We must not go to God in prayer for something once or twice and give up. God does not want us to take His silence for a final answer; instead our hearts must be passionate and persistent to ask, seek and knock.
“Ask” implies our request for assistance. We need to realize our need for help. We must be humble in submitting our request.
“Seek” denotes asking but adds the aspect of action. We should not just express our need, but should get up and look around for help. This involves effort, which is the prayerful effort of searching for God’s answers, especially in His written Word.
“Knock” includes asking, which is taking action, and the aspect of preserving – like a neighbor pounding on a friend’s door at midnight.
The stacking of these words is extremely powerful in the Greek verb tense used. The literal mining is: “Keep on asking and it will be given to you, keep on seeking and you will find it, keep on knocking and the door will be opened.”
The three basic commands in Matthew 7:7 are:
Ask
Seek
Knock
Take a look at the first letters in each word in the list. It is as simple as that: Just ask! Jesus’ language in this verse is compelling as these three verbs indicate an ascending order of intensity.
When we pray we need to make it our mission to find out the will of God our Heavenly Father and pray accordingly. Prayer isn’t getting our way in heaven; it is having a relationship with our Lord and getting His way on earth.
“The prayer that prevails with God is the one that we place our whole soul into, stretching out toward Him in intense and agonizing desire”.
God promised a long time ago that His people would find Him when they search for Him with all of their heart, (Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart).
God tells us a great deal in the Word about how we should bring our requests to Him. This is something He wants us to do in relationship with Him often for His own pleasure as well as for our own well being.
1. Ask in Jesus’ name – by asking in Jesus’ name we are making a request not only in His authority, but also for His interests and His benefits.
2. Ask while abiding in Jesus – a fruitful prayer life begins with a total abiding in Christ, an alive and flourishing union with Him.
3. Ask according to God’s will – (1 John 5:14-16) when we approach God we should ask within His will, and know that He hears. It is our privilege as God’s children.
4. Ask in faith – we can see the requirement to have faith in the instruction that James gives us for requesting wisdom (James 1:5-7)
5. Ask with thanksgiving – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Philippians 4:6) Thanksgiving is the inevitable and sometimes overwhelming – result of our faith in God’s answers to our prayers, and our faith in God’s loving control over every aspect of our lives.
6. Ask with the right motives – “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures”. If our prayers aren’t’ answered the way we want, it does not necessarily mean that our motives are wrong – but we can be sure that asking God to stretch, bend, or manipulate His laws to fit our selfish desires or circumstances will lead to an unfavorable response.
When the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us, we gain a built in tendency to take our concerns and needs to the Lord in prayer. When we open our hearts and prayers to God’s leading we join in His work to fulfill His plan.
My Prayer: Heavenly Father, God, Almighty, I come to you today in prayer and thanksgiving interceding for these who are so dear to my heart. Lord, God I ask that You, Father, God teach us the way that You want us to pray so that whatever we request of You is in line with Your will for our life. Please Father, God forgive us for any transgression that we may have in our hearts and wash our souls clean with the purified water that can only come from You dear Lord. Please Father God, give us wisdom in our daily walk with You and guide us so that whatever we do will be done while remembering to praise You, Lord, Almighty as well as for Your glory and honor this day. I also ask that You be with our nation and all of the men and women who have either served our county or that are preparing to serve our county against enemies on foreign ground. Please be with our teachers, firemen and policemen, pastors, leaders, and loved ones on a daily basis. In Your name, dear Jesus, I give You all honor and praise with thanksgiving in my heart as I pray, Amen.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
I Believe In Angels
Our Lord, God, Almighty is at work in our lives every moment. He demonstrates His love for us through angels, who watch over us during our times of trouble.
The words angels or angel is in the Bible 286 to 327 times, depending on the translation. Angels appear in every section of the Bible. In each case they are doing God’s work on earth. Billy Graham calls angels “God’s secret agents”. An agent is one who acts on behalf of another, doing work in the name of the one he represents. This is exactly what angels do as they do work in the name of God. They minister to us in various ways.
Angels told Abraham that Isaac would be born. (Gen 18:10) An angel told Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus. (Luke 1:26-31) An angel announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds. (Luke 2:8-11)
Angels also protect us as they protected Daniel by shutting the mouths of the lions in the den where he had been thrown. (Daniel 6:22) Angels ministered to Hagar and her dying son Ishmael in the wilderness. (Genesis 21:17-18) An angel fed the exhausted and disheartened Elijah fleeing Jezebel’s wrath. (1 Kings 19:5), and angels delivered the apostle Peter from prison. (Acts 12:7)
Do we encounter Angels today?
Christians sometimes question whether angels are active in our live today. Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”
We have God’s promises of continuing angelic protection. (Psalm 91:11) says “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”
There are many credible testimonies today because of their work among us. Angels are not here to make a show of themselves but to serve and help us. We can encounter angels anywhere. They are the person you have never seen who gives you encouragement or someone who appears when you desperately need help. I am convinced that angels are all around us everyday.
The Lord impressed upon my heart that Jennie’s grandmother possibly was helped by two male angels recently. As you see now in her mid eighties Granny has recently been suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Granny decided to go for a drive along the interstate. After driving for awhile she got tired and parked her vehicle along side of the road to go to sleep. When she woke up she decided to take a walk. Two men noticed her walking around confused, brought her back to her vehicle, got her some gas and gave her directions to get back home. After getting lost again and trying to find her daughter’s work she finally ended up walking around the LSU campus in Baton Rouge.
My Prayer: Heavenly Father, God Almighty, I thank You tonight dear Lord for sending these two men, Your angels to protect Granny during her confusion while she was in the midst suffering from the affects of this dreadful this disease. Please bless these two men for their compassion and kindness to help Granny and not harm her in her time of need. So many people would have taken advantage of this situation dear Lord. I ask You dearest Father to be with Tiny and Danny as they take on the responsibility of caring for their loved one Mildred. Please give them Your Godly wisdom in all the decisions they make concerning their personal life as well as her affairs. Please bless their relationship with love and prosperity, and give them patience, comfort, and peace as they enter this season while making the commitment to be the caretakers of Mildred. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
The words angels or angel is in the Bible 286 to 327 times, depending on the translation. Angels appear in every section of the Bible. In each case they are doing God’s work on earth. Billy Graham calls angels “God’s secret agents”. An agent is one who acts on behalf of another, doing work in the name of the one he represents. This is exactly what angels do as they do work in the name of God. They minister to us in various ways.
Angels told Abraham that Isaac would be born. (Gen 18:10) An angel told Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus. (Luke 1:26-31) An angel announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds. (Luke 2:8-11)
Angels also protect us as they protected Daniel by shutting the mouths of the lions in the den where he had been thrown. (Daniel 6:22) Angels ministered to Hagar and her dying son Ishmael in the wilderness. (Genesis 21:17-18) An angel fed the exhausted and disheartened Elijah fleeing Jezebel’s wrath. (1 Kings 19:5), and angels delivered the apostle Peter from prison. (Acts 12:7)
Do we encounter Angels today?
Christians sometimes question whether angels are active in our live today. Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”
We have God’s promises of continuing angelic protection. (Psalm 91:11) says “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”
There are many credible testimonies today because of their work among us. Angels are not here to make a show of themselves but to serve and help us. We can encounter angels anywhere. They are the person you have never seen who gives you encouragement or someone who appears when you desperately need help. I am convinced that angels are all around us everyday.
The Lord impressed upon my heart that Jennie’s grandmother possibly was helped by two male angels recently. As you see now in her mid eighties Granny has recently been suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Granny decided to go for a drive along the interstate. After driving for awhile she got tired and parked her vehicle along side of the road to go to sleep. When she woke up she decided to take a walk. Two men noticed her walking around confused, brought her back to her vehicle, got her some gas and gave her directions to get back home. After getting lost again and trying to find her daughter’s work she finally ended up walking around the LSU campus in Baton Rouge.
My Prayer: Heavenly Father, God Almighty, I thank You tonight dear Lord for sending these two men, Your angels to protect Granny during her confusion while she was in the midst suffering from the affects of this dreadful this disease. Please bless these two men for their compassion and kindness to help Granny and not harm her in her time of need. So many people would have taken advantage of this situation dear Lord. I ask You dearest Father to be with Tiny and Danny as they take on the responsibility of caring for their loved one Mildred. Please give them Your Godly wisdom in all the decisions they make concerning their personal life as well as her affairs. Please bless their relationship with love and prosperity, and give them patience, comfort, and peace as they enter this season while making the commitment to be the caretakers of Mildred. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Blessing Are Nothing To Sneeze About
Message for Thursday - November 5 - 2009
To bless in the biblical sense means to ask for or to impart supernatural favor. When we ask for God’s blessing, we are not asking for more of what we could get for ourselves. We are crying out for the wonderful unlimited goodness that only God has the power to know about or give to us. This kind of richness is referred to in Proverbs “The Lord’s blessing is our greatest wealth all our work adds nothing to it.” Proverbs 10:22
Jabez left it up to God to decide what the blessings would be and where, when and how he would receive them. This type of trust in God’s intentions towards us has nothing in common with asking God for a Cadillac, a six figure income, or some other material sign to cash in on our connection with Him. Instead the Jabez blessing focuses on our wanting nothing for ourselves more than what God wants for us. Seeking God’s blessing is an ultimate value in life as we are throwing ourselves entirely into the river of His will, power and purpose. Our other needs become secondary to what we really want which is to become wholly immersed with what God is trying to do in us, through us, and around us for His glory. God’s power to accomplish great things suddenly finds no obstruction in us as we move into His direction and pray exactly for what He desires. Unhindered forces of heaven then can begin to accomplish God’s perfect will – through us and our life will become marked by miracles.
My Prayer: Heavenly Father, God Almighty, I come to You today Father, God, for each and every person who reads this message as in intercessor for them. I ask You dear Father to touch each person’s life. Please pour out Your Spirit on them and blessings on them dear Lord. Please allow them to recognize what is Your will for their life dear God so that they will begin to see Your wonderful miracles around them. I pray for financial needs, I pray for physical needs. I pray for emotional healing, I pray for restoration in families, I pray for our country dear Father God. Please touch each person as they read this message, and show them Your power, love, kindness and mercy today. This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen
To bless in the biblical sense means to ask for or to impart supernatural favor. When we ask for God’s blessing, we are not asking for more of what we could get for ourselves. We are crying out for the wonderful unlimited goodness that only God has the power to know about or give to us. This kind of richness is referred to in Proverbs “The Lord’s blessing is our greatest wealth all our work adds nothing to it.” Proverbs 10:22
Jabez left it up to God to decide what the blessings would be and where, when and how he would receive them. This type of trust in God’s intentions towards us has nothing in common with asking God for a Cadillac, a six figure income, or some other material sign to cash in on our connection with Him. Instead the Jabez blessing focuses on our wanting nothing for ourselves more than what God wants for us. Seeking God’s blessing is an ultimate value in life as we are throwing ourselves entirely into the river of His will, power and purpose. Our other needs become secondary to what we really want which is to become wholly immersed with what God is trying to do in us, through us, and around us for His glory. God’s power to accomplish great things suddenly finds no obstruction in us as we move into His direction and pray exactly for what He desires. Unhindered forces of heaven then can begin to accomplish God’s perfect will – through us and our life will become marked by miracles.
