Prayer is Powerful

by Mike Ratliff

Why do we pray? Don’t we pray because we have been instructed to do so in the Bible? Sadly, most Christians probably aren’t praying in a way that honors God or builds faith. Martin Luther wrote much on prayer. In his chapter “Of Prayer” from Table Talk, we learn the Biblical concept of prayer rather than one from Man’s reason. The following lesson is numbered CCCXXVIII.

by Martin Luther

None can believe how powerful prayer is, and what it is able to effect, but those who have learned it by experience. It is a great matter when in extreme need, to take hold on prayer. I know, whenever I have earnestly prayed, I have been amply heard, and have obtained more than I prayed for; God, indeed, sometimes delayed, but at last he came.Ecclesiasticus says: “The prayer of a good and godly Christian availeth more to health, than the physician’s physic.”

O how great a thing, how marvellous, a godly Christian’s prayer is! how powerful with God; that a poor human creature should speak with God’s high Majesty in heaven, and not be affrighted, but, on the contrary, know that God smiles upon him for Christ’s sake, his dearly beloved Son. The heart and conscience, in this act of praying, must not fly and recoil backwards by reason of our sins and unworthiness, or stand in doubt, or be scared away. We must not do as the Bavarian did, who, with great devotion, called upon St Leonard, an idol set up in a church in Bavaria, behind which idol stood one who answered the Bavarian, and said: Fie on thee, Bavarian; and in that sort often repulsed and would not hear him, till at last, the Bavarian went away, and said: Fie on thee, Leonard.

When we pray, we must not let it come to: Fie upon thee; but certainly hold and believe, that we are already heard in that for which we pray, with faith in Christ. Therefore the ancients ably defined prayer an Accensus mentis ad Deum, a climbing up of the heart unto God.

Let’s remember that God’s beloved can come boldly unto the throne of grace to pour out their hearts to their Lord who only wants their best.

The Grace of the Cross

O My Saviour,

I thank thee from the depths of my being

    for thy wondrous grace and love

    in bearing my sin in thine own body on the tree.

May thy cross be to me

        as the tree that sweetens my bitter Marahs,

        as the rod that blossoms with life and beauty,

        as the brazen serpent that calls forth the look of faith.

By thy cross crucify my every sin;

Use it to increase my intimacy with thyself;

Make it the ground of all my comfort,

            the liveliness of all my duties,

            the sum of all thy gospel promises,

            the comfort of all my afflictions,

            the vigour of my love, thankfulness, graces,

            the very essence of my religion;

And by it give me that rest without rest,

     the rest of ceaseless praise.

O My Lord and Saviour,

Thou has also appointed a cross for me to take up and carry,

    a cross before thou givest me a crown.

Thou has appointed it to be my portion,

    but self-love hates it,

    carnal reason is unreconciled to it;

    without the grace of patience I cannot bear it,

        walk with it, profit by it.

O blessed  cross, what mercies dost thou bring with thee!

Thou art only esteemed hateful by my rebel will,

    heavy because I shirk thy load.

Teach me, gracious Lord and Saviour,

    that with my cross thou sendest promised grace

    so that I may bear it patiently,

    that my cross is thy yoke which is easy,

    and thy burden which is light.

From The Valley of Vision – A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions compiled by Arthur Bennett

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A Genuine Evangelist

by Mike Ratliff

The Church in the “West” appears to have lost its way. Around the middle of the 20th Century the method used to “do church” in the United States changed. Prior to this, most churches held two “services” each Sunday. One would be primarily devoted to evangelism while the other would be used to exhort and encourage the body. Along with the evangelical service there would a associated prayer meetings. The “message” preached during this service would start with God and end with God. Those in attendance would hear about God’s Holiness, Righteousness, Justice and Wrath against all sin. They would hear about God’s requirements for eternal life. Only after these realities were on the table would the good news be preached.

Fasting and Feasting

by Mike Ratliff

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6 ESV)

My dear Christian brothers and sisters, God took me away from writing and blogging for a week. He made it so that I had no time for anything but being a good husband, father, father-in-law, son and friend every day since Tuesday last. I spent a week in Oklahoma preparing for the marriage vow renewal ceremony for my wife and I. My time during this period was mostly with my wife and daughter during the day and my son-in-law in the evening. The ceremony was very well done. My son and my son-in-law took care of picking up my parents, making sure they made to the ceremony then taking them home afterward. I got to see some friends from our old church in Oklahoma whom I rarely get to see. After the reception, my wife and I drove to Guthrie and spent the next two nights in a Bed and Breakfast there complements of our children.

