God is a personal God who responds. That is one of the great lessons of the psalms; it is one of the grand assumptions of the prayers of Paul.

…

“The degree of our peace of mind is tied to our prayer life (Philippians 4:6-7). This is not because prayer is psychologically soothing, but because we address a prayer-answering God, a personal God, a responding God, a sovereign God whom we can trust with the outcomes of life’s conclusions. And we learn, with time, that if God in this or that instance does not choose to take away the suffering, or utterly remove the evil, he does send grace and power. The result is praise; and that, of course, is itself enjoyable, in exactly the same way that lovers enjoy giving each other compliments.

–D.A. Carson, How Long O Lord?

Psalm 73:26 HCSB
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever.

Psalm 119:28
I am weary from grief; strengthen me through Your word.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9
so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messsenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself. 8 Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. 9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

Here is a great article:
Praying Beyond the Sick List by David Powlison

In the three strands of prayer mentioned a ways down, I seem to overemphasize #2. I find that in group prayer by and large #1 tends to take over.

HT: Between Two Worlds

Also see:
A Sample Prayer Plan

Have you heard people pray for God to put a “hedge of protection” around someone? I was wondering where this came from. All I could find is that Satan said that God had a hedge of protection around Job before all of his troubles. That’s it.

So is this a legitimate thing to pray for? What if God doesn’t want to put a hedge of protection around someone? I suppose you could say the same for healing. We pray for it and God decides if it’s his will. But just this one mention of it? How often does Paul pray this way (which I haven’t looked at yet). It seems to be one of those things where it gets started somewhere and then spreads like wildfire, kind of like saying “just” once a sentence in some evangelical circles when praying. (“We just ask that you would just help our brother to just…”) We really need to stop minimizing our prayers but that’s a different topic.

Joni Eareckson Tada to Undergo Surgery for Breast Cancer

Warning: This is one of those not well written and not very coherent posts.

This reminds me of my seemingly morose motto, “Things can always get worse.”

We tend to think that when something really bad happens to someone, that means something good is around the corner or nothing else really bad will happen. I have been told this many times by individuals, read it in devotionals, etc. etc. I’ve also heard that the Bible says that God will never give us more than we can handle.

Regarding the first point–this isn’t Biblical at all unless one is talking about God working in the trial, which is indeed eternally valuable, comforting, encouraging and edifying. But life isn’t always about finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbows and everything working out fine and living happily ever after.

On the second point, 1 Corinthians 10:13 is talking about temptation, not about anything we ever go through. When we are tempted by Satan or our own sinful desires, God provides a way out. We can run from it (Genesis 39:11-12). But I believe that to say that Job or Paul went through things they could handle is incorrect. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1:8, “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure”. Being suicidal is beyond our ability to handle. (This happens to Christians too.) Starving to death isn’t something I could handle. However, God does give us the grace to endure to the end without losing our faith.

One of the things I think about with this is to be as prepared as possible. Part of this is praying as Paul did: “May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.” (Colossians 1:11-12 NRSV) That’s a subject of another post.

In addition to writing about what 1 Corinthians 10:13 means and being prepared for suffering, I’d like to talk about how to pray for those suffering.

I’ve mentioned this before–if we only pray for healing, we are doing people a great disservice. God uses these situations for His glory and our good in one way or another. Healing of a physical ailment when we will eventually die anyway (I’m getting morose again aren’t I) is temporary albeit important. Praying for the spiritual is eternal and can affect others eternally also (as can healing). Using Paul’s prayers as a model, we know that what we pray for is God’s will. Physical healing may or may not be His will for who we are praying for but growing in knowledge, strength, working for our good, glorifying God–we can know that all those things are His will for those who love God.

In the last few years I’ve gotten one bad diagnosis after another. The latest is needing a lumbar double fusion with laminectomy/decompression with hardware. It’s been one thing after another for me on many fronts. I would hope that people praying for me aren’t just praying for healing. God has brought me closer to Him than ever before even though my conditions have gotten worse after being prayed over many times. In this rambling post, that’s what I’d like to leave you with.

When a very stressful or traumatic event comes along or when you’re wiped out for whatever reason it can be difficult to even have the strength to pray when that’s what you need to do the most. God knows our weakness and can be our strength for us as mentioned in Psalm 73:26 (NRSV): “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Here are some steps I believe God led me through during one of these times.

