i know i shouldn't be, but once again, i've been surprised at how prayer will open doors. not just my going to God, but with the company of others. i have been praying about it myself for sometime, yet after sharing my burden with a few friends i feel the Lord answering, blessing me in this trial. how wonderful to know that our Father hears us!
at our church in Henderson NV, we often sang a hymn with the chorus... "we should ask, and seek, keep knocking at the door at Jesus feet. we have not our needs because we do not lean on Jesus." a good reminder to continually lift up our requests. to go to God over and over and over.
i feel like that song is a reflection of Matt 7:7-8
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
and look at Luke 18:1-8
1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4 For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge *said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
to have others praying for you is such a blessing! yes, i think there is a time and a place to share prayer requests and also it is wise to take into account your company when you share these petitions. but oh, how great the result can be when another is lifting you up to the Lord!
and i want to be that blessing to my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord. i want them to feel the Lord answering their requests because i took the time to lift them up and petition the Father. for me to go knocking on their account and both of us to be blessed by drawing near to our Savior.
Psalm 145:18
"The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth."
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
a book...
so i love a good book! preferably something fictional with great characters and a resolved ending.
i'm not usually into the books that claim they will help me get more done or get/stay more organized. where are they when clothes need to be folded or closets need to be sorted? i'm not really sure, but they definitely aren't here where i need them!
that being said, i've finished the book, "Peanut Butter on my Pillow" by rita w. kramer and found it refreshing and motivating, to the point i would like to share a little about it. not because of her grand ideas, but because she simply took every idea before the Lord. every concept she presented was compared before scripture to make sure it was in line. every suggestion she made seemed to be prayed about before putting it out there for me to try. so much scripture packed into a book has be to a good thing!
it's an older book i picked up off a used book sale at church (a big thank you to whoever donated it!). she puts many verses from the Bible, a few poems and quotes and her own confessions though out.
if you decide to give it a look, be sure to pray first that God will use this book in your life for His glory and your good.
i wanted to share a few things that hit me...
my inspiration for getting up a little earlier to pray
I didn't have time to pray
I got up early one morning
and rushed right into my day;
I had so much to accomplish
I didn't have time to pray.
Troubles just tumbled about me
and heavier came each task.
Why doesn't God help me, I wondered.
He answered, "You didn't ask."
I tried to come into God's presence,
I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
"Why, child, you didn't knock."
I wanted to see joy and beauty,
But the day toiled on grey and bleak.
I wondered by God didn't show me.
He said, "You didn't seek."
I woke up early this morning
and paused before entering my day.
I had so much to accomplish
The I had to take time to pray.
-Author unknown
a comforting thought about the state of my home
(i'm paraphrasing here) the whole idea of "cleanliness is next to godliness" is not in the Bible. in fact it was the idea of Phinehas ben Yair who thought that religion is a bunch of acts (he includes carefulness, vigorousness, abstemiousness [which is a big word for sparing or abstaining]) in and of themselves that become godliness. now i'm not about to take this guys advice!
John Wesley is the one who actually spoke this "treasured creed" in a sermon on dress. and John got it from Francis Bacon who actually said "cleanness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God," the whole idea was that keeping your body clean is out of respect for your Lord God who made it!
rita also quotes the Living Bible in Proverbs 14:4 (i'm not usually a big fan of the Living Bible, but i kind of like this one) "An empty stable stays clean - but there is no income from an empty stable."
life is messy. between kids, husbands, cooking & eating, playing & learning, there is going to be some messes. praise the Lord, He looks at my heart and my stewardship in all areas of my life, not just how much dust is on the piano.
little notes about her house that made me smile
This is NOT Treasure Island.
Please find a more appropriate place for your valuables.
Relax. God loves you.
This, too... (by rita) hit me off guard
Diaper changing became so routine and automatic that i couldn't remember doing the last one.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
Brothers, surrounded by a yard full of toys, fought over a battered tennis ball.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
Sleepless nights during flu season were followed by long, headachey days.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
Little hands reached into the cookie jar for "just one more?"
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
We didn't go to "buck night" at the drive-in movie because of insufficient funds.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
I stiffened in the passenger seat while my student driver first-born practiced her left turns.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
We sat elbow-to-elbow around the supper table, everyone talking at once.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
The afternoon schoolbus dispersed a half-dozen chattering Kramers, and from the first one thought the door i heard, :i got a hundred in spelling today, Mom!"
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
My husband and I came home to a quiet house after an evening out and peeked in on our offspring sleeping peacefully in their beds.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
a verse that reminded me to pray more
I love the Lord, for He heard my voice;
He heard my cry for mercy.
Because He turned His ear to me,
I will call on Him as long as I live.
-Psalm 116:1,2
i'm not usually into the books that claim they will help me get more done or get/stay more organized. where are they when clothes need to be folded or closets need to be sorted? i'm not really sure, but they definitely aren't here where i need them!
that being said, i've finished the book, "Peanut Butter on my Pillow" by rita w. kramer and found it refreshing and motivating, to the point i would like to share a little about it. not because of her grand ideas, but because she simply took every idea before the Lord. every concept she presented was compared before scripture to make sure it was in line. every suggestion she made seemed to be prayed about before putting it out there for me to try. so much scripture packed into a book has be to a good thing!
it's an older book i picked up off a used book sale at church (a big thank you to whoever donated it!). she puts many verses from the Bible, a few poems and quotes and her own confessions though out.
if you decide to give it a look, be sure to pray first that God will use this book in your life for His glory and your good.
i wanted to share a few things that hit me...
my inspiration for getting up a little earlier to pray
I didn't have time to pray
I got up early one morning
and rushed right into my day;
I had so much to accomplish
I didn't have time to pray.
