Episodes

You may have noticed the new podcast art. This is our anniversary month at Free Range. This quarter, we are moving this month, even this last Quarter of 2020 to be a thanksgiving Quarter. I think it is time we make a concerted effort to redeem these days to the glory of God. In keeping with the celebration of our second year's end, we are giving away Popsicle Crosses to everyone who emails us here at Free range at freerangeprayer@gmail.com. I wear one as a reminder of the childlike faith we are ...

All God's people are called to Prayer. It is the need of our new inner man to experience communion with our Savior, Almighty God. We might say we are all under a general call to Prayer. Some though, are called to have a prayer ministry. A prayer ministry is defined as a personal call to take up daily prayers for specific people to minister to them. Jonathan Edwards is an example of our general call, and yet it is said of him: "Prayer was both a discipline and a part of his leisure." The Prophet ...

I was reminded recently of the value of silence before God. The Bible tells us about the incredible value of resting quietly. Psalm 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 131:1-2 O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me. 2 Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a...

Praying “Thy will be done” with discernment means we understand job one in God’s present economy is the building of His kingdom. Discernment also teaches us that we begin with ourselves as we do with the rest of the Sermon on the Mount. We are each gifted by the Holy Ghost to be not only a part of the Body of Christ but an active part of the Body of Christ. We are called to do His will through the exercise of those gifts from the Holy Spirit. If you are not aware of your gifting, pray for insigh...

Prayer is never to be constrained by form. If we are to expect in our communication with others, “only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:9b We can indeed know, our God, who knows our frame, will hear us when our need of the moment is so great, we abandon all formality. 30 But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stre...

If you bet, Fred couldn’t get sappy love songs, Englebert Humperdink, Casey Stengel, and Psalm 24 into a Wednesday review… You lost! Like all things in Christ, we come full circle. We learn to pray in the same way we learned to talk and for the same reasons. We were born physically with the drive and need to talk - communicate. We were born-again with the drive to pray to our Savior - commune. We were born with a need to express who we are inside. We have been born-again, and our souls need to e...

As we come to more and more honor God as God, hallowing His name with all our heart, mind, and soul, His will, will be our prayer more and more. When we hear Jesus, then say, ‘Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. ‘Thy kingdom come…’ Our hearts say, ah-ha! If God tells us, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Then, heart of mine, His desires are my prayer, Thy kingdom come. Assistant...

No matter his brothers' motive, Joseph saw God's beauty in working out His divine will, not just selfishly in Joesph's life but also for his enemies... his brothers. At any time, Joseph had the power to take revenge on his family, saving perhaps Benjamin and Jacob. Still, the God of all comfort who comforted him before he was reunited with his father Jacob moved Joseph that he "comforted them and spoke kindly to them” those who had made themselves his enemies." Genesis 50:21 Is it alright if we ...

When we pray, we join the long list of saints we know, and the great cloud of witnesses gone before us as we long to be fully understood by our God. Yes, it may be silly to tell Him stuff we know He already knows, but we still do, we need too, we long too. I had an occasion to talk to my daughter a couple of days ago. I expressed to her again that I cannot imagine living out our Christian lives without experiencing eternal life. Even in the flesh, we can get a glimpse of the glory that awaits. J...

The artwork on the podcast today shows a bottle my wife found when she was a teenager. I know it was created by sand, the lightning, wind, and cooling rain. If you buy that, I can tell you that our universe was created by mysterious forces, cosmic lighting, and luck. And after you buy that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I can let go for a bargain-basement price! (Only us old guys will get that.) The very first step in falling short of the glory of God is…”21 For even though they knew God, the...

For those with ears to hear, our God reveals Himself in various and sundry ways. (I love that phrase, various and sundry!) Critical to the revelation of who the true God, Creator, and Ruler of the universe really is, are the names of God given to us in Holy Writ. (I love that one too.) We rest in the knowledge that God our Savior is also demonstrated to be: Yahweh Yahweh Maccadeshem Yahweh Tisdkneu The fulness of our salvation rests wholly on the completeness of our God. Assistant Editor: Seven ...

We have been created, by our blessed God, as a unique creation fit for eternal communion with Him, being moved by His divine power and attributes; we were meant to understand the glory of God and enjoy who He is for all eternity. We have inherited one other trait from Adam, the enmity between our Creator and ourselves. However, by the mercies of God and our Savior's blood, we have been born again into a new creature. Our new creation longs for intimate conversation with God, as naturally as babi...

"Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name." The Lord's prayer is not only our blueprint for prayer but sets the standard of content for our prayers. When Jesus said "hallowed by Thy name," it does imply worship, but more than that it sets our goal to bring Him glory because He is Holy Holy Holy. Acknowledging who He is will assuredly help us avoid believing Him to be who we want Him to be. The good gifts He gives by grace He does not give because: He is our bu...

We are beginning the main text from the Sermon on the Mount the Lord's Prayer. For the next several weeks, we will be looking at prayer's framework and the standards of prayer. I in no way desire these standards to discourage anyone's prayer life. Therefore, as I may sound more like a preacher in the next few episodes, my request is if faced with standards you have not considered yet, do not let that derail your prayers. Remember the standards, and be assured you will grow into any truly Biblica...

Just when you thought the four elements of prayer (Worship, Confession, Intercession, and Thanksgiving) were enough, along comes Isaac Watts, yes, that Isaac Watts, and gives us his view on "The Nature of Prayer" from His book, "A Guide to Prayer." "In speaking of prayer as a duty of worship required of us, we may, in order to understand the whole nature of prayer better, divide it into several parts. I think these may all be included in the following: invocation, adoration, confession, petition...

Psalm 119: 90 Thy faithfulness continues throughout all generations; Thou didst establish the earth, and it stands. 91 They stand this day according to Thine ordinances, For all things are Thy servants. Our emotions fall into this category, as well. Hear how Peter, Moses, Paul, Nehemiah, and Ezra were drawn closer to God in prayer through their failures, fear, sadness, confusion, and by God's love. Prayer is the vehicle that is also a servant of God. It will carry us in the pouring out of our em...

Emotions are a driving force in everything mankind does. They can motivate the redeemed for good or ill. Harnessed by the Holy Spirit, our emotions can drive us into God's presence to pray and enjoy Him, truly. We have emotions because God has feelings. I will tell you several times in these few minutes that I fully understand God and His emotions, which is somewhere below zero, but He has them. That knowledge will help us not shun our emotions but leverage them to a vibrant prayer life. The fir...

What has often labeled "The Lord's Prayer" is not a mantra repeated out of rote, but a pattern for the prayers of the saints. Matthew 6:9-13 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. 10 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 'Give us this day our daily bread. 12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 'And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil. [For Thine is the kingdom and the power,...

The calls to walk in a manner worthy of the redeemed life we have been called too, have never been easy, we are indeed the most radical people in our culture. Circumstance, though, has a way of reminding us of the sanctified life we are called to. This is a season we are reminded we are called to: Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. This is a short devotional prayer over the call to show the Holy compassion of our Savi...

Mid-Week Review 2: Just Talk to God Matthew 11:28-30 28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 "For My yoke is easy, and My load is light." and… 1 Peter 5 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you. It is hard to beli...

We learn clearly from Luke 18:1ff, Jesus encourages us to come to Him with importunity. The word in Greek though means asking so often it becomes shameful. I take two meanings from our initial study of Luke 18 here, We are not coming to an unrighteous judge, but to our loving Savior. Jesus knows our frame, and He sets out here: when the seasons come for which our hearts are rent by such sorrow that we cry to Him day and night, we are not only free to pray to Him over and over, but He invites and...

The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth… at the perfect time. Proverbs 15:8b …But the prayer of the upright is His delight. For the next few days, then, let us focus on praise and adoration for we know: We can be pleasing to Him. Our goal is to enter into your Master's joy. Our aim by God's power is to do everything to His glory and, Our great desire to talk to and commune with the Holy God of the Universe, our adopted Father, the Son who suffered to attain our salvation, and the spirit who lead...

The price of knowledge is eternal review - Don’t ask. I cannot remember precisely who I stole that from. I am convinced as Christians as we, from time to time, struggle with the old ennui, it is our soul longing for a more intimate connection with our Savior. Even the fabulous face we may turn around and see is not really what our new inner-man is longing for. If we say with the Scriptures: As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for t...

Dear Christian: To use a word common today, the content of all Jesus’ teaching is to our hearts. We can keep all the rules for the wrong reasons. We may keep them strictly from fear, keep them strictly from pride, keep them to impress others, and as even real children of God, our reward is what we have sought, the honor of other men. Jesus, however, is aiming at our hearts. In prayer, this is most certainly true. He wants authentic communication from His children. When we come to Him, we aim at ...