Nearly 35 years ago, as a relatively new believer, I was getting ready to leave a Sunday morning church service when I noticed a newcomer a few seats down. I smiled and introduced myself, and then I wished him well and promised to pray for him and his family. I had no sooner climbed into my car, however, than I felt convicted of not having taken the time to pray for him on the spot. The feeling that I needed to offer to do so would not go away, though I argued with myself that he had probably already left. Still, I decided to go back into the building to check.

            Sure enough, though the sanctuary was otherwise empty by then, the young man sat alone in a pew, his head in his hands, and I realized my sense of urgency had been God’s call to prayer. I went to him and told him I believed the Lord wanted me to pray with him, and he began to weep.

            “I live just down the street a few houses from this church,” he said. “My wife left me a few days ago and took the kids, and I’ve been so depressed. This morning I decided to give life one more chance by coming here to this church. I told myself that if God would send someone to pray with me, I wouldn’t kill myself when I got home. I’m so glad He sent you.”

            How important is it to obey God’s specific call to prayer? Sometimes that call to prayer comes as a nudge from the Holy Spirit, as it did for me that day more than three decades ago, but other times it comes through a command in the Scriptures. First Timothy 2:1-2 is explicit in its call to all believers to pray “first of all” for those in authority. Are we heeding that command? Do we regularly pray for our pastors, our congressmen, our President, regardless of how we may feel about them personally?

            I’ve been a part of the presidential prayer team since its inception in 2001, meaning that I daily prayed for President George W. Bush, those who worked with him, and their families. It also means that I now pray daily for President Barack Obama, those who work with him, and their families. I have heard Christians complain about George Bush and his policies, as well as Barack Obama and his. We seem to be quite accomplished as complainers, but not so faithful as intercessors. In addition to being disobedient, that makes us poor witnesses to those who don’t yet know the One who issued the commandment to pray.

            I for one have been guilty many times of promising to pray but not following through. As a result, I find myself becoming critical of others. Whether a young man contemplating suicide or individuals in positions of authority with nearly unfathomable responsibilities on their shoulders, people need us to be obedient and to intercede for them. Let’s commit together to use our words “first of all,” as the scripture instructs, to pray for and bless people, rather than criticize them. If we do, God will be faithful to fulfill His purpose.

           

¿Cuántas veces nos despertamos nosotros por la mañana y hablamos de comenzar un nuevo día? Muchos de nosotros hicimos eso aún hoy, ¿no es así? Sin embargo, hablando bíblicamente, nosotros no comenzamos un nuevo día cuando nos despertamos, sino que continuamos el que comenzó la tarde anterior. Y eso es una distinción importante.

Dios no hace ni dice cosas caprichosamente. El siempre tiene una razón para cada palabra, para cada acción, y la creación ciertamente no es una excepción. Dios empezó el ciclo de un nuevo día por la tarde porque Él deseó que nosotros comprendiéramos la necesidad de descansar ANTES DE empezar nuestras actividades. Nosotros, por otro lado, lo hemos puesto al revés y hacemos el "trabajo más difícil o pesado" primero, y entonces caemos en la cama, agotados y necesitados de descanso. ¿No haría más sentido  seguir la pauta de Dios y descansar primero—utilizando Su fuerza—y ENTONCES salir a hacer cualquier cosa que Él nos ha llamado a hacer en ese día?

Cuándo María y José se dieron cuenta que su hijo de doce años, Jesús, se había perdido, ellos volvieron a Jerusalén y Lo encontraron en el Templo. ¿“No sabíais que en los negocios de mi Padre me es necesario estar? fue Su respuesta ala preocupación de Sus padres.

El negocio del Padre. ¿No es eso lo que nosotros debemos de hacer también? ¿No es eso así como debemos de pasar nuestros días? Pero cómo podemos hacerlo así si nosotros no hemos pasado primero un tiempo con Él, como Jesús hizo la práctica de hacerlo regularmente—escuchando Su voz, Su Palabra, Su dirección, estando en contacto con Él, y aprendiendo a descansar. Porque es cuando descansamos en Él que comprendemos lo que Él ha propuesto para nosotros hacer y permitirnos a responder de acuerdo a Sus propósitos.

Demasiadas veces nosotros pasamos corriendo de un lado al otro todo el día—trabajando, jugando, prestando servicio, atendiendo a los demás— y todo por medio de nuestros propios esfuerzos. Y nos preguntamos entonces el por qué no tenemos un sentimiento de un logro duradero cuando hemos terminado y por qué todo lo que  queremos hacer es dormir y recuperarnos de las actividades del día. Quizás es porque nosotros lo tenemos todo al revés. ¿Por qué no tratamos de cambiar las cosas pensando primero en que su día empieza en la noche, cuando usted se acuesta a descansar? Use algo de este tiempo estando en contacto con  Dios—antes que usted se duerma, y en el momento que usted se despierta—y entonces, descansado y refrescado, continúa el día en Su fuerza, en vez de en las suyas propias. Habrán muchas más oportunidades para que usted logre mucho más del negocio del Padre.

 

            How many times do we wake up in the morning and speak of starting a new day? Many of us did so even today, didn’t we? And yet, scripturally speaking, we aren’t starting a new day when we wake up, but rather continuing the one that started the previous evening. And that’s an important distinction.

