercise the most powerful weapon a Christian has, which is prayer.

Today, cling to 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, which states:

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Do you long to see America set free from the bondage of sin that prevails in our society? Come before the Lord daily and do battle on your knees and soon those strongholds will be demolished, one by one until Christ returns for His people.

I try to begin my prayers by thanking Jesus for what He did so that I might have life. The other day when I was thanking Him for dying on the cross, I suddenly paused when I thought about why He died on the cross. Think about what you are doing with your life now that He has forgiven you and transformed you. My thoughts went something like this, “Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross so that I can skip church, complain about the government, whine about my life, look down on other people, etc.

Take a moment to fill in the blank. How do you normally pray? Do you spend more time complaining about what is lacking in your life or more time praising God for what He has given you? Do you present a long list of things you want that you believe will make you happier or do you simply thank Him for who He is and what He has already done for you?

Jesus encourages us to present our petitions before Him, however, we must first come before Him and thank Him for what He has already provided. True, Jesus did die so that there would be no barrier between us and God. He made a way for us to have genuine life and have it more abundantly. However, with our new life, we should live in such a way that we bring honor and glory to Him.

No matter how desperate King David’s circumstances were, he always found a way to praise God. In the midst of seeking refuge from his enemies David proclaimed, in Psalm 63:3:

“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.”

Daily we should be living testimonies of God’s wondrous grace, mercy and love. If you are finding it difficult to see beyond your circumstances in order to praise God, then praise Him simply because of His vast love for you. Live your life so that Christ’s death was not in vain.

If you are bothered by the way things are going, then I suggest that you turn that energy into prayer. Let’s pray that God intervenes in a miraculous way to wake up some of the folks who have been elected to do a job in Washington, D.C., in our state governments and even at the local level.

Let’s attempt to do something in order to get America back on track to where it resembles the America we once knew and loved. We must never give up hope that God can work through our prayers, even for those serving in our government.

The Apostle Paul stated in 1 Timothy 2:1-2:

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

Do you want to know the key to having a measure of peace in this world? It is prayer. There are wars and rumors of wars throughout the world. We need to be intentional in our praying that God would place godly leaders in power. When was the last time you prayed for those vying for political office? Have you prayed lately for the unrest in the Middle East? Let’s use the most powerful weapon we have to combat corrupt leaders, apathy in America and evil forces influencing many in power worldwide. That weapon is prayer. Choose to use it wisely today.

This may sound so simple, and it is, but it should cause us to pause and be thankful for those people who are around us. Let me encourage you to divide up next week and to daily set aside time to pray for those you often neglect in prayer. Too frequently our prayers are focused upon our immediate needs, our closest friends and our family. Our prayers should include our pastors, missionaries associated with our church, government officials, etc.

Even though we say amen at the end of our prayers, we should strive to pray without ceasing. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:18 (Amplified):

“Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God‘s consecrated people).”

This verse does not say we are to only have our time of prayer in the morning or at night when we go to bed. It does not state that we are to only pray when times are difficult in our lives. And, it does not say we are to merely pray for our family and friends. Read it again. Our prayers should be intentional. We should have a prayer on our lips or in our thoughts at all times, during times of trouble and times of blessing. We should have a spirit of discernment to know who in our life is in need of prayer. Try sitting quietly before the Lord and asking Him who in your church, at work, in your community, etc. is in need of prayer. Commit this holiday season, and in the year ahead, to praying fervently for fellow Christians.

In the parking lot stood a young man with a cell phone stuck to the side of his head. He was pacing back and forth while he was talking and drinking a frozen latte. We watched as he fluctuated from smiling one minute to obviously angry the next, evidenced by thrashing his arms. Then, we witnessed a small smile, a sign of resignation, and what appeared to be hope, which came at the end of the conversation we could not hear.

We set aside our agenda and began praying for that young man right there in that coffee shop. We prayed thinking that perhaps the Lord was putting him through something that was tough, but even so that it would end up being a blessing for him. 3 came up with a wonderful phrase, “I hope that young man grows a new heart.”

As you go through your day today, look around you and if you see someone who is struggling, stop what you are doing and pray for that person. Pray that the Lord would use the difficult time in their life to help them grow in their faith and walk with Him.

The best way to demonstrate that the gospel is true is to imitate the life of Christ. We can do this by following Colossians 3:12:

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

When we walk in humility and extend a hand of kindness and compassion in this dark world, we effectively shine forth the light of Jesus Christ. So, tell me, how concerned are you about others?

I am not sure who started it first, but someone took a magic marker and wrote a note inside my bulletproof vest. Before I knew it, countless signatures, prayers and Bible verses covered the entire vest. This reminded me that not only would the bulletproof vest cover me physically while in Iraq, but that I also had a tremendous covering of prayer by so many people who would be bringing me before the Lord while I was serving overseas.

This scenario also reminded me of the importance of Christians praying for fellow Christians. From time to time I have shared some prayer concerns of mine, seeking the support of others to hold me up before the Lord. Well now, I am inviting you to share your concerns with me. If you feel comfortable sharing your prayer concerns, send me an email at ben@row.org. I’m not asking for a novel or anything, but just jot down a few lines of what your burdens are so I can take them before the Lord.

The best gift we can give one another is the privilege of carrying each other’s burdens. We are reminded of this in Galatians 6:2:

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

I believe to carry someone’s burden encompasses showing compassion to that person, demonstrating a genuine concern for the person’s problem and above all else, it means to carry the burden and place it at the feet of Jesus on behalf of the one in need. When we do that, we fulfill the law of Christ, which is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself.

It is all about the arena in which you perform, and in my case, it is more important that I be up to speed on the conditions in Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, Belize and other countries that Rivers of the World (ROW) serves.

Let me remind you of what Knute Rockne, famous Notre Dame football coach, once said, “I’ve found that prayers work best when you have big players.” I could not agree more. I have found that my prayers usually work best when I am able to remember that I serve a mighty God who loves me, supports me and encourages me. He holds us up during the difficult times so that we may have the ability to love and serve others.

When you bow your head to pray, remember that the Holy Spirit is right there with you, guiding you, protecting you, providing wisdom and imparting peace and joy. I realize that there are many times during our journey with the Lord that our circumstances appear impossible. We simply cannot see a way out of the situation. If you feel that way today, be encouraged and strengthened by reading Luke 1:37 (Amplified):

“For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.”

The question is simply, do you believe this or not?