A Prayer for Joy

“A Prayer for Joy”

Help me, O God,

To listen to what it is that makes my heart glad

And to follow where it leads.

May joy, not guilt,

Your voice, not the voices of others,

Your will, not my willfulness,

Be the guides that led me to my vocation.

Help me to unearth the passions of my heart

That lay burred in my youth.

And help me to go over that ground again and again

Until I can hold in my hands,

Hold and treasure,

Your calling on my life.

--Ken Gire, Windows of the Soul

You Can't do it all but YOU Can Pray!

We cannot all argue, but we can all pray; we cannot all be leaders, but we can all be pleaders; we cannot all be mighty in rhetoric, but we can all be prevalent in prayer. I would sooner see you eloquent with God than with men. --Charles Spurgeon

A two-word blog

 

 

Pray first.

Who knows if God will not spare us by His mercy?

 Who knows if God will not spare us by His mercy?

 

 

Jonah Goes to Nineveh

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5  And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

The People of Nineveh Repent

6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9  Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Jonah 3:1-10 (ESV)

Do we Pray like Daniel?

Daniel's prayer is one of confession, repentance and for revival (for the re-viving of God's people, Israel). Are you confessing the sins of your nation? Repenting personally for your own idolatry and backsliding? Are you crying out for God's people to repent and turn back to God--that is Biblical revival, not masses coming to the Lord for salvation. Not that masses coming to God is bad, but Biblically that is Evangelism and Discipleship, not revival.

 

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. 18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

Dan 9:1-19 (KJV)

 

Begin at My Sanctuary by Nancy DeMoss

 

Begin at My Sanctuary by Nancy DeMoss

The Four Steps to National Restoration

 

The Four Steps to National Restoration

If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, 

                                    

or if I command the locusts to devour the land,

                                     

or if I send pestilence among my people;

If my people, which are called by my name,

shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face,

and turn from their wicked ways;

then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their

sin, and will heal their land.

—2 Chronicles 7:13-14 KJV

   

  For God to heal our land we must do four things:

1. Humble ourselves

2. Pray

3. Seek the Lord’s face

4. Turn from our wicked ways.

 In return, God in His righteous order of things will do three things:

1. He will hear us

2. He will forgive our sin

3. He will heal our land.

   

    Our duty is to first of all to humble ourselves. After humiliation, we are to pray. Next, we are to seek the face of God (FMM’s Focus: Matthew 6:33). Finally, and perhaps the hardest of all, we must turn from our wicked ways—we must put into practice our faith, not just wish for it.

    In return for following and turning to God instead of to our own intellect, political leaders, false ideas, or the Enemy’s doctrines, God declares that He will hear our prayers. And when He hears, He will forgive our sin and will heal our land!

The Meaning behind an Old Hymn

The Meaning behind an Old Hymn--really think about the words

 

Rescue the Perishing

Fanny Crosby, William Doane

 

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave; weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen, tell them of Jesus the mighty to save.

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

Though they are slighting Him, still He is waiting, waiting the penitent child to receive; plead with them earnestly, plead with them gently, He will forgive if they only believe.

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter, feelings lie buried that grace can restore; touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness chords that were broken will vibrate once more.

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

Rescue the perishing, duty demands it; strength for thy labor the Lord will provide. Back to the narrow way patiently win them; tell them the poor wanderer a Saviour has died.

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

 

Precious Promises: David's Prayer for Solomon

“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee. . . .”

1 Chronicles 28:9

  

      David left Solomon with some wise advice: serve God wholeheartedly! In this one verse is a lot of meat.

      God judges every motive of mine and searches my heart. O Lord, may I have a devoted heart and a willing mind, may I not turn to my own comprehension or my own way. But most of all, Lord, may I seek You . . . for then, I will be found by You.

　

Get the Free E-book Precious Promises Here

How to Build a Personal Library

How to Build a Personal Library

 