• Just “be” in God’s presence as a first step. You may not feel God’s presence–just acknowledge that He’s there, that you’re going to Him and that He knows you and your situation.
  Isaiah 30:15b (NRSV) “in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. But you refused”
  We won’t refuse.
• Pray a written out prayer that you know is God’s will. This way you don’t have to try to come up with words yet. I have Puritan prayers and other prayers formatted and printed in a binder for these occasions or when I just want a change. Also see the Prayer category here.
• Talk to God about what’s going on as opposed to what you would do in your regular devotional/prayer time. Sometimes you can just talk to yourself in front of God. Psalm 62:8 (NRSV) says in part to “pour out your heart before Him” which may or may not be an accurate interpretation but you get the idea.
• Spend a short amount of time reading the Bible like one Psalm.
  Psalm 119:28 (NRSV) “My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.” I’ve grown to like Psalm 139 for this. This shows how well God knows us, how all our days were written in God’s book and planned, how He knew how our bodies might fail or react to certain situations etc.

My thinking is not necessarily to do all of these things at once, but progressively as you have the energy and get your wits about you.

I believe it’s good to have various “action plans” like this for when difficult times come up, especially for those of us who are predisposed to have “episodes” because of mental health problems or maybe for people who are in other various difficult situations.

Although we can never easily handle extremely trying situations, it’s good to prepare ourselves as best we can. Praying and growing in trust in God’s character through studying the Bible are the best things we can do. My favorite prayer in this regard is Colossians 1:11-12 (NRSV):

May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

“But what kept me going more than anything else was my confidence in the character of God.”

–Ravi Zacharias quoting Charles Cooper in Cries of the Heart

We absolutely must read and study the Bible in order to know God’s character and trust that He is who He says He is.

Related post for when you’re ready to pray:
How Should We Pray When We Suffer? at Resurgence

My Redeemer Is Faithful And True
by Steven Curtis Chapman

As I look back on the road I’ve traveled,
I see so many times He carried me through;
And if there’s one thing that I’ve learned in my life,
My Redeemer is faithful and true.
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

CHORUS
My Redeemer is faithful and true.
Everything He has said He will do,
And every morning His mercies are new.
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

My heart rejoices when I read the promise
‘There is a place I am preparing for you.’
I know someday I’ll see my Lord face to face,
‘Cause my Redeemer is faithful and true.
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

And in every situation He has proved His love to me;
When I lack the understanding, He gives more grace to me.

Thought up in the middle of the night: (I hope it’s not too crude for those who have suffered with loved ones)

Slogan for a colorectal cancer hospice program:
“We’ll Take Care of You in the End”*

I have a friend who had a colonoscopy. I read and pray through a Puritan prayer every Sunday night. So I’m reading the one called Devotion and it starts out “God of my end,”. I’ll never be able to take the beginning of that prayer seriously again.

Those prayers are great. I really look forward to that time each Sunday night.

*Shallow Thoughts brought to you by Jeff at Scripture Zealot

I’ve been posting a lot of quotes from A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Priorities from Paul and His Prayers by D.A. Carson. I’d like to post some things a little more substantive. I thought it would be good to list all of Paul’s prayers as Carson has them in the book. I couldn’t easily find a list on the web so I thought I would do it here at the risk of reinventing the wheel.

What he would like us to keep in mind is we need “to find out exactly what it is he asks God for on their [the people he prays for] behalf, and compare the results with what we normally ask for.”

Quite a few years ago I memorized some of Paul’s prayers like Eph 1:17-19, Eph 3:16-21, etc. That alone reshaped how I pray. As time went on and I payed attention to what Paul prays for, my own prayers became more and more spiritual and less temporal, not that we shouldn’t spend time petitioning for things related to the latter. When I found out about this book I wanted to look into Paul’s prayers further.

Carson used the NIV and I know he endorses the TNIV so that’s what I’ll use here. Some of them are short enough to mouse-over and see the whole thing. For longer ones you can click on “More” in the lower left corner of the tooltip-like popup or look them up however you’d like if you’re interested. Below that is the list without TNIV in the way if you’d like it (which should show up as NLT as of now):

This exercise is extremely beneficial. If you haven’t already I would highly recommend memorizing some of these prayers.

