Apples of Gold
Radio Script for April 30, 2008
“Are You Sick of Ever-Rising Gas Prices?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Tomorrow I will be praying with the governor at the capitol.
It’s the annual National Day of Prayer event*, and several of us will be praying, including the governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. We will be praying for specific areas including education, the economy, churches - and the topics I am supposed to pray for are business and the media.
Now I believe in prayer, and I prove that by praying a lot. But as I prepare for tomorrow’s event I’m thinking, “Lord, what can I pray for that You will actually answer?”
Because if the Lord isn’t going to answer, then why bother?
So I’ve been praying for a prayer. “Lord, please tell me what to pray; something that will work, that will actually do something, that will make a difference in our state and our nation.”
Is tomorrow’s public prayer at the capitol any different than what I prayed this morning closed up in a little room by myself?
Of course it is. The more people you get praying together for the same thing, the better.
Do I have a scripture to back that up? Not exactly. I am drawing some conclusions.
For example, in Luke 18 Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow. She received justice from the judge because of her persistence. Then He said that principle applies to our prayers – that we should pray persistently.
Well if one widow finally got justice because she was persistent, how much more quickly might the judge have acted if 1,000 widows showed up at his door?
Abraham was just one man interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah, and God destroyed them. But do you think God would have destroyed those cities if 1,000 of their residents would have prayed? I think not.
So is there a difference between one person praying for something and 1,000 people praying for something? I sure think so.
And it’s important what we pray for. First John 5 tells me I need to pray according to God’s will – then I know the prayer will be effective.
The easiest way to pray according to God’s will is to pray according to the Bible. For example, First Timothy 2 says we should pray for “kings and all those in authority.” And what should we pray for them? That they will rule in such a way that we can live “peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”
The National Day of Prayer is a great day to pray for those in authority. But really, we should do that every day. Praying for our government should be one of our top concerns, because their actions have a tremendous impact on everyone.
Are you sick of the ever-rising gas prices? Do you wish the government would step in and do something about it? Well what should they do? They probably don’t even know the best thing to do. That’s why it’s a necessity that we pray for those in government.
First Timothy 2 actually gives us a pretty broad range of people to pray for. Verse one says that we should pray for “everyone.”
Well tomorrow my assignment is not to pray for everyone, but to limit my prayer to the topics of business and the media. So I’ve been praying for a prayer, and here is what I’ve come up with. This is basically what I will be praying tomorrow, but you can go along and pray with me now.
“Lord, I am so excited to pray for the media. It’s the industry You’ve placed me in, and I love it, and I thank You. But Lord, there is a fatal flaw in our media today. We want to make money, so we have to draw a crowd. And to draw a crowd, we pander to our basest human nature. And because the media is so influential, the stuff we peddle to draw a crowd ends up telling the crowd, “This is the way it is.” But often that’s not the way it is, and that’s the problem. Truth is not our measuring stick. The measuring stick is how many people we can draw and how much money we can make off of them. Lord, on behalf of our industry, I repent of the sin of clouding truth. Lord, it is Your will that truth prevail, and as a member of the media, I ask that Your hand will guide our industry. I pray that all of the editors and producers, the writers and the directors, the talk show hosts and the entertainers – I pray that every one of us will be Your tool to reveal truth to this nation and to the world.”
“Now Lord I ask You to turn Your attention to another topic, the topic of business. God I am so thankful to live in such a prosperous nation. What a blessing it’s been to me and my family. We don’t know anything besides prosperity, and I know a lot of it has to do with the thriving business climate in America. Because of our success in business, we have an abundance to share with the world. We have programs for the poor. Because of our success in business, our people can work and provide for their families. And in America we can even dream up new businesses. Lord, I thank you so much for all of that. It’s business that keeps the wheels of the nation turning. So Lord, I pray for prosperity for our businesses. I pray for great, new ideas. I pray for efficiency and wisdom. And Lord, I pray for abundant blessings on all those businesses that are doing good. And for any businesses that aren’t, for those businesses that prey on people and take advantage of them, I pray that they will either get it right, or get out of business altogether.”
“Lord, I love You and I thank You for this opportunity to lead all these people, even our governor, in prayer. I am humbled. And I pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
* If you can come to Tallahassee May 1st, the event is on the plaza between the old capitol and the new capitol. The prayer service starts at noon and lasts for one hour. There is a prayer walk for the children starting at 11 a.m., where they each receive a little prayer journal and walk around praying with various military and emergency personnel who will be there with their vehicles and equipment.
There will be live music from the Christian Heritage Church worship team, which is one of the best church music groups in the state. They will start playing at 11:30 a.m. The emcee will be former legislator and pastor Tim Ireland. And Wave 94 will have a table set up on the plaza like every year, stacked high with free books! Come and get ‘em.
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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