Category Archives: Prayer

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August 3, 2017

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Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, God's Promises, Knowing Him, Peace of God, Prayer, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count, Trusting God

YOUR HEART’S DESIRE

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. [Psalm 37:4-5 (NLT)]

May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed. [Psalm 20:4 (NLT)]

oxeye daisy
What is it your heart desires? A photo safari in Africa or a river boat cruise along the Rhine? A paid-off mortgage or an enormous IRA? A private chef, personal trainer, maid or someone to chauffer the kids to their assorted activities? To be free of physical ailments or pain? A better paying job, longer vacation, or nicer boss? Better behaved children, a more loving spouse, or an abundance of friends? Are these the things our hearts desire or do we really desire the things that will accompany them—things like love, security, joy, serenity, a sense of well-being and peace? When we commit everything to the Lord, we will have those things, even without the luxury items, vacations, ideal situations, money or even the health.

Concentrate on counting your blessings and you’ll have little time to count anything else. [Woodrow Kroll]

Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. [Psalm 73:25 (NLT)]

The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. [Psalm 145:18-19 (NLT)]

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August 2, 2017

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Attitudes & Behavior, Knowing Him, Peace of God, Prayer, Today: Make it Count

BE STILL

Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. [Isaiah 55:3a (NLT)]

Goldmoor InnThe gardeners in our community always stop running their mowers, weed whips and leaf blowers whenever someone passes and we walkers appreciate not having grass clippings and yard debris blown into our faces. Yesterday, I noticed that nearly all of them check their cell phones during that short break in their work. Today, as I waited in the car while my husband pumped gas, the first thing I did was reach into my purse to check my iPhone. Had I missed anything in the world since last I’d looked? I will venture a guess that most people are like the gardeners and me—they check their phones during those brief pauses that occur throughout the day. Hopefully, they resist the urge to check them while at a red light but I see plenty of drivers who do!

It’s not just our cell phones—it’s our computers and tablets as well. Most of us frequently check our email, social media, the stock market or weather reports, the latest video on YouTube, or even the eaglets’ progress in the eagle cam. Then, as soon as we return home, we check the voice mail and caller ID in case we’ve missed anyone’s call. Are we ever so diligent about checking with God to see if He’s got a message for us?

In those brief moments of quiet that occur throughout the day, what if we didn’t check our computers, pick up our phones or, worse, the remote to see what’s on TV? Most likely, nothing that important has transpired since last we looked! What if we took those moments to check in with God? If He has nothing to say to us, we could always take those precious seconds to send him a thank you for the little blessings of the day or shoot out a prayer for a friend, co-worker, or that person who is texting while driving. If nothing else, we can take a deep breath, be still and know that He is God.

Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. [Psalm 46:10 (NLT)]

Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.” [Psalm 46: 10 (MSG)]

And what did I do after putting this devotion in my “To Post” folder? You guessed it, rather than thanking God, I checked my email!

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July 21, 2017

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Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Grace & Love, Prayer, Sharing Our Faith, Today: Make it Count

LEADING SOMEONE TO WATER

Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seeds on the ground. He sleeps at night and is awake during the day. The seeds sprout and grow, although the man doesn’t know how. The ground produces grain by itself. First the green blade appears, then the head, then the head full of grain. [Mark 4:26-27 (GW)]

horsesAfter their recent visit to the oncologist, a friend asked me to pray for her father. His cancer is terminal and she asked me to pray that he will come to know God. He’s been sitting on the fence for quite some time and his time for fence sitting is rapidly running out. As I added him to my prayer list, I wondered, “Can we pray someone to God?”

While farmers can plant, water, hoe and fertilize, it is up to the seed whether or not it ever will germinate. Jesus told several parables about sowing seed and gathering the harvest. In none of them, however, does the farmer turn that seed into a sprout. All we can do is prepare the way by planting His word. We can bring to light the Son, but it is up to the seed to seek the Son’s light.

In the end, the harvest comes through God’s provision, not man’s efforts. If we could pray people to God, our churches would be full and all would be well with the world! It’s been said that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. Unfortunately, because of that pesky free will thing, the same goes for man and the living water offered by Jesus. While we can’t pray people to God, we can continue to share the Good News and ask God to reveal Himself to those for whom we pray. The rest is up to them; the choice is theirs and theirs alone.