Rom 1:8-10 TNIV
Rom 10:1 TNIV
Rom 12:12 TNIV
Rom 15:5-6 TNIV
Rom 15:13 TNIV
Rom 15:30-33 TNIV
1 Cor 1:4-9 TNIV
1 Cor 16:23 TNIV
2 Cor 1:3-7 TNIV
2 Cor 2:14-16 TNIV
2 Cor 9:12-15 TNIV
2 Cor 12:7-9a TNIV
2 Cor 13:7-9 TNIV
Gal 6:18 TNIV
Eph 1:3ff TNIV
Eph 1:15-23 TNIV
Eph 3:14-21 TNIV
Eph 6:19-20 TNIV
Phil 1:3-6 TNIV
Phil 1:9-11 TNIV
Phil 4:6-7 TNIV
Phil 4:23 TNIV
Col 1:3-14 TNIV
Col 4:2-4 TNIV
1 Thess 1:2-3 TNIV
1 Thess 2:13-16 TNIV
1 Thess 3:9-13 TNIV
1 Thess 5:23-24 TNIV
1 Thess 5:28 TNIV
2 Thess 1:3ff TNIV
2 Thess 1:11-12 TNIV
2 Thess 2:16-17 TNIV
2 Thess 3:2-5 TNIV
2 Thess 3:16 TNIV
1 Tim 1:12 TNIV
1 Tim 2:1ff TNIV
2 Tim 1:3-7 TNIV
2 Tim 1:16-18 TNIV
2 Tim 4:22 TNIV
Titus 3:15b TNIV
Philemon 1:4-7 TNIV
Philemon 1:25 TNIV

Rom 1:8-10
Rom 10:1
Rom 12:12
Rom 15:5-6
Rom 15:13
Rom 15:30-33
1 Cor 1:4-9
1 Cor 16:23
2 Cor 1:3-7
2 Cor 2:14-16
2 Cor 9:12-15
2 Cor 12:7-9a
2 Cor 13:7-9
Gal 6:18
Eph 1:3ff
Eph 1:15-23
Eph 3:14-21
Eph 6:19-20
Phil 1:3-6
Phil 1:9-11
Phil 4:6-7
Phil 4:23
Col 1:3-14
Col 4:2-4
1 Thess 1:2-3
1 Thess 2:13-16
1 Thess 3:9-13
1 Thess 5:23-24
1 Thess 5:28
2 Thess 1:3ff
2 Thess 1:11-12
2 Thess 2:16-17
2 Thess 3:2-5
2 Thess 3:16
1 Tim 1:12
1 Tim 2:1ff
2 Tim 1:3-7
2 Tim 1:16-18
2 Tim 4:22
Titus 3:15b
Philemon 1:4-7
Philemon 1:25

When Jesus asked that the cup (of wrath) be taken from Him, God answered no (Mark 14:35-36). When Paul asked for the thorn to be taken from his side, God answered no (2 Cor. 12:7-9).

But there are more in the life of Paul that I wasn’t aware of or had forgotten.

Romans 15:31 NIV
Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,

Acts 28:17 NIV
Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.

Paul also desired to go to Spain. As far as we know, he never got there.

Did they not have enough faith? Were they not “tithing”? Was there sin in their life? Were they not using the right formula? These are more often than not ridiculous questions to ask.

According to D.A. Carson in A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Priorities from Paul and His Prayers:

Suppose, for argument’s sake, that every time we asked God for anything and ended our prayers with some appropriate formula, such as ‘in Jesus’ name,’ we immediately received what we asked for. …

[T]his is not true religion. This is magic, not worship; it is another power trip, not hearty submission to the lordship of Christ. It is superstition, not a personal relation with the Father God who is wise, good, and patient.

I know I’ve been quoting from him a lot lately. And I have a few more coming.

According to Bryan Chapell in Praying Backwards:

1. Yes
2. No
3. Not Yet
4. Immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20 NIV)

What a wondrous thing
that we have fellowship
with the creator of the heavens and the earth
through the Lord Jesus Christ
who condescended for us
before we could know to ask Him for it

What a wondrous thing
that the creator of the heavens and the earth
is our inheritance and we are His

What a wondrous thing
that the the creator of the heavens and the earth
is holy and just and righteous and perfect

What a wondrous thing
that we know He always works for our good
which makes us more like Him
which glorifies Him
which is always for our good
whatever things may seem

What a wondrous thing
that we have hope for heaven
with new heavens and a new earth
with heavenly bodies
that shed no more tears
because of death or mourning or crying or pain
where He will be our God
and we will be His children
Forever and ever

I’m getting injectionated tomorrow morning. I will have cortisone injections into my facet joints at L/4-L/5 and L/5-S1. These will also be diagnostic as he will be injecting numbing medication so that if it greatly reduces the pain temporarily, we’ll know that’s where the pain or part of it is coming from.

