Have You Become Obnoxious With Your Prayers Yet?

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Luke 18:1-2 (NKJV)

In the parable of the unjust judge our Lord is teaching us the importance of persistence in prayer. Using the parable to drive home His point, Jesus describes a judge who though he is not godly, yet will give the woman justice because she is wearying him with her persistence.

Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’  And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”
Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? Luke 18:3-7 (NKJV)

Often we pray about something once, or a few times, then go on our way without thinking much more about it. Yet our Lord stresses that we should be persistent until we get the outcome we are looking for. Sometimes God will say “no” to our prayers. At other times it simply takes awhile before everything falls into place for God to bring about the outcome we asked for. Yet again, there are times when we ask amiss, and God has something better or different in mind. We should always submit our prayers and their outcome to God’s will and sovereignty.

Nevertheless, we should be persistent to the point of obnoxiousness in our prayers to see them through, not because God is hard of hearing, but because persistence pays off in the end. Also keep in mind we are told in God’s word to be bold:

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)

Weak, wimpy, doubting, pathetic praying has no place in the life of a child of God. We must be persistent, bold, faith-filled, and trust that not only does God hear us, He will help us. We leave the outcome in His hands, but it is our job to ask and pray and see our prayers through until the end.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we call upon You today to hear our prayers and meet our needs. We boldly ask You to fulfill Your promises to us and take care of us as Your children. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016

Why The Constant Battle With Discouragement?

The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

I have asked myself: Why can’t I enjoy the victories? Why the constant battle with discouragement? I’ve found that even though the Lord has blessed me in many ways, the focus of my attention is often upon the little foxes of irritation rather than the numerous blessings God has sent my way.

It probably should not be a surprise that the thorns continually pricking me keep getting my attention, but just once I’d love to savor the victories that God has given me rather than getting caught up in worry and discouragement over problems.

It isn’t that I’m ungrateful, and it isn’t that I’m blind to the many good things God has done for me, it is just that those thorns are very good at trying to discourage me, and it takes quite an effort to avoid the trap of discouragement.

When you have constant or frequent little alarm bells going off in your mind due to a new problem or a troubling old problem, it takes much effort to steer your focus instead to the things that are going right in your life.

Join me in the effort to steer away from discouragement and instead look at the many good things not only in our lives but in the lives of our friends and loved ones as we focus upon the good and not the irritations of life.

Prayer: Dear Lord, You bless us so often and in so many ways, thank You for the many good things in life. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016

The Strength Of Hercules

“The Lord is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.” Exodus 15:2 (NIV)

The philosopher Epictetus liked to remind his students that had there been no lion, no hydra, no challenges for Hercules, there would have been no Hercules; he would have been just another uninteresting Greek man.

Perhaps it is the same with those who suffer affliction. Though we might prefer a boring life free of problems, we would not be the person we are today had we not been shaped by hardships and trials.

I admit I would rather be bored than afflicted, yet I suspect that had it not been for afflictions and trials in my life I might not have set down the spiritual roots and developed the deeper relationship with the Lord that has occurred within my affliction.

Perhaps you should consider that even though the trials and hardships in your life have not been of your choosing, they have nevertheless helped to shape you and drive you closer to the Lord.

Prayer: Dear Lord, though we do not welcome hardship, help us to persevere in Your strength and grace and lean upon You through the difficult times in our lives. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016

Who Among Us Would Honestly Choose Pain?

“At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.” Job 6:10 (NIV)

I told my wife to start calling me “Pain Douglas” after a visit with my surgeon. He put a chemical on my wounds to make them heal faster, and the chemical burned like fire. Then the next morning it was off to the foot doctor to remove an ingrown toenail. I opted to skip the pain shots for, as I wrongly figured, it would not be much of an ordeal. The doctor said she could not believe I endured the procedure without the pain shots–yet I sat white-knuckled gritting my teeth the whole while.

