But Prayer

I have often heard many people say "But God".  I have a different concept that I want to share with you today..."But Prayer".  How many times in your life have things seemed all but lost but then you remember to pray.  A sea of emotions flood your mind. Overwhelmed, hurt, disgusted, afraid, angry, depressed, sad. Nothing seems to be going right.  You may be at a point of giving up.  I have often said that we use prayer as a last resort when it should be the very first this we do.  In fact we are told to "Pray without ceasing".  I Thess. 5:17  The new Living Translation says it this way, "Never stop praying".  I like that.  As a Christian we can't afford to stop praying. 

What does this mean?  It means that our prayer life should be consistent.  Nothing should come between you and your prayer life.  It also means that prayer should be uninterrupted.  You should maintain a constant spirit of prayer.  And when we do we acknowledge our dependence on God for everything.  Prayer is not about the eloquence of your words. It is more about sincerity of heart.  Don't you know that prayer is our direct communication line with God.  I recently took a class entitled "Creative Supervision".  The author of the book stressed the importance of two-way communication between the supervisor and the employee .  In fact he called it the bloodline of the relationship.  Without it, the relationship suffers.  Isn't that how it is with God?  Too often we use prayer life like my children do me.  There are days when all I hear is "Momma Can I?"  But there are times when I just want to sit down and share with them.  Just as God wishes to share with you.  He desires to be in constant communion with His children. 

Don't you recognize that power of prayer? Especially prayer made in faith.  There is no greater source of power for the Saint.  I can't help but think about that awesome time when Peter was in prison and the church prayed continuously.  The result?  The prison doors were opened and Peter was set free.  What a sequence of events all because someone prayed.  Whatever it is you may be facing in your life right now, I have to stop and ask have you prayed.  This seems to be the central theme God has placed on my heart right now. With so many things in this world that are out of whack.  From the White House to the poor house.  If you hadn't already noticed...things are out of order.  I can't help but wonder what would happen if all the saints of God PRAYED...on one accord.  We begin to PRAY for our country, our schools, our churches, our families.  I have seen what the power of prayer can do in my life so much so that my prayers are more for others now than for myself.  Yes I still use this time to thank God for all the blessings He has bestowed upon my life and to listen for direction.  I pray just to be in His presence.  There is no other place I'd rather be. 

Most Gracious Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the privilege of prayer.  There is nothing more awesome than to dwell in your presence.  I realize how weak I am in my flesh and that I can do nothing without You.  O where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?  No matter where I am I am so eternally grateful that You can find me.  You know my voice and are attentive to my needs.  I can't help but praise Your name.  Help me to always remember that whatever the situation I can come to You in prayer.  In Jesus' Wonderful Name I pray Amen.

Perfected, Established, Strengthened and Settled

'And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you into his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you'. I Peter 5:10

Do you believe that it happens after prayer?  Do you believe that the God you serve is able?  I mean really able.  Do you believe it to the point that you have submitted fully and completely to the Master?  Have you given up total control of your life to God so that when trials and tribulations come you continue on in prayer?  You stop the mumbling and grumbling and moaning and complaining.  You trust God to either sustain you where you are or move you where you need to be.  You show no resistance. You stand firm.  You fix your eyes on Jesus who is the author and finisher of your faith. 

I read something today that said, 'Christians are to live with the understanding that God's purposes realized in the future require some pain in the present'.  Isn't that what it is all about?  The trade-off for pain is perfection. Not a bad trade-off.   I often think of the old nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty.  Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall.  Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.  All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put Humpty together again.  Our lives are full of ups and downs.  We reach the mountaintop only to be knocked down to the valley as a result of God's perfecting process. This is a process that occurs many times over the course of the believers life. Try as we may, using whatever methodology we know how, to put ourselves together again, we simply can't.  This can only be done with the help of the Lord.  Often times we find out lives broken in little pieces, scrambling to put the pieces back together again.  But no matter how hard we try, nothing works.  We must rely on the Lord.  Too often we try to figure out a way to get out of our current situation; by doing so we fail to allow God to work it out.  This was a difficult lesson for me.  But I soon discovered something about myself and every storm that I have had to go through.  God had prepared me for each and every trial.  All I had to do was allow Him to lead, guide and direct my every step.  Through every trial I was strengthened.  I developed a true thirst for the Word.  The more I got into the Word, the better my foundation.  I might have lost position, job, friends, finances but each and every time God restored me.  I finally understood that trouble doesn't last always. 

