Life Lessons

Encouragement and Prayer: Leading With Integrity! (06/16/22)
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Encouragement and Prayer: Leading With Integrity! (06/16/22)

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This is the audio from the June 16, 2022 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Matthew 5:37 (NIV)

As we continue to grow in A Lifestyle of Prayer, it is important to remember prayer should be a lifestyle, not an event.  View prayer as your first priority, not as the last resort.  This week we will focus our prayer emphasis on some things that God says about integrity.  Selfishness and situational ethics have made integrity a dying characteristic — everyone else does “it”, so will I.  Integrity is a part of God’s nature so it is a characteristic we ought to pursue in our life in order to better reflect Jesus to the world.

“And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.”
Psalm 78:72 (NIV)

As you pray this week, ask God to help you grow in your commitment to letting your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’.  Pray that all leading you do, whether considered big or small, would be done with integrity.  Pray that all those who lead within God’s kingdom would do so with a heart of integrity.  Pray that the people around you would both lead with integrity and be involved in choosing leaders with integrity.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Growing As Leaders Who PRAY (SCC Prayer Seminar)
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Growing As Leaders Who PRAY (SCC Prayer Seminar)

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This is the audio and outline from session one with the leaders during a June 2022 prayer seminar held at the Spencer Christian Church in Taylorsville, Kentucky.

Text:  Colossians 4:2-6, Isaiah 40:30-31

For me, one of the comforting aspects of the Isaiah 40:30-31 passage is the acknowledgement that even youths grow weary and tired.  It serves as a reminder that we all experience circumstances of life that wear us down and we find ourselves in need of renewal.  The good news is that God says those who wait upon Him, or put their hope in Him, will be renewed.  Learning to put our hope in the Lord and wait upon Him helps us to lead as we . . .

  • Pause.  Colossians 4:2, Proverbs 24:32
    • Learning to pause can be a valuable tool to help us grow in a lifestyle of prayer.  It is often the lack of a pause that gets us into trouble as our nature has a tendency to want to respond out of the emotions that are stirred up by what we see and hear.  When we watch and pause, we take time to observe carefully and seek God’s perspective on what is really going on.  Practicing the pause is done when we spend time with God in prayer and His Word so that we are the sheep who hear His voice and know His voice.
  • Request.  Colossians 4:3-4, Philippians 4:6
    • By beginning with a pause that seeks God above all else, our requests are refined to remove the typical selfishness that seems to be a part of mankind’s nature.  Watching what is really going on around us should lead us to requests that God would use us to speak boldly and lovingly about the good news of Jesus.  When we are devoted to prayer in a way that is watchful and thankful, our requests of God tend to have a more eternal perspective as we realize the temporary nature of this life on earth.
  • Act.  Colossians 4:5, Proverbs 3:27
    • Learning to watch and act means that we are listening to God and being obedient when He calls us to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the people around us.  Many times we make our requests known to God and then we sit back and expect God or someone else to make them happen.  Learning to pause and request doesn’t negate the need to act — it just puts the action that we take into the proper perspective of being directed by God.  When you pray and make your requests known to God, especially requests for others, it is important that you also listen for the great possibility that God will call you to act in response to that request.
  • Yield.  Colossians 4:6, Matthew 6:10
    • This may be the most difficult part of learning to watch and pray for many people.  Yielding to God’s authority in all things means that we are not in charge.  When we learn to let our words be seasoned with grace, we yield the need to be right about everything and we remove ourselves from the position of pretending we are God.  Even when we pause, request, and act, we must be careful that our will is fully yielded to God and that we are not simply using a false spirituality to push our ways on others.  Learning to watch and pray leads us to a point of joining in the prayer of Jesus, “Not my will, but yours be done.”

What do you need to work on in order to PRAY as you lead? 

What could happen if you were to PRAY as the foundation of leading?

Encouragement and Prayer: Upheld By Integrity! (06/15/22)
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Encouragement and Prayer: Upheld By Integrity! (06/15/22)

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This is the audio from the June 15, 2022 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Matthew 5:37 (NIV)

As we continue to grow in A Lifestyle of Prayer, it is important to remember prayer should be a lifestyle, not an event.  View prayer as your first priority, not as the last resort.  This week we will focus our prayer emphasis on some things that God says about integrity.  Selfishness and situational ethics have made integrity a dying characteristic — everyone else does “it”, so will I.  Integrity is a part of God’s nature so it is a characteristic we ought to pursue in our life in order to better reflect Jesus to the world.