The hardest thing for me is not thinking ahead. Although the surgery for the herniated disc did what it was supposed to do, it seems there are at least a couple of other problems and they’ve gotten worse at a pretty fast rate since surgery. I wonder about what will happen if this doesn’t work at all. Or if it does work, what if it’s the most minor problem etc. Stop it!

I’m not concerned about needles or pain even though the last injections were more pain than I’ve ever felt in my back because of the fluid pressing on my nerves in the epidural space which my doctor said was very unusual. I just love almost always being the odd one. This should be different, but I am often “the 5%” as I like to say. Pray for whatever you would like. You know how it goes. Thank you.

Matthew 6:34
Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I’ve read about and heard from so many people who seem to have a hard time having a ‘quiet time’ (I prefer devotional time) every morning.

Even though morning is a common time for prayer (Psalm 5:3), maybe this isn’t the best way to go about it for those who have difficulty. Some might not be morning people. Some may have to get up very early and deal with little munchkins running amok. Some may have a really hard time concentrating.

For those who have a difficult time with it, there is no rule that you must have a 30 minute quiet time in the morning. For some people, feeling a need to “get right with God” by having a quiet time may be bordering on legalism.

If morning isn’t a good time, maybe it would be good to pray some Scripture before even getting out of bed.

Then it might be good to do Bible reading during lunch if possible.

A more concentrated time of prayer could be done after work.

Bible study could be done certain nights during the week and on the weekends.

Some of these things may not be feasible but you get the idea.

I have an hourly chime on my watch and also on my computer for memorizing Scripture. I briefly go over whatever I’m working on at the time. (This method works better for me than repeating something ten times, once a day.) If I start to get so used to the sound on the computer that I don’t hear it, I change it. This also keeps Scripture going through my head much of the day.

Then it’s good to pray right before bed. It doesn’t need to be a lot. I like the idea of praying three times a day.

If you need some inspiration on Bible reading you can find some quotes here.

Obviously this isn’t for everyone but I wanted to post some thoughts based on experience.

Do you have unconventional ways of exercising spiritual disciplines?

Right now I know that lately I have slipped back a little in my willingness to abandon myself to God.

A good indicator for me is reading the book The Pursuit of God. The first time I read it, I wasn’t ready to fully embrace it. By the second time I read it, I was ready to get with the program as best as this sinner can with God’s grace.

I have the prayers from the end of each chapter printed out. Here is one of them that is especially relevant these days.

Father, I want to know Thee, but my coward heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival. Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, Chapter 2.

Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord, our God, understanding to know You, diligence to seek You, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace You; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

–Thomas Aquinas

Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism by Joel R. Beeke with contributions from: Sinclair B. Ferguson, James Grier, Michael A. G. Haykin, Nelson Kloosterman, Ray Lanning, Robert Oliver, Ray Pennings, Derek W. H. Thomas

Joel Beeke says, “The target audience for this book is laypeople and ministers who are interested in learning the basics of Calvinism. I hope it also will serve as a stimulating summary and refresher course for those who are already avid Calvinists, much as Steven J. Lawson’s The Expository Genius of John Calvin from Reformation Trust excites those of us who are already familiar with much of its content. I have worked hard to keep this book simple, clear, and non-technical, in the hope that you might hand it to others to help them understand how you think as a Calvinist.”

I felt this was the case except the chapter on philosophy can be a more difficult read for those of us not well versed on the subject.

While John Calvin – A Heart for Devotion Doctrine & Doxology, also from Reformation Trust and reviewed here, is about John Calvin himself and a brief introduction to his theology, this book is less about Calvin himself and more about Calvinism from the beginnings of the Reformation through the time of the Puritans both in Europe and after they arrived in the U.S. It’s longer and more thorough than the previous mentioned book but is still introductory.

Included in this history are the Reformed canons, confessions and catechisms. There is a lengthy treatment of these documents which may be of interest to some who are unfamiliar with their content and origins.

