Don't Let Sin Slow You Down!

“We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” – Hebrews 10:30

When I think of running a race with perseverance, Cliff Young comes to mind. Who is Cliff Young? An Australian sheepherder and potato farmer, of course! In 1983, Australia began hosting what was, at the time, the most grueling foot race on earth: a seven-day, 543-mile ultra-marathon stretching from Sydney to Melbourne. That’s like running from Victorville to Sacramento, hanging a left and running 85 miles to San Francisco, then topping it all off by running back-to-back marathons around the city. 

The day the Sydney ultra-marathon started, 150 world-class runners showed up. And guess who showed up to run with them: Cliff Young. At the age of 61, Cliff approached the registration table, wearing overalls and rain boots, and declared his intention to run. You see, Cliff had grown up on a farm without the luxury of a horse or a four-wheel drive. So, when the storms rolled in, Cliff had to put on his rain boots and run for two or three straight days to round up 2,000 sheep over a 2,000-acre farm. To Cliff, running an ultra-marathon sounded like another day on the farm.

When Cliff started running, spectators thought, “This must be a joke!” Because he didn’t really run. It was more of a leisurely old-man shuffle. Australians were glued to their TVs, saying things like: “Someone should stop that crazy old man before he kills himself!” But five days, 15 hours, and four minutes later, after shuffling for 543 miles, Cliff Young shuffled across the finish line in Melbourne—in first place. And he didn’t win by a few seconds, or even by a few minutes. Catch this: The second-place runner was nine hours and 56 minutes behind him. You see, during the race, Cliff shuffled along day and night with almost no sleep, until he crossed the finish line. And the 61-year-old sheepherder who defied all odds became a national hero.

If Cliff Young can persevere through a 543-mile ultra-marathon, you and I can certainly persevere in our lives as Christians. One of the keys to running a gold-medal race for Jesus is, “Don’t sin.” Sin slows you down. Sin makes you weak. With that in mind, I’d like to point out three sins that slow you down and cause collateral damage in the church:

Sin #1: Unbelief. God’s word tells us in Hebrews 11:6: “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” God is deeply concerned about unbelief in His followers. No sin will stop a church dead in its tracks as quickly as the sin of unbelief. Unbelief is a spiritual cancer within a congregation. And Hebrews 10:39 tells us: “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” We are believers—not quitters. No matter what tragedies happen in your life … no matter how many people around you think you’re nuts … no matter how hard it is to hold on to your faith … don’t stop believing.

Sin #2: Unforgiveness. To me, this is one of the most troubling sins in the church today. It grieves my heart to see how many Christians hold on to bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness. And Christianity is nothing without forgiveness. Do you remember what Jesus taught us to pray in The Lord’s Prayer? “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” And in case we missed it, he elaborates in Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” If you refuse to forgive someone who has sinned against you, God will refuse to forgive you who have sinned against Him.

Sin #3: Undernourishment. Even if you’ve never participated in a team sport, you know that a nutritious diet is very important for an athlete. If you don’t train well or eat well, it affects you on the playing field. The same holds true in the spiritual realm. Our number-one source of nourishment is the Bible. It is our spiritual meat. It is our living water. Yet sadly, one recent study found that only one in eight Christians read their Bible daily. Last week, how many days did you go without eating any food? I would guess—zero. But how many days did you go without eating any spiritual food? Our second source of nourishment is prayer. Every follower of Christ needs to spend time with God in prayer every day. If we don’t, we’ll be undernourished. Finally, our third source of spiritual nourishment is the church. More than ever before, Christians are not making church attendance a priority. And the results have been devastating. Hundreds of churches across America have closed their doors for good. Needs in the community are going unmet. And most tragic of all: Millions of people are NOT getting saved … because the church is AWOL.

So, please make sure that you do your part to stay well-nourished as we run this Jesus Race together. Be in God’s Word every day. Spend quality time in prayer with God every day. And if you’re physically able to attend, be in church every week. We’ve got a lot of race left to run and not much time left to run it. So, let’s each do our part to finish our Jesus Race strong … together.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Ready to Live The Golden Rule?