My Prayer: Heavenly Father, God Almighty, I come to You today Father, God, for each and every person who reads this message as in intercessor for them. I ask You dear Father to touch each person’s life. Please pour out Your Spirit on them and blessings on them dear Lord. Please allow them to recognize what is Your will for their life dear God so that they will begin to see Your wonderful miracles around them. I pray for financial needs, I pray for physical needs. I pray for emotional healing, I pray for restoration in families, I pray for our country dear Father God. Please touch each person as they read this message, and show them Your power, love, kindness and mercy today. This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen
Nothing is Insignifiant In God's Eyes
There is a middle ground between intercession as a life work and no praying at all. As we all know praying begins with a personal relationship with our Lord and not our performance. When God calls us to prayer it is an invitation to His power as we succeed in His eyes. He is in charge of the results of our praying, as He has promised to hear and answer our prayer. Although our prayers may seem insignificant in our eyes, there is nothing insignificant in God’s eyes. Beginning to nurture some praying in our life can become the launching pad for more prayer later.
“God doesn’t command us to pray like a drill sergeant, stand back to see if we will obey or come by only to inspect how well we are doing. His invitation welcomes us into the privilege of talking to Him. He gives us the power of the Holy Spirit within us to guide us for a fruitful prayer life”.
“Prayer is designed to demonstrate the riches of God’s grace and the poverty of our own resources.”
God encourages us to pray with these words, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) Prayer and our times of need go hand in hand. Prayer helps us to admit that we are spiritually important. “We are dependent on God. We can either accept it by faith or learn the hard way through the difficulties of life.” “Pray without ceasing”.
Jesus walked on this earth as both God and man. He lived as man in dependence on His Farther, God Almighty, giving us an example of how we are to live. If Jesus with all of His power and perfection made prayer a priority in His life, then we ought to enter it into our life as well.
“God gives us life, breath, and all things” (Act 17:25)
George Mueller – Poem in response to God’s faithfulness
I believe God answers prayer,
Answers always, everywhere;
I may cast my anxious care,
Burdens I could never bear,
On the God who hearth prayer.
Never need my soul despair,
Since He bid me boldly dare.
To the secret place repair,
There to prove He answers prayer.
“God doesn’t command us to pray like a drill sergeant, stand back to see if we will obey or come by only to inspect how well we are doing. His invitation welcomes us into the privilege of talking to Him. He gives us the power of the Holy Spirit within us to guide us for a fruitful prayer life”.
“Prayer is designed to demonstrate the riches of God’s grace and the poverty of our own resources.”
God encourages us to pray with these words, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) Prayer and our times of need go hand in hand. Prayer helps us to admit that we are spiritually important. “We are dependent on God. We can either accept it by faith or learn the hard way through the difficulties of life.” “Pray without ceasing”.
Jesus walked on this earth as both God and man. He lived as man in dependence on His Farther, God Almighty, giving us an example of how we are to live. If Jesus with all of His power and perfection made prayer a priority in His life, then we ought to enter it into our life as well.
“God gives us life, breath, and all things” (Act 17:25)
George Mueller – Poem in response to God’s faithfulness
I believe God answers prayer,
Answers always, everywhere;
I may cast my anxious care,
Burdens I could never bear,
On the God who hearth prayer.
Never need my soul despair,
Since He bid me boldly dare.
To the secret place repair,
There to prove He answers prayer.
Monday, November 2, 2009
We Can Make A Difference
Praying for God’s best in our lives is a part of giving ourselves to Him. When we accept God’s call to be partners with Him in praying for others it gives us the privilege of drawing them into His inner circle of love. We begin to step into a larger arena of prayer where we learn to pray more boldly with God’s purpose in mind. Our Heavenly Father, God Almighty invited us when He said “I’m up to something far more momentous than you might have supposed in your life, in the lives of your loved ones, and in the whole world – and I’m asking you to be a part of it”.
