Prayer Power

Thursday, November 29, 2007                            

Ephesians 1:19a (NLT)
¹⁹ I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him.

Call on God, but row away from the rocks.  ~Indian Proverb

            There is power in prayer. There are many examples of the power of prayer—both from the Bible and from experiences in our own lives. Here is a quote from a very impressive source.

Dr. Will Mayo:

“I have seen patients that were dead by all standards. We knew they could not live. But I have seen a minister come to the bedside and do something for him that I could not do, although I have done everything in my professional power. But something touched some immortal spark in him and in defiance of medical knowledge and materialistic common sense, that patient LlVED!”

The Mayo brothers, Doctors Will and Charles, were founders of the world-famed Mayo Clinics.

            People seek power in many ways and means. But true power is found in our own folded hands, bowed heads and bent knees. Tap God’s power in your life—to augment your efforts to be a servant of His.

John 11:41 (NLT)
⁴¹ So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me.

            Even Jesus, God’s son, prayed for power from the Father above. And He took the time to remember to thank God for answered prayers.

Prayer Points for the day

1.         Thank Him for answered prayer—both the past and those yet to come.

2.         Pray for God to help you apply action to your prayers.

3.         Pray for open doors to reach others for Christ.

Light

Wednesday, November 28, 2007            

Ephesians 1:18 (NLT)
¹⁸ I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

Practical prayer is harder on the soles of your shoes than on the knees of your trousers.  ~Austin O’Malley

            We take it for granted—until it is gone. We use it to provide precise surgical procedures. We enable living to continue long after darkness has set upon us. What am I speaking about? Light of course. Light is used to open a dark world to us. We awake in the dark—but turn on the lights to get ready for work. We stay up late—reading because we have the blessing of light. Concentrated it can provide surgeries, expanded it can light a stadium for sporting events after dark. It helps us drive, work, play, and just exist. That is until the electricity goes out or the batteries are drained, or the candle burns out—then we miss the light very much.  

            Our hope in Christ and our hope in the eternal life that is ours is under girded with light from above. God floods us with spiritual light. It comes from His word; His will in our lives; and from His son and Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that Jesus is our light and our responsibility is to let His light shine through us that the world may see Him. This in turn allows us to witness to His greatness and His redemption in order that more people will be saved. Our hope, secure in Christ, is passed on to those with whom we have shared the light. Don’t take this light for granted either—pass it on today. 

Prayer Points for the day

1.         Praise God for your salvation and security in Jesus. 

2.         Pray for opportunities this day to share Jesus with someone.

3.         Pray for guidance in living in the light for Christ.

Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)
¹⁴ “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.
¹⁵ No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.
¹⁶ In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Pray and Study

Tuesday, November 27, 2007       

Ephesians 1:16-17 (NLT)
¹⁶ I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,
¹⁷ asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.  ~Søren Kierkegaard

            Verse 17 is a continuation of verse 16. Here we see the request of Paul in his prayers. He asks for wisdom and insight in order for a growth in the knowledge of God.

            Prayer and Bible study are two sides of a coin. One is just as important as the other. We should be in an attitude of prayer as we read God’s word and study its meaning. Too often we depend upon authors, scholars and others to “interpret” the meaning for us; to teach us exactly what we should believe the word says. And while I would not discount the effectiveness of good Bible teaching and instruction, we must each learn to equip ourselves to study the word and seek out the meaning contained therein.

            Prayer helps to unlock the scripture before us. Most scripture is not difficult and grievous. Keeping in mind context in which the particular scripture rests will help us to find the meaning that God intended. Keep in mind that many times the simple and obvious meaning is superior to the complicated and vague meaning in our pursuit to understand the Bible. Again, prayer will help us to see the pure factual obvious message from God. Read carefully and prayerfully and wisdom will guide your study in the word. Insight will be yours to discover the treasure of God’s word.

Prayer Points for the day

1.         Pray for understanding as you begin your Bible reading 

2.         Ask God to open your eyes to His truths and apply them to your life.

3.         Praise God for communicating to you via His written word.

Prayer Life

Monday, November 26, 2007     

Ephesians 1:15-16 (NLT)
¹⁵ Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere,
¹⁶ I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,

Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.  ~Satchel Paige, 1974

             This will begin a series of devotions about the topic of prayer. We should realize that prayer is the strongest of weapons against Satan that we possess. Prayer can move mountains, conquer nations and save souls.

             Paul reminds us that he was constantly in prayer and concern for Christians everywhere. His prayers were both prayers of petition and prayers of thanksgiving. His circle of prayer concerns was probably very, very large, including all those with whom he contacted in his many travels. There were churches, appointed leaders within the church, young evangelists he nurtured, community and religious leaders he contacted, even prison guards that were part of his circle of prayer concerns.  And I am sure he did not have a PDA or computer to keep track of who and when he prayed. It was probably difficult to get word to him about special prayer requests. He just prayed—and prayed more.