 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” - Matthew 7:12

You’ve probably run into a lot of people who say they follow The Golden Rule. They might say, “I’m not into church or religion, but I follow the Golden Rule.” Or, “I’m a pretty good person. I try to live by The Golden Rule.” But God’s word answers back, “No, you don’t! You don’t live by The Golden Rule, because you CAN’T live by The Golden Rule! It’s impossible—utterly impossible—for you to consistently ‘Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.’ You CAN’T do it! You WON’T do it … unless I do it through you.” 

You see, it’s impossible to follow The Golden Rule on the OUTSIDE unless Jesus Christ is working on the INSIDE. And faithful, heartfelt, persistent prayer is the only soil from which The Golden Rule will grow.

Jesus shares The Golden Rule this way in Matthew 7:12: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Critics of the Bible like to make the case that Jesus didn’t come up with this Golden Rule. They say it was around for centuries before he spoke it. They point out that Confucius said, “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.” And the Greek king Nicocles wrote, “Do not do to others the things which make you angry when you experience them at the hands of other people.”

There’s no doubt that many ancient philosophers and teachers taught something very similar to The Golden Rule. But all of them are NEGATIVE forms of The Golden Rule: “Don’t do unto others what you don’t want them to do unto you.” But Jesus did something revolutionary. He gave us a POSITIVE form of the command. And there’s a big difference between the negative and positive forms of The Golden Rule.

William Barclay explains it this way: “It is one thing to say, ‘I must not injure people’ … It is quite another to say, ‘I must go out of my way to help other people and to be kind to them.’ Barclay goes on to say, “It is never difficult not to do things.… A man might forever refrain from doing any injury to anyone else, and yet be a quite useless citizen to his fellow men. A man could satisfy the negative form of the rule by simple inaction; if he consistently did nothing he would never break it.”

Think about it. If being a successful brain surgeon only requires us to not injure anyone during surgery, we could all be millionaire brain surgeons right now without any medical training. All we’d have to do is scrub up, walk into the Operating Room and do nothing. Doing nothing would mean success. And our Yelp Reviews would all be 5 stars because we would never injure anyone’s brain.

So many people think that they live by Jesus’ Golden Rule. But the truth is, they’re just living by Confucius’ inferior, negative version of it. They think, “I have a perfect record. I’ve never murdered anyone, never raped anyone, never robbed a bank, never cheated on my wife.” Well, whoop-dee-doo! Just about every atheist on the planet can say the same thing.

Once again, Jesus raises the bar. His Golden Rule is not natural. It’s supernatural. The reason most people who know The Golden Rule don’t live it out is because they can’t. Living out The Golden Rule requires a supernatural overhaul on the inside—an overhaul that can only be done by Jesus Christ. Unless Jesus gives you a new heart, a new mind and a new love for those around you, and helps you every step of the way, you can never live by The Golden Rule. But what is impossible with man is possible with God. You can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens you.

So, how can you learn to live out The Golden Rule? Well, you can begin praying these three prayers:

Prayer #1: Father in heaven, please forgive me for my sin. If you have unforgiven sin in your life, you will not be able to “do unto others.” You cannot love supernaturally if your heart and mind are filled with unnatural wickedness.

Prayer #2: Father in heaven, please help me get to know and love you better and better. Because The Golden Rule is supernatural, there’s no way that you could possibly live it out until you see it lived out by your supernatural Savior. You must spend serious time in God’s word and in prayer to know Him better. Jesus Christ is your role model, the only One to perfectly live out The Golden Rule. Pay careful attention to the way He loves undeserving people, so that you can love undeserving people too. And your love for Christ must deepen in order for your love for people to deepen. You can’t love people better unless you love Christ better.

Prayer #3: Father in heaven, please help me to LOVE as Jesus loves. If you want to live out The Golden Rule, God will help you. But you’ve got to really, really want it. You’ve got to keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking. And if you do, God will answer your prayers. He will help you love the people around you with a supernatural, unconditional love. And when that happens, the people around you will experience heaven on earth like never before. They will experience Jesus like never before—through you.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

What's Fasting All About?

“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes fromthe mouth of God.’”
  – Matthew 4:4

Skipped any meals lately? Some people skip meals to lose weight. Others fast as part of an internal detox. Still others do it just because they feel like they’re too busy to stop and eat.

But for Christians, there’s the practice of Biblical fasting—something a lot of us may be missing out on. You see, a biblical fast isn’t just about simply not eating. Biblical fasting involves replacing the food with something else—namely, prayer and a deeper study of God’s word. So, if we’re skipping meals, but we aren’t praying and reading God’s word more, that’s not biblical fasting. That’s dieting. You can pray without fasting, but you can’t fast biblically without praying.

If you do a Bible study on fasting, you’ll discover that it’s mentioned dozens of times in the Old Testaments and over 20 times in the New Testament. And God’s followers fast and pray for a variety of reasons. Here are three quick examples:

Example #1: Jesus fasted and prayed before he began his public ministry (Luke 4:2). Jesus set us a great example. Fasting and prayer focus us and empower us for what’s up ahead. When we are at a crossroads in our life and we’re about to begin something new and important, it’s a really good idea to spend some time fasting and praying. Before you begin a new job, it’s a good idea to fast and pray. Before you begin a new school year, it’s a good idea to fast and pray. Before your wedding day, before your child is born, before you have surgery—fast and pray. 

Example #2: Jesus urged his disciples to pray and fast for spiritual breakthrough (Mark 9:29). In Mark 9 we read about a boy who was demon-possessed. The demon made him mute, thrash around on the ground and foam at the mouth. Nine of Jesus’ disciples had tried to drive the demon out but they had failed. So, Jesus stepped in and drove out the demon. Later that day Jesus’ disciples asked, “Why couldn’t we drive out the demon?” Jesus answered, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” And some Biblical manuscripts include the two extra words “and fasting.” So, Biblical fasting can intensify our prayers to bring about spiritual deliverance when nothing else works.

This is such an important benefit of fasting and prayer. There are times when Christians get caught up in an addiction. Willpower doesn’t work, self-help methods don’t work, and the tear-filled pleas of loved ones don’t work. Even normal prayers don’t work. Oftentimes, when nothing else works, a season of fasting and prayer will work. And underneath many other physical, psychological and relationship problems, there are root spiritual problems. Seasons of prayer and fasting can address these root spiritual problems like nothing else can.

Example #3: The Church at Antioch prayed and fasted for God’s clear guidance and direction (Acts 13:2-3). As the Christians sought God through worship, prayer and fasting, God told them to set aside Barnabas and Saul for the mission field. And as a result, the single greatest Christian missionary of all time, the Apostle Paul, began the first of his three missionary journeys. Fasting and prayer tune our ears to God’s voice and prepare us to obey His clear guidance and direction.

As we’ve seen in these three examples, fasting and prayer can focus us and empower us for what’s up ahead. It can usher in spiritual breakthrough. And fasting and prayer can reveal God’s guidance and direction. But I believe it all boils down to this: Biblical fasting is a necessary part of a radical reorientation toward God.

In Isaiah 58:6-9, God laid into the people of Israel when their fasting had become meaningless. God told them, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: Here am I.”

God is saying that fasting has ALWAYS been about giving up something GOOD to gain something that is infinitely BETTER. Giving up food has never been the end goal. It’s just the starting line. As we give up some good food in order to reorient ourselves to God, who is much better and more fulfilling than the greatest meal we’ve ever eaten, He leads us to give up other good things for what is even better. As we fast from food, God also leads us to fast from injustice and oppression. He leads us to fast from hoarding our food while others around us go hungry. He leads us to fast from a closet full of clothes when the homeless around us need some of those clothes.

