Monthly Archives: May 2016

Prayer Wisdom

40 Ways to Pray – for Me

on Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Day 40 – pray for Yourself

The last way in which I will cover in this 40 ways to pray is probably the most important.  We need to start first of all by praying for ourselves.

Like when on an airplane we are told that in the event of an emergency to put our mask on first before assisting others.  You know why?  Because if you run out of oxygen then you will pass out and not be able to help anyone – including yourself.

So our prayers should start by lifting up our Father and Creator, and then ask for several things in our life.

I believe our daily prayers for ourselves should include at a minimum the following:

  • Forgiveness – we should always start by asking God to forgive the sins we have committed against Him so He can hear us pray to Him.
  • Daily portion – nourishment, rest and guidance for the day
  • Wisdom – to know the wise thing to do and the courage to do it
  • Humble – a posture of putting God 1st, and me 2nd
  • Protection – from the evil one who wants to devour and divide
  • Power – to stand strong against the evil one and the courage to battle sin
  • Guard my heart – we need to be careful, because what goes into the heart comes out in the life

My Prayer for Today

Jesus thank you for the ability to talk directly to You and to hear from you.  Please forgive me when I count you as anything but first in my life.  Show me today what it is that would be pleasing for me to do for You today.  I pray in the only name that I know how – the wonderful name of Jesus!

Prayer Wisdom

40 Ways to Pray – Constant Prayer

on Monday, May 9, 2016

Day 39 – Pray to be in constant Prayer

Rejoice always!
Pray constantly.
Give thanks in everything,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us to rejoice and pray constantly.

Now how in the world can we do that?  We have to work, go to school, go to church, eat and sleep.  How can I skip those things to be in prayer you say?

Well you don’t skip them.  The idea is to constantly be asking God for guidance in all that we do.  When I go to work or work is there someone He needs me to talk to?   Do I give thanks when I eat?  When I decide to go for a walk or watch TV, what does God want us to do in those situations?

I don’t think Paul intended us to do nothing but pray, but to pray in all things we do.

My Prayer for Today

Lord help me to be reminded constantly that You provide all I do and all I have.  Help me to remember to first listen to your guidance before I act today.  In the name of Jesus I pray.

 

Prayer Wisdom

40 Ways to Pray – the Lost

on Sunday, May 8, 2016

Day 38 – Pray for those who do not know Jesus as their Savior

We see them every day.  They could be family, coworkers, friends, people at the restaurant, or next to you at the traffic light.  They could be sitting next to you in church.  Who are they – people who do not know Jesus as their personal Savior.  As I type this I am reminded by God that this could actually be you.

My heart sinks.

Jesus came to pay the penalty for my and your sins.  The Father sent Him as the perfect sacrifice as a payment for the penalty of our sins against God.  All we have to do is admit that we are a sinner, repent of our sins, accept the gift of salvation, and dedicate our life to Jesus.

But there are people we know who have never turned their life to Jesus, and some of them will never know unless we tell them.  It’s not my preacher’s job to tell them about Jesus – it is mine.  And it is yours if you are saved by the grace of God.

So our prayers should include asking God to reveal a person that we know who needs to hear the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ alone.  Ask God to reveal that person to you and then ask for boldness to share how Jesus made a change in your life.

My Prayer for Today

Lord I know that I have friends that I work with and family members that I am not certain that they know the free pardon of sin in Jesus.  Show me one person today that I can witness to about the love of Jesus and how He alone can save our lives from hell and give us an eternity of hope and joy.  In the powerful name of Jesus I pray.

Prayer Wisdom

40 Ways to Pray – Unity

on Saturday, May 7, 2016

Day 37 – Pray for Unity in the Church

God desires for Christians to get along with each other.  There is no way He would desire any division in His church.

“May they all be one,
as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.
May they also be one in Us,
so the world may believe You sent Me.
I have given them the glory You have given Me.
May they be one as We are one.
I am in them and You are in Me.
May they be made completely one,
so the world may know You have sent Me”   -John 17:21-23

Jesus prayed to the Father for us to be in one accord.  If we are truly in a relationship with Jesus, then the desires of our church members should all be the same – to glorify Him.  Then we only need to decide in the context of where we live and the community we can influence how do we go about glorifying Him and bringing others to Him?  That is called a strategy that we look to our local church leader (pastor) to hear from God and chart that course for us.

“Paul urged the church in Ephesus to walk worthing of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds” -Eph 4:1-2

Our unity comes not from our common items of interest, but in the Holy Spirit of God that we all should strive to communicate with deeper each day.

Unity means we cannot have gossip or negative talk about the leaders of our church.  If we have something against what they are doing then we should go to them and discuss what we see as a difference.

Unity also means forgiveness and grace.  We will have differences with people in our churches, but we cannot forge differences with them.  We must learn to forgive them and allow grace as we all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God.

My Prayer for Today

Lord I ask you to help me bring unity to my church.  Where there are differences help me to see both sides and seek to join the other in the fight against satan daily.  Help us to appreciate and use our differences as tools against the dark one.  In the name of Jesus I pray.

Prayer Wisdom

40 Ways to Pray – Devotional

on Friday, May 6, 2016

Day 36 – Pray using a Daily Devotional

So the first key to pray using a daily devotional is to first set aside that time with you and the Lord each day for Bible reading and prayer – I call that quiet time.  The second is to use some kind of devotional to help you during that quiet time.

I like to use a short daily devotional as part of my quiet time.  Just a verse and short story to set my focus.  I don’t use this for all of my quiet time usually, but some days that may be all I use.

A devotional is helpful because they will cover the scripture in a variety of ways and help me bring attention something that I may not have looked at in a while.  It is almost certain to cover more topics of praise than I could come up with myself.