Other notable figures from Martin Luther (including an explanation of the differences between Lutheranism and Calvinism) to Jonathan Edwards are mentioned in the book.

Although the acronym TULIP wasn’t developed until the 1900′s, the Canons of Dort contain a response to the Remonstrance of 1610, a response to Calvinism by forty-three of Arminius’ followers. “The canons were structured to correspond with the five articles of the 1610 Remonstrance” which correspond to the contents of TULIP but in a different order. This is covered quite a bit in the book. Therefore, this book isn’t an objective look at Calvinism as compared to other areas of theology and Arminianism is talked about negatively and even called “heretical” (or at least referring to what Arminius’ followers had to say) which is going too far. Just when I thought there may have been too much time spent refuting Arminian theology, the book moved on from there.

The book doesn’t dwell too much on TULIP though, as Calvinism is much more than that:

“It is important to note that the five points do not summarize all of Calvinism; that would be a truncated view of the Reformed faith. One of the aims of this book is to show the panoramic grandeur of the Reformed faith’s worldview.”

The book also covers the popular 5 Solas–Scripture alone (sola Scriptura), grace alone (sola gratia), faith alone (sola fide), Christ alone (solus Christus), and the glory of God alone (soli Deo gloria).

A couple of ancillary benefits to this book are the extensive citations and bibliographies at the end of each chapter and an introduction to the history and theology of the Puritans who carried on the Reformed tradition.

Other than listing some of the current denominations that are Reformed, I would like to have seen the history go even farther–past the Puritan era–but that may have been beyond the size and scope of the book.

This book is very readable, enjoyable and educational. I highly recommend it.

Hardcover: 414 pages
Publisher: Reformation Trust Publishing
Publication Date: September 12, 2008
ISBN-10: 1567691056
ISBN-13: 978-1567691054

Buy it from:

• Reformation Trust
• Amazon.com

I’m scheduled to have back surgery on Tuesday the 27th. A lumbar microdiscectomy (as opposed to the more major fusion) will be performed because of a herniated disk. All other attempts to help the problem were an utter failure.

If you would be willing to pray for me I would appreciate it. I’m not concerned about the surgery itself but you could of course pray for skill for the doctor etc.

Also, I have trouble taking things one day at a time (Matthew 6:34) as I suppose everyone does to a degree. Since I also have arthritis in my back, achy muscles because of other conditions etc. I wonder how much the surgery will help and how many problems I’ll still have left. It will be what it will be and God will help me to cope as He always has. Any relief would be welcome and I should be hopeful.

And I’ve read about how there can be an emotional letdown during the first part of recovery. Supposedly there are hormones that rise during the surgery and there is a letdown afterwards. I read this on interwebs so I know it’s true. From past experience I know that pain and certain drugs won’t help that aspect of it either. Since I deal with chronic difficulties in this area I will be bracing myself for this. The physical pain itself that there might be isn’t that big of a deal. Pray that I will “suffer well”, which is something I might post about in the future.

I may try to write a quick post or two and schedule them to go up next week. I might also do a couple of re-posts from before the time most of my beloved blogging friends came around these parts. I don’t want to be like everyone else and go on hiatus but if I’m quiet for a while, that’s why.

That was the long version of saying, “I’m having surgery. Please pray for me.”

This is what I ask:

Colossians 1:11-12 NRSV
May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 3:18
Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. (NLT)

I memorized this to give myself a reminder not to think I’m all that and a cup of tea. However, God convicted me on a deeper level.

According to what’s written in 1 Corinthians 1:17-31 and all of the first four chapters, I can become like the Corinthians in that I can read my commentaries, use my interlinear etc. and think I’m wise because of my studiousness. I’m now on a higher plain because of this. However:

1 Corinthians 4:7
For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?

This all came about last night. I was feeling burnt out on the studying I was doing and was afraid that my spiritual zeal was waning. I was thinking, “What now God? Take a break? Direct my focus elsewhere for a while?” This break in the action allowed God to speak to me. He let me know that all this is to get to know Him better and focus on Christ and Him crucified, which I knew, but had to slow down to really ponder it.

And also the conviction of pride as described above. Although it can be painful, I love being convicted by the Holy Spirit because it is God speaking to me.

I hope to write more about general observations and questions on 1 Corinthians 1 and 2.

