John 3:30

He Must Increase, I Must Decrease

Just me

Avoid ORA-00054: resource busy and acquire with NOWAIT specified on Truncate

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If you are on an 11g database, you can ignore this post and just use the new ddl_lock_timeout parameter to accomplish what this post explains.

“alter session set ddl_lock_timeout=60” – will effectively allow ddl statements to all wait 60 seconds before encountering the error.

If you are on 10g or lower, here is an option:

If you are an Oracle programmer, then you’ve probably encountered the ORA-00054: resource busy and acquire with NOWAIT specified exception when attempting to truncate a table. When this happens during the day, you can usually just wait a few minutes (or go and commit your other open sessions…), but what about when you are truncating tables as part of a script which runs overnight? Are you tired of being woken up so you can simply rerun the script?

Well check out this script, then! It is a very simple PL/SQL procedure which accepts 1 or 2 arguments.

TABLE_NAME: string containing the table to truncate (include the schema prefix as well).
MAX_WAIT: number which is the maximum amount of minutes you would want to wait (you can ignore this parm and it will default to 10)

The script does the following:

1. Check if it has been running for more than the max wait time – if so, exit with a custom exception.
2. Truncate the table sent as a parameter
2a. If successful – EXIT.
2b. If truncate fails due to ORA-00054 exception, repeat steps 1 & 2 (this is a good place to put dbms_lock.sleep if you desire).
2b. If truncate fails for any other reason, simply pass the exception onto the calling program.

So instead of getting an error when a resource is busy – your code will wait for it to become available, then truncate it as soon as possible. And since you are executing procedures, you can easily use dbms_scheduler to allow your truncates to run concurrently. If you have enough of them, this will be a real time saver. But be careful because if you are doing a truncate and load you will want to have something that checks that the jobs are completed before beginning your load.

Please see the code below:

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE truncate_tbl(table_name IN VARCHAR2, max_wait IN NUMBER DEFAULT 10)
AS
   ld_start_time   DATE;
BEGIN
   ld_start_time   := SYSDATE;

  <>
   LOOP
      IF (SYSDATE - ld_start_time) < (max_wait/60/24) THEN
         BEGIN
           <>
            EXECUTE IMMEDIATE('TRUNCATE TABLE ' || table_name);

            EXIT truncate_loop;
         EXCEPTION
            WHEN OTHERS THEN
               IF SQLCODE = -54 THEN
                  NULL;
               ELSE
                  RAISE;
               END IF;
         END actual_code;
      ELSE
         RAISE_APPLICATION_ERROR(-20101, max_wait||' Minutes waited for table to be available from NOWAIT status.');
      END IF;
   END LOOP truncate_loop;
END truncate_tbl;

Then you can call it simple with

declare
begin
  truncate_tbl('SCHEMA.TABLE_NAME');
end;
/

If this article doesn’t help you, consider dropping me a note with your concern. I have thousands of lines of code for hundreds of Oracle problems I’ve faced and would publish ones that people told me would be helpful.

From the heart…

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I haven’t ‘blogged’ for a long time. At least not regularly. But tonight my wife actually suggested it. This is a strange occurrence because we get so little time together anyway. I used to write my blogs on a laptop while riding a bus to work, but my new job is only good for listening to Todd Friel (which isn’t bad); the point is, no typing while driving.

It has been pointed out to me that I can sound ‘academic’ in some of my posts. That is meant in a critical way. I guess when I write posts about theology, I always feel like I need to somehow make it perfect. As if I can counter every potential argument, or lay out every possible cross reference.

It reminds me of Jerry Rediger’s voicemail greeting: “Please leave a brief and detailed message after the tone.”

What? Inconceivable!

But what may be lost in the array of amateur theology articles with a Jesuit educated vocabulary (I’ve repented of that if you are wondering), is the state of my heart. It may be clear that I intellectually assent to a lot of good doctrine. It wouldn’t take a CSI to detect that I probably have TULIPs growing in my front yard, or that I can read a page of ‘you might be a Calvinist if…’ quotes and wonder why its so funny. I don’t vote Democrat and I don’t watch TV (except football games) and my favorite book actually is, the Bible. Yep, I’m one of those guys who doesn’t really have a favorite verse, because, of course, all scripture…is profitable.

And can you tell I’m an evangelist? I would post more on the topic but I’m afraid of it coming across like boasting instead of sharing. Am I trying to please men? I don’t know. I think it’s wise to be concerned with others and how I’ll be perceived. But why do I evangelize? It is solely for the glory of God? Is that the be-all and end-all of my faith? Do I rejoice in the salvation of a lost sinner only because of the glory it exhibits of Christ? There have been times I have coldly preached or shared the gospel, without a shred of concern about the hearer. I have preached or spoken with ONLY Jesus as the audience. For that, I must, and have, repented.

Thankfully, that is few and far between. Because the fact is this, I truly love the lost. I was granted, by the grace of God, at a very early time in my walk with Christ, a deep love for people who do not know Him. In fact, I went to such an Arminian, seeker-sensitive, antinomian megachurch when I was saved, that I fit right into the groove. For those of you who don’t know, antinomianism can be loosely defined as ‘grace-abuse.’ These are the people who violate the spirit of grace by presuming it and becoming lawless. They cite the various glorious verses in the bible which speak of God’s grace and how good works cannot save, and they ignore the verses like Jesus telling a number of people, “depart from me, you workers of iniquity. (lawlessness)” The point being, I was really good at going out and inviting people to church and telling them the gospel. I wasn’t shy about it, (or if I was, I hid it well). I was the perfect new convert. I was so excited about what my eyes had just been opened to, I couldn’t imagine keeping it to myself.

I also found that I loved God…A LOT. I, like most Americans, had assumed I had always loved God. I didn’t understand my new affections. I assumed this was how ALL CHRISTIANS must feel about the Lord. So I unknowingly went out and simply offended others. I mean AT CHURCH. I was reading my bible regularly and the Holy Spirit was growing me, so imagine my surprise when I discovered that other people at my church didn’t want to have sin removed like I did! They didn’t even want to call the same things sin. I heard a lot of talk about liberty and grace. Both wonderful, biblical doctrines. But I heard nothing of holiness or righteousness or transformation.

Where was I? Oh yeah, I was talking about how much I love the lost. What I want to share is that I love Jesus Christ more than anything. And yes, bringing him glory through biblical evangelism is one of my goals. Evangelistic success isn’t measured simply by the number of disciples made. But to approach a living, breathing soul with the most important news ever and to have no real concern for that person’s eternity? That’s cold-hearted and not God glorifying, in my opinion. Oh Christ sees your efforts, your creativity and your words, but He is a discerner of your heart as well. He knows if you are truly interested in the people with whom you are witnessing. He knows if you are using the occasion to indulge your flesh, or if you actually despise the lost soul with whom you are professing to be sharing Christ.

I have been there. I’ve talked to people and realized I didn’t care if they got saved. One time, I began to witness to a guy because he kept trying to talk to me on the bus and was annoying me. So I figured, well, I’ll tell him the gospel and then he’ll certainly leave me alone. What a jerk. So of course, God humbled me quickly and allowed me to present the gospel to the man, but also worked on my heart right then and there. By the end I was truly expressing care to the man.

So dear brother or sister, please know that I do what I do out of a great love for a great God. But that isn’t all; part of the outpouring…part of the application of that love for God is a love for His creation. If God does not rejoice in the death of the wicked, why should I? Please do not make the mistake I did and forget your own utter helplessness. Your own utter sinfulness. Your own desperate need for a savior.

Now I’m rambling. I actually had intended to write about how wonderful it is to me that my local church leadership wanted to support an idea I brought to them about sending police and firefighters and other service men and women to a movie for free. I am so grateful…people are so good to me. And I deserve none of it.

How to see your Oracle text output in something other than the browser!

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Updated November 8, 2013 – I have verified this on Windows 7 Enterprise Edition.

Have you ever wanted to see your Oracle output or log files open in your custom text editor instead of an IE window? I use Notepad++ (FREE) for text editing. Every time I open an output file or log file which is text it opens in IE.

