Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

GOD CAN , , ,


For the next few weeks I want to share something our Pastor shared with us.  Praying Scripture is always a good idea and this gives me some direction.  They all begin with RE

REasons to REad God's REvelation  So God Can.....

REscue Me ~ Psalm 119:153  "Look upon my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law.'

Dear Lord, I want to stay in your Word Lord, and know that when I am suffering you will deliver me.  You will Rescue Me...Lord, I will not forget your law.  I love You and I love Your Word.  Amen



Amen

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I Love A Plan






James 4:13-15 (NLT)
   13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”


Father, you know I love a plan. For me it gives direction, definition and determination to my life. For me this means I know where I am going, why I am going and the purpose of going. Yet Father sometimes you remind me that there may be a hitch in my plan. There are things I don’t know or control.  Plan A, B, C, or D looks good and seems reasonable to me, but plan G, God’s plan is best.  

Father I have often discovered that when my plans are adjusted to fit into your plan, how good it is. So thank you Father for reminding me to say: “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” That is truly the plan I love. And I can say with the writer of Hebrews: “God had planned something better for us……”
Hebrews 11:40 (NIV)

Thank you Father for the good things you plan and provide for us through Jesus, your beloved Son.
 
Amen

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Friday

Dear Lord,
Help me to grow in You; to put aside my fears and anxieties, to renew my mind, and take every thought captive. Give me a steadfast heart that seeks Your face,
Amen

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To Know You

Grant me, O Lord my God,
a mind to know you,
a heart to seek you,
wisdom to find you,
conduct pleasing to you,
faithful perseverance in waiting for you,
and a hope of finally embracing you.
Amen
... a prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas

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Prayer of Submission

Our prayers are too little and feeble to execute the purposes of God with appropriating power. Marvelous purposes need marvelous praying to execute them. How great, how sublime, and how exalted are the promises God makes to His people!
Prayer is based on the purpose and promise of God. Prayer is submission to God. Prayer is never disloyal to God. It may cry out in times of trouble, but it is rewarded with God's glory.

Father, I want my prayers to be based on Your purposes and promises. Please guide me in all Your ways. In the mighty Name of Jesus Christ,

(By E.M. Bounds)


Amen

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The Lord Provides

This was a week when my wife and I were short on money (happens occasionally). And it reminded me that my idea of being short on money is minor compared to what others experience in real poverty and hunger.

Father,

I thank You that You are the God who provides. I pray for those in real need, that You would provide for their needs. I pray for those who are Your people, that You will help them to trust in You and have Your peace, in spite of whatever difficulties they may find themselves in. I pray for those of us who, in spite of occasional financial struggles, are doing fairly well, that we will trust You in our situation and put it in perspective. And help us to have the desire to help those who are less fortunate than we are to the extent that we can.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

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Father, give us the humility to know that you are the King and we are your subjects, the faith to trust your love to us, and the grace to show that love to those around us. Amen

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WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS







Phil. 5:6 " In everything present your requests to God."

There is nothing like sharing your heart with a close and true friend.  That's must be what Charles C. Converse was thinking about Jesus when he penned this hymn.

That is my prayer today ~ to meditate on those words that remind me I can take my deepest hurts and hidden secrets to Jesus in Prayer, because He is my Friend.






What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer.
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Are we weak and heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load of care!
Precious Savior, still our refuge
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He'll take and shield three.
Thou wilt find a solace there.




Amen

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GROANING

Romans 8:23-24 (NLT)
    23 ”…..we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24We were given this hope when we were saved….”


Father how real these verses become as the years of life progress like storm clouds casting their darkening shadows. It is not that we have no hope, but that the realities of life expose our struggle with sin and our struggle with human frailty dealing with sickness and disease of every sort.  And Father it is not about complaining but confronting the tragedies of life that at times cause such deep groaning of the soul in longing for the realized hope of our glorious future.

Father we join the Apostle Paul in saying:”That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 (NLT)

Amen

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The Grail Prayer

Lord Jesus,
I give you my hands to do your work.
I give you my feet to go your way.
I give you my eyes to see as you do.
I give you my tongue to speak your words.
I give you my mind that you may think in me.
I give you my spirit that you may pray in me.
Above all,
I give you my heart that you may love in me your Father and all mankind.

I give you my whole self that you may grow in me, so that it is you, Lord Jesus,
who live and work and pray in me.
Amen
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People of prayer

Samuel was a man of prayer. His prayers always had an affect on God and moved God to do things that He had otherwise decided against. Through Samuel, the nation of Israel experienced revival and David was one of the fruits of that harvest. 

Samuel gives us a solid word in his book. A word that we need to practice in our everyday lives. A word of prayer for others.

"As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against
the Lord by failing to pray for you"
(1 Samuel 12:23) NIV

What a great reminder to us that we need to stand in the gap for our family and friends. We need to stand in the gap for the lost. For those around us that we may not know. For our nation and our world. We need to armor up and be a people of prayer to a God that hears and responds!

Thank you, Lord, for hearing the cries of your people. Thank you for loving us and and equipping us to do your work for your glory! Help us be a people of prayer.



Amen

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Being Too Comfortable

Father,

I pray for Your people. I pray that we might not be so comfortable that we ignore You. It is easy for us to concentrate on the things we want and to push You over to a corner of our life. Help us to remember that we are pilgrims and  sojourners here, and this earth is not our final home. It is easy to get caught up in the here and now. Help us see beyond it and remember eternity.

In Jesus Name, 
Amen

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GOD ALONE



Dear Lord, sad is my heart.  This year has already brought sorrow to our friends and family.  Sickness, surgeries, cancer diagnosis, and pain.  You are my rock and my fortress, but my heart hangs heavy in my breast from the grief and tears.  Lord this song we sang Wednesday night at Bible study is my comfort.   I love you and I'm setting my gaze on You alone.

MY SOUL FINDS REST

I set my gaze on God alone
And trust in Him completely,
With every day pour out my soul
And He will prove His mercy.
Though life is but a fleeting breath,
A sigh too deep to measure,
My King has crushed
The curse of death
And I am His forever.





Amen

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The Sparrow

Matthew 10:29 & 31 (NLT) & Psalm 121:5-8
     ….not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.
31 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. 5 The LORD himself watches over you! 7 The LORD ……… watches over your life. 8 The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

Father as I ponder these verses that speak of your personal knowledge of your people it brings such a sense of security and peace. What glorious comfort that you have such care for us. It brings to mind the response of Hagar: “You are the God who sees me.”  Genesis 16:13 (NLT)

So Father I would just like to praise you with the words from the song: “His Eye is on the Sparrow”

Why should I be discouraged and why should the shadows fall?
Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home?
When Jesus is my portion, my constant Friend is He,
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

Let not your heart be troubled; these tender words I hear;
And resting on his goodness I lose my doubts and fears;
For by the path He leadeth but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

I sing because I'm happy;
I sing because I'm free;
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.
 
Thank you Father for your loving care so tenderly portrayed in the Sparrow.
 

(The lyrics to the Gospel song, "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" was written by Civilla Martin, and the music composed by Charles H. Gabriel.)

Amen

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A Little Love Goes a Long Way

Dear Lord Jesus,
 It's a cold world out there with lots of struggling people, people who don't know you. I pray today that You would work in the hearts and lives of Your people, people like me, and I pray that we would be Jesus to those folks who can't seem to see who You really are. I pray that not only would we set a standard worthy of Your name, but that we would love with a love as deep and intense as Yours. I pray, Lord, that they would come to know You because we share Your love with them.
Amen

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A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done.

Amen

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LOVE IN THE VINEYARD



Song of Songs 7:12  "Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom ~ there I will give you my love."

Dear Lord, I will rise early to meet You.  I will spend time alone with You, whispering the secrets of my heart.  I will wait for Your assurance and celebrate Your presence.  In the vineyard of Your love I will be satisfied.  For You are the Vine and I am the branch.  Abiding in You, I receive all that I require to live as Your child in this world ~ all the peace, the power, the grace, the hope, the mercy, the love.  So I will rush to Your Vineyard in the early hours, where I know I will find You waiting.  I love You.  Amen.




Amen

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Real Jeopardy

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (NLT)
   3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.