“In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.”
Psalm 41:12 (NIV)

As you pray this week, ask God to help you grow in your commitment to letting your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’.  Pray that your life of integrity would lift you up to eternal life with God.  Pray that your pursuit of integrity would fill you with a growing peace of God’s presence in your daily walk.  Pray that the people around you would have a relationship with Jesus that is upheld by their integrity.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Protected By Integrity! (06/14/22)
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Encouragement and Prayer: Protected By Integrity! (06/14/22)

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This is the audio from the June 14, 2022 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Matthew 5:37 (NIV)

As we continue to grow in A Lifestyle of Prayer, it is important to remember prayer should be a lifestyle, not an event.  View prayer as your first priority, not as the last resort.  This week we will focus our prayer emphasis on some things that God says about integrity.  Selfishness and situational ethics have made integrity a dying characteristic — everyone else does “it”, so will I.  Integrity is a part of God’s nature so it is a characteristic we ought to pursue in our life in order to better reflect Jesus to the world.

“May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.”
Psalm 25:21 (NIV)

As you pray this week, ask God to help you grow in your commitment to letting your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’.  Pray that the hope you have in Jesus would fill you with an integrity that protects you from sin.  Pray for a growing integrity that protects you from the accusations of the enemy.  Pray that the people around you would seek God’s protection through a life of integrity.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Judged According To Integrity! (06/13/22)
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Encouragement and Prayer: Judged According To Integrity! (06/13/22)

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This is the audio from the June 13, 2022 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Matthew 5:37 (NIV)

As we continue to grow in A Lifestyle of Prayer, it is important to remember prayer should be a lifestyle, not an event.  View prayer as your first priority, not as the last resort.  This week we will focus our prayer emphasis on some things that God says about integrity.  Selfishness and situational ethics have made integrity a dying characteristic — everyone else does “it”, so will I.  Integrity is a part of God’s nature so it is a characteristic we ought to pursue in our life in order to better reflect Jesus to the world.  As you pray this week, ask God to help you grow in your commitment to letting your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’.  Pray that the message you present with your life would match what you say with your words, and that both would match God’s Word.  Pray that you would make a life of integrity a priority each day you live.

“Let the LORD judge the peoples.  Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High.”
Psalm 7:8 (NIV)

Pray that you would live in such a way that you have no fear when the One who knows your heart judges you according to your integrity.  Pray for the humility needed to live with confidence in your integrity and in the righteousness of God.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Unity of Faith! (06/10/22)
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Encouragement and Prayer: Unity of Faith! (06/10/22)

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This is the audio from the June 10, 2022 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope when you were called — one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Ephesians 4:1-6 (NIV)

Our Lifestyle of Prayer emphasis this week will focus on different aspects of unity from God’s perspective.  It seems nearly everyone loves the idea of unity, if people would just agree with me (what I say, what I like, what I want, what I . . .) though really we just want conformity, not unity.  Real unity comes when we decide it’s all about what God says, wants, and desires and not about me!

“Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:13 (NIV)

As you pray, pay attention to any changes and/or actions God would be calling you to make in that area.  Pray for the maturity to get along with one another as we all mature into a unity of faith.  Pray that your knowledge of Jesus would lead you to a unity of faith that results in growing into the fullness of Christ.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Unity of Spirit! (06/09/22)
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Encouragement and Prayer: Unity of Spirit! (06/09/22)

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This is the audio from the June 9, 2022 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope when you were called — one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Ephesians 4:1-6 (NIV)

Our Lifestyle of Prayer emphasis this week will focus on different aspects of unity from God’s perspective.  It seems nearly everyone loves the idea of unity, if people would just agree with me (what I say, what I like, what I want, what I . . .) though really we just want conformity, not unity.  Real unity comes when we decide it’s all about what God says, wants, and desires and not about me!

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus.”
Romans 15:5 (NIV)

As you pray, pay attention to any changes and/or actions God would be calling you to make in that area.  Pray for a unity of spirit among your church family that is based on following Christ Jesus.  Pray that you would grow in endurance as God encourages and leads you to a greater unity through following Christ.  Pray that a unity of spirit would identify you as a follower of Christ.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Called To Complete Unity! (06/08/22)
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Encouragement and Prayer: Called To Complete Unity! (06/08/22)

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This is the audio from the June 8, 2022 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope when you were called — one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Ephesians 4:1-6 (NIV)

Our Lifestyle of Prayer emphasis this week will focus on different aspects of unity from God’s perspective.  It seems nearly everyone loves the idea of unity, if people would just agree with me (what I say, what I like, what I want, what I . . .) though really we just want conformity, not unity.  Real unity comes when we decide it’s all about what God says, wants, and desires and not about me!

“I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
John 17:23 (NIV)

As you pray, pay attention to any changes and/or actions God would be calling you to make in that area.  Pray that your pursuit of complete unity in Christ would help others to see Jesus and the love of God in you.  Pray that love would be the foundation of your unity in a world that needs to see the love of God in you.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom