Love And Prayers

Come and listen, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell you what he did for me.
For I cried out to him for help,
    praising him as I spoke.
If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened.
But God did listen!
    He paid attention to my prayer.
Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
    or withdraw his unfailing love from me.  Psalms 66:16-20

Lately, I have been in an unusually thankful mood.  It is not because the world has become a more certain place.  It has not. It is not because I have no feelings of anxiety and concern in my world for there are plenty.  There is a feeling that God is preparing to rock my world, and not in a way that will make me comfortable.  That being said, I have felt such an outpouring of love toward others.  I am reminded of the incredible love my wife has for me, and she has simply been the best!  She has not done anything special or changed something that has made me notice her more.  It’s just that the spirit has tapped me on shoulder to remind me there is this fascinating and amazing woman who has loved me for most of my life.  God also provided me with great parents that have raised me in such a way that I knew beyond a shadow of doubt who He was.

Love is not limited to those who I am thankful for.  As I wrote previously about gifts from God, love is a gift to be shared with others.  It pushed a gentleman to share the fears we have for our children, and a young lady to find common ground in love for God even as we disagreed about other things.  Sharing struggles in our lives made us not only more connected with each other but also God.  I’ve prayed for others more this week than I have in a while.  There is so much pain and anguish out there, one cannot help but be prayerful hoping God will guide and protect strangers as well as close family and friends. I prayed that He not only lay His healing powers on them but also use me to provide inspiration, warmth, comfort, and anything He feels I can offer.  Furthermore, I prayed for awareness that I respond in a way that truly honors Him.

Our connection with God should be an intimate one.  In reading today’s verses, you have a sense of the closeness David has with God.  David acknowledged his imperfections and sinful nature.  Furthermore, he was repentant and filled with praise for God, and reveled in God’s attentiveness to his prayer and ‘unfailing love.’  There was sincerity in the words and genuine affection that he shows for Him.  It is an example of what our walk of faith should resemble.  We are not only speaking of God’s word but also acting out in deeds.  We see people as God does, and we are compelled to act as if He is with us every step of the way.  Therefore, David’s message to those who fear God is impactful; it is an example of a Christ-centered walk.  It is a message that we all are to hear and respond to.

God is always with us whether we recognize it or not.  David understood this, and Paul, as one fearing God, reiterated this fact stating, ““But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’” (Acts 13:22)  When we both acknowledge our own sin and show adoring affection for God, He not only responds.  He delivers.  Let us embrace this example of who we aspire to be; responding to God’s calling and delivering as He has for us so often.  How intimate is your prayer life with God?  How does God’s love for you prompt you to act on His behalf?  My prayer is that our relationship with God is very active filled with love and prayers.  Amen.

Thursday Devotional - Criticism or Prayer?

Romans 1:8-10  “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.  God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.”   Romans 1:8-10

Paul prayed constantly for the fellow believers in Rome. Do you and I pray mostly for our own needs? Or do you and I often pray for the needs of others?

Our prayers reflect the attitudes of our heart. If we truly listen to how and what we are praying, we will be able to determine areas of selfishness. 

As we pray more for others, though, we will be less likely to criticize. There’s one particular leader at my church that can really frustrate me. I realized I was quick to criticize and not so quick to pray for him. As I’ve prayed some for him, God’s helped me look for the positives instead of only seeing the negatives. He’s also helped me have a better attitude about some of my frustrations.

Who will you thank God for today? How can you also lift them up in prayer and encourage them rather than criticize?

Alice

Paul's Notes Are Greater!

Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

When I was in high school, we would have lots of books to read for our English classes.  Most common were works by Shakespeare.  No one liked Shakespeare because it was both difficult to read and in many cases boring.  Then when reading Hamlet (one of those difficult Shakespeare works), one of the students came in with this cute yellow book called ‘Cliff’s Notes,’ which gave a summary of the book.  Like many others, I was fascinated by it, and took a quick read through it.  I wish I could say it helped me do well on the exam, but it did not.  I still had to read the book to do well, but it did give me great insight as to what the author was trying to impress upon his audience.  Now having read the Bible, I have no desire to read the Cliff Notes of it because like Hamlet, I do not get the full breadth of what God is trying to say.  However in reading the Bible, I often get a nice little summary of how one is to live for God much like those notes did for Hamlet.

Learning to spend time reading the Bible is essential in helping one live a Christ centered life.  In reading the closing chapter of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, one gets so much wisdom about how to live for God.  The verses for today jumped out at me about things that we should aspire to do every day.  There are three operative words we should focus on; always, never, and all.  First, we should always be joyful.  Joyful is what we aspire to be over happy for happiness can be fleeting but joyfulness stays even when circumstances may warrant time for sadness or mourning.  Never stop praying.  In case you have not been prayerful, let me just say what prayer has done in my life.  It has helped me love my family better and saved me from harm way more times than I can count.  The more we pray, the more God shows us.  Be thankful in all circumstances.  Yes, it is fairly easy to be thankful when times are good, but what about when things are not so good?  We are at times disappointed with what life throws our way, but God uses these experiences in many ways.  Sometimes it is to help us learn something, and other times it is because better and greater things await us.

There is so much God wants to say to us.  In understanding that, it becomes easy to know why the Bible is so long!  Even then, it speaks far beyond its words for if we not only read it but also truly study it, we hear God speaking to our hearts as well as our minds.  Even if you only have a moment I urge you to still take time to read a little for God will take that short moment and change your path toward a more life fulfilling journey.  It helped me, and it can do the same for you.  When is the last time you opened your Bible or digital Bible app?  How can you commit to reading His word more often?  My prayer is that we find just a little more time to read and study God’s word for Cliff’s notes are great but as we read today, Paul’s notes are greater!  Amen.