I promised that the next post would be the beginning of “The 4 Keys to Sharing Your Faith,” but I want to take a brief aside to give some Christians a helpful exercise.

When my small group from church gets together, we always take prayer requests and also praise reports. Various churches and ministries do this as well – especially on the Internet.

I’ve noticed though, that the prayer requests seem to vastly outnumber the praise reports. Is this because we live in a sinful, broken world? Perhaps, but I think it happens for two reasons.

1. We often overlook the good that God has done in our lives

2. Christians feel uncomfortable sharing the good things God has done in their lives

While I do both of these, perhaps we could look at the second one of these. This could perhaps be the easiest to fix.

Considering the following text spoken by Jesus to the Pharisees in the Gospel of Luke:

Luk 15:4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?
Luk 15:5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luk 15:6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’
Luk 15:7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Luk 15:8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?
Luk 15:9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’
Luk 15:10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

While this story was told to prove a different point than ours, we see two very important things.

1. God rejoices over sinners who repent – he celebrates when our eternal Spirit is blessed.
2. People are allowed to rejoice over the good that is done in their lives by God.

There is a story which illustrates our duty to praise God for his goodness in a much stronger way. In Luke, Chapter 17, we read about Jesus healing ten lepers:

Luke 17 11-18 (ESV) 11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance
13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”
14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.
15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;
16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.
17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?
18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

My wife and I have problems sharing the good that God is doing in our lives. We say either inwardly, or to each other

• “We don’t want to look like we are bragging.”
• “What if someone is struggling with this – they’ll feel bad.”
• Another reason could be that if I share a praise report, I may have to stop whining about my “problems” ; )

These excuses are all deceptions from the enemy, Satan. While we should not brag of our own hand in the matter, Jesus tells us:

Matthew 5:15 (ESV) Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

God does these things not just for our good, but for all those that hear of it. Would I have ever known Christ if there were not teachers of the Word on the radio proclaiming the good news?Would I have even opened the Bible if there was not a person I trusted at least in a small way that was telling me of the wonderous and loving God that exists?

Be Wise in the Lord

Ask the Lord to discern bragging from praise. Be wise as God is wise.

Be Ready to be Treated Differently

They say that a friend that sticks close in times of trouble is closer than a brother. I have heard the opposite from those in the business world. Those who stick close to you in times of blessing are closer than a brother.

Why is this? People are jealous at heart.

I have a recent example. My wife just recently found out that her diceased Grandparents had a small piece of land that was unused out in the country. A local gas company wanted to run a pipeline across it and my wife was to receive an amount of money as part of the agreement. This was a wonderful, and certainly timely blessing for her, as she is trying to pay down some student loans. What was my first reaction though – her husband and closest friend?

Sure I was happy for her, but my immediate first reaction (can’t believe I’m sharing this) was that I thought, “When is God going to do something amazing and unexpected in my life?” I got over my little “pity party” and definitely repented, but this shows that enmity and jealousy can even rear its ugly head within the closest of relationships.

I guess what I am saying is that yes, there is a chance we will be treated differently, but if we are not sharing what God is doing in our lives, we are putting the light of the Lord under the bed.

People Want to Know, Though

People want to know that God is alive – that he cares and that he is active in our lives. People want to know that God listens to prayers and answers them. People will not notice this on their own because their minds are darkened against God. The Lord wants to use us to be his light.

How to Practice Improving our Praise

• Try sharing our praise reports first with our small group or family. This is a safer environment where you are less likely (note I say less) to be shunned or rebuked.
• Make praise an integral part of our personal worship. Iwill make a conscious effort to do this first and foremost before I start off on my checklist of needs : ) My wife and I try to do this as we pray together. Sometimes we slip into our “me, me, me” style of prayer, but God is still working on us and will until the end.

Visit our “Virtual Prayer Request Room” that we share with many other websites around the world. You can enter prayer requests and see others from all over the planet scrolling by. There is a section of the prayer room for Praise Reports. Take a step by offering a praise report to the world so they can see the wonderful things God is doing in our lives.

Next Time: The 4 Keys to Sharing Your Faith

Thanks for joining. We’ll be back soon with the next installment where we share the first “The 4 Keys to Sharing Your Faith.” I mean it this time, too : )

I pray that God blesses each one of you and I look forward to sharing time with you again. If you have any questions or comments, click on the “Add comment” link at the end of this post. You may also subscribe (it’s free) to the RSS feed or the Email list on the right-hand side of the website. Of course we do not share your information with anyone else. I dislike junk email as much as the next guy.

Have a blessed day!

Categories: Good News, Living for Christ, Witnessing
Tags: