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God’s Creativity in Prayer

More on God’s multiple purposes for prayer:

Prayer is a way to declare that we are weak and need help. “Hear me, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.” Psalm 86:1

And it is our affirmation that God is bigger than us and can handle anything. “save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God….” Psalm 86:2

Prayer is revealing: as we pray we expose what our real desires are. ” Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I lift up my soul to you.” Psalm 86:3

As we pray according to His stated will, we are surrendering to Him. “…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

If we pray according to His character, we are  immersing ourselves in His beauty, “You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.” Psalm 86:5

And as we gaze upon Him in prayer, we are being transformed into His likeness. “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory….” 2 Cor. 3:18

Let’s not neglect this great privilege and weapon in the great battle between light and darkness.

Picture: call to prayer.

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Prayer Privilege

God is very economical in what He does. That is, He often accomplishes a number of things in one stroke. Take prayer for an example.

Prayer is God’s idea, it is an invitation to join Him in His great works. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Matt. 6:10

It is the opportunity to participate in wielding enormous power anywhere in the world. “We…do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding….” Col 1:9

In prayer God offers us the power to make  things happen that otherwise would not “You have not because you ask not….”

In prayer God gives us access to Himself at any time we want to enter His presence. “

In Revelation the prayers of the saints are called an incense to God, a beautiful, pleasant scent we can give Him.  Rev 8:4

More to come tomorrow.

Picture: prayer on duty, by aaron-burden

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Our Wonderful Lord

Praise you, Lord Jesus,  the Liberator, the Leader, the Lover of my soul.

You are a marvel, so different from any human being,

so pure,

so persistent,

so powerful,

so perfect in your character.

You never change, you never vacillate, you never alter your ideas. You are rock solid stable, ever loving, ever correcting, ever-forgiving.

With you we can move through the valleys of failure and selfishness, sin and poor choices and

still come out to a good place because of your grace and goodness where You faithfully work to:

convict us,

guide us,

warn us,

call us,

protect us a

nd chasten us—with you there is always hope for growth and progress.

You reverse the second law of thermodynamics, bringing order out of chaos!

 

Therefore I give you honor and praise and glory, Lord Jesus, for to know you is to be given

stability in your love,

grace in your commitment,

hope in your power,

peace in your forgiveness,

joy in your presence,

delight in your beauty,

wisdom in your Word,

strength in your might,

help in your compassion,

and guidance in your wisdom.

Your goodness and desires for us are summed up with this: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).

Prayer: “Glory be to you, honor be to you, obedience be to you in my life today, Lord God, that your Name may be lifted up before men and angels. Help me to hear you, to comprehend and obey you for your glory. Amen.”

Picture: God’s faithfulness displayed in  the seasons:

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Our Patient God

“…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15

Praise you, Lord God, for the many opportunities you give us each day to choose

for you or others,

for good or evil,

for positive or negative,

for what is constructive or destructive.

Many of these choices seem innocuous and unimportant, but are steps towards or away from where we should be. For instance,

to choose to read email before doing my quiet time,

to choose to have extra helpings regularly,

to choose to look at things which stimulate negative thinking,

to choose to speak selfish words,

to close to complain,

—these all move me in the wrong direction.

When I indulge in such sins, they produce a sense of guilt and remorse, of emptiness. Over time these build up in my soul, clogging the flow of grace, sapping energy, bringing discontent, discouragement and possibly depression.

But,  Praise You, Lord Jesus, for the continuous working of your Spirit to both convict and guide, to teach truth and encourage, to give perspective and heal.

He ia at work, so when I have chosen what is wrong, and am convicted of it, you bring me to confession and cleansing. You forgive me, reminding me of  your full rich love and how each failure is a potential doorway to deeper surrender, further breaking and spiritual growth. You remind me of the effectiveness of your death in bringing forgiveness, of your unending love for me, of your knowing all about me and still delighting in me—illogical as that may be, it is full of grace.

I praise you, Lord God, for your great patience, your rich love, you infinite forgiveness. Help me to recognize the opportunity to trust and follow you rather than my own desires and those of the devil. May I please you with obedience and honor your name every day!

Picture; Our Patient Jesus interceding for us.

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Trust?

“It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes” (Ps.118:8,9).

You, Lord God, are:

absolutely trustable, but people are ever fickle;

you are mighty, people are weak;

you are eternal, people are fleeting;

you are infinitely wise, people have very limited understanding and knowledge;

you see all, people see only a tiny portion of reality;

you know the future, people can only guess;

you are good by nature, people are evil by nature;

you are loving, people are selfish;

And the list of contracts goes on.

So–who are we going to trust?

Trusting in you, Lord God,  is always wise,

to take refuge in you is always good,

to rest in you is always right.

Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for you are the Creator and King, Lord and Savior, Judge and Victor.

“To you be glory in my life today and forever more.

Help me to flee to you with each challenge, problem and difficulty,

to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving so the answer can come from you and bring you glory.

