When We Pray

Bits & Pieces, Devotions, Prayer Points
Feb 232012
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. ~ James 5:16
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I have struggled with the second part of this verse at times in my life.  “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective..”  In the past I have attributed answered prayer to “who” is praying… if I really need prayer answered I’ll ask “so-and-so” and I’ll see answered prayer.  Maybe you’ve felt this way before too.  The Lord took me through a couple life-lessons on Prayer to show me what prayer is really about.
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You’ve heard me share about my Dad.  It was May 2009, I just arrived home from speaking at a PWOC Retreat in Ft Belvour… as soon as the plane landed, my next stop was the hospital.  My spirit was so full of all the amazing things God did during the Retreat… I don’t know if I had a bigger measure of Faith in my life.  I prayed like I had never prayed before for healing for my father… yet, 2 weeks later my Dad died. I was disappointed and confused… what about this verse?  how much faith do I muster up to see a miracle, Lord?
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About a month later I had another opportunity for prayer.  To be honest… I stopped praying for awhile.  I had nothing to say.  A dear friend called from the hospital… she was in the middle of labor.  It had been a long, tiresome, painful day and she finally asked for an epidural… only to have it done incorrectly which meant the pain reliever was NOT working and she was only 3 cm dilated.  I couldn’t ignore the desperation in her voice… “Kristina, will you pray with me?”  Oh no… should I tell her my prayers are out-of-order right now!??  What do I do?  Okay… I’ll read Psalms to her.  So I began to read a Psalm to comfort her and remind her that God is our HELP in time of need.  I began to pray to the Lord for my dear friend.  Honestly, I didn’t really think He would do it… after 20 minutes of praying… we hung up.  I went to bed worrying for my dear friend.  She called me the next day to tell me as soon as we hung up the phone she had a HUGE urge to push.  The nurse didn’t believe it could be possible, so they weren’t in a hurry… again she wanted to push.  During our 20 minute prayer… God caused her to dilate from 3 cm to 10 cm.  And indeed… it was time to push!  Her sweet little girl was born shortly after our prayer.  God did a miracle…. despite my lack of faith.  It was GOD… it is the LORD who causes all things to happen according to His ways and His purposes.
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That was a huge lesson in prayer for me… it freed me up to TRUST that the LORD will accomplish His purposes despite my meager or great faith.  HE is the one who acts for the BEST in the situation.  I need to ASK and He will be faithful to answer the prayer according to His will.  Don’t let the enemy lie to you and tell you that your prayers are not “good-enough”…. it isn’t about you… it’s about GOD who is GREAT ENOUGH… POWERFUL enough… and ABLE to do all things.  You may or may not get the answer you are looking for… but you can be sure that your God is Faithful, and answers you according to what’s best.  His ways are higher than our ways… so we may not always understand.
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Speaking of the prayer of a “righteous man”… you have heard the verse, “The righteous will live by faith.”  Habakkuk 2:4.  The word “faith” is a word in Hebrew ‘emuwnah  (Strongs H530).  It might be better translated as firmness, steadfastness, steadiness, faithfulness.  It is the same word used in Exodus 17:12  When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up–one on one side, one on the other–so that his hands remained steady till sunset.    or Isaiah 33:6 ~ He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.   or Deuteronomy 32:4 ~ He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.
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With that in mind… a better translation for Hab 2:4 would be, “the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.“  Not simply in their own FAITH… but Faith that is rooted, and firmly established on the LORD.  The word for salvation in the verse above (Isaiah 33:6) is yĕshuw`ah.  Yeshua… Jesus, our Savior… He will be our sure foundation for our times… good or bad… He is a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge in all situations.  We can trust that our prayers and circumstances are being handled by the One who holds all things together and knows what is best.
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We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints– the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.~ Colossians 1 :3-6
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Kristina Estep
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Posted by Blog Manager at 5:53 am

GOD-AWARENESS

Prayer Points
Feb 172012

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. “

We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our being! That doesn’t leave any room for not loving the Lord our God. The above passage tells us how to be active by talking about the commandments at home, on the road, lying down and getting up, and to impress them on our children as well. We will talk about what we are excited about. I pray that God is in our conversations! As God’s people we are to live each day with a God-awareness – an awareness of His presence with us. It is comforting to know He is with us all the time. We can call out to Him at anytime. There’s always a signal with 4 bars and the line is never busy! Awareness of God’s presence can cause us to make better daily choices in our homes, workplaces, in our conversations, the television shows we watch, the music we listen to, books we read, friendships, spending money, how we communicate with our spouses and our children, and the list goes on. Being aware of God’s presence is so much more than our daily devotions and attending Bible Study and church. God really does have something to say about everything in our lives.  As we let Him in, He will change us on a very practical level. This is where growth begins.  I am so thankful God cares about everything in our lives, from the smallest to the greatest thing!  We must give Him authority and let Him be center of our lives and everything in our lives in order to experience all He has to offer.  Without God-awareness, we could miss out on opportunities to be involved in His work around us. Lord, help us not to miss out!  Opportunities are all around us no matter where we are.  God can use us in ways we cannot imagine. Perhaps He has and you don’t even realize it.

Dear Lord,

Please help me to be conscious of your presence with me in everything I do and everywhere and anywhere I go.  Help me to see you when you are moving and hear you when you are speaking. Help me to be obedient to your leading.  Thank you for your presence. In Jesus’ name, AMEN

Kathy Walls

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Posted by Blog Manager at 6:16 am

GOD-AWARENESS

Prayer Points
Feb 112012

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. “

We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our being! That doesn’t leave any room for not loving the Lord our God. The above passage tells us how to be active by talking about the commandments at home, on the road, lying down and getting up, and to impress them on our children as well. We will talk about what we are excited about. I pray that God is in our conversations! As God’s people we are to live each day with a God-awareness – an awareness of His presence with us. It is comforting to know He is with us all the time. We can call out to Him at anytime. There’s always a signal with 4 bars and the line is never busy! Awareness of God’s presence can cause us to make better daily choices in our homes, workplaces, in our conversations, the television shows we watch, the music we listen to, books we read, friendships, spending money, how we communicate with our spouses and our children, and the list goes on. Being aware of God’s presence is so much more than our daily devotions and attending Bible Study and church. God really does have something to say about everything in our lives.  As we let Him in, He will change us on a very practical level. This is where growth begins.  I am so thankful God cares about everything in our lives, from the smallest to the greatest thing!  We must give Him authority and let Him be center of our lives and everything in our lives in order to experience all He has to offer.  Without God-awareness, we could miss out on opportunities to be involved in His work around us. Lord, help us not to miss out!  Opportunities are all around us no matter where we are.  God can use us in ways we cannot imagine. Perhaps He has and you don’t even realize it.

Dear Lord,

Please help me to be conscious of your presence with me in everything I do and everywhere and anywhere I go.  Help me to see you when you are moving and hear you when you are speaking. Help me to be obedient to your leading.  Thank you for your presence. In Jesus’ name, AMEN

Submitted by: Kathy Walls

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Posted by Blog Manager at 6:42 am Tagged with: ,

The Fullness of Our Inheritance in Christ Jesus

Prayer Points
Feb 032012

A New Year should motivate us to seek God in new and fresh ways that would be pleasing to Him.  Prayer is always the first and foremost way of seeking God as the Psalmist in 63:1 says, ‘O God, You are my God;  Early will I seek You’.  However, do we ever stop and consider we are able to seek Him because ‘We have obtained an inheritance according to His purpose to work all things according to the counsel of His will’ (Ephesians 1:11).  This inheritance involves the greater gift of the Holy Spirit which is the ‘Spirit of Truth’ which Jesus assured His followers (John 14:17) would be in them always and would allow Him to manifest himself to them.   It is through prayer that we can receive the richness of the ‘spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him’ (Ephesians 1:17).  It is never anything of ourselves, but according to our adoption into the family of God, we receive the privilege to participate in the ‘good pleasure of His will’. (Ephesians 1:5).  God desires ‘good things’ for all of us with an abundance of His presence which is all motivated by His love for us.  How do we begin to understand this mystery?

The richness of this inheritance should bring us to our knees in prayer!  We are strengthened in ‘the inner person by His Spirit and Christ dwells in our hearts through faith…to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge ; that we may be filled with all the fullness of God’ (Ephesians 3: 16-19).  The fullness is the Holy Spirit which through Christ is ‘able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever’. (Ephesians 3:20)  What a rich inheritance that can be passed on through prayer.  The old saying, “Never under estimate the power of prayer (or a praying wife or mother)” is so true.

Recently, an old family bible was acquired which revealed references of a praying great grandmother and grandmother.  The bible is a tangible reminder of an inheritance; however, there is little doubt that my faith is an inheritance from the fullness of the Holy Spirit working in their lives.

