Did your mom ever wash your mouth out with soap? I know I had a few mouthwashes when I was growing up. I learned the hard way not to sass or to use foul language.

Fortunately for us all, God doesn’t resort to bars of soap, but “washes us with the water of his word” (look at Ephesians 5:26).

However, He DOES take words very seriously. Look at what He says about the things our tongues produce:

James 3:3-6

³ We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. ⁴ And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. ⁵ In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. ⁶ And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. (New Living Translation, biblegateway.com)

In other words, we can make ALL kinds of trouble with our tongues. Duh. We all know that from experience.

So, here is an idea. Ask God to help bring His cleansing Word over your mouth, over your speech.

Mediate on these verses, (Tillmanized King James Version):

Proverbs 15:2,4

The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly. The curative tongue is a tree of life.

Try praying this prayer:

“God, please help me guard my tongue. Please cleanse my speech. Help me to use knowledge rightly and have words that bring healing and life.”

I am reading Tim Keller’s Prodigal God. It is a lovely book with a lovely passage that describes in a lovely manner three different kinds of conversation with God.

1) A business associate you don’t really like: This conversation with God is “goal oriented…with no chit-chat” (nothing personal, just get the job done).

2) A friend: In this conversation with God, you might open your heart to Him about a problem you are having.

3) Someone you are in love with: In this conversation, you will “sense a strong impulse to speak about what you find beautiful about him”.

He likens it to our prayer-styles of “petition”, “confession”, and adoration. “The deeper the love relationship, the more the conversation heads toward the personal, and toward affirmation and praise.”

Keller captures the idea beautifully, I think. All the kinds of conversation are valid, but how wonderful to be so in love (and so loved), that there is much adoration going on in the daily conversation.

I carry on all three conversations with God. How about you?

“Hey, Lady! Hey, You!”

This of course, totally got Miss Bryan’s goat (which I guess was the point). She couldn’t understand why Scatterbrained couldn’t be bothered to learn her name.

Now, I know we are WAY more respectful than that when we pray. However, if we really want to know who we are praying to, it might be good to learn some of the names God calls Himself.

Why not get to know Him better through His names, then use them when you speak to Him?

Here are a few of His names from the Old Testament:

Father of the Fatherless- Av (Psalm 68:5)

The First and the Last- Rishon A Haron (Isaiah 44:6)

God- Elohim or Eloah or YAH (Isaiah 26:4, Psalm 68:4)

God Most High- El Elyon (Psalm 78:35)

God Almighty- El Shaddai (Genesis 17:1)

God My King- Elohim Melekh (Isaiah 68:24)

God the Lord- El YHWH (Isaiah 42:15)

God of Salvation- El Yeshua (Psalm 68:20)

God Who Brings to Quick Termination (He gets things done)- El Ghamer (Psalm 57:2)

Holy One- Qodosh (Isaiah 17:7)

I AM- Hayah (Exodus 3:4)

Living God- Chay El (Psalm 42:2)

Lord God-  Adonai Jehovah (Isaiah 40:15)

Lord Has Heard- Jehovah Shamah (Lamentation 3:56)

Lord of Hosts- Jehovah Tsavah (Isaiah 28:5)

Lord Provider- Jehovah Jireh (Genesis 22:8)

Lord Our Righteousness- Jehovah Tsedeq (Jeremiah 23:6)

Maker- Asah (Isaiah 17:7)

Mighty One-  Abyir  (Isaiah 60:16)

Lord Almighty- Adonai Shaddai (Joel 1:15)

Lord God- Adonai  (Genesis 2:4)

Redeemer- Gha-al   (Psalm 78:35)

Here are some of Jesus’ names:

Jesus Lord- Iesous Kurios  (Acts 19:5)

Just One- Dikalos (Acts 22:14)

The Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8)

The Apostle and High Priest of our Confession (Hebrews 3:1)

The Author and Finisher of our Faith (Hebrews 12:2)

God’s names in the New Testament:

Father (endearment)- Abba (Romans 8:15)

Father- Pater (Romans 1:17)

Holy- Hagiezmos (Acts 2:27)

Mighty One- Dynatos (II Corinthians 13:3)

Do you feel you know God better?

Reading the Chronicles again, with Aslan the Lion and adventures of the Kingdom of Narnia reminds me of C. S. “Jack” Lewis’ deep faith. He was a man of prayer.