This is undesirable for a couple of reasons: (I’m sure you can name more)

  1. This means I have SEVERAL IE (Internet Explorer) windows open for each log I am viewing.
  2. I cannot use the advanced features of my desktop application, I’m stuck with CTRL+F in IE, etc.

If you are in my boat, I have the cure for your woes.

Click Start -> Run -> then type “regedit” in the run box and press {ENTER}

You may be prompted to allow access to the application. Click “Yes,” if so.

Navigate to the object HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.txt\Content Type. It should have a value of ‘text/plain’. Go ahead and DELETE this object.

Now when you open text files in your browser, including when you click View Log or View Output from the Oracle Concurrent Request screen, text files open properly in your default OS application for text as long as you are using the Viewer: Text profile option set to “Browser” in your site.

Whatever your preferred text editor is, Notepad++, Ultraedit, Textpad, you can use it to view logs, compare files quickly and save them easily in a tabbed application.

How to find which responsibility can run a request in Oracle Apps.

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If this article doesn’t help you, consider dropping me a note with your concern. I have thousands of lines of code for hundreds of Oracle problems I’ve faced and would publish ones that people told me would be helpful.

How many times have you been told by Oracle Support that you should run a concurrent request…only to realize that you have no idea which responsibility to choose to run the request? Or you want to instruct a user to run a request, and you want to be sure they have access?

The query below will help you. It will provide for you the responsibility name and the request group name which can run a concurrent program. You can search by the user_concurrent_program_name or the “short_name”.

SELECT FRT.RESPONSIBILITY_NAME, FRG.REQUEST_GROUP_NAME, FRG.DESCRIPTION
  FROM FND_REQUEST_GROUPS FRG
      ,FND_REQUEST_GROUP_UNITS FRGU
      ,FND_CONCURRENT_PROGRAMS FCP
      ,FND_CONCURRENT_PROGRAMS_TL FCPT
      ,FND_RESPONSIBILITY_TL FRT
      ,FND_RESPONSIBILITY FR
 WHERE     FRGU.UNIT_APPLICATION_ID = FCP.APPLICATION_ID
       AND FRGU.REQUEST_UNIT_ID = FCP.CONCURRENT_PROGRAM_ID
       AND FRG.REQUEST_GROUP_ID = FRGU.REQUEST_GROUP_ID
       AND FRG.APPLICATION_ID = FRGU.APPLICATION_ID
       AND FCPT.SOURCE_LANG = USERENV('LANG')
       AND FCP.APPLICATION_ID = FCPT.APPLICATION_ID
       AND FCP.CONCURRENT_PROGRAM_ID = FCPT.CONCURRENT_PROGRAM_ID
       AND FR.APPLICATION_ID = FRT.APPLICATION_ID
       AND FR.RESPONSIBILITY_ID = FRT.RESPONSIBILITY_ID
       AND FRT.SOURCE_LANG = USERENV('LANG')
       AND FR.REQUEST_GROUP_ID = FRG.REQUEST_GROUP_ID
       AND FR.APPLICATION_ID = FRG.APPLICATION_ID
       --   AND FCP.CONCURRENT_PROGRAM_NAME = 'OPMTMOPG'  --  YOU CAN PUT THE SHORTNAME HERE
       AND FCPT.USER_CONCURRENT_PROGRAM_NAME LIKE 'Purge OPM Txns and Move Order Lines' --OR THE USER CONC PROGRAM NAME HERE
;

If this article doesn’t help you, consider dropping me a note with your concern. I have thousands of lines of code for hundreds of Oracle problems I’ve faced and would publish ones that people told me would be helpful.

God’s providence in the life of this sinner.

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On March 20, 2011, I began to teach a Sunday school series on the topic of prayer. As the result of the preparation I undertook, I became quite convicted of my own lack of prayer, speaking of both quantity and quality. Since that time, my prayer life has been changed greatly, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I’ve been reading an inspiring book of prayers by George Mueller with the documented answers from God for my class and it has led me to a greater faith and I have begun to submit myself more fully to His will. It is my desire to be wholly and humbly ready for whatever the wisdom of God allows in my life, and to honestly and earnestly seek Him and open my heart to Him. As the result, by His providential wisdom and mercy, I believe He supplied me with opportunity to fill the desires of my own heart this past week. Psalms 37:4, Proverbs 3:6.