Take heed to the power in prayer that we have through the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  Reflect upon the beauty of the fullness of our inheritance through Christ.  “O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.  The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;  Yes, I have a beautiful inheritance”.  (Psalm 16: 5-6)

Submitted by: Rhonda Mixon

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Posted by Blog Manager at 7:58 am Tagged with: ,

Created to Praise

Prayer Points
Jan 282012

Psalm 150:6 says, “Let every thing that has breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

We are created to praise God. Some people do not realize that. When the praise service starts, they sit back and say, “I’m not comfortable with all that singing and dancing. I guess praise is just not my thing.”

Yes it is! According to God’s Word, if you breathe, you are meant to praise. And don’t try to slip by with saying, “Well, I have praise in my heart.” That is not enough. God’s Word says that you need to have it in your mouth as well (Psalm 34:1)! Psalm 132:9 says, “Let thy saints shout for joy.” You can’t shout and be quiet at the same time.

When you first begin to truly praise, it may seem awkward to you, but if you will keep it up, it will become a way of life. Why? Because praise causes the Glory of God to manifest itself in your life. It causes you to walk in the light of His countenance (Psalm 89:15). It will start a revival inside of you.

Did you know that every revival in history was started by people the world considered absolute fanatics? God does things differently than the world. So when you set aside your inhibitions and start letting God’s Holy Spirit to operate through you, you may look strange to some people but you will look wonderful to God.

By the way, don’t just think of praising Him in church. Praise Him in your own private prayer time and throughout your day. Learn to maintain an attitude of praise and thanksgiving. When praise comes natural to you in your own private life, it won’t be difficult to praise Him in the midst of the congregation.

It is time we opened our mouths and our hearts and do what God has created us to do. Praise!

Father, Teach us to be obedient to you.  Teach us your ways to sing praises and to dance before you in that heavenly throne room of Grace. We will raise our banners high and know that we can reverse what Satan meant to keep Silent. Thank you Jesus, for  allowing us to see that it is the enemy that does not want us to Praise you.  For Satan knows that Praise is a powerful weapon.  A weapon, he once used until he chose to leave your kingdom, through his pride.   In Jesus name, Amen

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Posted by Blog Manager at 7:12 am Tagged with: ,

Heading to the Front Lines

Prayer Points
Jan 212012

Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today!  Do not lose heart, or panic, or tremble before them”, Deuteronomy 20:3.

Warrior of the King, you are not called to follow others.  Rather, Christ has appointed you to lead others to Him.  We need to step out to the front lines and fight for those that are too weak to fight for themselves.  Don’t look back at what you have lost, but look forward to the great victories that the Lord has laid in front of you.  Don’t hide behind your fears and insecurities.  God can and will turn your insecurities into a passion to change the world around you.  As you move to the front lines, hide his word and truth in your heart.  It is not just for you but for the ones you are helping to fight.

Zechariah10:5 says, Together they will be like mighty warriors in battle trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.  They will fight because the Lord is with them, and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.  You are a chosen leader of the Lord!  May fear never keep you from stepping out to the front line.  I pray that the Lord will be your strength as you fight the good fight of faith.  I pray in Jesus’ name, that you will have great peace as you prepare for battle.  May your life be filled with Joy in the midst of every trial you face.  May the Lord strengthen you and surround you with His angels in any and all of life challenges that you face.  May your courage to step out in faith bring revival to your family and friends in Jesus name, A-men.

Warriors of the king, come on lets all prepare for the battle by putting on our armor and lets lock arms with one another. We will then press on for the victory that the Lord has in store for us.  Greater is He that is in me (us) than he that is in the World.  We are a conqueror.  We have the victory.  Praise the Lord, for the victory is one, A-men. (So be it)

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Posted by Blog Manager at 1:39 pm Tagged with: , ,

Philippians 1:6

Prayer Points
Jan 162012

Being confident of this that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

What an awesome promise this is!  We can be confident that Jesus will complete what He has started.  Many times I have begun a project and have completed about half of that project and then decide to take a break for a while.  That project may or may not ever be completed.  (I’m almost certain I’m not alone in the “get –to- it- later” projects.

I have even begun the great thoughts for doing a wonderful project, but those thoughts and ideas never made it from my brain to my hands!

One project I recall was when a dear friend of mind and I decided to do a beautiful “American Flag” quilt together.  Since she was a quilter and I was not, she would be my coach.  Our children were about the same age, so they’d have a play-date and we would quilt.  My friend finished her quilt long before I did. She even offered to finish mine for me!  Eventually I finished before we moved.  That project did get done and I was blessed by doing it.

I started that quilt hanging and set it aside for a while.  I am so thankful that our Lord who began a good work in us does not set us aside for a while like we sometimes do our projects.  He doesn’t just leave us to walk alone!  He is always with us through each day, every step of the way, through the good and the bad.  We can rest assure He has a plan for us.  Jeremiah 29:11 says that He knows the plan He has for us.  He will carry it out to completion!