Then later that evening my wife, as directed by a doctor, put mesalt into one of my wounds. Yes–mesalt! It is literally placing salt into a wound, to again, speed healing.

I think I need healing from all these painful ordeals!

Pain is something we run from, understandably. I’ve found that, generally speaking, the best thing about pain is when it’s over. Pain makes cowards of us all.

I’ve been through some painful ordeals, and yet others have been through worse things than I have. It seems we can always find others who have been through more painful ordeals. Almost as bad as painful ordeals is the concern leading up to the event.

If we know ahead of time we are facing a painful situation, the temptation is to run from it. Why do you think doctors call you the day before your appointment to remind you of it? Not a few people find reasons to escape from painful ordeals.

Something that can be worse than the painful ordeal is to completely avoid it. If I did not get my wounds treated, if I did not get the toe fixed, eventually the pain from complications would be far worse than the immediate pain I have suffered in the healing process.

I think it is that way with God and life in general. God does not spare us from every painful situation because He is Sovereign and knows that sometimes a painful situation now can spare us worse pain in the future. And what we endure now can prepare us for harder situations down the road.

Pain is an equalizer–rich or poor, famous or infamous, every person who goes through a painful situation hurts in the same way. Hit a rich person on the toe with a hammer and they will yell just like a poor person would. The difference for the Christian is that we have someone who cares about the pain we go through and who comforts us in our affliction. Jesus endured much pain, and He can help us through our painful situations.

I don’t know what is causing you pain, but I do know that pain, no matter what the cause, hurts. Sometimes it hurts to the very edge of our endurance. Yet know that God does not leave you comfortless, call upon Him in your painful situations.

Prayer: Lord this hurts, help! Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016

My First Day Of Fatherhood

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)

I was nervous about being a father. Most men about to become dads probably are.

But after my wife suffered ten hours of back labor, and no baby in sight, the family doctor called in a specialist. My wife lay with her eyes rolled back in her head from pain, and I was ready for a breakdown. In trying to explain what I understood of the situation I did start breaking down emotionally in front of both sides of the family. Never had I been in such a situation where I felt so totally helpless.

The doctor had a worried look on his face. The baby was too far down for a c-section, but not quite wanting to come into the world–how much more could my wife withstand?

There was only one answer to a situation that was leaving the worry and fear stage, and becoming a frantic, terrorizing thing. I went to a place every father must go to time and time again when we are out of our element–serious, desperate prayer to One who can help us. He is the pre-eminent Father.

I slipped into a bathroom to try and regain a composure that had fled me. More than that, I knew this was a desperate situation that if my heavenly Father did not intercede with, could become life and death for mother and baby.

As well as can be remembered in that anxious time the prayer went something like this:

“Father we need you now very much. Rhonda cannot get that baby delivered without your help. Give me strength so that I can be strong for her. Please help this child to come safely into the world.”

I imagine Joseph and Mary must have prayed something similar to this in Bethlehem while she was giving birth to Jesus in that chilly barn without doctors, monitors, or any modern conveniences. Well, all the modern conveniences in the world were not helping my wife and baby right then.

Stepping out of the bathroom and going back to my wife’s side, I took her hand and told her, “Rhonda, we have to get this baby out.” I know, easy for me to say, but she did draw strength from God, or the strength she felt that God gave me, or maybe an angel pushed on her stomach right then–I didn’t really care how. All I can say is that baby started coming.

Indeed it was coming so fast that when the nurse stepped into the room and looked, she took off like a shot to get help moving my wife to the delivery room from her hospital room.

It is hard for me to think about this roller coaster of emotions I felt, and still feel thinking back on that time. I am not sure it is safe for a man to have that much emotion surging through him in a twenty-four-hour period: anxiety, worry, dread, fear, terror, hope, love, joy.

And joy it was when that little package of red-headed purple and pink baby arrived. She was perfect. And my wife was transformed from near-death experience to glowing bubbly motherhood. I had to do a reality check to make sure I was in the same world as just minutes before.

