Prayers and Promises (Reprinted from Beacon of Hope Newsletter)
Life can be hard and sometimes it seems that with each passing day it gets increasingly more difficult to make right choices or to keep from being a victim of another person's bad choices.
As our troubles and problems pile up and we try to figure out what to do and how to get out of the mess we have made with our life, the situation becomes more confusing and complicated. We don't know what to do or where to turn for help. Often we attempt to make long term plans on how to make the problem better and we become overwhelmed with how impossible a solution seems. Our human tendency is to look for complicated answers to life's problems. Easy answers seem just that - too easy.
Jesus tells us solutions to problems don't have to be complicated. He tells us to take one day at a time and to trust Him with each day, as it comes.
In Matthew 6:33-34 Jesus says to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you as well. Therefore do no worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
This is telling us what we need to do each day and that is to seek God's kingdom and His righteousness. We do that by praying and studying His Word, the Bible. When we seek Him through prayer and Bible study, His promise to us is that all these things will be given to us.
Does this mean we will be rich in material possessions and need nothing else? No, what it means is that God will give us His Holy Spirit and through His Spirit in us, He will show us what we need to do to solve any problems or deal with our troubles. It means Jesus will give us His peace and bring comfort and good counsel through His Spirit dwelling in us.
Jesus also tells us in John 14:6, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life." He doesn't say to us that He will show us the way or that He will tell us which direction to go. He says that He is the way and if we follow Him we will never lose our way in life. If we truly follow Jesus, He will show us the only way to go and will give us a life we never dreamed could exist. He will give us a life of joy and peace, even in the middle of our troubles.
As you pray about your problems, specifically ask God to show you what you need to do, or not do; and then ask Him to help you hear Him and be attentive to how He will lead you and show you what you need to do.
The following is simply a sample prayer for anyone who may not be accustomed to praying. My hope is that it will be a tool to help you get started on a daily prayer routine. God hears even the simplest of prayers, so just pray from whatever is on your heart.
"Heavenly Father, I come to You in Jesus' name. Thank you God for loving me! Will you please forgive me for the sins I have committed and help me to stop doing things that hurt other people, myself, and especially You.
Please God, show me how to take one day at a time and to trust You with each day. Help me to seek Your kingdom and Your righteousness and not to worry about tomorrow but to give each day to you and to trust You to lead me through it. As I learn to take one day at a time, help me to remember that You are my refuge and strength (Psalm 41:6) and You will get me through the day.
Thank you, Father, in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Growing Strong in God's Presence
My devotional reading this morning was about growing strong in the light of God's presence. I read that my weakness does not repel God. Instead it attracts His Power and His Power is always available to flow into a yielded heart.
It is very easy for us to allow our weakness to cause us to be discouraged and feel as if we are always letting God down. To consider that my weakness attracts God's Power gives me hope in Him and causes me to truly understand that 'with God all things are possible'. I may not be perfect. I may be weak. I may stumble in my journey to a greater relationship with Him but with the Holy Spirit living in me and His Power always available to me, I will never fall to the point that I can't get back up. As He lifts me up and brushes the 'soil' from my garments, He creates a clean heart within me and restores me to the joy of His glorious salvation.
It is very easy for us to allow our weakness to cause us to be discouraged and feel as if we are always letting God down. To consider that my weakness attracts God's Power gives me hope in Him and causes me to truly understand that 'with God all things are possible'. I may not be perfect. I may be weak. I may stumble in my journey to a greater relationship with Him but with the Holy Spirit living in me and His Power always available to me, I will never fall to the point that I can't get back up. As He lifts me up and brushes the 'soil' from my garments, He creates a clean heart within me and restores me to the joy of His glorious salvation.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Power in Prayer
When we tell someone that we will pray for them, how seriously do we take the commitment that we have just made to that person? Is it important to us to follow through and pray for the person or have we simply spoken words that we think sounded good and hopefully made someone feel better?
When we truly understand that praying to God is so much more than just speaking hopeful words to Him and when we believe, without question, that there is much power in prayer, we will never again make the commitment to pray for someone without realizing that we have made a serious commitment to them. We will make that commitment to pray for another person because we will know that our prayers will make a difference.