Jesus Himself taught us to pray "The Our Fathr", and when we pray “Give us this day our daily bread” we follow God’s example by acknowledging our need for His favors and help. God loves to hear us speak to Him about ourself and the people we love. He wants us to pray about our personal needs as well. Yet this is not all there is to prayer. “A child asking his daddy for candy and a hamburger is not all there is to a growing relationship of love between him and his father”. “The Lord’s Prayer has seven requests; six of them relate to God’s purposes and to our spiritual needs and one relates to our personal needs.”
Praying is our wonderful privilege of conversing with the awesome, all powerful God, who is Our Creator, Our Father Almighty and our Friend.
When we intercede for others in prayer with Christ, who is always interceding before the Father, we join Him in His inner circle of prayer where our prayers embrace His deepest longings as well as our own.
(Heb 7:25) Hebrews 7:25 (New International Version)
25 Therefore he is able to save completely[those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
When we pray for others we receive more than we give out and it allows us to become more than we are. Jesus promised, “Give and it shall be given unto you.” Giving prayer is one way of spending ourselves for others. It puts us in position to receive more of God’s promises.
Isaiah 58:10-11. “If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
Intercessory prayer makes impossible things possible, not only for us but for the multitude of people and situations we are praying for.
The early century S.D. Gordon a well known devotional writer once wrote:
“The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer, nor those who say they believe in prayer, nor yet those who can explain about prayer, but I mean those people who take time and pray. They have not time. It must be taken from something else. This something else is important, very important, and pressing, but still less important and less pressing than prayer.”
Wow! What a meaningful statement!
1 Peter 2:9 (New International Version)
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
My Prayer: Heavenly Father, God Almighty I come to You with a heavy heart and burden for our nation. Your word says that we are a “royal priesthood”, “a holy nation”, and “a people belonging to You”. You Father God hand picked us and called us out of darkness to bring us into Your wonderful light. I pray Father God that You will give us Your wisdom so that we will join together as Your children in prayer with boldness leaving behind the bondages of this world to declare Your glorious name. All honor is Yours today and always, dear Lord, Jesus, Amen.
Michael W. Smith – Song Lyrics – I’m Going Back To The Heart Of Worship
Verse 1:
When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart
Bridge:
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart
Chorus:
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
Verse 2:
King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath
Bridge:
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart
Chorus:
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
Chorus:
I'm coming back to the heart of worship,
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
Jesus Himself taught us to pray "The Our Fathr", and when we pray “Give us this day our daily bread” we follow God’s example by acknowledging our need for His favors and help. God loves to hear us speak to Him about ourself and the people we love. He wants us to pray about our personal needs as well. Yet this is not all there is to prayer. “A child asking his daddy for candy and a hamburger is not all there is to a growing relationship of love between him and his father”. “The Lord’s Prayer has seven requests; six of them relate to God’s purposes and to our spiritual needs and one relates to our personal needs.”
Praying is our wonderful privilege of conversing with the awesome, all powerful God, who is Our Creator, Our Father Almighty and our Friend.
When we intercede for others in prayer with Christ, who is always interceding before the Father, we join Him in His inner circle of prayer where our prayers embrace His deepest longings as well as our own.
(Heb 7:25) Hebrews 7:25 (New International Version)
25 Therefore he is able to save completely[those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
When we pray for others we receive more than we give out and it allows us to become more than we are. Jesus promised, “Give and it shall be given unto you.” Giving prayer is one way of spending ourselves for others. It puts us in position to receive more of God’s promises.
Isaiah 58:10-11. “If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
Intercessory prayer makes impossible things possible, not only for us but for the multitude of people and situations we are praying for.
The early century S.D. Gordon a well known devotional writer once wrote:
“The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer, nor those who say they believe in prayer, nor yet those who can explain about prayer, but I mean those people who take time and pray. They have not time. It must be taken from something else. This something else is important, very important, and pressing, but still less important and less pressing than prayer.”
Wow! What a meaningful statement!