There is little evidence in the way Christians live to support our claim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Rather, the evidence would suggest that, in most churches, the culture of economic, political and military systems of the United States (or Australia or Britain etc.) is at hand. The question must be asked why the churches do not live by their confession.

–Jim Wallis (January, 1980), “Rebuilding the Church”, Sojourners, 9:1, page 10

Matthew 10:7
As you go, announce this: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

See Brian Lilly’s posts:

• Surprised by the Kingdom of God I – If the Kingdom of God is here, why are the Romans still here also?
• Surprised by the Kingdom of God II – What’s politics got to do with it? (Got to do with it?)

Galatians

Please excuse this post for being like a rough draft. I spent too much time on it already. If you can make it to the end you will either be rewarded, frustrated or wonder why I’m writing about things you already know.

Galatians 2:16 NRSV yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.

Most of us believe that works (of the law) will not save us and it is by God’s grace through faith in/of Christ that we are saved. Longenecker defines Paul’s use of “the law” as:

…the Mosaic law as a religious system associated in some manner with righteousness.

Paul adds another dimension to this in his letter to the Galatians. He is also saying that the law can’t add anything to what Christ has done for us nor can it perfect our salvation. There is no supplement regarding our standing before God. If we “obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 5:9) and then try to perfect it by works of the law, we are going backwards:

Galatians 3:3 NRSV Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?

Longenecker says,

The main point of Paul’s rhetorical question here, however, has to do with the incongruity of beginning one’s Christian life on one basis (‘with the Spirit’) and then shifting somewhere in progress to another basis (‘by human effort’). What Paul wants his converts to see is that the Christian life is one that starts, is maintained, and comes to culmination only through dependence on the activity of God’s Spirit (Gal 5:25; also see Phil 1:6…the point is made that completion of the Christian life comes about on the same basis as its inception, viz. by God’s working).

Longenecker quotes Betz,

Paul’s missionary efforts were taken as merely the first step, and that the opponents claimed to provide the necessary and final measures to bring salvation to completion and perfection.

Longenecker:

As such it combined faith in Christ for initial acceptance before God and a nomistic lifestyle* for true holiness, thereby claiming to work out in full the meaning of righteousness. Paul, however, was not content to allow any supplement to the work of Christ, either for one’s initial acceptance before God or for one’ life as a Christian. For him, to start talking about supplements [including circumcision] was to bring matters back to square one and the issue of legalism, even if it be claimed that nomism alone was the question.

It’s interesting to note that whenever Paul mentions Abraham and the covenant, he never mentions circumcision, which is one of the ‘works of the law’ that the Judaizers where claiming the Galatians needed to perform. The promise of Abraham did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith (Rom 4:11-13; also see 1 Cor 7:19).

Galatians 3:6-18 NRSV Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.” For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed. For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person’s will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, “And to offsprings,” as of many; but it says, “And to your offspring,” that is, to one person, who is Christ. My point is this: the law, which came four hundred thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.

Galatians 5:18 NRSV But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.

*According to Longenecker, nomism is “expressing their Christian convictions in their lifestyle in ways compatible with Jewish tradition” which was not to be foisted on the Gentile Galatians. Although, “To be a Jewish believer in Jesus did not mean turning one’s back on one’s own culture or nation. Yet no longer could it be argued that circumcision, Jewish dietary laws, following distinctly Jewish ethical precepts, or any other matter having to do with a Jewish lifestyle were requisite for the life of faith.”

Update: Please see the first comment by Bryan.

We can accomplish more by time and strength put into prayer (and bible study) than we can by putting the same amount of time and strength into anything else.

–R.A. Torrey

Make up your mind that you will put some time every day into the study of the Word of God. That is an easy resolution to make, and not a very difficult one to keep; if the one who makes it is in earnest. It is one of the most fruitful resolutions that any Christian ever made. The forming of that resolution and the holding faithfully to it, has been the turning point in many a life. Many a life that has been barren and unsatisfactory has become rich and useful through the introduction into it of regular, persevering, daily study of the Bible. This study may not be very interesting at first, the results may not be very encouraging; but, if one will keep pegging away, it will soon begin to count as nothing else has ever counted in the development of character, and in the enrichment of the whole life. Nothing short of absolute physical inability should be allowed to interfere with this daily study.

–R. A. Torrey, introduction to the New Topical Textbook.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NRSV Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
(The Shema)

Matthew 22:37 NRSV He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”