A man came to evangelist Alexander Wooten and asked, using the biblical phrase, “What must I do to be saved?” Wooten said, “It’s too late.” The man was shocked. “It’s too late? You mean I can’t do anything?” Wooten said, “It’s too late. It’s already been done for you. The only thing left for you to do is to believe that it’s done.

They see, but they’re blind. They hear, but they don’t listen. They don’t even try to understand. So they make Isaiah’s prophecy come true: “‘You will hear clearly but never understand. You will see clearly but never comprehend. These people have become close-minded and hard of hearing. They have shut their eyes so that their eyes never see. Their ears never hear. Their minds never understand. And they never return to me for healing!” [Matthew 13:13-15 (GW)]

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July 12, 2017

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Church & Worship, Knowing Him, Love & Works, Prayer, Sharing Our Faith, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

31 PRAYERS

Hear my words, O Lord. Think about my crying. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God. For I pray to you. In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice. In the morning I will lay my prayers before You and will look up. [Psalm 5:1-3 (NLV)]

We thank God for you all the time and pray for you. [1 Thessalonians 1:2 (NLV)]

green heronAs I went through my prayer list this morning, I noticed that my prayers are very specific. I pray for those I know who are mourning, but they’re not the only ones dealing with loss. I pray for those I know who are sick and for my friends who are sitting at their loved one’s bedside, but they are not alone. Although I pray for a friend experiencing problems at work, another having financial difficulty, and a family in crisis, I know others must have the same problems. I pray for those I know who are struggling with addictions but can’t come close to naming all who need that prayer. I pray for my pastors and friends in the ministry but pastors (and congregations) everywhere need those same prayers. Unless I hear sirens, I don’t pray for first responders, but those firefighters and paramedics need my prayers more often than that. Some mornings I have enough trouble getting through my long prayer list, how can I add more to it? We’re told to offer prayers of intercession for all of God’s people, yet how can we do His work (or ours) if we spend all day in prayer? We’d be so heavenly minded that we’d be of no earthly use to anyone. Nevertheless, it’s not just my list of people who need my prayers. I suppose I could cover everyone else with a quick “God bless the world and everyone in it,” but that doesn’t seem heartfelt to me.

I thought of a friend who reads a chapter of Proverbs every day of the month. With thirty-one chapters, he finds it a good spiritual discipline. It occurred to me that I could do much the same thing with intercession. While I continue to pray for the unique needs of the people named on my prayer list, every day I could earnestly offer a general prayer for a different specific need.

It wouldn’t be hard to come up with a list of thirty-one intercessory topics, one for each day of the month. Off the top of my head I came up with the following: (1) government officials and their staff; (2) judges, juries and courts; (3) members of all branches of the military; (4) military families, veterans and wounded warriors; (5) law enforcement officers; (6) those who mourn or are in despair; (7) pastors and lay ministers; (8) churches, their members, and the expansion of God’s Kingdom; (9) missionaries and those who serve in developing nations; (10) the brutalized, oppressed, and persecuted; (11) the disabled and those with special needs; (12) businesses, bosses, and the nation’s economy; (13) our labor force and the conditions in which they work; (14) refugees and relief workers; (15) physicians, health care workers, and caregivers; (16) the destitute, those in financial difficulties, and the unemployed; (17) the environment, those who work to protect it, and the conservation of resources; (18) prisoners, their families and guards; (19) the ill, hospitalized, terminally ill, and their families; (20) students, teachers, school administrators, and school curriculum; (21) those damaged souls filled with anger, hate, violence, intolerance and prejudice; (22) the homeless and marginalized in our society; (23) the lonely, depressed and mentally ill; (24) those struggling with addictions; (25) the media and all who influence public opinion; (26) the family unit; (27) children; (28) charitable organizations, their supporters and volunteers; (29) fire fighters and EMTs; (30) Israel and other nations, both ally and enemy; and (31) peace within our borders and among all nations. That’s just my list and I’m sure it will be revised as the months progress. I’ve written that list in my prayer request book and plan on tackling a different concern each day of the month. I’ll be offering thanks and, depending on for whom I’m praying, plead for things like healing, wisdom, strength, skill, justice, truth, courage, compassion, comfort, safety, or protection. Adding one more prayer each day is feasible and lifting the concerns of others to God, even people I don’t know, is more than an obligation; it is an honor and a privilege.