Father there is real jeopardy revealed in these verses for those who are without faith in Christ.  May we ever be alert to every opportunity to share the good news of Christ and never by our silence enhance the danger of those who are perishing.
Father you encourage and exhort us in Psalm 107:2 (NLT) “Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you…..”  Father help us to be faithful witnesses of your grace by our life and our lips, and may we be able to say with the Psalmist: “I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power….” Psalm 40:10 (NLT)

Amen

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Prayer for the Cold and Homeless

God of compassion,

your love for humanity was revealed in Jesus,

whose earthly life began in the poverty of a stable

and ended in the pain and isolation of the cross:

we hold before you those who are homeless and cold

especially in this bitter weather.

Draw near and comfort them in spirit

and bless those who work to provide them

with shelter, food and friendship.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen
... a prayer from the Church of England

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Eternal God

Everything is temporal, recent and transient! That is why the Holy Spirit whispers faithfully, reminding us of the Christ of God, eternity walking in flesh, God Almighty come to live among us and to save- to give us eternity! 

What is our greatest prayer? When we turn our  faces toward the Eternal One and ask...

"God have mercy on me, a sinner"

Then we are finally being what God intended us to be in the first place!

Father God, help me to recognize that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Help me to live this new year  with a new set of eyes and see life from your lofty and eternal perspective.

(Taken from A.W. Tozer daily devotions)



Amen

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Prayer for Reconciliation

I would like to pray regarding the current situation of racial conflict in our country. It is not my purpose to determine who was right or wrong in any of the particular incidents . But I do wish to pray that we might find a way to resolve these conflicts and move to a situation of justice toward all involved.

Father,

I pray that as a nation we might come to see that all human beings, whatever their skin color, are made in Your image. That we might put aside our hatreds and learn to love all people as You would have us love them. And that we as a country may provide genuine justice for all its citizens, whoever they may be.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen

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Father, in the year ahead, make us people of faith in your goodness. Let us be gracious to all we meet, and let your love flow out of us onto them. May all people see Jesus in us and be drawn to your truth, beauty, and goodness. Amen

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WHO GETS THE GLORY?



Psalms 29:2  "Give unto the Lord the GLORY due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."


Dear Lord, I am so prone to want the glory.  To tell everyone of my good deeds.  To get praise and acclamation for myself.  Lord I truly want to be a secret servant.  I want all that I do and say and think  to bring YOU the GLORY due your Holy Name.  When I start to praise myself and accept the glory, Lord please put Spiritual Tape over my mouth and cause my heart and mouth Glorify YOU!  I love You.  Amen



Amen

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Daily Balance

Psalm 39:4-5 (NLT)
4 “LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. 5 You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.”


Psalm 118:24 (NIV)
24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Father these verses are so complimentary to each other in that one speaks of the brevity of life and the other the blessings of life. They present a balance that we need to be mindful of each day of the year. We should not take a single day for granted nor lose sight of the opportunity, joy and possibilities each day presents. Every day is an adventure in living, in discovering new aspects of life, and developing our relationship with you and those we love.

Father we ask you will to help us remember the brevity and blessing of each day and to live each one in that daily balance.


Amen

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A New Prayer

Dear Lord,
It's another new year. I haven't lived up very well to all those resolutions I've made in years past. It makes me a bit hesitant to offer up any more declarations... I'm absolutely certain You are still molding and shaping me, changing my attitudes, and showing me areas of my heart that need cleansing. I'm not done being changed, but the changing needs to come from You. This year I pray that You will open my eyes and ears that I might see and hear those things that You are showing and speaking to me. Sometimes I'm afraid I still don't want to see or hear, so Lord, I pray that my heart would be softened and pliable, that I wouldn't need to face great pain or sorrow in order to surrender my will to yours. And Lord, this year I pray that I would learn to love deeper, to give more freely. I'm supposing You will offer plenty of opportunities for practice, so please help me to have my eyes open and heart ready when those times arise.
Amen

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Give us Vision

Give us, O God, the vision which can see Your love in the world in spite of human failure.

Give us the faith to trust Your goodness in spite of our ignorance and weakness.

Give us the knowledge that we may continue to pray with understanding hearts.

And show us what each one of us can do to set forward the coming of the day of universal peace.

Amen
-- Frank Borman, Apollo 8 space mission, 1968

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