In short, as we fast and pray, God helps us take our eyes OFF ourselves and the temporary things of this world, so we can experience a radical reorientation to God. Food is good, but God is infinitely better. So, we fast and pray.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

3 More Prayer Requests from Jesus

 “Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” – Matthew 6:11-13

I think most of us understand that there’s a wrong way to pray. For example, this year’s Super Bowl was an absolute slaughter. At halftime the Chiefs were down 21-6 to the underdog Buccaneers. And by that time, you can guess what many Chiefs fans were doing, especially those who had bet on the game: They began praying for a miracle. After all, they had a lot riding on that game: money, pride and bragging rights. Do I even need to say it? That’s the wrong way to pray.

Another wrong use of prayer is to take someone else on a guilt trip. Instead of confronting them face-to-face, we choose the passive-aggressive approach and pray in front of them. “Lord, thank you for Jennifer. But I pray that she’ll stop being late all the time.” Or, “Father in heaven, help John to stop being so rude to me.” Most of us parents, at one time or another, have performed some guilt-trip prayers in front of our kids. After all, why confront them with their bad behavior when we can just pray for them at the dinner table? Friends, that’s another wrong way to pray.

But in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins teaching us the right way to pray. He says, “This, then, is how you should pray” (Matthew 6:9). And He proceeds to teach us The Lord’s Prayer. There are six prayer requests in this short prayer. Many Christians assume the first three requests in The Lord’s Prayer are focused on God’s needs and wants—“Hallowed by Your name,” “Your Kingdom come,” and “Your will be done”—while the last three requests focus on our needs and wants. But that’s only partly true. The last three prayer requests are very personal and practical, but each one still stems from a desire to see God’s name honored, God’s kingdom come and God’s will be done. Let’s take a look.

Jesus’ 4th Prayer Request (v. 11): “Give us today our daily bread.” Many ask, “What does Jesus mean by ‘daily bread’?” Well, we know that “bread” is a common symbol in the Bible, usually used as a synonym for food. So, Jesus’ 4th request in The Lord’s Prayer most likely boils down to this: “Our Father in heaven, give us the food we need today for our sustenance and support.” Or, as the New Living Translation puts it: “Give us today the food we need.” Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “Give us this month the food we need.” Or even “Give us over the next few days the food we need.” Jesus wants us to express our dependence on God every day. 

Jesus’ 5th Prayer Request (v. 12): “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” In Jesus’ day, Jewish teachers used the word “debts” as a synonym for “sins.” So, Jesus is teaching us to pray that God will “forgive us for our sins, as we also have forgiven those who have sinned against us.” And if you’re wondering if Jesus is actually saying what you think He’s saying, the answer is YES … HE IS. Jesus is teaching us to basically pray, “Father in heaven, please forgive me for my sins. But only forgive me to the extent that I have already forgiven others who have sinned against me.” And all God’s children say, “Uh-oh!!!”

In case we miss what Jesus is saying here, He clarifies this 5th prayer request later on, in verses 14 and 15: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Is Jesus actually saying that God will refuse to forgive us if we refuse to forgive others? Bingo! That’s exactly what He’s saying. Think about it: How can we possibly expect God to forgive us for a sin that we fully intend to commit again and again--tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that?

So, according to Jesus, this is the right way to pray: “Our Father in heaven, You are a God of great mercy and forgiveness. So, as we follow in Your footsteps, we have shown mercy and forgiveness to those who have sinned against us. Now, that we ourselves aren’t holding on to any unforgiveness, please forgive us for the sins we’ve committed against You.”

Jesus’ 6th Prayer Request (v. 13): “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” The Bible teaches us, “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone” (James 1:13b). So what does this prayer request mean? Here’s a great insight that I learned from Pastor John Piper: “All our experiences are tests from God and are temptations from Satan.” He goes on to explain, “Pleasant Experiences – God wants us to thank Him. Satan wants us to idolize the pleasure. Painful Experiences – God wants us to trust Him. Satan wants us to curse God.” Learn to think of everything that you go through in life—whether it’s good, bad or ugly—as a test from God and as a temptation from Satan.

