Tag: pray

Happy New Year, Can you Believe it is 2026?

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New Year, new beginnings, new goals, new diet??? What I have to look forward to and think about is my word for the year. I have done this several years running and have found it better than a goal. Goals you either do well or fail, with a word you have a driving force to look to each and every day.

Last year my word was Thankful. I started the year keeping a thankfulness journal until I realized I did not need it anymore as my focus was turned outward instead of inward each day. I continued with various things to keep me focused on thankfulness as the year progressed. I always end the year by writing a Christmas letter and letting people know how the word impacted my life for that year. It is amazing to me how God helps me choose just the right word and scriptures to make the word meaningful and productive in my life.

So how does the process of choosing a word begin? First, pray about what God wants your focus to be in the New Year. Ask Him for a word of direction to guide you. God is faithful and will provide. Don’t expect it to be instantaneous. Usually He impresses upon me the word He has for me over a series of day and events. Next, ask God to show you scriptures to claim during the year for that word. Search the scriptures and God will show you how you can define and refine this word. Then define the word yourself by choosing 8-10 words that remind you of your word or show your word in action.

That’s enough for now- pray and talk with God about your focus for 2026! I will leave you with my favorite New Year verse that I claim- Lamentation 3:21-23 “But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end;23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Have a blessed New Year and depend upon His faithfulness!!

Linda

When God says, “I Will”, He WILL!

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In some Bible passages the Lord spoke to His people and gave them multiple assurances. They were nuggets of gold that the people could cling to in their lives which enable them to live with confidence and assurance from God that He was there for them! Those passages do the same for us today. Psalm 91:14-15 is one such passage. Let the truths of God’s words sink into your soul.

The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
    I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer;
    I will be with them in trouble.
    I will rescue and honor them. 16 I will reward them with a long life
    and give them my salvation.”

Promises: God promises to: rescue, protect, answer, be with us in trouble, deliver, honor, favor with long life, and save those who love and acknowledge His name.

Any time God says “I will”, we can take that as a truth. God does not lie, Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” God is not like us and will not ever lie nor will He change His mind! God is immutable, unchanging. Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” So unlike us, God means “I will’ with certainty and will not change from it. We can totally count on those promised words.

What a wonderful long list of promises from God of how He intends to care for those who love and honor Him in faith. Which of these means the most to you right now? Do you need God to rescue you from a difficult situation? Pray. Do you need protection? Pray. Do you need answers? Pray. Do you need His presence with you right now? He is omnipresent- pray and ask for Him to comfort you and quiet your fears. Deliverance can be different from rescue. Do you need a new idea at work, something in working with your children, an extra job? Pray and be specific about what you need. Remember the promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” Ask God to show you your way of escape. It might be right through it though for only God knows what that escape looks like. How has God shown you favor? It may come as providential care, blessings in our lives or mercy. All of us our days are numbered and He determines the length of our life. He promises salvation for those who believe in Jesus. John 17:13 “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”

What we can know from these verses: God desires for me to love Him, God in His sovereignty can rescue, protect, defend and deliver me from life’s situations, God is accessible and will answer when I call upon Him (pray), God number’s each person’s days, God offers salvation with eternal life, Faith in Jesus shows our love of God and acknowledgement of His name.

Lenten Reflections: How am I showing God that I love Him? Where do I need to call upon God to receive His promised help?

These verses require us to think about the many things we take for granted about God. If we love Him, He is integral in our lives and is our partner in living for Him. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can call to God in faith with all the details of my life and He will be there for me. He is faithful and will not let me down.

Linda

Related verses: Numbers 23:19, 1 Corinthians 10:13, John 17:13, Galatians 1:3-5, Hebrews 4:16, Proverbs 3:1-3, John 3:16.

Give Thanks for Prayer and Friend Jesus

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November 4, 2022

Today’s verse features the action words ‘give thanks’. How thankful do you consider yourself to be? Do you live with a continual attitude of gratitude or is it fleeting depending upon your circumstances? If truth be told, the fleeting gratitude is probably more to what really happens in our lives. However, it is God’s desire that we be thankful at all times in all things.

1Thessalonians 5:17-18 “ pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Paul is exhorting the Thessalonian believers and us too, to be prayerful at all times and have words of thanks on our lips as we pray. This combines two actions towards God- prayer, talking with God, and giving Him thanks with our words. What fills your prayers? Do you constantly seek His help with a give, or an I want attitude? This exhortation is focused on talking with God and having thanks be at the forefront of our praying. Being thankful – not just when things are going well but in all times. This is often very hard to do but seeking to see something to be thankful for in your situation gives you hope. It helps alleviate pain and refocuses you on God and the power of His might in Christ Jesus. God knows there is suffering and pain in this world but He wants to keep us focused on Jesus. Jesus will give us peace, hope and endurance as we look to Him in thanksgiving and praise. Seek to live each day with a prayerful thank-filled attitude just as Christ desires.

A truth to claim with thanksgiving: I have a friend in Jesus. In John 15:14-15 Jesus calls us His friends. “You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” Being a friend of Jesus means He is always with you, supporting and caring for you. I pray the desire of your heart is to follow His commands and seek to know Him better. We are not considered servants but friends and we belong to His family. Being a member of God’s forever family is always something you can give praise and thanks for. Knowing Jesus as a friend gives hope and reassurance to us each day. Thank you Jesus.

