Pray Network Forum

Filled with hope! Filled with joy! Filled with confidence! Turn on the faucet and let yourself be filled! God is ready willing and able to fill you with all that you need to redeem your life and move forward into a new lifestyle filled with promise, His promise!

God Himself seeks out the wounded and the broken hearted. He desires that we be healed and redeemed. He desires that we live in abundance of security, hope and love. He desires to inspire all of us to do His will, and by doing so, live in His promise of a new life.

This new life is up to you. He calls you, but He does not force you. He also will not beg you, but He will open the opportunities for you to follow. Ultimately, it is your choice.

Fill your heart with the Word of God and watch your life change in so many ways! Stay in His word, live the lifestyle of a believer and witness the change in your own spirit and mind. See where this new life takes you!

We gather together as believers to share what the Lord has done for us. We share His Word! We seek out the truth and walk in His Love. God is waiting! He is waiting for you to want to change your life! He is waiting for you to make a choice. He is watching for you to arrive at that place in between and make the decision to follow Him and have a better life. God is for you! He is not against you! He has a plan for you, to give you a hope and a future! (Jeremiah 29:11) Do not hesitate! Call on Him! Give your heart to Him! Give your plans to Him! Seek out His will and follow His Word! You cannot go wrong if you are walking in the Word of God! Share His love and His heart and see the blessings He pours out over you!

Take the leap! Fall into His Word! The sincere heart for God will not be disappointed! Those who are insincere, woe to you. You will be more than disappointed. God is not a magic potion to be used and done. He is the Way, the Truth and the Light! Without Him we are nothing! Do not allow another day to go by without picking up a Bible and reading of the mysterious wonders of the world and its history. You will be transformed! You will be filled with joy! You will be able to become one of His chosen!

In the stillness of this time and place, we lift our hurting hearts to You, O God. Thank You for life, and specifically the life of the one we celebrate today, and for allowing these family members and friends to share life with them. Thank You for the assurance that we who are believers, will once again share life with them in Your eternal heaven (John 14:1-3). Thank You for the gift of memory which will allow a continuation of thoughts about them for the next days, weeks, years. Relieve our broken hearts. Comfort our sorrow. Especially comfort the family, today, tomorrow, next week, next month, and every time they miss their loved one. Increase our faith in the unseen and the unknown. Even with the remains before us, we look up, for we know they is no longer here. They are absent from this body and already present with You (2 Corinthians 5:8). Remind us all that there is more to life than dying, and more to death than the grave. For that we say, hallelujah and Amen.

The Presidential Prayer Team daily prayer page today mentions that it's 100 days to the mid-term elections.  With division in our country running so high and questions still surrounding alleged attempts to interfere with the 2016 elections, we need God's intervention both to protect our election process and to put in place leaders who will honor him.  How should we then pray?  This is the first of a series of posts with thoughts on how to pray for our upcoming elections.

Pray for the campaigns

If you're like me, you quickly tire of the campaign commercials so prevalent right now.  Candidates telling half-truths, trying to make themselves look better than they really are and their opponents look worse than they really are.  Here are a couple of suggestions for prayer:

1. Pray for Christian candidates.  Ask God to give them integrity and truthfulness in their campaigning.  Pray for hearts willing to do and accept God's will, regardless of whether that means getting elected or not.  Pray for God's protection from temptation and deliverance from the evil one.  Ask God to guard their words, to lead them to speak the truth in love.
2. Pray for campaigns based on "light" rather than "heat" - that truthfulness in campaigning will prevail and that God will reign in the natural tendencies of candidates to focus on negative.  Ask God to lead candidates to honestly share their own views and priorities, so that voters will have good information to make informed choices.
3. Ask God to raise up prayer throughout the country for wise and faithful leaders.  Ask him to lead his church to pray not based on political agenda but rather earnestly seeking and desiring for his will to be accomplished through the elections.

I once participated in a small group whose focus was to pray for our country.  We met weekly to pray and we shared a passion to see God honored in our land.  But I was never fully comfortable with the way we prayed as a group.  While I agreed with the conservative bent of the group, it concerned me that we tended to pray as if our politics were "right".  We tended to give God the answers rather than simply seeking his glory. 

Such prayer can actually prove divisive in a group whose members have differing political, economic, and social outlooks.  So as we ask God to raise up concerted, intentional prayer for our nation and for the coming elections, let's ask him to cleanse our hearts of our own agendas so that we can honestly pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done" as it relates to the campaign and election process.

Next up:  Pray for the candidates

I have spent a lot of time writing on #ChurchUnity lately. The post below can be found at MarkMirza.com

Demonstration of Unity

I have been spending a lot of time with the book of Colossians. Because book 2 of my current novel series, (which I just finished this week, YIPPEE!!!) includes a major section that centers around the ancient city of Colossae (you can find book 1 HERE).

