Needing to Pray

Needing to Pray

I've been asking the Lord, "Give me words to say that encourage". I have several topics I could probably write about, but instead, I will offer this prayer. It is both personal and intercessory. If you are inclined, please join with me and pray as well. Leave a prayer in the comments, or leave a prayer request. Please know that our faith is in The I Am, The Eternal Almighty God. There was a time when I was ignorant and blind to him, but through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, my eyes see clearly now. He is Deliverer, Healer, Comforter, Forgiver, and words which can only describe the smallest aspect of His invisible attributes.

Lord God,

You who are high above the heavens, live within our hearts by the grace of your Holy Spirit. You see us, our lives, our struggles, our pain, and our sorrows; you are not ignorant to any aspect of of our life. You know everything about me, and yet you grace me with your eternal love. I want to ask you to hear this prayer, but Father, I already know you have. I am not wavering in my prayer, I am confident that in my spirit I may come boldly before the throne of grace and find mercy in the time of need; that time is now Lord God. You see what no other eyes can see. You hear what no other ears would listen to. You speak what no other mouth can say.

Look now on those who are sick and need a comforting word of healing. You are able to touch with a thought, word, your Spirit, your loving grace. I don't question Why Lord because I trust in your wisdom. I believe that you are perfecting the lives of your children in ways which are too far beyond comprehension for our limited understanding. You prepare us, strengthen our resolve, give us courage to hold on. When others turn and run, you say, "Stand". Not because we are towers of strength, but because you want to be mighty through us. You choose us for the tasks we face, not by accident, but by your divine purpose. You designed us to reflect you. So we pray Lord God asking you to stretch forth your hand, touch and heal this body overcome with disease, confirm to your child that your grace is sufficient for the task at hand. We will not be fearful, trembling that you are not I AM. We know you are able, but even if we must go through this trial, that burns with a consuming, intense fire, we will not yield our faith in your risen Son, Jesus Christ.

So many suffer from unemployment, yet somehow, your grace continues to flow. We awake by your grace to see another day. We don't know how to make it through, but somehow, you provide grace in our time of need. We need you Lord! Help us Lord to launch creative ideas that capture our passionate treasured thoughts. Inspire us to see doors which we never imagined would open. Some have talents beyond our current status, we are capable of doing so much more. Help us channel our energy and efforts in ways that bless and encourage others. We humble ourselves before you and declare that we are able to do what you say we can do. Do I fear success Lord? Is victory beyond my reach? Are the obstacles too difficult to overcome? No Lord! You have made us conquerors!! No Lord, you have made us more than conquerors through the blood of your Son, Jesus Christ!

Look on our families, our husband, wife, children, children's children, mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin, and friend. Watch over their life with your loving hand of grace. Lead and guide them in ways I never could. Use me to love them as I ought, as I desire, as you would love them. Help me to be an example of Christ on earth, someone who overcomes evil with good, someone ready, willing and able to pick up my cross daily and carry it with an appreciation and joy that can only come from you. I know I cannot do this on my own, but by your grace, I can persevere. I may be worn and tattered, my life may not glimmer as gold, but there is a light which illuminates my life that is incomparable! It is the light of salvation, the light of hope, the light of Christ.

Watch over and protect the borders of our land from dangers and conflicts. There may be efforts to undermine and create fear and chaos, but I ask you to allow your peace to rule and abide. Guide our political leaders to serve as leaders, to govern not on the basis of political affiliation or favored status, but guide them to be courageous leaders that inspire each of us to be citizens honored to be filled with patriotism. Watch over the lives of those who serve in our military, law enforcement and judiciary. Help them serve not simply with pride, but with honor. Confound the actions and plans of criminals, who would do harm within our borders. Protect the lives of the innocent.

How can I pray with being thankful Lord? What is my prayer without thanksgiving? I'm not talking about a solitary day in November. You know that the appreciation in my heart for who you are, what you mean extends so far beyond the memory of one day. No Lord, I woke up today grateful for your love and grace, thankful for the truth of your word. So I will say, "Bless the name of the Lord, because he is holy, good, right, loving, truthful and gracious!" Thank you Lord God for hearing our prayer, in the name of your most holy Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

MTJ

A Note of Thanks: I would just like to say Thank you, to each of you who visit My Thought-filled Journey. Taking time out of your busy schedule to read a post on this blog encourages me. Many of those who visit, will from time to time leave a comment, but it really doesn't matter whether a comment is left. What matters, is that you came here. I hope you find encouragement and inspiration in these words. Please know I will pray with you regarding any circumstance you may be facing. Feel free to write me to say "Hello", request prayer, or share what God is doing in your life. I have not said it enough, but thank you for the light of Christ in your life which illuminates the way for us all.

Note: This post is linked to Spiritual Sundays (hosted by Charlotte).

