The First Step

Yielding Yourself to Christ
Pastor Adrian Rogers


"...yield yourselves unto God..." Romans 6:13



I heard about a man who entered an interstate from a side road and did not even slow down. A big eighteen-wheeler pulled over, almost wrecking him. The truck driver leaned out of the window and yelled, "Hey, didn't you see that sign?" The man said, "What sign?" The trucker said, "That sign that said, 'YIELD'." "Oh," the man said, "I opened the window and 'yield' as loud as I could."

In the matter of victory, it is not your ability or your responsibility that counts. It is not even your response to His ability. You must choose to yield to Christ. You are to yield with all of your heart to the power, the presence, and the provision of the Lord Jesus Christ.


· Look up the definition of "yield."


· What does it say about the right of way?


· Who has the "right of way" in your life?


· Bow before the Lord and surrender all of you to all of Him today.


For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org





Analyzing Unanswered Prayer
Dr. R. C. Sproul

Our prayers are sometimes not answered because we pray in vague generalities. When all our prayers are either vague or universal in their scope, it is difficult to experience the exhilaration that goes with clear and obvious answers to prayer. If we ask God to "bless everyone in the world" or "forgive everyone in town," it would be difficult to see the prayer answered in any concrete way. Not that it is wrong to have a large scope of interest in prayer, but if all prayer is given to such generality, then no prayer will have specific and concrete application.

Our prayers are also hindered if we are at war with God. If we are out of harmony with God or in a state of rebellion toward Him, we can hardly expect Him to turn a benevolent ear toward our prayers. His ear is inclined to those who love Him and seek to obey Him. He turns His ear away from the wicked. Thus our attitude and reverence toward God is vital to the efficiency of our prayers.

We also tend to be impatient. When I pray for patience I tend to ask for it "right now!" It is not uncommon for us to wait years, indeed decades, for our most earnest petitions to be realized. God rarely is in a hurry. On the other hand, our fidelity to God tends to depend on "prompt and courteous" action by God. If God tarries, our impatience yields to frustration.

We also have short memories and easily forget the benefits and gifts we've received from the hand of God. This is the mark of the apostate—he forgets the benefits of God. The saint remembers the gifts of God and doesn't require a fresh one each hour to keep his faith intact.

Though God does heap grace upon grace, we should be able to rejoice in God's benefits if we never receive another benefit from Him. Remember the Lord when you go before Him. He will not give you a stone when you ask Him for bread.

Coram Deo: Living in the Presence of God

Reflect on these reasons for unanswered prayer to determine if they are affecting your prayer life: praying in generalities, being at war with God, being impatient, and forgetting the benefits you have received from God.

For Further Study


Isaiah 40:29-31: "He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

The mission, passion and purpose of Ligonier Ministries and Dr. R.C. Sproul is to help people grow in their knowledge of God and His holiness. For more information, please visit www.ligonier.org or call them at 800-435-4343. © R.C. Sproul. All rights reserved







PRAISE: The First Step in Effective Prayer
Bayless Conley

Praying consistently will change your life. In fact, many of the blessings God wants you to enjoy will never be realized unless you pray.

I think all Christians know they are supposed to pray, and all Christians want to pray. But many of God's people, if they are completely frank and transparent about the issue, would have to admit their prayer life is somewhere between mediocre and non-existent.

Over the next few devotionals, I want to share with you four simple points which I have put into an acronym: P-R-A-Y. If you can spell the word pray, hopefully you will be able to remember how to make your prayer life more effective, and you will be inspired to pray more consistently.

Psalm 100 helps us understand the first letter, "P", in the word P-R-A-Y, which stands for praise. Psalm 100:1-4 states it well,

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

Verse 2 tells us, Come before His presence with singing. And in verse 4 notice the words "enter into." In other words, praise is how you are to enter God's presence. It is the best way to begin your prayer.

When you want to come to God, you start with thanksgiving. You start with singing. You start with praise. Or, as The Message says, Enter with the password: "Thank you!"

Today, and every day, make praise the starting point of every conversation with God!

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God


SHACKLES: (Praise Him) Mary Mary