I was up late last night rereading the beginning of Colossians and it struck me that Paul says, “hello” to so many of his churches by telling them how much and how often he and his entourage thank the Lord for them.

Love in the Colossae Church

And though I have read it dozens and dozens of times over these this last few months. It struck me how this view of Love in the Colossae Church must differ from ours in the 21st century Church.

Now I recognize that I am painting churches with one broad brush and that is unfair. I give that to you and I apologize if am wrong about your church, which I know I will be.

Love For All the Saints

But I started thinking about many, many of the people that I pray with and I recognized that I see Love For All the Saints in Jerry and Todd, and in the 3 Davids, in Lew and Derrick and Tony.

Love For All the Saints is evident in Bryan and Greg and Aaron and Bryant.

There is Love For All the Saints in Tom and in Bennett, in Brandon and Ben and Marc, in Jerry and Vince and Victor.

I also see Love For All the Saints in Roger and Eugene, in Don in Craig and in John and Reed.

I even see Love For All the Saints in the women that I pray with on these conference calls.

They all pray!

Now you need to realize, these men and women come from all over the economic landscape and the spiritual maturity landscape. They come from all over the theological landscape, and, God forbid, the political landscape.

And it took me only half a second to realize what the common denominator was and is, in every single one of them. Surely you know what that common denominator is, don’t you?

They all pray!

The Colossae Leader Prayed

DON’T think I’m writing ONLY TO PASTORS!

Are you a leader in your home, with your siblings, at work, when you are alone and by yourself?

This message is to ALL OF US!

Is it any wonder that Epaphras who played an important role in the Colossae church (Colossians 1:7a) before he went to Paul’s side, is known and remained known as a man of Prayer (Colossians 4:12-13)?

Whose Fault is Dis-Unity

PS. You may want to stop reading this. Continue at your own risk. . .

There is a reason we do not have unity in the church . . . And it is our fault.

It’s not the fault of those that we believe are wrong in their thinking. It’s not the fault of those who won’t change “no matter how much we pray” that they do change.

I believe the problem is in us, the ones who won’t pray that we would love others unconditionally.

Love them when they see the light and get their act together? Absolutely!

But humbly come before the Lord and ask Him to fix me because I don’t like somebody, with a righteous dislike of course! Absolutely No Way!

What’s the Cost

Why don’t we have #ChurchUnity?

I believe the reason we do not have #ChurchUnity is because it is too costly. And we, the ones who “claim we want” unity are, for the most part, unwilling to pay the price.

Imagine what #ChurchUnity means. It means that I have to engage with, “those other people.”

Scripture and Unity

Romans chapter 15 verse 5 (Mark’s paraphrase) May the God of endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves, as you follow Christ.

You want unity? It’s the other guy’s responsibility, right?

Not at all. You want unity? It’s on you, not them.

John chapter 17 verse 21 (again, Mark’s paraphrase) The way they will know that I came from the Father has nothing to do with your ability to parse doctrine, how you baptize, how you pray or how you vote. The way they will know that I came from the Father is if you have unity. By the way that was Jesus speaking.

The next time you talk about unity in the church, would you ask yourself if you’re willing to pay the price to be united with those that you vigorously disagree with?

Blessings,

David suffered much in his life - some of it the result of the sinfulness of others (as in King Saul's pursuit of him) and some of it the result of his own sin (for example, in the episode with Bathsheba or the counting of the army).  Sometimes David understood why he suffered; at other times he cried out in desperation and confusion to God.  Psalm 22 is one of these latter occasions.

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", he begins.  (We'll discuss Jesus' similar prayer in the future.)  David could not understand why God wasn't hearing and responding to his cries of anguish (verses 1-2).  Why did God not rescue him from his enemies, who mocked him and insulted him (verses 6-8). 

How often do we find ourselves in a similar position?  Our torment may not come directly from enemies, but our anguish is no less real just because its source may be less specific.  Illness, tragedy, financial misfortune, relational difficulties - these may not have a source we can name like David could, but the distress they cause is just as genuine.

David found an answer during the course of the Psalm, but it wasn't a direct answer to the question of "Why?"  Instead, David's answer was to realize God's power and majesty, his faithfulness to his people (verses 3-5).  He recognizes that he depends for his very life on God (verses 9-10).  God's faithfulness in the past, both to his people in general and to David specifically, caused David to continue to cry out to God (verses 19-21).

Knowing that God has been faithful and trusting that he will continue to be, David moves into praise and to calling forth praise from the people (verses 22-31).  Not only does David see God's hand in his own life - even though he may never have received a direct answer to his question of "Why?" - but he also sees God's activity in the nations and throughout history, leading him to declare:

All the ends of the earth

will remember and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

will bow down before him,

for dominion belongs to the Lord

and he rules over the nations.