First of all, I ask you to pray much for all men and to give thanks for them. Pray for kings and all others who are in power over us so we might live quiet God-like lives in peace. It is good when you pray like this. It pleases God Who is the One Who saves. He wants all people to be saved from the punishment of sin. He wants them to come to know the truth. [1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NLV)]

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July 10, 2017

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Attitudes & Behavior, Fruit of the Spirit, God's Grace & Love, Holy Spirit, Knowing Him, Peace of God, Prayer, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count, Trusting God

FIRST, LAST AND IN-BETWEEN

Be happy in your confidence, be patient in trouble, and pray continually. [Romans 12:12 (GW)]

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Whatever happens, give thanks, because it is God’s will in Christ Jesus that you do this. [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)]

daisy fleabane“Let Christ be first in your thoughts in the morning and last in your thoughts at night,” were the words at the bottom of an Our Daily Bread devotion. A great way to bookend our day, it makes sense to have our first thoughts of the morning and the last at night to be of Christ. Nevertheless, I wonder about all those hours between the opening and shutting of our eyes. What should be first in our thoughts then?

I recently met a woman who said she’s been saying a short prayer before she starts any activity throughout her day, be it thanking God for the privilege of having clothes to launder, asking Him for patience while helping her son with his homework, or keeping her awake during a boring business meeting. Her prayers aren’t fancy; they are, however, heartfelt. “Help me… patience please…direct me…give me understanding…make me strong…show me how to share your love… inspire my words” and “Thank you, Jesus,” are all we need to keep Him in our thoughts all day long. One I frequently say is, “Lord, put your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth!” I only wish I used that one more often.

Jesus, as we move through our day, may your Holy Spirit keep our thoughts centered on you—whether we’re in the “ten items or less” line behind someone with a cart full of groceries, on hold while trying to reach a real person at Comcast, struggling to stretch our dollars to the end of the month or sitting in the doctor’s office hearing news we never wanted to hear. Thank you for the privilege of coming to you in prayer.

I need Thee every hour, Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine Can peace afford.
I need Thee every hour, Stay Thou near by;
Temptations lose their power When Thou art nigh.
I need Thee every hour, In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, Or life is vain.
I need Thee every hour, Teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises In me fulfill.
I need Thee every hour, Most Holy One;
Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.
I need Thee, oh, I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior! I come to Thee.
[I Need Thee Every Hour (Annie Sherwood Hawks)] 

At the same time the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we don’t know how to pray for what we need. But the Spirit intercedes along with our groans that cannot be expressed in words. The one who searches our hearts knows what the Spirit has in mind. The Spirit intercedes for God’s people the way God wants him to. [Romans 8:26-27 (GW)]

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June 26, 2017

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, God's Promises, Holy Spirit, Obedience, Prayer, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin

WE NEED HELP!

But I need something more! For I know the law but still I can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. [Romans 7:17-20 (MSG)]

butterfly weedWe all know the speed limit, but most of us break it. Obviously knowing a law is not enough to make us obey it. We know the guidelines for a healthy lifestyle, but most of us still eat and drink more than we should and exercise far less than recommended. Evidently, self-determination is not enough to make us behave as we should. We may believe in Jesus, but we still succumb to sin. Clearly, calling oneself a Christian doesn’t create an invisible shield against temptation and bad behavior.

If someone as devout as the Apostle Paul struggled with sin and couldn’t overcome it on his own, we are in good company. As Paul found, knowing God’s law is not sufficient and struggling to obey it on our own is unsuccessful. Like Paul, we will continually struggle with the attraction of sin. It’s not easy to repent and tougher to forgive. It’s challenging to love our neighbors and even harder to love our enemies. Having faith is only easy when we already know the results. Try as hard as we can, honesty, humility, and obedience seem to escape us while pride, anger and deceit rush in to take their place. Being God’s child is a life-long process. We will continue to be a work in progress for the rest of our lives. Willpower is not enough; we cannot do it on our own.

We must follow Paul’s example and call on the Holy Spirit to give us the power we need to change. God promises he will be there! Every time we fall (and, like Paul, we will fall many times), God will be there to pick us up.

“I told myself not to do it, but I didn’t listen!” [Neighbor girl’s excuse to her grandmother]

I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be – I can truly say that I am not what I once was – a slave to sin and Satan. And I can heartily join with the apostle and say that “by the grace of God I am what I am! [John Newton]

I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. [Romans 7:24-25 (MSG)]

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