Our Father in Heaven,

How mighty are your works!  Thank you for the promise of your words and that you will not “quit” on us. Help us to walk with you each day and become more and more like you.  Lord, may we be encouraged that you will finish what you began in us to the very end!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Submitted by Kathy Walls

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Posted by Blog Manager at 6:16 am Tagged with: ,

No Fear

Prayer Points
Jan 152012

In Psalms 91:5-7, it says, “Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.  Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.  Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you”.

Wow!  What a promise to stand on.  That no matter what happens in life, as long as we are walking in the kingdom of light and in His presence, no evil of darkness can touch us.  Amazing!  We need that promise manifested in our lives these days with everything negative around us. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.  Therefore we can claim to be a fearless princess.  Gideon was a valiant warrior.  God gave Gideon the strength to win his battle with the enemy and He will do the same for us.  The only time something will overtake our hearts is when we take our eyes off of Jesus.  He does not desire for us to be bound up in fear.  He desires us to be at peace, to have power over the enemy and to walk in love and a sound mind.  As long as we walk in His word and in His power we have nothing to be afraid of.  No matter what things look like now, victory will always be ours.  We are over comers in Christ Jesus.

I pray that you walk in the love of Christ, in which there is no fear.  In His presence we walk as a daughter of the king.  May you find confidence in your heavenly Father and your peace in His Son.  I pray that you will fearlessly face and overcome any enemy in the name of Jesus.  I pray that you will hold fast to this truth: nothing can come against you when you are safely in His arms.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Posted by Blog Manager at 7:42 am Tagged with: , ,

A Daughter Of The King

Prayer Points
Jan 122012

You are a daughter of the King!

Did you know that our Heavenly Father is the King of Kings and that we are royalty?  1Peter 2:9 says we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood.  Meaning you are a Daughter of the King.  We are also the Bride of Christ, and He is the true lover of our souls.  Now that we know we are royalty and that we are loved, then it is time to look at the next level and finish what we were sent to do.  Fight the good fight and leave a legacy for the next generation to follow.  Every one of God’s princesses has a fight inside of her.  Feel Him cover you with His glorious armor.  I pray that you will keep yourself protected under His love, that you will be victorious over every attack that the enemy tries to tear you down with, and that you will not back down until the battle is won.  May you find joy in knowing that you are in God’s army and that you have every reason to celebrate because victory is yours!  All darkness will flee as you walk in the light of the Lord.  He is for you; therefore no one can stand against you!  Go in the power of the spirit and walk in Him to victory!  Isaiah 59:17 Says,  “He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head.  He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion. “  This armor is also referenced in Ephesians 6:10-18.  It is your offense and defensive weapons.  Use them for the battle will be won by the Lord Jesus as we walk in our authority and righteousness.

Blessings My Friends!

Jane Ahl

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Posted by Blog Manager at 4:32 pm Tagged with: , ,

Merry Christmas

Prayer Points
Dec 302011

I pray that you are all having a great Holiday season.

Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a child is born, to us a child is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Nighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 7:14 says, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him, Emmanuel.”

These are words of promise out of the Old Testament. How much of that promise do we really hear and pay attention to? At Christmas we seem to concentrate on the child, the baby, the promise of a son and king who will take charge and run the world the way it should be run. This we see as the promise of the Messiah.

I think the more important part of the prophecy is the verse from Isaiah 7, that Matthew takes up as he introduces the Messiah. Matthew 1:22 says, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet; ‘the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Ennanuel, which means, God with us.’”

The key word in all this is “Emmanuel.” God WITH us! Not just for the little while that Jesus was alive, but it is there in the promise and in the birth of the child, the Son of God. The promise is there at the crufifixion. The promise is there at the resurrection and a Pentecost. Most importantly the promise is here today with each and every one of us. It is the greatest promise we could ever imagine. God is with us in good and bad times, trials and tribulations, pain and pleasure, in everything that happens. GOD IS WITH US!

In prayer, we need to always remember that we are stretched at times to stand on faith to remember that God is with us no matter what is happening around us. He says that we are to seek Him and we shall find Him. He came to us in the flesh so that we could have His presence with us at all times. This Christmas season, I pray that you will know and remember that Christ our Lord is with us and He will never leave us nor forsake us.

I pray that the Lord will shine upon you during this Season of Joy in knowing His love for you and that He will always be with you.

Merry Christmas!
Jane Ahl

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Posted by Blog Manager at 12:01 am Tagged with: , ,
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