1 Peter 2:9 (New International Version)
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
My Prayer: Heavenly Father, God Almighty I come to You with a heavy heart and burden for our nation. Your word says that we are a “royal priesthood”, “a holy nation”, and “a people belonging to You”. You Father God hand picked us and called us out of darkness to bring us into Your wonderful light. I pray Father God that You will give us Your wisdom so that we will join together as Your children in prayer with boldness leaving behind the bondages of this world to declare Your glorious name. All honor is Yours today and always, dear Lord, Jesus, Amen.
Michael W. Smith – Song Lyrics – I’m Going Back To The Heart Of Worship
Verse 1:
When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart
Bridge:
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart
Chorus:
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
Verse 2:
King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath
Bridge:
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart
Chorus:
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
Chorus:
I'm coming back to the heart of worship,
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
The Power Of Prayer
Philippians 4:6 (New International Version)
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Have you ever pondered on why God planned prayer? Why did He choose to link His actions with our praying? Why would He decide that our prayers would accomplish certain things or expand on what He does? Why does our not praying limit Him? Lastly could God carry out His purpose more effectively without us?
Our Heavenly Father, God Almighty established prayer as a powerful influence on how and when He meets our needs. The answers to these questions go back to the fact that God, our Creator, created us to be His loved ones and His family to share a relationship with Him. God is so personal that He values loving relationships more than anything. He is “three persons” – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – who lives in perfect love, harmony and fellowship. He created us to be a part of His inner circle of love.
God's endless love is demonstrated when He meets our needs to overflowing. At times when we do not pray, He still keeps everything together and is our source for everything. Prayer reminds us that God is our resource and allows our lives to receive His greatest rewards. Praying keeps our lives connected to God’s purposes and His power. It brings us into an intimate relationship with God and allows us to realize that He is the one that we should depend on. The more we pray the more we trust that God will meet our needs as well as the needs for the people that we pray for.
As we pray we enter into a journey with God, our Heavenly Father our Creator, who gives us a growing sense of worth, wonder, delight, assurance and gratefulness.
My Prayer: As I come to You today dearest Father, God Almighty I ask that You touch each person that reads this message. Please give them the understanding that when they come to You in prayer they will find a more meaningful purpose for their life as well as learn to depend on You Father God as their source for everything. Please Father God open their eyes that they might see Your Glory shine through every situation. Help them Father God to trust You, and that when they pray they will find comfort in a loving relationship with You. This I pray today dear Lord, Amen.
Song Lyrics – The Power of Your Love by: Darlene Zshech
Lord I come to You
Let my heart be changed, renewed
Flowing from the grace
That I've found in You
Lord I've come to know
The weakenesses I see in me
Will be stripped away
By the power of Your love
~ Chorus ~
Hold me close
Let Your love surround me
Bring me near
Draw me to Your side
And as I wait
I'll rise up like the eagle
And I will soar with You
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love
Lord unveil my eyes
Let me see You face to face
The knowledge of Your love
As You live in me
Lord renew my mind
As Your will unfolds in my life
In living every day
By the power of Your love
(repeat Chorus twice)
And I will soar with You
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Have you ever pondered on why God planned prayer? Why did He choose to link His actions with our praying? Why would He decide that our prayers would accomplish certain things or expand on what He does? Why does our not praying limit Him? Lastly could God carry out His purpose more effectively without us?
Our Heavenly Father, God Almighty established prayer as a powerful influence on how and when He meets our needs. The answers to these questions go back to the fact that God, our Creator, created us to be His loved ones and His family to share a relationship with Him. God is so personal that He values loving relationships more than anything. He is “three persons” – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – who lives in perfect love, harmony and fellowship. He created us to be a part of His inner circle of love.
God's endless love is demonstrated when He meets our needs to overflowing. At times when we do not pray, He still keeps everything together and is our source for everything. Prayer reminds us that God is our resource and allows our lives to receive His greatest rewards. Praying keeps our lives connected to God’s purposes and His power. It brings us into an intimate relationship with God and allows us to realize that He is the one that we should depend on. The more we pray the more we trust that God will meet our needs as well as the needs for the people that we pray for.