             I believe we need a good dose of prayer without ceasing as well. We too often reserve our prayer times for those special moments—before the meal—before we sleep—before the big test!! And those are great moments to pray—but how about when we are walking from the car to the job—or when we are standing in front of the mirror getting ready for work. There are many times when it is just you and God—so take the time to speak with Him like a friend. It might help to place some post it notes around those areas for reminders. Whatever it takes—do not fail to speak regularly to God about the concerns and the people in your life.

Prayer Points for the day

1.         Pray for your circle of friends connected at your place of employment

2.         Pray God’s blessings in their lives to be overwhelming and evident

3.         Thank God for His son, Jesus, our Savior and King

Prayer Habit

Sunday, November 25, 2007

            Daniel 6:10 (NLT)
¹⁰ But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.

How to make a Good Habit STICK

Commit to Thirty Days – Three to four weeks is all the time you need to make a habit automatic. If you can make it through the initial conditioning phase, it becomes much easier to sustain. A month is a good block of time to commit to a change since it easily fits in your calendar.

            We all have habits. Some are good, some are bad and some are kind of strange. I would list some of my strange habits, but we just have not got the time or space!!

            Daniel developed a habit, a very good habit. He would pray 3 times a day, giving thanks to God. We need to have the same drive to commit the reading of the word and pray to a habit—not meaningless repetition, but a heartfelt time of communing with God. We can learn 3 secrets from Daniel.

            First, Daniel used the same space—all the time. He devoted a place for him and God to meet. We should do the same. This place could be  the kitchen table or the chair in the den—someplace—somewhere regular that you can consider an appointment to meet God there. He will be there—will you?

            Secondly, he had his windows open. This was perhaps more than fresh air. It was a removal of the barriers we often place between us and the Lord. Keep the distractions to a very minimum. Work around the kid’s schedule to help you find the right time, unmolested by outside interruptions.

            Finally, Daniel was regular as clock work—each day—3 times each day. Nothing would stand in his way. And I imagine that if it did, he would be right back in prayer at the next appointed time. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss or forget at first. It takes several weeks to develop the habit. Satan will work to get you off track—so just speak directly to him as Jesus did when Peter tried to prevent Him from going to Jerusalem to face Calvary. “Satan, get behind me!”  He’ll listen, run in fear and you and God can get together for your special time.

Prayer Point—Ask God to help you with the habit of prayer!

Remembering to Give Thanks

Saturday, November 24, 2007      

1 Timothy 2:1 (NLT)
¹ I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.

“Thanks For the Memory”  A song in the film The Big Broadcast of 1938. The words and music were written by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger. The song was performed by Shep Fields and his orchestra with Bob Hope and Shirley Ross providing the vocals. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and became Bob Hope’s signature tune.

            I certainly do not recommend the lyrics to the above song, I want to use the title to get our devotion underway. Memories are a part of all of our lives. Often we spend a lot time and money on trying our best to recreate those memories. I once purchased a 1974 VW Bug, simply because it reminded me of the days when first married and it was our transportation for our honeymoon. I wanted to re-capture the fun and excitement of that time. Of course many years later, several pounds later and without any air-conditioning, I was left wondering what all the fun memories were all about!!

            We can not easily bring back the past—we must face the future that God is bringing before us. When we pray for people; asking God to help them we fulfill the scripture above, at least to an extent. It is important to pray and pray often on behalf of others outside of the faith. However, Jesus also reminds us that to just pray for someone to be fed and never offer them bread is hypocritical. We must put some action with our prayers. This week we have spoken about praying for opportunities to show our thanksgiving and well as speaking our thanks. Learn to recognize God’s opportunities He gives you to reach others in His name. These little moments in time, where seeds are planted by your kindness or your words might be just what is needed to bring someone to attend church or even accept Christ and be baptized.

Prayer Points for the Day

1.         Pray for those people whom you work with every day.

2.         Pray for the families who live on or near your neighborhood block.

3.         Seek the Lord’s help in becoming more like Him every day.

Practical Thanks Living

Friday, November 23, 2007                      

1 Chronicles 16:7 (NLT)
⁷ On that day David gave to Asaph and his fellow Levites this song of thanksgiving to the Lord:

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.   Cicero

            This Psalm of Thanksgiving, by David extends from verse 7 through vs. 36. You really, really, really need to read this passage of scripture. It will inspire you to be thankful for the many, many blessings God has provided for us. David lists those things and events in God’s providence and power in dealing with the Israelites and in his own life.

            Today—you are writing the devotional. Answer the following questions and in doing so, you will gather all the information needed to have a quiet time with the Lord.

1.         List at least 5 blessings of which David was thankful about how God worked in his life and the life of Israel.