       To start building a personal library, you will greatly benefit by composing a list of books which would like to own. It may also be helpful to decide what type(s) of book(s) you want in your library, examples include: classics, fantasies, biographies, information books, or a variety of these four. When you have a rough plan in mind, now is the time to proceed to actually securing the books. Some of the books you want you might acquire by working for someone to earn a book or a certain selection of books (and thus save some cash); others may be found at garage sales, book sales, or library sales for less than they are actually worth; or you can buy books new at a store or online. Before purchasing or working for a book, take a good look at it and ask the Lord to give you discernment on whether or not you should have this book. As you compile books in this manner, a bookshelf will probably be useful. You may purchase a new book shelf at a store, or you can find one at a rummage sale. If neither of these options is desirable, you may build your own bookshelf or possibly do some work for someone who has an old bookshelf that they would like to get rid of.  Once you have a bookshelf you now need to decide how you will arrange your books on the shelves: will you arrange them by topic? Alphabetical order? Subject? Type? Etc. Your possibilities are endless, so be creative. Next, you may want to develop some type of label to put inside your books so that you can identify that they are yours—this will come in handy if you loan some out. You may also want to keep a notebook to write down when you have completed a book and who (if anyone) has borrowed your books. Your library is now started and you can continue to build it over the years.

The Prayer of A Kansas Pastor

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:
 

Heavenly Father,

We come before You today to ask Your Forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ''Woe to those who call evil good,'' but that's exactly what we have done. We have lost our Spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that; we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism; We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism; We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle; We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery; We have neglected the needy and called it self preservation; We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare; We have killed our unborn and called it choice; We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable; We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem; We have abused power and called it political savvy; We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition; We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression; We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of this state and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state of Kansas. Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your Will.

I ask in in the name of your Son, The Living Savior, Jesus Christ

 

--this is taken from http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/k/kansasprayer.htm#.UymY6HIo7IU

Start Praying Now

Start Praying Now

Hey guys, how many of you want to be married?

Hey girls, how many of you want to be married?

    Alright, most of you probably want to get married one day. Are your reasons Biblical or LUSTFUL, though? The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, will tell you if you’re honest with yourself.

     Pray for that ONE. Right now, set aside some time and pray for her or him. Pray for God to give him or her strength, to equip them, to empower them, to embolden them, to loose the TRUTH of God’s Word within them, to develop character in them, for them to have a thriving and dependent relationship with Jesus; for them to live stewardship right now (i.e. tithing, financial wisdom, and wisdom with their time, resources and talents - for God) and you complete the list.

       Invite God’s hand into the life of your future spouse—they need CHRIST and so do YOU. Give Christ Charge in their life today! Pray that special helpmeet or servant leader into the throne room of God right now. You may not know them, but prayer spans the miles and years.

“….The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

James 5:16 KJV

Precious Promises: David's Prayer for Solomon

“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee. . . .”

1 Chronicles 28:9

  

      David left Solomon with some wise advice: serve God wholeheartedly! In this one verse is a lot of meat.

      God judges every motive of mine and searches my heart. O Lord, may I have a devoted heart and a willing mind, may I not turn to my own comprehension or my own way. But most of all, Lord, may I seek You . . . for then, I will be found by You.

　

Get the Free E-book Precious Promises Here

1 Timothy 2:1-2

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; 1 Tim 2:1-2 (KJV)

     First of all, Paul tells us that we are to make various types of prayers for all men, and for all those in authority. We are to make supplications, that is specific prayers to meet a supply, a specific need in people’s lives. Perhaps the most general one that we can pray is for the realization of Christ’s salvation to come to the mind of every man and woman in the world. We are to make prayers, a general term. Intercessions, specifically pleading or praying on behalf of another. Giving thanks. All four of these types of prayers are to made for all men and those in authority. It is important that thankfulness be a component of this because with praise and thanksgiving we enter the presence of the Lord (Psalm  ). The core focus of this verser, however, simply seems to be that we are to pray for others before ourselves. Including those that are in authority: kings, governors, rulers, presidents, congress, UN, and more. We may not agree with these organizations and authorities, but we are still called by God pray for them. And just think, our prayers may have an impact we would never expect, like seeing an ungodly president coming to Christ and confessing his sin before the whole nation and the mercy and grace and forgiveness and new life that he has found in Jesus Christ. That is my prayer, what is yours?

 

that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

      Why does Paul say that we are to pray this way? So that we may lead (live, walk, practice) a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness (Christ-likeness, holiness, sanctification, dependence on God, seeking the Lord, right living) and honesty. People all around us crave a quiet and peaceable life, don’t they? Well Paul is saying that as Christians, through these types of prayers we are to model that type of life. And not only to model quietness and peaceableness, but to live in such a that we walk in all godliness and honesty.

Prayer for our Country

Lord, please revive our America with a Great Awakening one more time. May Your people live by the Spirit and passionately pursue You and testify Salvation and Life in The Lord Jesus Christ. Light us afire Lord, passionate and bold for You in these Last Days before Jesus Returns.