Help me today to distrust myself and to trust you instead. Amen.”

Picture: the Great Creator God reaching into our lives

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The Truth will set you Free

“In my anguish I cried out to the Lord and he answered by setting me free” (Ps. 118:5).

You, Lord God, are the Freedom-giver—

freedom from eternal death,

from punishment,

from condemnation,

from selfishness and Satan,

as well as from fretting and fear.

You are always at work to set us free from things that bind us,ever working on a deeper level, in a higher way.

Praise be to you for your wisdom, your insight, your understanding.

You operate with full knowledge, certain of

which thing to work on next,

which enemy to defeat,

which sin to reveal,

which point to camp out on until we respond.

You don’t guess and fumble as we do in life;

you know exactly what is wrong

and you know exactly how to deal with it,

for you are the Creator, the Healer and the Freedom-bringer.

Help us, Lord, to walk in the freedom you have for us,

to trust you completely, surrender to you entirely

and to follow you wholeheartedly. Amen

Picture: the expansive freedom Christ offers us, if we will only listen and obey.

May be an image of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo and mountain

Best Response in Trouble

A warm thank you to the 120 friends who sent greetings and prayers to Barbara after her cancer operation. Very thoughtful of you all!

“Let those who fear the LORD say: ‘His love endures forever.’” Psalm 118:4

Praise you, Lord Jesus, that you are my Shepherd,

that we can know that whatever comes, you have led us into it.

You led your disciples into the storm on the lake, into the opposition of the crowd, into the pain of your death.

And because You have the larger picture, we can trust and follow you as you walk with us into the future.

Psalm 118:5-9 goes on to say, “In my anguish I cried to the LORD….”

This is the proper response to any situation, going right to you, O God, fleeing from

self-pity,

worry,

fretting

and anger

to embrace your goodness, wisdom and love.

And You WILL respond to our prayer: “In the day of my trouble I will call on you, for you will answer me” (Ps. 86:7).

And your answer begins inside us: “I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my FEARS” (Ps. 34:4).

“In my anguish I cried out to the Lord and he answered by setting me FREE” (Ps. 118:5).

Forgive us, Lord, for not seeking you first, not calling on you, not crying out to you.

Help us to seek you first in all that comes, so that we may honor you before the world, the flesh and the devil.

Picture: Jesus embraces us and takes our burdens

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Dig Deep!

“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.

She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown.” 4:7-9.

[Here are some thoughts from a post by Pastor David Hamburg.]

Reading the Word every day is a significant practice. But there is a question to ask

ourselves: in my reading am I an explorer or a tourist?

The tourist travels quickly, stopping only to observe the highly

noticeable and publicized points of interest.

The explorer, on the other hand, takes his time to search out all the hidden gems he can find.

Too many of us read the Bible like a tourist and then complain

that our devotional times are fruitless. It is necessary that we

take time to explore the Bible so that notable truths and hidden treasures will

appear as we get beneath the surface. So, which will you be?

picture: exploring the depths:

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Magnificent Love

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 118:1

Praise be to you, O Triune God,

the Lover of your enemies,

the Redeemer of rebels,

the Forgiver of your foes,

the Transformer of truants,

the Adopter of your antagonists!

What a God you are,

what a Creator,

what a Forgiver,

what a Leader,

what a Lord,

what a King,

what a Father,

what a Brother,

what a Spirit!!

You are absolutely worthy of all worship, adoration and praise!!!

 

Prayer: “We give you glory and honor, O Lord, for you are worthy;

we bow before you, incredulous of your forgiveness and amazed at your grace;

we rise up, rejoicing in your redemption and exalting in your love;

we stand before you, surrendered in wonder, thankful in obedience.

May you be exalted, magnified and lifted on high in our lives today—for you deserve it! Amen.”

Picture: trumpeting the magnificence of our God:

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Partnership with God

“Praise the LORD, ALL you nations; extol him, ALL you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.” Psalm 117:1,2

 

I praise you, O Lord, for your great work in our lives, to transform us into the image of Christ.

This is your work, but requires our cooperation. Yours is the power, ours is the decision. Transformation comes from you, surrender comes from us.

This partnership is your gift to us, Lord, a wonderful invitation to the upward trail of spiritual adventure.

On one hand, this involves difficulty:

–death to self,

–denial of ungodly desires,

–rejection of selfish motives,

— being totally transparent before you and surrendering all.

On the other hand, it involves endless positives:

+receiving grace, accepting love,

+ believing truth,

+letting go of what binds,

+being set free,

+walking in the light,

+ experiencing inner transformation,

+having joy and peace,

+overflowing with hope,

+dwelling in God’s shelter,

+resting in His shadow,

+being His beloved child,

+ being delighted in and richly loved,

+ rejoicing in Jesus,

+fearing God,

+ loving God,

+praising God,

+and obeying God.       The right choice is obvious!

Psalm 117:1-2 says it all: “Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.”

Picture: Some of God’s golden glory.

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