As we pray we enter into a journey with God, our Heavenly Father our Creator, who gives us a growing sense of worth, wonder, delight, assurance and gratefulness.
My Prayer: As I come to You today dearest Father, God Almighty I ask that You touch each person that reads this message. Please give them the understanding that when they come to You in prayer they will find a more meaningful purpose for their life as well as learn to depend on You Father God as their source for everything. Please Father God open their eyes that they might see Your Glory shine through every situation. Help them Father God to trust You, and that when they pray they will find comfort in a loving relationship with You. This I pray today dear Lord, Amen.
Song Lyrics – The Power of Your Love by: Darlene Zshech
Lord I come to You
Let my heart be changed, renewed
Flowing from the grace
That I've found in You
Lord I've come to know
The weakenesses I see in me
Will be stripped away
By the power of Your love
~ Chorus ~
Hold me close
Let Your love surround me
Bring me near
Draw me to Your side
And as I wait
I'll rise up like the eagle
And I will soar with You
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love
Lord unveil my eyes
Let me see You face to face
The knowledge of Your love
As You live in me
Lord renew my mind
As Your will unfolds in my life
In living every day
By the power of Your love
(repeat Chorus twice)
And I will soar with You
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Tale Of Two Pots
There is a folk tale told about two clay pots. It is a story that whispers something important that we all should be aware of.
It seems that once there were two clay pots. Each was carried by the king’s water bearer on the end of a long pole. One clay pot was perfect. It was well decorated, without the slightest imperfection. The other pot was very pretty too, made of the same clay and bright color…except it had one single crack.
Each day the kings’ water bearer would make the trek from the palace to the river below and would fill up each pot. That is where the problem began. While both pots started out full of water, the cracked pot left a trail of droplets along the path. As the days and years passed, the cracked pot came to dread the day’s journey. It was always the same as it watched the perfect pot pour out his contents into the king’s cistern…without having lost a single drop. Then, the cracked pot would pour out his offering, which always seemed to be so much less. This was why the cracked pot finally spoke up. “Oh water bearer.” said the pot, “please replace me. I have tried my hardest but I failed to be what you want me to be”. “That is not so,” said the water bearer. “It is!” said the cracked pot. Just look at my offering next to the perfect pot’s offering. It is so little. I’m ashamed of what I bring before the king.” “Enough!” said the water bearer, as his face was dark as a storm cloud. “The perfect pot fulfills its purpose that is true. But it was the king himself who picked you...not me. And you have fulfilled his plan.” “I have?” said the cracked pot, full of confusion.
“Have you noticed the hill we walk up every day? Look now,” he said pointing, and all along the path grew beautiful flowers. “Have you not seen me spreading seeds as I walked up the hill?”
Then he said in a kinder voice, “Those flowers grow from your loss, little pot…and they please the king.” At last the cracked pot saw that-crack and all-he did fulfill his mater’s purpose.
Isaiah 64:8 (New International Version)
8 Yet, O LORD, you are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
My Prayer: Heavenly, Father, God Almighty please give us confidence, faith and reassurance in our hearts to know that our imperfections do not hinder us from having a relationship with you. It is You, dearest Lord who hand picked each one of us to walk down the journey with You to fulfill Your specific purpose in our life. In Jesus Name I Pray, Amen.
Hillsongs "The Power Of Your Love"
Lord I come to You
Let my heart be changed, renewed
Flowing from the grace
That I found in You.
And Lord I've come to know
The weaknesses I see in me
Will be stripped away
By the power of Your love.
Hold me close
Let Your love surround me
Bring me near
Draw me to Your side.
And as I wait
I'll rise up like the eagle
And I will soar with You
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love.
Lord unveil my eyes
Let me see You face to face
The knowledge of Your love
As You live in me.
Lord renew my mind
As Your will unfolds in my eyes
In living every day
by the power of Your love.
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