So go online or to your local bookstore and find a good Bible based devotional to help you find a daily topic of prayer.

My Prayer for Today

Lord I thank you for the devotionals that you have shown to me and allowed me to purchase.  Please use those to guide my mind and deepen my relationship with You.  In the name of Jesus I pray.

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Prayer Wisdom

40 Ways to Pray – Forgiveness

on Thursday, May 5, 2016

Day 35 – Pray to Forgive and for Forgiveness

“For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.”  Matthew 6:14-15

To get forgiveness, you have to give forgiveness.

I want you to take a moment to ask the Lord to reveal to you those that you have wronged and not asked for forgiveness.

Go ahead

It may take you a while to get back to reading this post……..

If we are honest there are a lot of people that we have did wrong and not asked for forgiveness – from God or them.

If you will take the time to recall those wrong doings and ask forgiveness I guarantee two things – you will feel better, and your relationship with God will increase.  Wow – that is a win/win!  So why not do it now?

My Prayer for Today

Lord you know all I have done – good and bad.  Help me to recall the people I have wronged to include You and I ask You for forgiveness.  Then those people that I am still able to, help me go to them and ask forgiveness.  And those that I am not able to get to will you show me grace?  In the wonderful name of Jesus I pray.

 

 

Wisdom

40 Ways to Pray – Country Leaders

on Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Day 34 – Pray for the Leaders of our Country (USA)

Today’s prayer is not concerned with the political view you may have with those leading our country.  I don’t agree with the way our current leaders are guiding our country.  I have two ways to change them:

  • The power of the ballot box
  • Prayer

I do vote in every election.  Whether I agree with those I have to choose from or not, I still cast my vote for the best person that has agreed to run for office.  I tell you, you may not agree that we have the best persons running for a particular office, but if nobody else wants to go through the scrutiny of public office what do you do?  You vote for the best option of those who agreed to lead in that capacity.

I think we fail to lift our leaders up in prayer.  Whether they understand or ask for our prayers I feel it is our duty to pray for them.  If nothing else, maybe God will change our mind to how things are currently being ran.

My Prayer for Today

God I ask that you bless the leaders of our country.  Those that have agreed to a leadership role will be held to a high standard that others.  Please help to ensure that these people understand that principal and show them truth and wisdom in their decisions.  In the name of Jesus I pray.

Wisdom

40 Ways to Pray – those against you

on Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Day 33 – Pray for those who are against you

Ouch – now this one is tough.

Matthew 5:44 says – But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

Romans 12:14 – Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

Such a tall order from Jesus, but He did it.  It is so hard to pray for somebody who you know is against you.  But that is what He told us to do.

I can think of three ways to pray for those who are against me:

  1. Pray that God will forgive them and show you where you need to forgive them.
  2. Ask God to give you grace as you extend grace to them where differences cannot be settled.
  3. Pray that God’s love will be revealed to them in such as way that their eyes would be opened.

My Prayer for Today

Lord please help me forgive those who go against me in speech and deed.  Help me understand their point of view and give grace.  In the name of Jesus I pray.

 

Wisdom

40 Ways to Pray – those for You

on Monday, May 2, 2016

Day 32 – Pray for those who are for You

I’m talking about your family, friends and neighbors.

I know that as I was growing up my mom and grandmother prayed for me.  I’m sure there were others, but those two I somehow understood that they were petitioning God for me.

In today’s world it is hard to find someone who will pray for you, and if you know someone who does – thank them.  Thank them so much that you in turn pray for them.

What would our country look like today if we took the time to pray for those we know and love on a daily basis.  Not just ask God to watch over them and bless them, but ask Him to reveal things you need to do and say for them.  That’s where the blessings of prayer are realized.

So how do you know who prays for you?  How do you know who is for you – who supports you?  It should be pretty easy to see the power of the Holy Spirit on those who pray for you.  They also have an understanding of where you are and have patience with you no matter where that might be.

My Prayer for Today

God I am so thankful for my family and friends that love me and pray for me.  Help me not to take them for granted and lift them up to you in prayer each day as well.  In the name of Jesus I pray.

 

Wisdom

April Blog Reviews

on Sunday, May 1, 2016

THESE ARE SIMPLY THE

9 Ways Non-Beekeepers Can Help Pollinators – I am a beekeeper, and I agree with this list and hope you can do something to help our honey bee population.

Keeping the Faith in A Faithless Age: the Church as a Moral Minority – how our country has changed in the past 2 years.  Wow  But we have to consider that God has not changed, and we need to keep our eyes focused on Him.

THE FREEDOM OF RELEASING REGRETS – wow, for a parent of a soon to be high school graduate, this article sure was needed.  Praying for God to fill the gaps where my parenting was not sufficient…

Spiritual Drafting and the Danger of Christian Complacency – all too often I see others depending on another person to develop their spiritual relationship with God.

BIBLE VERSES FOR DADS – Being a dad I know these were helpful to me, so I hope some dad who reads these will find encouragement.

Church Links

The Disciple Making Pathway: A Simple Church Model – this article says so much to me.  It is a short article, but the Simple Church and Replicate messages are so true and worthy to understand in our own churches.

The Local Church Isn’t Going Anywhere – that is the best news you will read all day.  And the good thing is – it is true every day!

The Least Attended Church Gathering – Prayer Meetings: I’ll go ahead and the the cat out of the bag, and also voice my disappointment in the assessment.  It is true for sure, but I am still disappointed in our lack of dependence of prayer in the church.

PARCHMENTS – I never even thought of how much it cost Paul to write his letters we include in the New Testament.