Day 1: Monday April 11, 2011

I never leave my ringer on when I go to bed. I leave it on “alarm only” because for a number of years I got a lot of undesirable texts and calls while sleeping. So it came as quite a shock to me when I awoke to my phone “buzzing” at 5:45 am Monday. It was an unknown number; I assumed it was someone from my work, and I had better answer to see what was needed.

To my shock (and a little horror) it was my daughter’s principal. I couldn’t imagine what Bailey must have done to warrant a 5:45am Monday phone call. Thankfully, for Bailey’s sake, the phone call was unrelated to her school behavior. Mrs. Jones was calling to tell me that the High School Bible teacher, Mr. Jennings, needed a substitute. I couldn’t believe it. It had been almost 8 months since I’d put my name on a list to substitute teach. I have prayed at times that the Lord would allow me to teach His Word, and to make me accept His will in this regard.

I immediately went to prayer, asking the Lord to lead me. I decided that in His providence, this was indeed His will for me. I began to prepare for my day. I had no notes ready, no curriculum to teach, as the students were planning to give presentations. I notified my employer that I’d be late and I set off to school.

I was to teach four classes. First period was the Juniors and Seniors. Three of the students were from my church; this gave me some comfort. Not sure what to teach, and not sure how many days I’d have, I decided to give them something heady and challenging. I taught from Isaiah 53 about the doctrine of substitution. I had recently listened to a teaching that I’d enjoyed, and it was fresh in my mind. It seemed to go okay…but it felt odd to just walk into a room full of people, teach them, and then leave.

Second period was a joy. Seventh grade. These kids were raw. They listened well and were a fun group. Third period came. This was the ninth and tenth graders. Now it got interesting.

These kids were well-versed in the Bible and were poised to argue. Almost too ready…at times I questioned the authenticity of the argument, wondering if maybe some of them just liked to argue. Nevertheless, I was able to cram the teaching into the 40 minutes I had. By fourth period, with the eighth graders, I was excited and exhausted, and, after I finished with them, I went to my “real job.” With no idea how tiring this ordeal would be, I attempted to work almost a full day at work. I spent time in prayer on the way there, and in my office, asking God to work the heart of my boss in order that I might continue to teach. I needed to request the rest of the week off to be able to fill in for Mr. Jennings. Finally, before the conversation with my boss took place, I submitted to the Lord that His will ought to be done, that I was willing to obey my earthly master, and that I would not put up a defense or argue but rather trust that the Lord’s will would be done through my boss’s decision. After having become so willing to accept “defeat,” it came as somewhat of a surprise to me when my boss told me go ahead and teach for one week. Not only was I getting a chance to do what I love (minister and teach God’s Word), as well as practice to become a better teacher, I had the full confidence that the Spirit of God had ordained the whole deal and I was completely and utterly in His will.

Day 2: Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Well, any teacher knows that Day 2 actually begins on day one. I was talking to my wife, telling her that I had four more days with these kids! My excitement was only contained by my old age. My head was hurting, my body was tired. I had a honey-do list that wasn’t getting any smaller. I still had no idea what to teach them!

Now, several years ago, as I prayed for a wife, I prayed the Lord would provide me with a godly woman who loved Christ and obeyed scripture. I also prayed that she would be pretty. God was able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than I could ever have asked (Ephesians 3:20). My dear, sweet bride suggested that the best way to begin to earn the kids trust would be to open up to them and share my testimony of salvation. I had never thought of that, but I have heard that my testimony has an impact on folks, and they enjoy it. Little preparation was needed for this task, so I decided it made sense.

I read 1 Corinthians 13 to each class. I wanted them to understand that the purpose of my presence was out of a love for Christ and for them, and that I wanted them to see me as a real person, a sinner saved by a Big God, rather than just a substitute teacher doing his job. Without tooting my own horn, I wanted them to have an idea of the sacrifice it took for me to be there on the part of my family and my employer…that Christ may be magnified and exalted in their eyes (Psalm 34:3).

I shared my testimony with the seniors and juniors. For the seventh graders, I had to define some terminology for them, but they seemed attentive.

Somewhat unexpectedly, a 10th grader had taken something I had said the day before, and brought back a written response, using scripture. Sensing a potential ungodly debate, and not wanting to stray from our task at hand, I promised to read it and respond.

I cried the most in this class. The overwhelming love and kindness of my Savior toward me became more moving with each time I repeated my testimony, but by the time I told the last class, I was all cried out. I don’t know why, but I told the story with so much less emotion in this class.

By that afternoon, I was again exhausted. I drove to work and tried to work, wondering when I would have time to plan the next day’s lesson! At 2:15 I got an email from the principal. She let me know that I wouldn’t need to teach on Thursday because the students would have chapel 1st period…the remainder of the day would be study halls. I was devastated. I couldn’t imagine taking away their study halls. I decided to tell Mrs. Jones that I was not going to miss work to be a study hall monitor. Praise God who brought to mind the first email sent to me in which Mrs. Jones signed “Thank you for your servant’s heart.” How humbling, how convicting! I decided that I needed to submit to the will of my Father in Heaven, and to my principal. I had promised to sub for a man who desperately needed to take care of his family, so I decided I would do it to the best of my ability. I asked my wife to gather verses about having a good attitude and working heartily as if unto the Lord, for I needed them myself. And I thought the students would benefit from them as well.

Late that evening, I got a message from Mr. Jennings asking me if I would be the speaker at chapel on Thursday morning. I was overwhelmed with joy. Thank God because the self-loathing I felt because of my heart attitude earlier that day was great. Oh, the depth and riches of His love toward me! Even in the midst of my own pity party, He found it wise to grant me the grace to shut my mouth, and bring to me the very thing I wanted most, to preach to the students at chapel after worshiping together in song!

Unprepared to teach the next day, my wife suggested a Q&A session. Trusting that He has equipped me to know how to answer questions, and which questions to answer, I said yes. I saw it as sort of a training exercise; in case I ever engage in more formal public speaking, as well as an opportunity to truly open up the floor to the students, in order that I might speak to what is on their hearts and minds!

Day 3: Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Wednesday went well. I decided beforehand that I could no longer handle teaching and my other job, the same day. I did the question and answers session with the students, and I showed them the scriptures.

Prior to the seventh grade class starting, a student handed me a note. With fear and trembling I opened it and was surprised to see that she was encouraging me. She told me that she realized she needed to share the gospel with people she loved. Another girl told me I did a good job…this was encouraging..

The question and answer session for the tenth grade class went well as we discussed “who killed Christ.” The students were confused, taking some scriptural truths too far. I helped as much as I could. I got another note, this note denying the Trinity! I was overwhelmed with grief. I was praying daily for these kids and I want to see them saved, sanctified and growing in Christ. There were just so many of them and still so little time.

Day 4: Thursday, April 14, 2011

It was chapel day. The difference between teaching and preaching was faint and stark at once. The solemnity with which I prepared to worship and handle God’s Word in a chapel setting was real. I decided that I would try to be encouraging. I picked a topic that I thought would provide great comfort…assurance of salvation, or perseverance of the saints. I used John 10, John 1 and Romans 8:28-39 as my basic texts.

As we worshiped in song, I noticed that the words to the song we were singing tied in well with my sermon! I almost started crying as I thanked God for His providence to do what I couldn’t even ask. I preached. I referenced Matthew 7, the passage about how many will not enter the Kingdom, but I urged the truly born again believers in the room to continue to trust Christ alone as Savior and to be comforted that His grace is greater than all our sin. A couple people commented after and gave me kind words which encouraged me. God is too good to me.

To this point, these kids had heard the gospel 4 days in a row. We had studied the nuances of substitution and atonement, we had repeated the necessity of repentance and faith (and faith alone) as the condition for salvation and the importance of being born again. We’d discussed that the rebirth is a supernatural work that only God can perform.

I took the remainder of the day off work (my other job) and moved a refrigerator in my house. It took quite a toll on my body which isn’t getting younger. I couldn’t believe the week was almost over. I loved these kids. I really did. I asked God to make me love them and He provided. I do not wish to hide my love for them, nor am I embarrassed by it. I love them and I want them to be happy, resting in the only One who can provide for them truly. I want to see the believers among them emboldened to spread the gospel and defend what they believe biblically.