The Four Steps to National Restoration

        If I shut up heaven that there be no rain,   

  

     or if I command the locusts to devour the land,   

 

or if I send pestilence among my people;

If my people, which are called by my name,

shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face,

and turn from their wicked ways;

then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their

sin, and will heal their land.

—2 Chronicles 7:13-14 KJV

   

  For God to heal our land we must do four things:

1. Humble ourselves

2. Pray

3. Seek the Lord’s face

4. Turn from our wicked ways.

 In return, God in His righteous order of things will do three things:

1. He will hear us

2. He will forgive our sin

3. He will heal our land.

Our duty is to first of all to humble ourselves. After humiliation, we are to pray. Next, we are to seek the face of God (FMM’s Focus: Matthew 6:33). Finally, and perhaps the hardest of all, we must turn from our wicked ways—we must put into practice our faith, not just wish for it.

    In return for following for turning to God instead of to our own intellect, political leaders, false ideas, or the Enemy’s doctrines, God declares that He will hear our prayers. And when He hears, He will forgive our sin and will heal our land!

 

Thought 357: Take me and Break me from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

 

 

Thought 357

Take me and Break me

Our cry needs to be to the Lord, O! How I cannot do anything in my own strength, like Ecclesiastes declares: everything I do in my strength is meaningless, yet O Lord! Your purpose and your plans for my for my life are not meaningless! Lord kill my pride, help me reject my will. O Lord, not my will, but Yours be done!!! Lord, be my Shelter and my Fortress, my Shield, my Provider, my Everlasting Father, my Good God, my Prince of Peace! May You direct my paths, answer my cries, defend my defenselessness; may You rage my war, may You give me strength, may You work in me to take every thought captive to You, O Lord, direct my paths! O Lord give me patience to wait on you. O Lord, may You give me the strength to climb out of bed early each day to dedicate it to You, to invest in prayer, to speak with You and be strengthened, for You have promised as a strengthen my inner man when I wait on You. Lord, give me a passion and hunger to study and meditate on Your Word. Lover and keeper my soul, let my sin not lead me astray, but keep me ever close in Your loving arms and strengthen me for the battles in which You will come out victorious in my future. And in the life of my wife, and my children, and my sisters, and my brothers, and my parents, and my cousins, and Your people, and Your messengers, O Lord, give them strength! Protect Israel, O Lord, bless them though they don’t deserve it, and bless Your people, though we don’t deserve it. Deliver us from evil and teach us Your ways as only You can. Amen . . . . and amen. . . . . . take me and break me . . . make me useable for Your will.

 

Thought 289: Hope from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 289

Hope

  Your hope seems to eventually run out, doesn’t it? I have news for you: there is a place to have your hope restored. There is a person who should be the center, the foundation of your hope. When your hope runs out; eventually it will run out when it is founded on the things of this world. 

   I’ll admit that my hope has run out and I needed a ‘lift’, but where did I get it? The altar. Now an altar does not have to be literally in a church or even a literal object, it is simply anywhere that you pour out your heart to God and guess what? He has the power to refill and make a new wine skin out of you, because HE IS THE CREATOR!

Where is your hope focused? Do you need a fresh ‘refill’? Ask the Father for He has sent the Son to save you and the Holy Spirit to empower you to be His witness in the earth.



 

Thought 278: John 17--Jesus praying for Himself, His disciples, and All Believers from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 278

John 17 – Jesus praying for Himself, His disciples, and All Believers

(pay attention to how short Jesus prayer for Himself is compared to His prayer for others)

 

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,

    “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

        And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

        I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

        I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

        While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

        I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

        They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

         Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” – John 17 KJV (quotation marks added)

Thought 257: Animal rights--Pshaw! from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 257

Animal rights—Pshaw!

         These days animals may have better rights people. Something is wacky here, God gave man dominion over the animals, which means we can eat them and use their “parts” for our clothing, handles, soap, etc… God’s Word tell us to eat mean and to use animals as beasts of burden. Sadly, however,  aborted children have fewer rights than the dog that is put in a sack and thrown into the river—the aborted children that are cut to tiny pieces in the womb or stabbed in the neck or has their brain sucked out or is born and set aside on a table to die of neglect is more important than an animal! Modern laws show the wicked condition of modern man. Only the Gospel can change the heart of the masses that made these laws and transform their conduct.

          May we all stop and petition the Lord about these wicked modern practices. And may we take a stand for children.