Linda

How do we win? Christ has us!

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It does not take long when walking the Christian walk to encounter opposition. Satan would like nothing more than to discredit us, destroy our witness and bring us down with the temptations that surround us. My friend Marilyn, has chosen as her favorite verse 2 Corinthians 10:5. “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” We know that God has equipped us for all good works with His Word and empowered us with His Holy Spirit which indwells every believer. When we immerse ourselves in His Word with study, prayer, meditation, and memorization we begin to think biblically (like God would have us think). When we pray and ask guidance from the Holy Spirit, we are applying His power to our lives. But, What about our minds? This verse speaks of taking every thought captive. What does that mean to you? The goal is to take all your thoughts and run them past God and see if they are good ones leading to His glory and my good or not so good leading to my destruction. Taking every thought captive would only be possible if we walked continually with His Spirit and allowed the Holy Spirit to be active and working in our lives at all times. We have a sin nature that generates those poor thoughts so we need to submit them to Jesus though the power of His Holy Spirit.

As I looked at this verse, I backed up to get a bigger picture of the context and reasons for this need to captivate of our thoughts. Paul explains we are people walking in this world with our sinful nature as a part of us. We need to consider ourselves in a constant spiritual battle with Satan. God assures us that He has given us spiritual tools to use, divine weapons. He has given us words to combat the thoughts and ideas that would discount and seek to destroy our God. They cannot succeed but we need to use our spiritual weapons of the Word and Prayer to align ourselves with God, so that we can overcome through the power of Christ and be obedient to Him. Here is 2 Corinthians 5:3-5 in the Amplified translation to help us see more clearly what this means.

 For though we walk in the flesh [as mortal men], we are not carrying on our [spiritual] warfare according to the flesh and using the weapons of man. 4 The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ, 

Knowing this is a powerful fight, we must cling to Jesus each day. We must pray diligently and be in His Word so that we can be strong in Him. I find that being aware of the enemy helps me to see the forces I am facing and to better be on guard. Paul speaks of this in Ephesians 6:10-13 “ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Remember Jesus’ words and do not be overwhelmed or discouraged, just be patient and dependent upon Him. John 16:33 ” I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

We serve a mighty Sovereign Savior! With His Spirit within us, we too can overcome and hold those thoughts captive to Him!

Linda

For what and for whom are you praying?

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ephesians 3 14 19The next section of Ephesians Chapter 3,  verses 14-21, is a prayer Paul wrote to them.  Today we are focusing on verses 14-19 and I have chosen the New Living Translation for ease in understanding.  His prayer is an excellent model of what to pray for fellow believers.  As you read, listen for Paul’s heartfelt desires for them and their relationship with God.

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources with he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Paul makes it clear from the beginning that he is praying to the living God who created heaven and earth, remember they were surrounded by a very pagan society that worshiped man made idols.   Paul knows God is omnipotent and the source of a believer’s strength.  He wants them to grow and develop in faith.  He wants them to realize who God is and the power of His love for them.  Paul feels if they come to know the God of all power and love, they will have lives that are filled and transformed.  Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we have the privilege and obligation to intercede on behalf of other believers.

What about you?  What do you pray for your fellow believers?  Do you pray for their growth and knowledge of God,  and that they will experience the fullness of His love? If you’ve never prayed like that- give it a try.  Choose a friend and pray for their growth in james 5 16faith, their knowledge of God to increase as they study His Word, their prayer life to expand, that they would experience and understand the depth of God’s love for them….. God desires that we lift one another up in prayer.  James 5:16b  ” The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”  Seek to be a clean vessel through your own confession of sins,  then pray earnestly on behalf of other believers.  Remember Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”

Linda

 

The Privilege of Prayer

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Do you have good friends of faith?  Do you share your joys and struggles in your daily walk with Christ and praises for answered prayers?  Paul had that kind of relationship with the Ephesians when he lived among them and it shows in his heartfelt message as ephesians 1 16he sought to encourage them in their faith.  Ephesians 1:15-16.  “Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,”  Paul had brought them to faith and was like a proud ‘papa’ over the continued growth of these believers.  He was thankful for their lives of faith and  prayed for them all the time.

A couple of months ago I was struggling with some health issues and a dear sister in Christ sent me a handmade card with the sentiment “I’m praying for you”.  Just receiving her note encouraged me in my walk that day and each day after as I glanced at the card.  Saying you’ll pray for someone is the most precious gift you can give them,  so don’t say it if you don’t intend to actually pray.  Paul was sincere and serious about prayer and he prayed constantly for those new believers in all the cities where he ministered.

Teaching, preaching, witnessing and prayer were all essential parts of Paul’s ministry.  Even if we do not feel like we can be teachers or preachers we can all witness to the joy and power of Christ in our lives.  We can all pray for those who we encounter who do not know Jesus, for our friends and family,  and for specific troubles or circumstances we know people are experiencing.   We can pray for our leaders at church, in our city and in our country.  Prayer changes things and gives us opportunity to communicate with Father God about the people in our lives.  Praying for others takes the focus off ourselves and acknowledges God’s sovereignty over all things.   Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we can go directly to God in prayer.  He is accessible because of our faith in Jesus.

prayer for each otherToday spend some time in prayer for those around you that are hurting, despairing, in poor health, need comfort, strength or are walking down a wrong pathway.  Thank God that they are in your life and that you can lift them up in the name of Jesus.

Linda