That afternoon a box arrived with LOTS AND LOTS of free tracts provided to me for the students on behalf of the Bezeugen tract club. All praise and honor and glory goes to Jesus Christ alone for this, as Bezeugen would agree, but God uses His people to do His Good will, and He took great pleasure to use my friends Carl and Mande Kalbfleisch to provide each student with a variety of great tracts.

Day 5: Friday, April 15, 2011

In the parking lot of the school, in my weakened state from the week…I lightly sprained my ankle. I was so hurt. My ankle was three times its normal size and I was about to teach…I thought, “walk it off, please.” I asked the Lord to give me the strength to survive the day. He did.

Last day. I had 40 more minutes per kid to make an impact. I taught about evangelism. I showed them a video of a wolf in sheep’s clothing getting people to repeat a sinner’s prayer, then declaring them heaven-bound. I asked the class what they thought. The seniors and juniors seemed to get it: no one is going to Heaven because they said a prayer. We discussed evangelism and the importance of personal holiness. What a great group of kids. It was gratifying for me to get to tell them that God had given each of them talents that they are to use for His glory, and maybe for reaching the lost, like fluency in another language.

My 7th graders arrived for second period. My favorites. They were such a fun group and I enjoyed them so. The teaching goes completely different from 1st period and that’s okay. I rolled with it. At the end, I brought a young man up for a one on one witnessing encounter. What a great opportunity. I was training a group of people, while evangelizing one person quite personally…but the whole class was hearing the gospel again as well!

After this, it got interesting. Third period. The ninth and tenth graders. We watched a few videos and began a good discussion, but it rolled around to this: “What about people in South Africa that have never heard of Jesus Christ, but they love God and worship God…do they go to Heaven or Hell?”*(see note at the end of the post*) The students were concerned when I said the Bible declares they will go to Hell. There wasn’t much time, but I tried to explain that since God is just, all people must inherit eternal damnation, and since there is no other name under Heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12), no one apart from Christ will avoid God’s judgment.

Now the real shock that day came when we did the good person test and the person I witnessed to couldn’t communicate to me the true gospel…I thought the test would fail because she would know to say that it was Christ alone that saves…but she kept repeating that God would be impressed by her “good heart.”

The final discussion was about the perseverance of the saints. As I expected in a room with a few Catholics and Nazarenes, the idea of being sealed by the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:24, Romans 8:38-39) was just asinine.(**see note) Several students took umbrage with my teaching about assurance and perseverance. There were two main issues we discussed.

Issue one was that many students didn’t think it was right that you could be saved, then still commit a heinous sin and stay saved. This is called a religion of works and a salvation by works. People who believe they hold on to their own salvation aren’t really trusting Christ to have paid it all for their sins on the cross. They are still working to please God and are trusting in the flesh. This is not only unbiblical, but irrational if thought out. The idea that God doesn’t forgive EVERY sin when He saves you doesn’t make sense. In fact, why make a decision for Christ at all if you could later lose it? Why not just wait until later in life? I guess just in case you die unexpected, but really, the idea that when Jesus said “it is finished’ that he actually meant “it is begun, but I need sinful men to finish it” is blasphemy and ultimately demonic. I say this with all compassion and love for those who trust themselves for salvation, because I love the Truth and I love you, give it up, put your faith in Christ alone, He is Mighty to Save!

Issue two was that several people were not happy about the idea that they lacked the freedom of will to walk away from Christ at any time. If you are truly born again, you can’t unborn-again yourself any more than you can cause your rebirth. That’s the Truth, plain and simple.

Finally, I had a good last period with my 8th graders as we discussed several different questions. We even drew a Punnett square. My mathematical friends will understand what that is.

God visited us all week, and I trust He is with these kids now. He gave me the opportunity to go see them tonight and support them in their production of “Pride and Prejudice.” He gave me great pleasure by causing some of them to actually like me, or fake it really well. I trust that He will continue to provide abundantly, but I am ever encouraged to ask, as He knows so much better how to give good gifts to His children than men.