Here is what his step-son, Douglas Gresham said about him:

“I don’t know what he prayed, but it was not uncommon for me to walk into a room and to find Jack praying. And I would say, ‘I’m so sorry, Jack,” and he would say, ‘Don’t worry, I was only praying’. I saw Jack sitting at a desk in prayer. I saw Jack walking in prayer. I could tell if Jack was praying if he was walking around the garden or walking up in the woods or sitting at his desk, but I can’t tell you how I could tell. It was just something I knew. He didn’t ostentatiously get down on his knees or put his hands together in front of his face and so forth.”

His assistant, Walter Hooper, said about Lewis, “I don’t think I ever came across a person who prayed so much. Often in the morning he would get up, go outside to look at the flowers, and stand right there praying…He could pray anywhere…In a train, on a bus, on a walk, or just standing outside. And he prayed on his knees, too, beside his bed.”

(quoted from: The Magic Never Ends- John Duncan)

Lewis prayed at in many times and many places. Perhaps for him that was “praying without ceasing”.

What would prayer without ceasing look like for you?

One sometimes-surprising “down” during the lovely spring season is the feeling of loss and failure. The sun is bursting, flowers are glorying, trees are greening. Life and fresh starts abound.

“Then WHY don’t I feel better?”

“I should feel better. That makes me feel guilty- so I feel worse!”

It is frustrating to think we should feel encouraged but don’t. I want to share with you some ways that God has helped me deal with “not feeling better”.

Lamentations

There are times of grief, sorrow, rejection, loss, pain or trauma in all our lives. In counseling, we talk about these things openly and safely. In prayer, we do the same with God. We tell Him how we feel- openly, honestly, messily. He knows anyway and he cares.

It is helpful to read a Psalm of Lamentation (look at Psalm 31, Psalm 59, Psalm 74, Psalm 80)- read it to yourself, then to God.

Then ask someone to pray with you, too.

Sacrifice of Praise

There are times when things are irritating and pesky- folks not pulling their weight at work, kids leaving junk all over the house, endless chores. These are the things that make us feel irritable, whiny and snippy.

These are like “little foxes that spoil the vine”. They hold no eternal value and if we get our mind on something else, we forget it.

This it time to pull out Hebrew 13:15-

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. (NIV)

We don’t feel like praising God. That is why it is a sacrifice.

But when we make that sacrifice, we are pulled back to where we belong- living with God, thinking about him and his works and his love.

The sacrifice of praise honors God and changes us.

Have you ever heard someone say, “God told me…”?

How on earth do they do that? How does someone know if God is telling them something?

Here are some ways to learn to listen to God and to recognize when he is speaking to you:

1) Learn His language

God speaks Bible (not King James only- He speaks NIV, ESV, RSV, even the Message).

Think about it this way:

My friend, Pauline, is from Liberia. If she spoke in her home language to me- I wouldn’t understand and might not even notice. In order for me to listen to her speak in her language, I would have to learn her language.

When you have learned your way around Scriptures, you will recognize God’s language as he speaks to you. You will know that the thought, “Have a hissy-fit at so-and-so” cannot be coming from God, since his word coaches you to be patient.

2) Be quiet

Hey, it works the same way in real life. You have to shut the mouth in order to hear what someone else is saying.

Now, there are folks in my life that I never have to worry about holding a conversation with. When we are together, they talk- and talk and talk and talk. I can’t get a word in edgewise. They leave never having heard anything that I might have wanted to contribute.

Even though you can’t see God, he is there- in you, around you. He has things to say. Be quiet and listen.

more later…

Ok, you’ve got homework for this one. Go read Genesis 1. Some real important things happened there. (Like all of creation.)

Now, quiz time:

1)      When God made the world, what was the tool he used?

Correct! He “said” things into existence. He went about saying things like, “Light be”. Then there was light! He used his own words to create.

My personal deduction from that is that God places lots of value on words.

2)      In whose image did God create mankind?

Correct, again! He made men and women in his own image (modeled us after himself).

My personal deduction from that is that God values our words highly and expects us to use them to create.

How does this apply to prayer?

What if we take something God values (his words) and combine that with something that needs to be created in our own lives (our needs being met) and make that our prayer?

Here’s a not-overly-personal example:

My thought for the year has to do with learning to “count is all joy when I fall into trials and temptations, knowing that the trials and temptations will help me mature” (James 1, Vicki’s version).

I know that I absolutely STINK at making myself count ANY trial or temptation a joy- so it is hard to get to a place that I can convince myself that I am going to be SO mature when God is through with me.