            God doesn’t do or say things capriciously. He always has a reason for every word, every action, and creation certainly is no exception. God began the cycle of a new day in the evening because He wanted us to understand the need to rest BEFORE beginning our activities. We, on the other hand, have turned it around so that we do our “busy work” first, and then fall into bed, exhausted and in need of rest. Wouldn’t it make more sense to follow God’s pattern of resting first—drawing on His strength—and THEN going out to do whatever it is He has called us to that day?

            When Mary and Joseph noticed their twelve-year-old son, Jesus, was missing, they returned to Jerusalem and found Him in the Temple. “Didn’t you understand that I must be about My Father’s business?” was His response to their concern.

The Father’s business. Isn’t that what we are to be about as well? Isn’t that how we are to spend our days? But how can we do so if we haven’t first spent time with Him, as Jesus made a practice of doing regularly—listening for His voice, His Word, His direction, communing with Him, and learning to rest. For it is as we rest in Him that we understand what He has purposed for us to do and are enabled to respond accordingly.

Too many times we run ourselves ragged during the day—working, playing, serving, ministering—all in our own strength. And we wonder why have no feeling of lasting accomplishment when we’re done and why all we want to do is sleep and recover from the day’s activities. Perhaps it’s because we have it all backward. Why not try turning things around by first thinking of your day as beginning at night, when you go to bed to rest. Spend some time communing with God—before you fall asleep, the moment you wake up—and then, rested and refreshed, continue the day in His strength, rather than your own. Chances are you’ll accomplish a lot more of the Father’s business.

 

Es asombroso como cuántos de nosotros que somos creyentes nos sentimos satisfechos por haber sido "sacados" y se olvidan que Dios también quiere "traernos". Estamos contentos con el proverbial "seguro contra incendio" que nos protege de una eternidad en el infierno y sin embargo nos importa muy poco cumplir con nuestro propósito que Dios-Ordenó durante nuestra breve residencia en este mundo.

Recuerdo cuando recibí la salvación de Jesús en 1974 y oí al pastor decir, "Si Dios no tuviera un propósito para su vida, la llevaría directamente al cielo en el momento cuando usted decidió ser una creyente". Tenía solamente 26 años entonces, con una vida de oportunidades adelante de mí, que podría utilizar para servir Dios—o a mí misma. Tristemente mis elecciones no siempre han sido las correctas; como resultado, yo malgasté mucho del tiempo que pudiera haber sido utilizado para cumplir los propósitos de Dios para mi vida. Me sentí contenta de haber sido “sacada,” mostrando muy poca consternación de tener una asociación con Dios para "traerme" a Su Reino. Ahora, en mi séptima década de mi vida, mi arrepentimiento más grande es el tiempo que desperdicié sirviéndome a mí misma, en vez de servir a Dios.

La mayor parte de ustedes están detrás de mí en el viaje a nuestra morada celestial, con más tiempo por adelante para tomar las decisiones correctas. Yo los animo a estudiar hoy el libro de Deuteronomio y aprender del tiempo de los israelitas en el desierto, como ellos vacilaron entre obedecer a Dios y hacer su propia voluntad. Pero, últimamente, esa es la llave para ser traída al cumplimiento del propósito de Dios para nuestra vida—obediencia. Si Dios dice "doble a la izquierda" pero vamos hacia la derecha, acabamos de tomar un desvío del sendero que Él ha marcado para nosotros. Ser obediente a Dios hoy nos asegura que acabaremos exactamente a donde Él nos desea que estemos mañana. Y esa es la razón por la cual Él "nos sacó" en primer lugar.

            No se lo pierdan, mis queridos amigos. Seguir el plan de Dios para que Él nos “traiga adentro” es la única forma de encontrar el gozo a plenitud que es lo que todos buscamos…

 

            It’s amazing how many of us believers are satisfied to be “brought out” and forget that God also wants to “bring us in.” We are content with the proverbial “fire insurance” that spares us an eternity in hell yet care little about fulfilling our God-ordained purpose during our brief sojourn here on earth.

            I remember when I was first saved in 1974 I heard a pastor say, “If God didn’t have a purpose for your life, He would take you straight to heaven the moment you became a believer.” I was 26 then, with a lifetime of opportunities ahead of me, which I could use to serve God—or self. Sadly my choices haven’t always been the right ones; as a result, I wasted much of the time that could have been used to fulfill God’s purposes for my life. I was content with being “brought out,” showing little concern about partnering with God to “bring me in.” Now, in my seventh decade of life, my greatest regret is the time I spent serving self, rather than God.

            Most of you are behind me on the homeward journey, with more time ahead of you to make those right choices. I encourage you today to study the book of Deuteronomy and learn from the Israelites’ time in the wilderness, as they vacillated between obeying God and doing their own thing. For, ultimately, that’s the key to being brought in to the fulfillment of God’s purpose for our life—obedience. If God says “turn left” but we go right, we have just taken a detour from the path He has marked out for us. Being obedient to God today assures us that we will end up exactly where He wants us to be tomorrow. And that’s the reason He “brought us out” in the first place.

            Don’t miss it, beloved. Following God’s plan to “bring us in” is the only way to find the joy and fulfillment that we all seek….