That was not the first time God has helped me to be a father, and that will not be the last. Only He can take a desperate situation and turn it into one of joy instead.

Because of this traumatic delivery of our baby girl, I sincerely believe we consider her an even greater gift. We certainly appreciate that she is a great gift from One who was a Father before the world was made. And just maybe when we get to heaven, all these spiritual birth pains down here will also make our appreciation of heaven that much greater, it may be that without our experiences of “hell” on earth, we would not recognize the glory of heaven.

Prayer: Father, thank You for being our Father, and teaching us to be good parents to our children from Your example. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016

Hurting People Need God's Love

“The Lord said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.'” Exodus 3:7 (NIV)

I recently visited a message board. It was a group of people suffering from the same affliction, and it was not a Christian message board.

These people shared how they had endured rejection, suffered from self-consciousness because of their disability, and spoke of how they simply wanted to be seen as a person, rather than someone with ------ (fill in the blank.)

Disabilities and afflictions can rob us of much that well people take for granted. We can feel that our dignity and self-worth has been stolen and that we are set apart from the rest of the healthy world even as we try hard not to be “different.”

You can feel the pain and suffering emanating from those who have been rejected because of their disability. It is one of the worst things possible on this earth–rejection from those you care about.

So many marriages have come apart because one of the partners became disabled. This kind of rejection can have lasting effects that leave the rejected partner feeling like something less than human. To find the strength to pick yourself back up after such rejection can seem impossible.

Some of us have been blessed with loved ones who have not rejected us because of our disabilities. But let’s not forget those who are hurting who have not been so blessed. Let’s encourage them, lift them up, and remind them that they are special simply because they are a child of God, and not because of their abilities or disabilities, but because God loves them.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thanks for loving us, and making us more than human through Your presence in our lives. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016

Do You Have A Long Memory When It Comes To Thankfulness?

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Colossians 3:15 (NKJV)

I was recently thinking about a man who died a few years ago who had a number of faults that sometimes got him into trouble. Then I recalled a very kind act he did on my behalf when I was a teenager. It struck me how easy it was to recall that man’s faults, yet I had overlooked a number of things I liked about the man. And this seemed a shame to me. How easily we recall other people’s faults and forget their kind, good actions and better side of their nature.

It is too easy to forget the many good things that come our way. When people do good, kind acts for us, blessing us in many ways, we can too soon forget such acts. On the other hand, how often do we recall when someone has done us wrong or caused us grief?

We have a selective memory, often recalling the bad things in our lives and forgetting or overlooking the many good things that come our way. God brings us blessings in many forms. We have a gracious and giving Father who brings wonderful people our way, and we should forever be grateful and thankful for the good things He bestows upon us.

We should cultivate a short memory when it comes to the faults of others and wrongs done to us. Yet we ought never to forget the deluge of blessings that God brings to us, often through the kind acts of others.

Where do your thoughts drift to? Consider this week the many kind acts of others on your behalf, and remember that God has brought numerous blessings your way. We have all had bad things happen to us, frequently at the hands of others. Yet when we recall the many good things others have done for us, and the numerous blessings God has given to us, we lift our spirit and thoughts to a higher plane of gratitude and thankfulness for all the blessings we have received.

Prayer: Dear Lord, You have given us so much and blessed us in so many ways. Thank You for the blessings, and the good people and their kind acts in our lives. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016

The Joy And Hope Of New Birth

A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. John 16:21 (NKJV)

There is nothing quite like the birth of a new baby. Even the worst cynic cannot help but smile when they stare into the smiling face of a newborn child. When a baby comes into the world it brings with it hope, joy, and promise of a life not yet imagined. Everything awaiting that baby is brand new and hopeful.

Recently my wife’s niece gave birth to a baby girl. Holding that child in my arms filled me with the wonder of God’s creation. The pinnacle of God’s creation is humanity. Made in God’s image, destined for glory and greatness with an inheritance of God’s very kingdom awaiting us.

