Paul reminds us in Ephesians 1:15-16 that he considered it a privilege to pray for his
fellow believers. Do you feel that way too? “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” He knew he could go directly to God and was assured that God would hear his prayers!
As I contemplated God’s accessibility to me through prayer, I reflected some of the people in the Bible that prayed and why they sought an audience with God. Have you talked with God about similar situations in faith? If so you are in good company. Isaac prayed for his wife to conceive a child, Genesis 25:21, Moses and the people prayed for God to remove the serpents because they had greatly sinned Numbers 21:7. Hannah prayed for a child in 1 Samuel 1:11, Solomon prayed for wisdom in 1 Kings 3:9, Ezra prayed for protection and safe journey in Ezra 8:21, David prayed when in danger and distress Psalm 55, for grace in Psalm 86, for peace in Psalm 122, Jeremiah prayed for mercy and direction in Jeremiah 42:2-4, Daniel prayed for mercy in Daniel 9:3 and 17, Jonah prayed for salvation and mercy in Jonah 2 and 4, Jesus prayed for God’s will to be done Matthew 26:39 and 42, the disciples prayed for deliverance of Peter in Acts 12:5. and the letters are filled with prayers for salvation, thanksgiving, restoration, for the needs of others, godly behavior, healing and forgiveness. We have a mighty cloud of witnesses in the Bible that attest to the fact that God will listen to our prayers and will answer. In all the ones listed above, Jesus is the only one who prayed for God’s will. He knew that God’s will is perfect and will provide the perfect answer to prayer.
Be encouraged and keep on praying. Give you requests to God and He will answer. If you don’t exactly know how to pray? Ask the Holy Spirit to do it for you. Romans 8:27 “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” God is faithful and will answer in His time and in His way. This requires faith, trust and patience as we wait upon God for His perfect answer.
Let me encourage you with these final verses: Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
Pray continually and be assured that God hears your prayers.
Linda
** Need a fun exercise? Look up the above prayers and see how God answered each of them in His way in His time. God is good, all the time. “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him.” Nahum 1:7
Indwelling Holy Spirit testifying and affirming:
what is to come.
A tangible inheritance in Jesus
by the hand of his beloved Son.
Why would God do this?
The Word is filled with references to God’s plan of redemption and the restoration of His relationship with mankind from Genesis to Revelation. The story of God’s love for us, His desire to bring us back to Him is why Jesus came. All these things give me Hope and I pray they do the same for you as you meditate on Jesus, God’s love and His desire to be in relationship with you.
I have been praying and pondering what God wants me to write about this summer. What has come to mind over and over is that He is telling me I’m not done with Ephesians. The book of Ephesians was the foundation of my Lenten journey this year. I worked my way through the entire book in the 6 week of Lent. It was a rich time in Word of God, and I was mightily blessed. How He is leading me to write on these subjects again is to start with the lessons and truths revealed in Ephesians and search scripture for other passages that confirm the same or very similar truths. I will not attempt to do all of the truths He revealed during our Lenten journey but as many as I can. I am looking forward to a rich time in God’s Word these summer months.
Ephesians 1:3 “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,”
I pray you have the blessing of knowing Christ and are looking forward to these eternal blessings that await us in heaven. May you marvel at the beauty of heaven to come, the safety, completeness and glory we will see there. Be encouraged today as you meditate on these passages. This is our inheritance and a place all believers can look forward to in their future. Praise God!
As we all struggle with the racism that has surfaced yet again in America, we need to seriously ask ourselves if faith matters. People are carrying signs that say “Black Lives Matter” which is so true- as all people matter. We are all precious and made in God’s image. The question I am pondering is
If we want to be more and more like Jesus, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to develop those characteristics within us. He desires that we are kind, loving faithful, thankful, show goodness, gentleness, joy and experience His peace. If we are to mature in faith, the actual term is sanctification, the we need to work our our faith and live it.
Let us pray for our nation and humble ourselves seeking to do as Jesus would when dealing with others… Faith in God and Love are the ways to peace. Faith matters, let the light of Christ shine in and through you today.
When we see injustice, we need to speak out.
Jesus teaches us to love one another. Unbelievers will know we are Christians because of the love for one another.

be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

The post resurrection appearances began at the empty tomb. This fact occurs in each of the 4 gospels and 3 of the gospels include the appearance of a heavenly being interacting with the grieving followers of Jesus. Since Jesus had been hastily buried due to the need to have him buried before sundown, as it was the beginning of the Sabbath and no one could be buried on the Sabbath, His body was not properly prepared with spices. It was wrapped but not fully treated. The women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb with spices intending to anoint Jesus’ body. The gospel accounts say it was very early in the morning as they walked and talked on the way to the garden tomb. They were concerned about how they were going to get the stone in front of the tomb removed so they could enter to anoint Jesus’ body. When they arrived this was the scene:
“And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.
May you encounter the Living Jesus and His transforming power today.