Dear Christian reader – be encouraged. God loves you. He actually does have a wonderful plan for your life. It is wonderful because is cannot fail to bring glory to His name. May your willingness to submit to this increase your faithfulness and your love toward Him and your brethren and nonbelievers alike.

*A note for those of you who are very concerned for “remote tribal people who never hear of Christ:” First and foremost, the judge of the earth will do right (Gen 18:25), and all men are condemned already (John 3:18-19), and without Christ there is no hope (1 John 5:12). But more importantly, if you are really so concerned with remote tribal villagers perishing, PUT AWAY YOUR VIDEO GAMES, CANCEL YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT, SELL ALL YOUR BELONGINGS, LEARN THEIR LANGUAGE, GO TO THEM AND TELL THEM ABOUT CHRIST. Stop using these people as an arguing tool for you to cast doubt in the minds of people concerning the God of the Bible’s integrity and Goodness, and start doing something that shows you actually care for their well-being. The problem isn’t with God or His messenger; the likely issue is that you hate the message. You hate the God that would punish a “good atheist” or a “god-loving” man who never hears of Christ. Become a missionary and give up your life for these people.

**I mentioned specific religious groups for the purpose of helping people that are enslaved to these groups and hurting. If you love your religion, this blog is probably not for you. I am sorry if I am offensive, but not sorry to offend. It takes only an elementary look at the basic doctrine of these different religious bodies to see that we do not agree on the gospel, and thus, one or the other of us is condemned.

Why Should We Pray?

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This is the introduction to a series on prayer. Lord willing, I’ll be teaching about 10 weeks of Sunday school at Berean Baptist Church beginning March 20. I have decided to take on the topic of prayer.

Clearly, there are thousands of facets of prayer that could be investigated, researched and discussed. My focus is not to be exhaustive, but instead, my goal is to be decently thorough at that which I do attempt to expound upon.

Ultimately, I hope to answer a lot of questions about prayer, expose some false beliefs that many of us may have, and help you to improve your prayer life, by helping you to understand how to pray biblically. The goal, of course, is always to glorify God. But obviously, praying prayers that are answered is a great joy in a Christian’s life. Learning how to pray prayers that God will answer (in the conventional sense…technically a NO is an answer) will take time and practice and study and we will never be fully perfect at it in this life.

So how is your prayer life? Think for a moment. Do you pray daily, weekly or multiple times daily? Do you pray as long as you wish you did, that is, if you pray for 10 minutes is there a part of you that thinks you should do 15 minutes?

How do you pray? Do you kneel? Only sometimes or all the time? Do you always say “In Jesus Name?” What if you fall asleep while praying… do you feel guilty? If Jesus said not to pray publicly but to go into your closet to pray…then is all public prayer wrong?

Those are some things to think about. Email me your questions you may have about prayer, and I’ll try to find biblical answers for them.

So to start…let’s discuss why we, as Christians, should pray at all. I assume you already know that we should “pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17) and that Luke 18:1 ESV [you] ought always to pray and not lose heart.

The simple fact alone that prayer is commanded by God through Christ and the apostle Paul ought to be enough to compel you to pray.

Just counting the times that the gospels depict Jesus going away to pray ought to be enough of an example. Of all the things that were written about Him, the sheer volume of times He is recorded as praying should move you to your knees. (Matthew 14:23, Matthew 26:36, Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12, Luke 9:28, for a few examples).

But sometimes we sinners need more motivation than just pleasing God through obedience. We want to know what’s in it for us? What you need to understand is that not only is there a command by God to pray, an example by Christ and the apostles to pray without ceasing, and the potential for God to provide for us what we request of Him through prayer, but we ought to pray simply because we can. For, you see, it is a great privilege to be able to pray.

Let me explain it this way. There are approximately 7 billion people walking the earth today. A conservative estimate would say that religions such as atheism whereby prayer is meaningless are still generally scarce. So let’s say that only 6 billion people in the world subscribe to some sort of religion, and let’s assume that all of these people believe in “prayer.”

Every major (and minor) religion that I can think of has prayer. Hindus, Muslims, Catholics, Jews, Buddhists and AA members all pray. There are Lutherans, Episcopalians, and Baptists…etc, all pray-ers.

