Daily Prayer

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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NEVER ALONE

"Jesus never sends a man ahead alone. He blazes a clear way through every thicket and woods, and then softly calls, "Follow me. Lets go on together, you and I." He has been everywhere we are called to go. His feet have trodden down smooth a path through every experience that comes to us. He knows each road, and knows it well: the valley road of disappointment with its dark shadows; the steep path of temptation down through the rocky ravines and slippery gullies; the narrow path of pain, with brambly thorn bushes so close on each side, with their slash and sting; the dizzy road along the heights of victory; the old beaten road of commonplace daily routine. Every path he had trodden and glorified and will walk anew with each of us. The only safe way to travel is with Him alongside and in control."

~~Dr. Samuel Dickey Gordon (1859-1936)

Dear Heavenly Father. All I can speak is Thank You for always being with me. Always being my guide. Always preparing a path of escape. Always being alongside me every step of the way in this life I live. I love you so. I worship you with this prayer. Amen

Amen

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Mystery

Proverbs 27:1 (ESV)
“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”

Father, it seems like every day is a mystery. It is a daily adventure of faith and discovery. We have our plans and goals which hopefully give us a sense of direction. Yet, we are totally clueless as to what will actually take place.

But what I imagine we would hope to do is to live today with meaning, purpose and end with some kind of achievement. The satisfaction of a day well lived would be very fulfilling. So Father, I join the prayer of the Psalmist who implored you to……………^“teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalms 90:12 (ESV)

That’s good enough for me and I hope pleases you! Thanks

Amen

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pray for a seeking heart

We are driven by our thirst for the cool water that

springs forth from the Fountain of the Living God.

We yearn. We long.

and therefore, we SEEK.

We find Him and are never satisfied.

We seek Him again and again.

Too often, we seek Him and find Him and so we seek no more.

What a tragedy! The fulfilling, growing, mind-blowing, spirit-filled

life is one that is found by seeking Him and finding Him and then seeking Him some more!

We were created to long for Him. To worship the Creator with all of our hearts. To worship Him with expectancy of spirit.

A furious longing.

To seek Him with fervor!

He should be unrivaled in our affection and our worship.

We need to search for Him in-depth and in great need.

Unhindered.

And then when we find Him, we will desire to keep searching. To keep seeking. To keep yearning for more of the One True God that will satisfy our deepest needs.

Seek Him and you will find Him.

"And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all of your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13

Amen

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The Insanity of Prayer

A recent article, titled “The definition of insanity” is the most overused cliché of all time, begins by saying:

"It’s often said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

I can relate to that! I recently told a few friends that my prayer life often resembles this definition of insanity. I keep praying the same things and expecting a different result - or maybe just any result. One of my friends replied asking me why I even pray. I responded by saying that praying is like breathing for me.

When I speak of prayer as spiritual breathing I am reminded of how, in my twenties, I never prayed even though my wife Ellen was blind for 3 of those years. Then she was healed and I became aware of God. Eventually I prayed my first real prayer and it has become like breathing in the sense of I do it without thinking to do it. It comes naturally just like breathing. Yet some of the prayers are versions of insanity as I ask for the same things over and over and do not see answers. Even so, I find peace in knowing that God has heard me - and perhaps that it a good enough "answer".

Real life example of my insane prayer life: As many of you know my wife Ann has been disabled for six years now and I watch her struggle every day to do basic things as she gets in and out of her wheelchair. I pray all of the time for her and I sometimes express my frustrations to the Lord. I sometimes feel a bit insane as I pray and do not see improvements in Ann's health. So I wonder if the real challenge is to be content (through prayer) with the challenges and pain that she and I experience. Being content with pain? Now that sounds insane!! What do you think?

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A MOTHER'S LONELY HEART

Dear Lord, sometimes I feel so lonely. Now that I am in the Fall and Winter seasons of my life, I love my family so deeply and dearly, but long for more calls from them. I realize they all are busy with jobs and families of their own, but in honesty I long to hear "Hey Mom, just thinking of you this morning. I love you."

Forgive me Lord for those feelings, as I know that my children love me deeply and dearly too. I'm taken back to my own Mother, and had I known she would leave us at 79, would have called her every day. As it was, I did call her a lot, and fortunately lived close enough to spend time with her. But it feel so good to share my heart with you Lord. I'm so glad to be your daughter, and enjoy that you talk me every day in Your Word and in my heart. I will find my rest in You. I love you. Amen.

Amen

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Stretched

Father my emotions are stretched like a rubber band to the breaking point, from rage to compassion. Rage over the deaths of a young man in Oklahoma to the death of an old World War II Vet in Washington, both victims of cruel, heartless and senseless murder. Compassion for the unbearable loss their family and friends suffer. I know your justice will be served, and I can’t imagine the pain in your heart over the brutality of the human race in every conceivable conflict and yet you express emotions in such a telling way.

Genesis 6:5-6 (ESV)
⁵The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

Father sometimes I just don’t know what to pray but I will ask for help, mercy and your just intervention in a world that will never make sense without you.

Father, You are the God of all hope and so we don’t give up because we trust you. So I say with the Psalmist:

^“…I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hand;” Psalm 31:14-15 (ESV)

Amen

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the God who sees

I love the account of Hagar in Genesis. A woman alone, destitute and desperate in the wilderness. She is feeling helpless and hopeless and then God shows up. Right where she is at, in her misery and her loneliness, the God who sees, El Roi, reveals Himself to her.

So she called the Lord who spoke to her: The God Who Sees, for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the One who sees me? ” (Genesis 16:13 HCSB)

When we find ourselves in this same situation, our God will show up and show Himself to us in this same way. The God who sees us. He knows everything about us. He hears our cries. He sees our deepest need. And He will reveal Himself to us and minister to the aching and empty places in our spirits.

Fall on your face before Him and cry out. He will show up and satisfy what only He can.

Amen

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For the eyes of our heart ...

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.

Amen

...from Ephesians 1:16-19

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Prayer for Egypt

Father, we lift up your children in Egypt. Protect them from those who would do them harm and give them the grace to love their neighbors and show the beauty of the Gospel. Amen

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ARE YOU WASHED?

I Corinthians 6:11
"And that is what some of you were. BUT you were washed, you were sanctified you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God."

Oh Dear Lord, of the many wonders of Your world, these three words tell so much about You ~~wash, sanctify and justify. And I have experienced each of them first hand! In Your giant, gentle hands this grimy sinner has been washed clean, acquitted of all crimes. Unstained! Unpolluted! And, as it were not enough, made an heir. You freely gave me what I could not give myself: a bath, a robe a name. How can I thank You. I love You. Amen.

Amen

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