Thus- I am taking the “count it all joy- Vicki version” scripture and during my prayertime, I ask the Lord to bring those words of his to life in me.

Want to give it a try?

1)      Take a need you have

2)      Ask God for a Scripture for you to pray- start reading the Bible, eventually he will show you one, or it will come in some other way

3)      Put it in your own words

4)      Tell it to God daily

See what he creates in your life!

Basically, supplication simply means- asking God for something.

It could be asking Him for stuff, for something to happen in your life- or someone else’s life. We all need to ask God for something, sometimes.

Here are some tips on supplication:

1)      God doesn’t give report cards- your format for asking doesn’t determine whether He listens to your prayer

2)      However, God isn’t too interested in giving you stuff just to encourage your greed or keep you up with the Joneses

3)      Just ask. Be honest. Be polite. (Ask just like you would ask a friend for something.)

4)      Then let God decide what to do with your request. (He’s going to decide anyway, so you might as well just relax.)

5)      Sometimes you don’t know what to ask for- you just know something needs to happen in your life (or in the life of someone you care about). In those cases, tell God that you don’t know what to pray for, but let him know you trust the Holy Spirit to help. (Check Romans 8:26, 27 to see how the Bible explains that.)

6)      One very helpful way to pray is to ask God to give you a Scripture to pray regarding the need.

For instance, if you are concerned about your temper- Galatians 5:22,23 talks about “the fruit of the Spirit” being “love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness, and self-control”. Ask God to help the Fruit of the Spirit to grow in your life.

You find a Scripture to pray by praying about it- ask God to show it to you. In some way, He will bring just the right Scripture to your attention. It will be through your reading the Bible where something will jump out at you. Or a friend will share a Scripture with you. Or it will be in the Sunday sermon. Something will happen. Just watch.

Supplication is part of a good relationship with God. So- ask.

He just likes spending time with us. He likes making us part of his work. That is what prayer is. It is not about performance or “doing it right”.

Just talk to him.

You can start with a “Dear God”, or one of  his names, or just launch in (God is always listening).

Then you can talk to him about anything and everything. Just like you would talk to anyone you are really close to. Follow the ACTS format- or no format.

Just talk to him.

You can end with an “Amen” or “In Jesus Name” or just go on to the next part of the day (knowing God is always listening all day, anyway). You passed the class because you did it, not because you “did it well”.

The point is- just talk to him.

Let’s look again at one way to pray (ACTS).

To review ACTS in prayer time:

A-     Adoration- Talk to God about your love for him and about His character

(The more you talk to Him about it, the more you will believe and experience the

“feelings” of your love for Him)

C-   Confession- let’s talk about this today

T-   Thanksgiving- Thank Him for what He has done and what He is doing

S-   Supplication- This means ask Him for what you need or for what you are concerned about for other folks

When you spend time with God, it is a good idea to put part of that time into making sure you and He are in a really fine place together. (This is necessary for human relationships, too- ever notice that you can’t have a good conversation with someone if you are really ticked at him/her, had done a thoughtless thing, had forgotten how important he/she was to you, or didn’t like how you were being treated? You first need to talk it over, settle things, acknowledge the importance of the relationship, and then get on with the conversation.)

Confession looks like 2 things:

1)      Confession is admitting your sins, faults, weaknesses, fears, anxieties, and mistakes. God knows them anyway, but it gets them off your chest and opens up your heart to experience His love and forgiveness. This is a very freeing and powerful thing. (This is because those things stand between you and your conversation with God- interruptions. It is good to eliminate the interruptions.)

(Note: if you feel worse and worse as you confess instead of better and better, maybe something is mixed up- maybe you are feeling the devil’s attempt to make you feel guilty and condemned. Maybe there is something in your soul that wants to be healed. Talk to God about that and to a person who is spiritually mature, so that he/she can pray with you.)

2)      Confession is proclaiming that Jesus is your Lord. It is your frequent declaration that you recognize who he is- God the Son, your Redeemer, your Shepherd and Guide, your Master. Try reminding yourself about this and reminding God that you remember- each time you pray.

When you spend time genuinely confessing- with a view to getting in the open with God about your goofs and problems and giving them to God to cleanse and gain healing; and then renewing your declaration of your acceptance of His Lordship over you- you will find His kingdom start to grow within you. That is a groovy thing.

Give it a try. Let me know what you think?