2.         List at least 3 ways in which we are to express our thanksgiving to God.

3.         Remember the prayer of Jabez and his request to have his land enlarged? How does David tell us God has taken a small seed and seen it grow very large? What verses speaks of this?

4.         List some ways you can “publish” the good news of God’s blessings in your life? Who can you tell? Who can you write? What kindness can you do for someone?

1 Chronicles 16:36 (NLT)
³⁶ Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting! And all the people shouted “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

Prayer Points for the Day

1.         Pray for the message of salvation to reach the world 

2.         Pray for God to lead you to YOUR world who needs Christ.

3.         Thank the Lord for opportunities to praise and thank Him.

Giving Thanks

Thursday, November 22, 2007                              

Matthew 26:26-27a (NLT)
²⁶ As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”
²⁷ And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it.

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.  Erma Bombeck

            As Jesus was celebrating the Passover Feast, He offered blessing and thanksgiving. This gives us a great precedent for offering our thanks to God before we enjoy our meals together. On this day of Thanksgiving, many families will gather together around the dining table to enjoy a great meal, probably prepared by various family members each bringing their special recipe.

            As a suggestion this year, why not ask everyone who brought something to the table to say something about their special dish. Where did they get the recipe? What kind of effort is needed or special ingredient to really make it so delicious? Maybe even a funny story about the one time it just didn’t turn out as great as you expected. Sharing these stories and others helps us realize just how precious family is and how much we have to be thankful for.

            Enjoy the day together—and remember to thank Jesus for all that He brings into your life. And if any family members are not Christians, pray that God will use this gathering to touch them with His grace.

Prayer Points for the day

1.         Thank Him for the great bounty of food for this day.

2.         Pray for those who do not have the bounty today. Ask God for open doors to share something in their lives to make this upcoming season a blessed one in the Lord.

3.         Seek God’s opportunity to reach someone in need.

Attitude of Gratitude

Wednesday, November 21, 2007            

Philippians 4:6 (NLT)
⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Of all the “attitudes” we can acquire, surely the attitude of gratitude is the most important and by far the most life-changing.–Zig Ziglar  

            Do you know what robs us of our attitude of gratitude, our thankfulness the most? Worry is that culprit. Worry stills our thankfulness faster than anything. Satan does not like thankfulness so he comes up with ways to weaken our resolve and our faith and we do our part with the onset of taking our trust away from Jesus—and we worry. We worry over our past—even though our past is just that—past. We should be forgetting the past and looking forward to all that God has in store for us.           

            Well then, we just worry about the future. The future should be left in God’s hands to operate for us. We trust Him to direct. After all since He as done a great job directing before, why would we not believe He will continue to direct us tomorrow?  

            So, what are we to do, in order to rid ourselves of needless worry? First pray. Giving our concerns over to God and letting them go is the largest and first step. Discuss with the Lord what you need and He will both hear your prayer and answer that prayer for you. Maybe not exactly how you would do it, but His way is always best. Secondly, yep, here it comes. Give Him thanks for all that He has done. Rehearse with thanksgiving how God has blessed your past, building faith that He will continue in your future.

That leaves you with just today—living in the moment for Him. We can be thankful for that too.

Prayer Points for the day

1.         Thank the Lord for past blessings in your life

2.         Thank the Lord for His watch care over your needs.

3.         Pray that God will continue to guide your life.

Deepening Our Thanksgiving

Tuesday, November 20, 2007       

Colossians 2:7 (NLT)
⁷ Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don’t unravel.                                                                             Anonymous

            Another important way in which we learn the art of Thankfulness is by our relationship to God and his truth in our lives. The Apostle Paul expresses the need to allow our roots to grow down into Him.

            We understand the importance of a good root system in the plant world. Trees it is said, have as many roots beneath the ground as they have branches showing above the ground. And trees which have only shallow root systems are prone to falling down, when the winds blow. 

            So, we need deep roots into Him. This comes from two sources, both of which are interconnected. First, we must read the Word of God. Reading the Bible and yes, studying the Bible allows our roots to penetrate deep in God. His message is important and we must do our best to read that message.

            Secondly, we must develop a Christ likeness in our lives. We must live as Jesus would live in our lives. The old adage to ask, “What would Jesus do?” is still true. As our faith continues to grow every day and we become more and more Christ-like in our lives—we will overflow with thankfulness. His blessings will pour out and cover our lives and the response from us will be to give thanks. We will appreciate all that He has given us from His word and from doing and living for Him.

            Continue to live for Christ and continue to study His word and give God the praise and thanksgiving for all that you learn and discover about Him.

Prayer Points for the day

1.         Thank God for His mercy and kindness.

2.         Thank the Lord for the strength serve for Him.

3.         Pray for God’s blessings to come into your life.