It is no wonder Jesus said we must be born again. For we must rediscover that purity, wholeness, wonder, and joy that comes from new life. And in our case, a newborn spirit within us. Joy comes from new birth, along with hope, and a promise of wonders yet to behold.

Life tries to drag us down. And often we find ourselves discouraged, weak, and weary. Yet if we allow the Holy Spirit within us to revitalize us, refresh our joy and wonder, we can reclaim that new birth inside and rediscover the newness of Christ in our hearts.

Babies bring with them joy and happiness and it is contagious. We need to reclaim the new birth in our hearts and allow God to revitalize our spirit as we think about the newness of Christ within. Allow the fruit of the spirit to grow inside of you. Beginning with the fruit of joy and hope with wonder at the goodness and blessings of God filling your heart.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for new birth and babies. Fill us with newness of life, joy from within, and help us always to hold fast to the hope You have placed in our hearts. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2010

We Do Not Know What Tomorrow Will Bring

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15 (NKJV)

“Tomorrow” can be a word pregnant with hope or filled with dread. We do not know what tomorrow will bring despite our best prognostications. We plan. We hope. We prepare. But in the end we really have no idea what will come tomorrow.

Recently I have been thinking about an older couple who were planning for a bright future. They had taken steps and made purchases that would help them fulfill their dreams only to have cancer strike one of them down quickly and severely. Such are the vicissitudes of life.

It is frustrating when hardship or tragedy brings all of our plans to nothing. Yet James, in the verse above, warns us of that very thing. We must always live with only one foot on earth and the other set squarely in heaven. We must keep looking up even as we try to look ahead.

It is not wrong to make plans and prepare for tomorrow. Yet we must always remember that God is sovereign and He will have the final say as to whether our plans are fulfilled or whether His plan is to call us home. We are strangers and wanderers on this earth, ever moving toward our true destination in heaven to be with our Lord.

Make plans for tomorrow. Have hopes and dreams about the future. But also keep your eyes heavenward, remembering you have a Lord who is the Master of your fate. He has his own plans for you and His own time table, and He holds your tomorrow in His hands.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we hope and plan and prepare, but is You who holds our fate and future. Help us to never forget that. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016

When Are Prayers Answered?

So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer. Ezra 8:23 (NKJV)

I have literally seen God answer my prayers within just a few minutes of asking for something. He is quite astounding. There have been other times when the problem with getting my prayers answered was that I just did not know to ask specifically, or was unsure precisely how I wanted things to work out for the best. Yet at other times the Lord has seemed to completely ignore my requests, my prayers appeared to “fall on deaf ears”.

The truth is that God hears our prayers. But often He has His own timing and reasons as to how or why He does and doesn’t answer us. His answer to our prayers could be “no”, or “not yet”. Perhaps we are asking for the wrong thing, or it is the wrong time, or He has something much better in mind. It could be that He is teaching us trust Him and have patience through our long wait for answered prayer.

There have also been times when I simply did not want to accept the answer the Lord had for my prayer. Perhaps the thing that needed to happen was a change in me, not in circumstances or moving God’s will in my direction.

Prayer is a powerful thing. It can literally move mountains. We serve an awesome God with unlimited power and One who owns the earth and everything in it.

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1 (NKJV)

I have seen God knock down doors, remove obstacles, and make a way where there appeared to be no way. I have looked in the mirror at a dying man, and just months later seen that same man restored to life thanks to answered prayer. Both miracles large and small have come my way in over fifty years on this earth. God’s goodness has come my way and more prayers answered than I can begin to count. Perhaps that is your testimony as well.

Call upon the Lord in prayer. Sometimes He answers quickly, but if He does not, do not lose heart, be patient for His timing and His will.

Prayer: Dear Lord so many times You have quickly answered prayer, and come to our rescue. Help us to be patient during those times that our prayers are not quickly answered. You know the “how and when” regarding the best way to answer our prayers. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016