" Joyful praying "
Philemon 1:4-5 I
always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear
about your faith in the Lord Jesus
and your love for all the saints. (NIV)
Christians ought to pray for each other.
Paul's captivity allowed him even more time, and God used his prayers in the upbuilding of churches and people.
But in our age of activism, prayer is often devalued as less important than 'doing things'.
Sometimes the Lord has to slow us down so that we can get our priorities right!
Praying is not just about asking God to act; it is also to thank Him for what He has already done.
Joy comes as we accept the work of God and praise Him for it.
Paul's joy, when praying for Philemon, was based on two ways in which God had been at work:Philemon had come to believe in Jesus
and was growing in his ability to trust Him; also, Philemon had a reputation for loving other Christians -
putting the needs of a wide variety of believers above his own and serving them.
That was the evidence of the sovereign work of God in Philemon's life.
So why did Paul pray for this man who has such a dynamic relationship with God?
We can all slip back because nobody can cruise on yesterday's spiritual momentum.
We all need to be sustained in our faith, through the prayers of others (Philippians 1:19).
It is as important to pray for those who are following Christ well, as to intercede for those who have turned off the narrow path.
So, today, why not devote some time to thanking God for those who are apparently spiritually fit, because they can also slip out of the race.
Pray with joy but also with earnestness that they will keep pressing on with Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14).
Join a Christian prayer group at work as well as at church: those on the 'front line' need the best supply chain
Prayer for the day : -
Oh Lord who answers prayer.
Thank You for Your saving and sustaining grace, and for all those I know who have chosen to receive grace from Jesus.
Forgive me when I ignore those who seem to be doing well spiritually forgetting that, like me,
they are also tempted to pull back from wholeheartedly following Jesus.
Help me to develop a more active prayer life which supports the strong as well as encouraging the weak.
And please help me to find others who will pray for me in the good times as well as in a crisis.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
and your love for all the saints. (NIV)
Christians ought to pray for each other.
Paul's captivity allowed him even more time, and God used his prayers in the upbuilding of churches and people.
But in our age of activism, prayer is often devalued as less important than 'doing things'.
Sometimes the Lord has to slow us down so that we can get our priorities right!
Praying is not just about asking God to act; it is also to thank Him for what He has already done.
Joy comes as we accept the work of God and praise Him for it.
Paul's joy, when praying for Philemon, was based on two ways in which God had been at work:Philemon had come to believe in Jesus
and was growing in his ability to trust Him; also, Philemon had a reputation for loving other Christians -
putting the needs of a wide variety of believers above his own and serving them.
That was the evidence of the sovereign work of God in Philemon's life.
So why did Paul pray for this man who has such a dynamic relationship with God?
We can all slip back because nobody can cruise on yesterday's spiritual momentum.
We all need to be sustained in our faith, through the prayers of others (Philippians 1:19).
It is as important to pray for those who are following Christ well, as to intercede for those who have turned off the narrow path.
So, today, why not devote some time to thanking God for those who are apparently spiritually fit, because they can also slip out of the race.
Pray with joy but also with earnestness that they will keep pressing on with Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14).
Join a Christian prayer group at work as well as at church: those on the 'front line' need the best supply chain
Prayer for the day : -
Oh Lord who answers prayer.
Thank You for Your saving and sustaining grace, and for all those I know who have chosen to receive grace from Jesus.
Forgive me when I ignore those who seem to be doing well spiritually forgetting that, like me,
they are also tempted to pull back from wholeheartedly following Jesus.
Help me to develop a more active prayer life which supports the strong as well as encouraging the weak.
And please help me to find others who will pray for me in the good times as well as in a crisis.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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" Meditate on These "
Meditation has become a
bad name in the church community, many people think it is only for
those
who practice witchcraft, but that is not so.
The Bible talks about
meditating on the word of God and on the acts of God, meditation was
God's idea,
not the devils and frankly I don't think we should allow him
to steal this powerful God-given tool from the body of Christ.
I
was listening to a star football player talk about a book he had
written.
He said he wanted the book to be spiritually based because that
was how he had lived his life.
Then he talked about something the Lord
had him do before every game.
I found it so interesting that I wanted to
share it with you today.
He
said before every game, he went off to himself and meditated.
He
meditated on the upcoming game, he saw himself making superb plays.
He
refused to see himself making bad plays or missing the ball, for at
least thirty minutes before every game
he took time to see himself
playing an excellent game. He was indeed an excellent player in every
game.
I
looked up the definition of meditate and found it to mean to muse, to
speak or utter quietly and to commune.
It is the act of calling to mind
some supposition, pondering on it and correlating it to your own life.
It is a constant recollection, to literally roll it over and over in
your mind.
It
reminded me of something that Bryson said to me in May of this year.
He
was sitting at my kitchen playing a game and he turned to me and said;
'Nana, it's good to imagine.
If you imagine something and then keep it
in your mind, thinking about it for a long time...that thing you
imagined...you will do.'
As
I was studying about meditation, I came across a scripture I had never
read before in Genesis 24:63,
it said Isaac went out to meditate in the
field at eventide.
I
am fully persuaded that if Isaac went out to meditate, he learned it
from his father, Abraham.
I can assure you that the father of faith got
this insight from our Father, God.
I was surprised to see that Isaac meditated, even before he had the word of God to meditate on. How interesting is that!
The
Bible says 'whatever things are lovely, pure and of a good report,
think on these.'
In other words, meditate on what is lovely and good and
pure. Meditate on those things that you want to see happen.
We spend
far too much time meditating on things we are afraid will happen,
we
need to change that mindset, we need to refuse to think on negative
things, don't you agree?
I
would suggest you take some quiet time each day and meditate on the
word of God, but even go beyond that,
meditate on things in your life
that are lovely and pure and that will have a good outcome,
just like
the football player did...our thoughts, what we meditate on will
determine our level of success...
as we think in our heart, so are we. If
we see it, we can obtain it. Seeing it begins in our mind.
Biblical
meditation has many benefits; it will fill your mind with good
thoughts, which will drive out all the negative thoughts.
It will cause
you to be Christ-centered at all times. It will reduce stress and remove
toxic emotions.
It will cause you to be more connected with the Spirit
of God within you and it will deepen your relationship with God.
Take
some time today and mediate on God and all He has promise you - roll it
over and over in your mind until you see it coming to pass...
God's word
works...His ways work...meditate on good things and draw good things
your way.
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