473: No Need to Pray

Did you do your work to identify and explain your values this past week?  If not, then I would suggest you not move on until you have done so. Your values are an important part of your Purpose progress, especially if you have accepted the Purpose Challenge I issued in August. (If you don't know about the Challenge, you can read about it here.)

What role do your values play in your life?  They help make decisions easier, for your values are so deeply ingrained in you that you don't even have to pray about your actions before you act in accordance with your values.  Are you surprised that I wrote you don't need to pray?  My purpose is not to shock you, but I stand by what I wrote.  If you need further clarification on why I write that, please read on.

PAUL'S VALUES

It seems that Paul had certain behaviors that were directed by his personal values in each and every instance.  We don't see that the Lord directed him to do these things and his actions while not unbiblical were not directed by a clear biblical mandate.  He didn't pray about doing these things; he just did them.  What were some of his values?

1. He took no financial support from those among whom he worked (see Acts 20:33-35).
2. He built on no one else's foundation, but went to minister where no one had ever been (see Romans 15:20).
3. He always went to the synagogue first in any area he visited (see Acts 13:13-15).
4. He traveled with a team (see Acts 16:6-13).

Paul's success in part was due to his development of and adherence to these values that allowed him to do a great deal of work in a short amount of time. 

DEEP DOWN PRIORITIES    

How do values develop in your life and work and why are they so powerful to lead and guide you? Let's assume that at one time in your life you were homeless and penniless. This went on for some time in your life and then God miraculously delivered you to what you have today.  If God's work was complete in you, you would probably always have a heart for others who are homeless.  If they approached you for help, you would do what you could to help them. Your values can be so powerful that God would have to intervene to keep you from acting - that's how deep down inside you they reside.

Another example would be if you have lost a child.  You would do what you can to comfort and support others who also lose a child.  Your value of compassion and empathy would move you to action.  I think it's safe to say you would not even have to pray about what to do; your values would spur you to godly action.

Your values are priorities that rest deep down in your being. They are there to make your decisions to act easier and quicker.  Your values also tell you where to devote your time and money, making your job of setting goals and managing your time that much easier.  You must trust that God helped establish those values through His work in your life, so you can trust them to help you make decisions that will please Him.

Last week I gave you an assignment to write out your values.  If you didn't have time or are just hearing about that assignment, you can catch up by reading it here.  Next week we will move on to discuss goals, so you want to finish up your values this week so you will be ready to set your goals next week.    You can pray about your values but after that the time for praying will be over and the time for action will be here.  Have a great week working on your values. Amen.

******************

Please consider helping HIV/AIDS orphans and widows in Kenya as we approach this holiday season.  Read how you can do something significant for them here and here.  Thank you!

Comments

[Patricia]

Hi,
I realized that out of the 6 goals we set a while back I only accomplished 2!
I have my values written down. Do I send them to you?
Patricia

[Patricia]

Hi Dr. J,

Here they are:
I am certain of God’s will for my life and live confidently – the revelation of how JC was asleep in the boat when there was a storm... He knew his death was on a cross, not drowning. I want to be so sure of what my destiny and purpose is that I will walk on hot coals I have to, to get there!
I am a servant of God – well done good and faithful servant are the words I want God to tell me
I value my family – God said it is not good for man to be alone and created a wife. He who finds a wife finds a good things and obtains favour from God. I want to flourish in a good and secure family setting
I pray with results – the prayer of a righteous man availeth much. I want to be confident of approaching God’s throne in prayer
I am a team player – I want to benefit from the power of synergy thus accomplishing plenty
I provide solutions – I am created in the image and likeness of God to create and offer solutions through inventions and innovation
I am a fearless influencer – make people contribute to worthy ventures like empowering people, building schools, hospitals, missions, etc. Also, when we were out in the field and Micheal my nephew noticed a beautiful bird and the Thompson gazelle, how does my heart not leap with joy! When his choice of what to be bought for is hand soap, again, how satisfying is that!
I support the less fortunate – parable of God separating sheep from goat comes to mind
I am a giver – a lender not borrower. Have more than enough to do what is required of me. The Lord shall supply all my needs according to his glorious riches
I am keen and continuously want to learn – what has been accomplished is good but it’s not the end. Do not conform to the standards of this world but be ye transformed by the renewal of your mind, continuously learning with divine insight

Will send the 6 goals later. Left the note book at the office

[Enzo]

Thanks for keeping these coming. I am sure as you pointed out in your letter that the “no need to pray” was attention-grabbing for effect. Your points on Paul are interesting, but we actually have no record either way as to whether he did or did not pray. Perhaps he prayed for direction once and then merely continued to act, as in the case of visiting the synagogue (a standing election, maybe??).

I understand your point that people use prayer as an excuse not to act. And no doubt, you feel your calling is a call to action, to get people off their seats and into discovery by doing. The cattle-prod definitely works. Just from my own experience, however, I really don’t think it does as much good to paint the pray/do thing as an either/or. You may not intend for it to be that way, but it is a theme that as a casual reader of yours I’ve seen come across. I think the error is in empty prayer – people want to hide behind a prayer that may not even be doing. But I would say that I think my own personal problem is not praying enough, and I would hate to think my life should be about more doing and less seeking, for it is in the deeper seeking in prayer that I believe we can get clarity for our purpose. Paul spent how many years before he even went public with his ministry after Damascus Road??? We need to keep that in perspective.

That said, I don’t think it takes years of prayer to merely discover your core values, which may have been the point you are trying to make in this week’s memo.

[John]

Thanks Enzo. You are right: I am writing some of what is here for dramatic effect and impact. I am of course in favor of much prayer, but I detest prayer that is used as a delay tactic. Active prayer requires that we pray, listen and then act! And God wants us to act!

Yet I also love the verse in Proverbs 16:3 in the Amplified.

"Roll your works upon the Lord (commit and trust them wholly to him) and He will cause your thoughts to be agreeable to his will, and so shall your plans be established and succeed."

Most underestimate in my experience God's ability to guide our thoughts, because it not a process that we can feel or quantify. I have more and more confidence in God's ability to guide me that He must tell me not to do some things I am thinking, because I am assuming it's Him. So far, so good!