Muslims pray 5 times a day in a certain position facing Mecca. Many people pray all day long, to the God of their own understanding.

He listens to none of them. Did you catch that? None. God does not have any concern for the prayer of those who are not “His own.”

Proverbs 28:9 ESV If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

Consider this. Not only does God not listen to the prayers of the lost…but He finds their prayers to be an abomination!

Read the contrast: Psalms 4:1,3 ESV Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! 3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.

Notice the statement is clear that he has set apart the godly for himself! He hears when His people call. That is a sharp contrast to considering someone’s prayers an abomination, indeed!

Even more revealing is the concept that the Lord must “be gracious” to hear our prayers. It is an act of divine grace that He would allow you access to the throne room to make your requests known to Him…nay to be able to approach Him at all, even to praise Him!

Also, prayer is not a magic formula. Prayer are not effective because of the words used. Rather, it is the object to which we make our prayers known that has the power. Consider this beautifully poetic and richly biblical prayer:

DEAR JESUS, help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others.

How wonderful a thought! How many times I’ve uttered similar prayers, but never with such beautiful language. Well, here’s the sad news. This was the daily prayer uttered by a well known person, Mother Teresa. This blog isn’t about Catholicism, but any good Catholic will tell you that Catholic dogma denies justification by grace through faith in Christ alone. I’ve found BereanBeacon.org to be a good resource for understanding the actual documentable differences between Catholicism and Biblical Christianity.

But the real sad news is that Mother Teresa, despite pious living, religious devotion, and a life of serving and loving others, (by her own writings and obvious affections) did not believe in Christ alone for salvation. Her dedication to Roman Catholicism and compromise with non-Christian idols exposes her as a wonderful person by human standards who falls short of God’s standard. So her prayer is not heard, nor answered. If you take offense to this, please research what Catholicism really is. Your eternity depends upon it. Your righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and pharisees in order to see the kingdom of Heaven…and that includes the scribes and pharisees of our day, too.

Mat 5:20,48 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Back to Christian prayer, The Lord hears your prayers and responds by an act of grace and mercy and based on your status with Him, which is based solely on Christ’s righteousness or your unrighteousness. No magic words, no special formula.

Finally, consider John 4:22-24 ESV You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

In order to worship God, we must do so in spirit and in truth. Those around us who do not know Christ are not praying to the same God…no matter how many times they say they are. They are praying to a false god…a god who cannot save. Oh these false gods may seem to answer prayer, but they are not sovereign. There is only One who is sovereign!

But if anyone still tends to argue we can supply more evidence, but the nail in the coffin is John 14:6, Jesus said unto him, “I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes unto the Father but by me.” For if no one can come to the Father but through Him, to whom are all the nonbelievers praying to? It cannot be the Father. It clearly isn’t Christ. So people everywhere, with sincerity, with real devotion to what they believe and a true faith in their prayers, are offering up prayers to nothing…or worse yet, Satan, in an effort to control their destinies. Even those prayers where men and women pray for god’s will to be done…if they are not praying to the One True God…are they really praying for His will? Of course not, they are deceiving themselves with false humility – willing only to submit to the will of a god they can manufacture in their minds.

So what makes you so special? Or maybe you are reading this as a nonbeliever and thinking, what makes Michael Coughlin so special?

Nothing. Nothing at all about me, that is. But the fact that God has chosen to resurrect my sin-ridden, dead in trespasses life makes me special. Not because of anything in me, but because of Christ in me. And for that reason, I have access to God. So dear Christian, do not take for granted the fact that you have undeserved access to the throne of Heaven. Do not use your grace as a license to live the way you like. Submit to God in prayer and make confession and supplication to Him … not just daily, but always!

So you have been given a great honor and privilege. The God of the universe, who created you, who has the power to destroy you, and who came to save you actually wants to hear from you. This is a stark contrast from those whom He will not even hear! So come to Him. Bring him your heartache, your pain. Bring your praise and your joy and thanksgiving. Confess your sin and beg him to meet your every need! He is able and, frankly, is waiting (in a sense) for you to come to Him!
James 4:2-3,8 ESV You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.