Wives and Husbands

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:22-27 ESV)

This will be my last post this week. My wife and I are traveling from our home in the Kansas City area to Oklahoma City for a week. While there we will be renewing our vows. Our 25th wedding anniversary is the 19th. We will be having the ceremony at the chapel on the campus of the University from which I graduated in 1985. My children have arranged and set up everything. They have also got us two nights in a Victorian Bed and Breakfast in Guthrie, Oklahoma. I should be back home sometime next Monday the 23rd. I don’t think I will have time to write, post or moderate much for the next week, but I will try to check Possessing the Treasure to make sure everything is okay when I can.

In the mean time, I would just like to take this time to encourage each one reading this with Paul’s exhortation to husbands and wives from his Epistle to the Ephesians. None of us are perfect. The environment of a husband and wife living under the same roof is ripe for conflict. That is, it is if one or both of them are selfish, self-centered and looking out for number one. These things poison a marriage. My mom and dad are in their eighties and have been married since 1945. Probably the number one thing I learned from that marriage is that selflessness is vital to a healthy marriage. This is not selflessness by one party and selfishness by the other. If both seek the best for the other in all things, with a determination to love the other by choice, not feelings, then that marriage will be healthy. Notice, I did not say anything about money or possessions or children or a job. These are part of any marriage, but they are not what makes the marriage. Children are blessings from God, but they do not necessarily make a marriage healthy automatically. I love my children, but I love my wife more.

How can we do this? Having a deep personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ is key. Married Christians who are growing unto Christlikeness will also treat their spouses as Jesus would. I heard a pastor say once that he was counseling a woman who was complaining about her marriage because it was full of conflict. The pastor then asked this question, “Do you think your spouse would be in this conflict with Jesus?” She was stunned and replied, “No, of course not.” So, if we treat our spouses as Jesus would, will we struggle with hurt feelings, anger over harsh words, or worry about everything?

Finally, love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole heart and with your entire being. Give Him your all then watch how all of your relationships, including your marriage, become subject to Him.

In Christ

Mike Ratliff

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A Colloquy on Rejoicing

Remember, O My Soul,

It is thy duty and privilege to rejoice in God:

He requires it of thee for all his favours of grace.

Rejoice then in the giver and his goodness,

Be happy in him, O my heart, and in nothing but God,

for whatever a man trusts in,

from that he expects happiness.

He who is the ground of thy faith

should be the substance of thy joy.

Whence then come heaviness and dejection,

when joy is sown in thee,

promised by the Father,

bestowed by the Son,

inwrought by the Holy Spirit,

thine by grace,

thy birthright in believing?

Art thou seeking to rejoice in thyself

from an evil motive of pride and self-reputation?

Thou hast nothing of thine own but sin,

nothing to move God to be gracious,

or to continue his grace towards thee.

If thou forget this thou wilt lose thy joy.

Art thou grieving under a sense of indwelling sin?

Let godly sorrow work repentance,

as the true spirit which the Lord blesses,

and which creates fullest joy;

Sorrow for self opens rejoicing in God,

Self-loathing draws down divine delights.

Hast thou sought joys in some creature comfort?

Look not below God for happiness;

fall not asleep in Delilah’s lap.

Let God be all in all to thee,

and joy in the fountain that is always full.

From The Valley of Vision – a collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions by Arthur Bennett

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Victory through Death

by Mike Ratliff

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Corinthians 15:54-57)

There are times when I, like most of you, allow temporal things to cause me to focus on the here and now rather on the eternal aspects of all things. These temporal things are always God allowed distractions that test my faith. Lately, God has allowed some people to post comments on this blog that challenge things I have either posted or commented on here or on some other blog. Of course, my first reaction is to strike back with all of the intellectual capacity that God has given me. At times, of course, that reaction is based in pride and is, therefore, sinful for me to pursue it. Other situations do call for a rebuke from me especially when the comment comes from a basis in apostasy or heresy. Even so, I must not step into the fray from a basis in pride. If I do, then what I have actually done is forget that this life here is temporal and my focus must be on living in it from an eternal perspective.