Trials are inevitable.  But then again so is victory for the child of God.  If you are tired of the dark cloud that seems to be hanging over your life, give it over to God.  Allow Him to prepare you, establish you, strengthen you and place you on a firm foundation.  He is the only one who can!

Most Gracious Heavenly Father,

Here I stand in the humblest way that I know how, first giving praise, honor and glory to Your Name.  Here I stand broken.  I have decided today to accept where I am to allow you to work in my life.  No more interference.  I realize that the future requires some pain right now.  But I truly believe in my heart that all things will work out for my good.  In Jesus' Name Amen. 

Be Watchful

Man, as hard as I tried to last night I could not stay awake long enough to pray.  Maybe it was because I was in bed under the covers when I started.  Not in the proper posture or position to hear from God.  And no I am not saying that you have to be on bended knee with your hands clasped together.  But what I am saying is that your mind should be focused on God.  You should be removed from all distractions.  How do I know this?  It says it in His Word.  Paul wrote in Colossians 4:2, ' Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful  in it with thanksgiving'. 

I was one of those people who would feel bad when I forgot to pray.  To tell the truth I still do.  But once I started to really understand what 'pray without ceasing' meant, I realized that it was more about a lifestyle.  That is, I have my own private line to The Almighty and I should use it.  I should call on Him anytime throughout my day and He should recognize my voice.  I should not neglect my prayer life.  It should be maintained at all times. Prayer should be persistent.  We are dependent on God for everything.  One of the ways we find out His will for our life is through prayer.  It is through prayer that He speaks to us.  Most of us are not aware of all the things that we depend on God for. Or should I say that we forget that we depend on God for everything. Our life, our health.  The temporal enjoyments, which depend on His daily goodness, providence, and power.We need Him to be renewed day by day.  Without Him there would not be a fresh supply of grace and  new mercies.  Spiritual warfare is continuous and we cannot rely on our own weapons to fight. Every weapon that we are supposed to use comes from God. 

Not only does your prayer need to be continuous but you should be watchful. In the literal sense this means to stay awake. "Oooops!" I already flunked that test. Before I could say "Dear Lord" I was knocked out. There is more to these words than that though. These words mean that we should be more specific in prayer. Praying simply out of duty or to fulfill a Christian obligation is not okay. Yes you pray out of obedience but your prayer life should move beyond that. So what makes us neglect our prayer life....LIFE.  Everything keeps us so busy.  We don't slow down until life knocks us down and then we realize that we forgot to pray.  There may be some things that can be neglected like my toes during the winter time or the dusting in the house, but prayer is not one of them.  It should be continuous and steadfast.  Like a wife to a devoted husband we should be in constant communication with God, sharing with Him our innermost thoughts and asking Him to provide, heal and comfort those we love.  In other words we recognize the value.  We are to ask Him to search our hearts and clean them up.  It is a time where we turn all of our attention to Him.  It is not a time of mindless chatter.  God commands our undivided attention.  It is He, and only He, that can make the difference in our lives. 



Most Gracious Heavenly Father,



Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, thank you for the many blessings that you have bestowed on my life, especially those that I take for granted like waking me up this morning and the grace and mercy you give me every day. At times I neglect my time with You and I am sorry. I know that You love to hear from me and I enjoy hearing from You. Help me to be more devoted in my communion with You. Let it be a reflection of my relationship with You. I love You Lord and I thank you and praise You just for who You are. If you never do anything else for me, you have already done enough and I will continue to praise Your name. In Jesus' Wonderful Name I pray Amen.