Daily Prayer: September 2013

O God,

you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity:

Grant us the fullness of your grace,

that we, running to obtain your promises,

may become partakers of your heavenly treasure;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

From Scot McKnight

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Sometimes it's a song that touches my heart, and I turn it into my prayer. I was at a women's retreat a couple weeks ago, and the singer (Rachel Barrentine) music ministered to my soul. This is one of the songs she's written, and I turned it into my prayer this morning. Will you join me?

Dear Lord, I am a ship at sea, There's a storm warning. I can see it closing in. The waves are crashing down. My heart, it starts to pound. Looks like it's sink or swim...But I believe.

You are the safety I go to (my defender) You are the anchor, tried and true (my shelter) When I'm running low on faith You pull me into Your embrace. My refuge, I run to You.

No matter what I see, Your hands will carry me. Through the wind and rain, In You I find my hope. I know You won't let me go. You are the God who saves and I will sing ~ You are the safety I go to (my defender) You are my anchor, tried and true (my shelter) I run to YOU.

You're my strength, You're my song. Through everything You're my light in the dark. You're guiding my way.

I love you, Amen.

Amen

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Undeserved

Romans 5:2 (NLT)
²Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

Father when I contemplate the privilege of friendship and fellowship with you, it is stunning. The wonder of such a personal relationship with God who created and sustains all things. God with whom power has no limit, wisdom has no error, love has no measure, holiness has no flaw and mercy has no prejudice. This privilege that makes us the apple of you eye, the object of your affection and the treasure of your heart. What an astounding thought! How much you love us and think about us. It reminds me of Psalm 139:17 (NLT) How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

Father, may I ever be mindful that this privilege is undeserved. This is pure and glorious grace. It is a relationship which only you could make possible. Thank you Father from an undeserving heart and an eternally grateful soul.

Amen

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cry out to Jesus

"Then shalt thou call, and the LORD

shall answer; thou shalt cry and

He shall say, 'Here I am'"

(Isaiah 58:9)

Even in the times we feel alone, His ears are attentive to our cries and pleas for help. He is always ready to respond to our desperate need for a touch from His loving Hands. He is ready to respond with a sweet awareness inside of us of His Presence. We never have to feel afraid or alone. We never have to feel abandoned or rejected. Because our God is a God of love and He desires for us to be filled to the full with the knowledge of this love every day.

Cry out to Jesus - He will hear and He cares and He will respond.

Amen

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Our Father

Father, you are the Creator and Sovereign God. You are the Almighty One, yet you invite us to call you Abba, Father. You call us your beloved children, and you love us with an everlasting love. You provide us with all that we need. We thank you for your grace, mercy, and love. Amen

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I Peter 5:6 "So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor." (NLT)

I must let go of PRIDE and replace it with a heart of HUMILITY.

Dear Lord, how can I be humble without Your grace? I cannot. For humility without grace is just pride in disguise. In Your grace, Heavenly Father, grant me the gift of humility and the understanding of how to humble myself under your mighty power. And in return accept all of my anxieties into Your caring hands. I love You. Amen.

Amen

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ALL

Psalm 51:17 (ESV)
¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Father what sacrifices I could offer you if the world was mine to give. What lavish offerings could be presented? Yet I am reminded that you are not impressed with the abundance of our giving but much more with the attitude with which we give. The wonderful story of the Widow comes to mind as Jesus emphasis the superior value of humility and gratitude in sacrifice.

Mark 12:41-44 (ESV)
⁴¹And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴²And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. ⁴³And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. ⁴⁴For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

Dear Father help me to be like her, such simplicity, sincerity, and selflessness. She was not even aware that you were watching the personal and priceless sacrifice she made. Father, you who created the universe need nothing and yet acknowledged the widow for the greatness of heart expressed in the largeness of her gift for it was all she had. All without heart is nothing and empty of true gratitude.

Father help me to give ALL as Jesus explained:

Mark 12:30 (NIV)
³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'

Father bless all who follow the widow's path.

Amen

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For Colorado

Father, we pray for those affected by the flooding in Colorado and New Mexico. Comfort those who have lost loved ones, heal those who are injured, and provide for those who have lost homes and possessions. Please bring the rain to an end, that the land may dry out and the clean up begin. Amen.

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WALKING BY FAITH, POUNDING NAILS

Holy Father, I am so weak. I want to trust You, but it is so hard to walk "by faith" when I can't see what You are doing. You are my Steadfast Rock. I desire to look only to You. I want to believe You for what I don't understand, what I can't see, and what doesn't make sense to me. Give me the power through Your Holy Spirit to being POUNDING THE NAILS INTO "MY ARK". May I become the one who pleases You because I walk by faith. I love You. Amen.