Troubles just tumbled about me
and heavier came each task.
Why doesn't God help me, I wondered.
He answered, "You didn't ask."
I tried to come into God's presence,
I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
"Why, child, you didn't knock."
I wanted to see joy and beauty,
But the day toiled on grey and bleak.
I wondered by God didn't show me.
He said, "You didn't seek."
I woke up early this morning
and paused before entering my day.
I had so much to accomplish
The I had to take time to pray.
-Author unknown
a comforting thought about the state of my home
(i'm paraphrasing here) the whole idea of "cleanliness is next to godliness" is not in the Bible. in fact it was the idea of Phinehas ben Yair who thought that religion is a bunch of acts (he includes carefulness, vigorousness, abstemiousness [which is a big word for sparing or abstaining]) in and of themselves that become godliness. now i'm not about to take this guys advice!
John Wesley is the one who actually spoke this "treasured creed" in a sermon on dress. and John got it from Francis Bacon who actually said "cleanness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God," the whole idea was that keeping your body clean is out of respect for your Lord God who made it!
rita also quotes the Living Bible in Proverbs 14:4 (i'm not usually a big fan of the Living Bible, but i kind of like this one) "An empty stable stays clean - but there is no income from an empty stable."
life is messy. between kids, husbands, cooking & eating, playing & learning, there is going to be some messes. praise the Lord, He looks at my heart and my stewardship in all areas of my life, not just how much dust is on the piano.
little notes about her house that made me smile
This is NOT Treasure Island.
Please find a more appropriate place for your valuables.
Relax. God loves you.
This, too... (by rita) hit me off guard
Diaper changing became so routine and automatic that i couldn't remember doing the last one.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
Brothers, surrounded by a yard full of toys, fought over a battered tennis ball.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
Sleepless nights during flu season were followed by long, headachey days.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
Little hands reached into the cookie jar for "just one more?"
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
We didn't go to "buck night" at the drive-in movie because of insufficient funds.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
I stiffened in the passenger seat while my student driver first-born practiced her left turns.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
We sat elbow-to-elbow around the supper table, everyone talking at once.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
The afternoon schoolbus dispersed a half-dozen chattering Kramers, and from the first one thought the door i heard, :i got a hundred in spelling today, Mom!"
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
My husband and I came home to a quiet house after an evening out and peeked in on our offspring sleeping peacefully in their beds.
And the Lord said, "this, too, shall pass."
a verse that reminded me to pray more
I love the Lord, for He heard my voice;
He heard my cry for mercy.
Because He turned His ear to me,
I will call on Him as long as I live.
-Psalm 116:1,2
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
verse 4
"Hasten on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith and winged by prayer;
Heav'n's eternal days before me-
God's own hand shall guide me there.
Soon shall close my earthly mission;
Swift shall pass my pilgrim days;
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise."
-Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken
words by Henry F. Lyte, 1824
This is probably my all time favorate song for lyrics and possibly for music as well (the praise song music, not so much the hymn.) but singing this song in church Sunday night, i was struck by this verse. i've always gotten caught up in the previous verses and so my mind has been occupied once we got here. yet these words have such power to them. such a passion to them.
"Hasten on from grace to glory..."
Hasten - hurry, go quickly. (ok, so that's my definition, but the dictionary simply said the same thing in longer form.) we are all sinners who diserve an eternity in hell. (Romans 3:23, 6:23, 10:9-11) it is only by the grace of God and His salvation made availible though His Son on the cross that we don't burn for it. (John 3:16) and so, in this life, we live under the grace of God (Romans 6:14, Eph. 2:8-9). and yet, we will one day be in glory with Him. and so we strive for it. we long for it. we want to hurry up and get there! look at this verse with me.Titus 3:7
"so that being justified by His [Jesus Christ] grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
I think this man, Henry, must have had an extream amount of anticipation (hope) to see the glory that is to come. the glory of our God. look further on and you will see. it permiates every line of this song.
"Heav'n's eternal days before me - God's own hand shall guide me there,"
I only slightly disagree here. see, heaven is not forever. it is a temperary place for the saints that are no longer here on earth to await the return of the Lord, when He will physically set up His kingdom on this earth. it's spoken of throughout the Bible, looked forward to by the prophets of the old testament who didn't see a gap between the first coming (when Jesus came and died and was raised) and the second coming (the Kingdom that will last for all of eternity). it is in that Kingdom that God will be physically present to rule and guide. Isaiah 2:3-4
"And many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountian of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.' For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the Lord from Jersalem.
And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war."
"Hope shall change to glad fruition, Faith to sight, and prayer to praise."
These are all the things that we strive so hard to get a hold on here. we try to wrap our brains around them and grasp to hold onto them. Heb 11:1
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." and yet, this faith in the unseen shall, as the song says, change to sight. we will no longer be communicating to God only through prayer, but will actually be able to stand in front of Him and praise Him for who He is and all the amazing and merciful things He does for us. can you imagine it? these slightly ambiguos terms that we stumble over will turn into the rock solid tangable that we will enjoy forever.
and they are just as solid now as they will be then. because God said so and if He said it will happen, then it will happen. So, it's only my faulty brain that is the difficulty. yet, my shortcoming doesn't influence how very real it is.
"Soon shall close my earthly mission; Swift shall pass my pilgrim days"
we aren't very far from it. yes, we likely have many years ahead of us. but what are years when compaired to millenia? this lifetime (if God does not return before then) is not so long as we might think. (Psalm 103:15) so then, let us live with that anticipation that Henry seemed to have. be excited about what is to come.
*are you excited for the Kingdom? or are you to caught up in the day to day that it puts a damper on your joy?*
*have you read the Word today? hearing the words of God will get you excited about seeing Him!*
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