Holding on to His Promise

Jacob Wrestles with God

Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”1 We know the story of Jacob as his life unfolds before us in the book of Genesis. He was the twin brother of Esau. Esau was the firstborn and as such was heir to the blessings of their father Isaac. But Jacob, unlike his brother Esau, saw the value of “the birthright”. In reading about them, we discover that Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for bread and lentil stew. The bible even affirms in Genesis 25 that Esau “despised his birthright”.2 Later on we learn (in Genesis 27) that Jacob and his mother successfully deceive Isaac into blessing Jacob with the rights of firstborn son. Twenty years pass by the time Jacob offers this prayer in Genesis 32, and we see that he is returning now, back to the land of his fathers (Abraham and Isaac). God speaks to him in Genesis 31: Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”3 But Jacob fears for his life and the lives of his wives and children, because his brother Esau held a grudge against him for receiving the blessing Isaac gave to him. Esau said, “I will kill my brother Jacob”.4 We all face fear at certain times, in our lives, fears which cause us to hesitate, worry and doubt; fear which can paralyze us. Fear in relationships, fear in our profession, fear walking down a certain street. Whatever it is, we’ve all come face to face with fear. Some personalize fear by saying, “my fear(s)”. Whether you personalize, internalize, or analyze it, we all have come face to face with it; fear. Paul reminds us that fear does not come from God: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”5 Jacob was afraid for his life, but unlike those paralyzed by their fear, he recognized that who he feared (Esau) was not greater than the God of his fathers (Abraham and Isaac). God told Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” (Genesis 31:3, NIV) Would this same God now allow Esau to kill Jacob? Jacob faced his greatest fear with prayer; he prayed to the God of Abraham and Isaac, reminding him of His promise. Sometimes when we pray, we still feel the matter is not settled. In our mind, we don’t know the outcome, though we pray in faith, though we remind our self and God of His promises; we say our, “Amen” but still feeling the outcome remains unsettled. As I read Genesis 32, I got the sense that despite praying about the matter, despite hearing God Himself promise to be with him, Jacob was uncertain about the outcome of seeing his brother Esau. Jacob was afraid. When Jacob entered the world, he did so holding on to the foot of his brother Esau. When he fled Esau, Jacob wrestled with his father-in-law Laban as an indentured servant for twenty years. Finally, Jacob's journey brings him to a place called Mahaniam, where he is met by the angels of God. It is here at Mahaniam that Jacob names the place, “the camp of God”.6 He is alone now, until he begins wrestling with a man; this struggle continues until daybreak (v.24). Jacob was not a skilled hunter like his brother Esau, but he was a skilled wrestler. He wrestled for what was important to him, and on this night, Jacob wrestled with God. I have to believe that God allowed Himself to appear in the form of a man to allow Jacob to successfully wrestle Him to a stalemate; but He is still God. When God touched the socket of Jacob’s hip, He permanently disabled Jacob; but Jacob continued to "hold on". Finally, God tells Jacob, “Let me go for it is daybreak” (v. 26), but Jacob refuses until he is blessed: “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”7 There is a lesson in this scripture for those who faithfully trust in Christ, we must hold on to the promise of God until our daybreak comes! Your daybreak will come if you hold on to the promise of God! MTJ

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 32:9-12, NIV
2. Genesis 25:34, NIV
3. Genesis 31:3, NIV
4. Genesis 27:42, NIV
5. 2 Timothy 1:7, Amplified Bible
6. Genesis 32:1-2, NIV
7. Genesis 32:26, NIV

A Note of Thanks: I would just like to say that I appreciate each of you who visit My Thought-filled Journey. Taking time out of your schedule to read a post on this blog is encouraging to me. Many of those who visit, will from time to time leave a comment. Whether a comment is left is not important. What is important, is that you came. I do hope you find encouragement and inspiration in these words. Please know I will pray with you regarding any circumstance you may be facing. Feel free to write me to say "Hello", request prayer, or share what God is doing in your life. I have not said it enough, but thank you for the light of Christ in your life which illuminates the way for us all.

Note: This post is linked to Spiritual Sundays (hosted by Charlotte).

He Hears You

He hears you

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1 John 5:14, NIV) Have you ever engaged in a conversation with someone whose attention was somewhere else? How did you respond when you realized they weren’t even listening? “You haven’t heard a single word I said!” “Are you even listening to me?” It’s frustrating to realize that what you say is not valued enough to be heard. You recognize that you’re just not important enough to be heard. Have you’ve been guilty of tuning out the conversation of a spouse, child, or friend? It’s altogether different when you are the one being ignored. Has the thought ever occurred to you that God isn’t listening? How do you respond to that thought? Does that thought frustrate you? Have you asked that pointed question of God? “Are you even listening to me Lord?” I personally have experienced times in my life when it just seems like I’m all alone, but the Bible says: “The Lord will accomplish what concerns me...” (Psalm 138:8, NASB) What this tells me is that behind the scenes, in areas of my life I’m not even aware of, God is at work so that all things work together for good. I remember reading in Daniel: “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting…” (Daniel 9:3, NIV) In this same chapter of Daniel, the angel Gabriel appears and reveals: “As soon as you began to pray, a word went out…” (Daniel 9:23, NIV) God hears our prayers! I love the lyrics in the song, He’ll Do It Again, sung by Shirley Caesar: And He'll do it again He'll do it again If you'll just take a look At where you are now And where you've been Well hasn't He always come through for you He's the same now as then You may not know how You may not know when But He'll do it again God simply doesn’t fail! That means that nothing can disable His ability to hear you. God hears you and He is actively concerned about you. God loves and cares for you. That’s why He sent His son Jesus into the world; to save us from sin, death and damnation. Why would God do all that and then not listen to you? He wouldn’t! So when you’re praying and the thought occurs in your mind that you’re just talking to yourself, just remember: He hears you! MTJ

A Note of Thanks: I would just like to say that I appreciate each of you who visit My Thought-filled Journey. Taking time out of your schedule to read a post on this blog is encouraging to me. Many of those who visit, will from time to time leave a comment. Whether a comment is left is not important. What is important, is that you came. I do hope you find encouragement and inspiration in these words. Please know I will pray with you regarding any circumstance you may be facing. Feel free to write me to say "Hello", request prayer, or share what God is doing in your life. I have not said it enough, but thank you for the light of Christ in your life which illuminates the way for us all.

Note: This post is linked to Spiritual Sundays (hosted by Charlotte).