Amen

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Harmony

Psalms 133:1-3 (NLT)
¹How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! ²For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. ³Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.

Father you have shown us that harmony is wonderful in its affect, pleasant in its experience, precious in its value and refreshing in its outlook. How we need such harmony for our disconnected and divided world today. This seems like an impossible prayer and may very well be for our dysfunctional and disobedient disposition. And yet we know there is a day coming when the Prince of Peace, Jesus, will establish his kingdom as spoken of Isaiah 9:7 (NLT) “His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity…”

Father how we long for this day and pray for its coming. But until then help us to be faithful witnesses of this blessed hope and encourage others to look forward to the harmony that will be for all who trust in our coming King and Savior Jesus. And Father based on our future hope help us to seek and work for harmony in our lives today.

Amen

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On the battlefield

"For the LORD your God is He

that goes with you, to fight for

you against your enemies, to save you."

(Deuteronomy 20:4)

Don't ever think you are in a battle alone if you are a Child of God! His Word tells us over and over that He will fight for us! And that He will fight with us! There is no peace like the peace that floods our souls when we know our Heavenly Father is on the battlefield with us. When you are troubled and weary, give it to our God. Allow Him to take the burden, fight the battle and secure a victory that He has already won for us. The victory of the Cross. You never have to fight alone again. You can know that God will always be there.

Thank you, Lord, for being on the battle grounds with us. You are mighty and powerful and we are so thankful that you go before us against the enemy! We praise you for your wonderful works in our lives! Hear our cries and minister according to Your Divine will. We love you,

Amen

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

I heard a wonderful message at my daughter's church last week, and it made quite an impression on me. It has changed the way I've prayed this week. I'm sharing some of the insights in my prayer this week.

Dear Lord, you have touch my heart this week through your servant who opened the Word of God and gave me some new nuggets from Your Word. I need to be a person who loves what is right, and HURTS over what's wrong. I need to be a person who wants to lead real change, starting with MYSELF. I need to be a person who wants to make a DIFFERENCE. Lord help me deal WISELY with my distractions. Lord I need to be a person who TRUSTS You fully, and put my LIFE where my Faith is. Thank You for preachers who open Your Word, and encourage our hearts to Love you more. I want to make a difference in my world. I do love you deeply and dearly. Amen.

Amen

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LIFE

Thank you Father that the joy of my life does not depend on the circumstances of life. What a variety of experiences life brings every day. Some negative, some positive, some surprising, some intentional and all meaningful. Meaningful not for how they impact our lives but how you use them in our lives. Romans 8:28 is such a great verse of your sovereign care for us.

Romans 8:28 (ESV)
²⁸……we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Father, we know that all things are not good but how reassuring and comforting to know that in all things our good is a primary concern for you. We know that you are not limited or inhibited from accomplishing your purpose for us. And we know that our life is never better than when we are fitting into your purpose. So Father the joy of my life is that I can say with King David: “ …. I am confident I will see the LORD’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13 (NLT)

Thank you Father for the good life even when life may not seem good.

Amen

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Jehovah-Jireh

Jehovah-Jireh is Hebrew for God our Provider. It literally tells us that our LORD will see our needs and He will provide for us.

In Genesis 22, we see the familiar account of Abraham and Isaac. As we read this passage of scripture we see that God has given Abraham a command and we see the immediate, non-debated, non-delayed obedience on the part of Abraham.

Verse 7 shows us the words of Isaac that have tugged on our heart strings every time we read them! "Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" If Abraham was ever going to just cut and run, now would have been the time for that. But we see Abraham's response and it was one of confident Faith in His God.

"My Son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering..."

God, through Abraham. provides a huge lesson in faith in these scriptures. Faith is not shown to be real until it is tested! We can say we have say we have faith all we want but until that faith is put to the test, it isn't real faith.

One commentator says this, "God did not want Isaac's life, He wanted Abraham's heart!"

Oh, that we would give God our whole hearts like this! That we would obey without delay and without hesitation. That we would trust Him to provide that sacrifice!

Jehovah Jireh - God our Provider. Our Provider will always make provision for us according to His will and His purpose.

Real Faith is not believing in spite of the evidence but obeying in spite of the consequences. One commentator put it this way, "God did not want Isaac's life, He wanted Abraham's heart"

Oh, that we would give our Lord our whole hearts! That we will listen and trust and obey! God wants our hearts! He wants all of us. Surrendered. Unhindered. Sold-out for Him.

Amen

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Labor Day Prayer

On this day, when we give thanks for the jobs you have provided us, we pray for those who are looking for work. Provide for them and bring them to work that not only pays the bills but is meaningful and satisfying. Amen

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