I pray that you’ll take these prayer requests to heart and pray them daily, alone AND with your family. Express to God your complete dependence upon Him to meet your needs today. Forgive others first, and ask God for forgiveness second. And finally, ask God to deliver you from anything—even blessings—that might pull you and your family away from God.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Try 20/20 Prayer in 2020!

“This, then, is how you should pray.” – Matthew 6:9a

It was a little over 20 years ago. I had been a pastor for only a month or two, and I remember saying to myself, “Dane, what were you thinking when you took this job?”

I didn’t say that because I wanted to jump ship. This church was great. But the reality had hit me: I was 25 years old, trying to teach God’s word to a group of people, most of whom were older than myself. And many of them had been Christians twice as long as I’d been alive! How could I possibly teach them anything?

Good question. And God gave me an even better answer: “No matter how old someone is in the church, I am much older. And no matter how wise someone is in the Church, My Word is wiser. So if you stick to prayerfully teaching My powerful word, your age will be irrelevant.”  What a marvelous insight that was to this young, insecure pastor. And it was during that early season of ministry that God taught me to pray—really pray. Learning to lean on God through prayer helped me do a task that was far too big and far too hard for me to do on my own. As a bonus, my relationship with God became much closer and more meaningful.

Do you long for that? Do you want to partner with God to do things that you could never accomplish on your own? Do you want your relationship with Christ to be closer than it’s ever been? Well, prayer is the key.

Not sure how to pray? Just take a look at Jesus’ prayer in Matthew 6:5-15. It’s usually called “The Lord’s Prayer,” but a more fitting name for it would be “The Disciples’ Prayer,” since Jesus gave it to us as an example to follow. And there’s a simple recipe based on this prayer that you can use right away to make your personal prayer times more enjoyable and more impactful. It’s easy to remember because it’s spelled out in four little letters: P-R-A-Y.

The “P” in PRAY stands for PRAISE. We all have times when we’re in crisis and don’t have time to pray anything but “God, help! Help!” But as a rule of thumb, just as The Lord’s Prayer begins with praise and adoration, so too should our prayers. Before we get into the “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” petitions within our prayers, we should spend some time praising God for who He is and thanking Him for what He’s done.        

The “R” in PRAY stands for REPENT. Honestly, confession and repentance are almost non-existent in our prayers. When we DO remember to ask for forgiveness, we say something very short and vague like, “Lord, forgive me for my sins.” Well, that’s a start. But if our personal prayer times are going to be more powerful, we can’t be vague or half-hearted when bringing our sins to God. He takes our sins very seriously, and so should we. We know that in Christ, our sins are forgiven. But that’s beside the point. As we talk with God, we should grieve for our sins—our foul language, our bad tempers, our lustful thoughts, our lack of love and respect to our spouses—in order to truly repent.

The “A” in PRAY stands for ASK. Most of us are pretty good at asking. But we don’t always remember to think about the needs of those around us. So, let me suggest to you that you incorporate three kinds of asking into your prayers: 1) Ask for your church; 2) Ask for your community; 3) Ask for your family and yourself.

The “Y” in PRAY stands for YIELD. In the Garden of Gethsemene, when Jesus knew that his arrest and beating and crucifixion were just minutes away, he cried out in prayer, “Father, let this cup pass from me! But not my will, but Yours be done.” In the same spirit, Jesus teaches us in the Lord’s Prayer to ask, “Your will be done.”

Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield: Four critical pieces to the prayer puzzle. You don’t need to be eloquent; you don’t need to have the perfect words. God’s idea of a “good” prayer is much different from ours. God isn’t impressed by longwinded prayers filled with flowery language and religious jargon. He is drawn to the humble, simple prayers of His followers who come to Him in their helplessness with hearts drawn to His. So, just go to God and talk with Him with your own unique voice in your own unique way. And as you talk with Him, praise Him, repent of your sin, ask Him to meet needs, and yield to His will. That’s it! That’s 20/20 prayer for 2020.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for worship every Sunday at 10 a.m. at the new Dr. Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Remember These Two Words

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” – Revelation 3:20

It’s without a doubt one of the strangest prayers I’ve ever read. The year was 1540, and Martin Luther was well underway leading the Protestant Reformation. One day Luther received a letter from his good friend Frederick Myconius, who was deathly ill. Frederick had written Luther a farewell letter, thanking him for his friendship and sharing his final goodbye.

Well, Luther read the letter and immediately wrote his reply, which included these shocking words: “I command thee in the name of God to live because I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church…The Lord will never let me hear that thou are dead, but will permit thee to survive me. For this I am praying, this is my will, and may my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God.”

Up until the final ten words, Luther’s prayer sounds arrogant and self-absorbed. It’s as if Luther believed prayer was for the purpose of bending God to his own selfish will instead of bending his own will to God’s. But the final ten words absolutely transform his prayer. Perhaps Luther understood something about prayer that we don’t.

Let me ask you: What is the point of prayer? What is its purpose? Some Christians might answer, “Well, prayer gives me a chance to talk to God and share my needs with Him.” Others might respond, “Prayer makes me feel better. It allows me to get things off my chest, and it calms me down.” These answers reveal some of the benefits of prayer, but they don’t reveal the purpose of prayer. According to God’s word, what is the point of prayer? 

Jesus’ prayer in John 17 gives us the answer. It’s the longest prayer of Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus had just celebrated the Last Supper with his twelve disciples, and he was just a few hours away from being arrested, beaten and led to the cross. And he began his prayer in John 17:1 by saying, “Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son that Your Son may glorify You.” No less than eight times in this great prayer, Jesus mentions God’s glory. So, what is the purpose of prayer? The main purpose of prayer is to bring GLORY to God.

Glory—When it comes to prayer, this is a critically important word that you and I must understand and embrace. Otherwise, we will most likely misuse and abuse prayer. Far too many Christians hold on to the erroneous belief that prayer is about changing God. But prayer isn’t about me changing God. Prayer is about God changing me. Prayer isn’t about bringing myself glory. Prayer is about bringing God glory.

Now, that’s easier said than done. Let’s get really practical here. Sooner or later, we’re all going to get sick. So, when we are ill, how should we pray? How about like this: “Dear Lord, if it will glorify You, take away this illness. Heal me! But if it will glorify You more, then let me remain sick. And while I am sick, give me the power to glorify You through my illness.” Wow! Do you see how powerful prayer can be—on so many different levels—when we understand and embrace the true purpose of prayer: to bring glory to God?

But there’s a second vital word that you and I must also understand and embrace: ACCESS. You see, prayer is the means by which Jesus is given access to our lives. It has been said that God interferes in the affairs of men by invitation only. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Usually when this verse is quoted, it’s used to urge nonChristians to accept Christ into their lives. But in Revelation 3, Jesus was speaking to Christians who had, in some way or another, shut Jesus out of their lives. So, there Jesus was, patiently knocking at their heart’s door asking them to let him come back in. Why? Because these messed-up Christians had issues, and Jesus wanted to help them with their issues. If only they would let him in!

So, prayer is about giving Jesus an open invitation to come into our lives and have full access to our issues. And—this is the hard part—we give him full permission to deal with them in whatever way he sees fit. And that’s ALL of them: our attitudes, our marriages, our children, our finances, our health, our church … even our President. We can’t hold anything back. We need to invite Christ to move in each and every one of our issues for his glory.

With weak, trembling hands Frederick Myconius read Martin Luther’s letter and prayer. And surprise, surprise! His health was restored. Once again he was able to join Luther in his work, and he even outlived him by two months. Luther’s strange prayer had been miraculously answered. Is it surprising? It shouldn’t be. Amazing answers to prayer become the norm when we give God full access to our lives, lifting up each prayer for His glory.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 am.