God, in His Word to us, repeatedly tells us to pray for each other. When we do this; when we pray for each other, we are calling on the power of the Holy Spirit to intervene in whatever situation is going on in that person's life. There is an awesome power in prayer and God wants us to understand that His power is made available to us when we pray. God's Word tells us that the 'effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.' This is telling us that our prayers are powerful and we can believe that they are being heard by the powerful and loving God of the universe.
It is God's desire that we pray for each other and that we do so with love, boldness and a true expectancy of our prayers being answered.
When we truly understand that praying to God is so much more than just speaking hopeful words to Him and when we believe, without question, that there is much power in prayer, we will never again make the commitment to pray for someone without realizing that we have made a serious commitment to them. We will make that commitment to pray for another person because we will know that our prayers will make a difference.
God, in His Word to us, repeatedly tells us to pray for each other. When we do this; when we pray for each other, we are calling on the power of the Holy Spirit to intervene in whatever situation is going on in that person's life. There is an awesome power in prayer and God wants us to understand that His power is made available to us when we pray. God's Word tells us that the 'effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.' This is telling us that our prayers are powerful and we can believe that they are being heard by the powerful and loving God of the universe.
It is God's desire that we pray for each other and that we do so with love, boldness and a true expectancy of our prayers being answered.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Finding The Treasures in The Ashes
I have had a number of opportunities over the past several of years to share my 'life's story' with various church groups, organizations and individuals. I have never liked the idea of using the same notes each time I give my testimony. I learned early on that because each audience was different, it always worked better for me if I wrote my material from a fresh viewpoint. After the first few times of preparing what I would say, I noticed that each time I prepared my material I learned something new from my own history that was not only healing for me emotionally and spiritually but was also teaching me how God had answered my prayers and worked things out when the time was right. This is when God truly awed me with His presence in my life.
Our trials in life are always difficult and can sometimes be very painful, but, they can also be tremendous opportunities for spiritual growth. If we are willing to open our eyes and see what God wants us to see, we will be amazed at what we find. We may be very surprised, as I was, that God had never left, that He had not only answered my prayers, but He answered them in the best possible way for those of us involved. I learned that God had answered my prayers 'when the time was right' for everyone and this is something that I will never forget.
Our trials become like the ashes that are left after a fire. The ashes are those experiences that have caused us pain, heartache, misery, loss, and sometimes even regret. But there are treasures to be found in the ashes. If we are willing to ask God to show us the good that comes from the bad, He will. When we trust God, he will show us that we can dig through the cold ashes left from a 'fiery trial' and find beautiful 'treasurer's and precious 'gems' lying untouched amid the ashes. We know that the heat of a fire can refine precious metals. It is the same with us. The heat from our fiery trials can refine us and remake us in Christ's image.
We should never allow a trial to pass without asking God to show us the treasures He has for us from the ashes of that trial. We need to be determined that our trials will eventually make a positive difference in not only our own life, but in someone else's life, as well. We can determine to glean everything we possibly can from them for personal, emotional, and spiritual growth. When we are able to turn our negative life experiences into positive ones, it is then that we will truly find the treasures in the ashes.
Our trials in life are always difficult and can sometimes be very painful, but, they can also be tremendous opportunities for spiritual growth. If we are willing to open our eyes and see what God wants us to see, we will be amazed at what we find. We may be very surprised, as I was, that God had never left, that He had not only answered my prayers, but He answered them in the best possible way for those of us involved. I learned that God had answered my prayers 'when the time was right' for everyone and this is something that I will never forget.
Our trials become like the ashes that are left after a fire. The ashes are those experiences that have caused us pain, heartache, misery, loss, and sometimes even regret. But there are treasures to be found in the ashes. If we are willing to ask God to show us the good that comes from the bad, He will. When we trust God, he will show us that we can dig through the cold ashes left from a 'fiery trial' and find beautiful 'treasurer's and precious 'gems' lying untouched amid the ashes. We know that the heat of a fire can refine precious metals. It is the same with us. The heat from our fiery trials can refine us and remake us in Christ's image.
We should never allow a trial to pass without asking God to show us the treasures He has for us from the ashes of that trial. We need to be determined that our trials will eventually make a positive difference in not only our own life, but in someone else's life, as well. We can determine to glean everything we possibly can from them for personal, emotional, and spiritual growth. When we are able to turn our negative life experiences into positive ones, it is then that we will truly find the treasures in the ashes.
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