Prayer

Throw off the Weights- Spending time with the Lord

May 20, 2013 by standing

If you’re like me, your time is consumed by all the busy ways of modern life, work, chores, events, family. I really don’t spend enough time with the Lord to listen to Him and read His word in the Bible. But this is something we must do. It is a matter of priority. If you are a believer in Christ, then by Christ we are the daughter and sons of God, and we are commanded to spend time with Him.

Paul, in Hebrews 12 exhorts

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

The term “everything that hinders” in this verse in the original Greek is “ogkos” and this means a burden and heavy weight. This includes our worries and the many “to dos” we have. It is good to be responsible and a good worker, but let’s remember the Lord is more important than these things. One hundred years from now, you and other people won’t care about today’s “to dos” But you will wish you had spent more dedicated time with the Lord. Spending time with the Lord is an eternal investment.

Filed Under: Prayer, Trusting God, Waiting, Work pressures

God wants to bless you more

November 6, 2012 by standing

It’s easy when we’re going through trials to think that God is mad at us. The reality is is God wants to bless you, and he’ll give you more than you ask for. Listen to this short message:

God wants to bless us more than we ask (mp3)

Filed Under: Audio, Fear, Prayer, Trusting God, Waiting

Bow down so He can lift you up

October 22, 2012 by standing

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10

Have you ever been in situation where you have to rely on the Lord? Where there’s no human way out?

Well, I’m in one of those situations now. I look around me and it seems like there’s no hope. But I know this. The Lord is the one who brought me into this world. And this is one of those times where I just have to get low and say, “Lord you’re the only hope I have.”

And then I remembered all of the times that the Lord got me out of troubles. And David in Psalm 124 also remembered this as well.
Bottom line is we have to get low, not relying on our own strength, to trust the Lord.

Psalm 124
A song of ascents. Of David.
1If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
2if the Lord had not been on our side
when men attacked us,
3when their anger flared against us,
they would have swallowed us alive;
4the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
5the raging waters
would have swept us away.
6Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7We have escaped like a bird
out of the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

Filed Under: Fear, Loneliness, Prayer, Trusting God, Waiting

Our role in the salvation of our loved ones

September 23, 2012 by standing

I’m sure you have loved ones, perhaps a family member, who you want to come to the Lord. Here’s a quick two minute audio message on some importent things to remember about God’s mercy, his salvation and our role in prayer and forgiveness.

Our Important Role as Intercessor in Salvation (mp3)

Filed Under: Audio, Family, Forgiveness, Prayer, Waiting

God sees your mission is done even though you are still waiting

August 6, 2012 by standing

What does your unanswered prayer have to do with a space mission? The recent successful landing of JPL’s Curiosity mission on Mars demonstrated a similar principal in the Bible- success can already have happened even though we are still waiting for it. Confused? Read on . .

Since it takes radio waves 14 minutes to reach Earth from Mars right now, the Mars mission control at JPL in Pasadena received word of a successful landing long after the events had already happened. While the scientific world sat on the edge of its collective seats, and waited as each bit of telemetry and data trickled in, on Mars the probe had landed many minutes earlier, guided automatically to its landing.

We too have a limited view in our lives of the events we are praying for. It seems to us we are waiting forever for our prayers to be answered, but in God’s eternal time, he already sees the end. To our earth-bound minds, it seems like the answer to our prayer is a long time off. But God’s way will happen; you can be sure. Trust Him to unravel your prayer in His time.

I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. Isaiah 46:10

Filed Under: Prayer, Trusting God, Waiting

Pray with the right motives

June 10, 2012 by standing

Are you praying for your loved one? Yes? Excellent. But the Lord convicted me of something recently. You see, my prayer for my loved one was often focused more on myself. “I want our relationship restored.” “I want her to have the joy of salvation.” “I want . . . . ”

You get the picture. It is so important to continue to pray for marriage restoration, but we need to pray with God’s heart, not just our own desires for a restored marriage. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that wanting a restored marriage is a bad thing, but our heart should first be the Lord’s, which is focused on Him and his will to help and save our prodigals.

Jesus used a model prayer to teach us how to pray (Luke 11:13). This this prayer Christ teaches us to pray first for God’s will and way, then to forgive others. Later in this chapter Christ reminds us that heavenly Father is good, and so we are to expect He will give us good things.

So let’s continue to pray for our loved ones, but ask that the Lord would give us His heart and will when we pray. Then we can leave all the good things he has planned for us to Him.

Filed Under: Prayer, Waiting

Never Give Up and Never Stop Praying

February 15, 2009 by standing

It is easy to give up on your prodigal when they give you no reason to hope for reconciliation. But remember your faith is not in them, but the God who made them and knows all about them, you, and all the details of your situation. God in his infinite mercy allows us to participate in His work via prayer. Christ told the situation of a widow who petitioned a mean judge continually. She eventually got her justice. How much more will your Father God, who loves you and your marriage infinitely, response to your prayers in His time. He wants you to talk to Him!

Luke 18

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ “

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”