All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;

all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—

those who cannot keep themselves alive.

Posterity will serve him;

future generations will be told about the Lord.

They will proclaim his righteousness,

declaring to a people yet unborn:

He has done it! (verses 27-31)

We've all experienced times when it felt like God abandoned us.  We didn't receive an answer to our prayer (or at least not the answer we wanted).  We longed for a certain outcome, but it didn't happen.  We suffered without an obvious reason why.

David's example to us demonstrates that it's OK to approach God with our "Why?" questions.  He understands when we feel abandoned (even though he knows he hasn't forsaken us!).  He can handle our cries of anguish and our times of despair.

At the same time, God longs for us to see him as David did - not always because of his visible work in our lives but sometimes in spite of the seeming lack of his intervention.  It's easy to praise God when his blessing is all around us (though we may often forget to do just that!); it requires much more faith to praise him when evidence of his goodness is less visible.  At times like these, it helps to remember as David did who God is.  His identity is not wrapped up in what we might be going through; rather, he is enthroned in heaven (verse 3) and he rules over the nations (verse 28).  A God like that is worthy of our worship and our faith, regardless of the temporary circumstances we may be facing.

So again, we begin with "Why" but we end up in a very different place.  We end up with our eyes on God rather than on our circumstances, and we're encouraged as we behold the One to whom all the ends of the earth will turn.

I was recently blessed by a prayer-a-phrase of The Lord's Prayer by Mary Harwell Sayler in her Christian Writer's Guide

https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Writers-Guide-Harwell-Sayler-ebook/dp/B00FGCUXRM/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1532108783&sr=8-4-fkmr0&keywords=christian+writers+guide%2C+mary+harwell+saylor.

Part of the prayer reads, “as though written in Heaven.”

Will there be writing in Heaven? Will we be writers in Heaven? I will tell you how I actually began thinking about this. I have some ideas for books that I may not have time to write. I have already lived longer than doctors thought I would. I certainly hope God will allow me to write them here. That is my prayer. But I have wondered if I might write some of them in the presence of God.

I believe the dictum in 1 Corinthians 13, “Prophecy will pass away,” must apply here. If there is anything like writing in heaven everything about it will be different. Surely my perspective will be radically transformed. And God's purpose for me may be completely different. But I also believe creativity, stories, and truth all relate to the image of God re-created in us. And Revelation 20:6 tells us that those who share in the first resurrection will be priests of God and of the Lamb. Could part of the duties of a priest be writing stories that touch the lives of those who hear or read them?

Of course, this is foolish thinking. My focus, and energy needs to be on what God wants me to do now. I need to be filling the unforgiving minutes of my life on this Earth by writing what God wants me to write now. But there is also an inkling of hope for what God may have for me beyond.

http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

Website

http://daveswatch.com/

YouTube

https://goo.gl/PyzUz7

The Bible clearly draws us not only to believe in healing, but to believe in Jesus. Let my share my own testimony. I have had numbers of people pray very formally for my healing, including some who anointed me with oil. And frankly, I am encouraged when someone tells me they're praying I will be healed of my cancer. Some years ago now, I told one of my oncologists,”The reason I am alive longer than you thought I would be, is because people are praying for me.” He was silent a moment and then he said, “That's right.”

But I also need to say that everytime I think about praying for God to completely heal me of my cancer a scripture verse comes to my mind. Hebrews 9:27 reads,

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,”

You may have noticed that the sentence does not end with this verse. Verse 28 concludes the thought.

“so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

I do not believe that God is using this passage, necessarily, to tell me I am not going to be healed. But I do believe He is giving me a broader perspective on faith in Jesus Christ. I am not just trusting him for the here and now. I'm trusting Him for the forever. And I am waiting for Him to bring it about.

And in this God has been giving me a peace about life and death. And He has used that to bear witness to people in a world where all of us will die. And I certainly believe that is more important than immediate healing.

http://theanchorofthesoul.blogspot.com/

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

Website

http://daveswatch.com/

YouTube

https://goo.gl/PyzUz7

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/bdavidyoung49/?ref=bookmarks

If you're in the habit of pasting information and prayer requests here at Pray.Network (as I am), here's a tip:  Use Google Chrome rather than Internet Explorer or Edge browsers.  I have found that with IE/Edge, pasted copy often gets cut off on the right-hand side, reformatted in ways I don't expect, and pictures often don't come out well.

I've noticed since switching over to Chrome that none of these problems are present in that browser.  Chrome does do a little reformatting, but not nearly so severe as IE/Edge, and it doesn't cut off text on the right-hand side.  I have found many of my prayer discussion posts to be much more readable and require much less formatting work on my part since switching.

Try it out if you paste information from other websites here!

Today’s words only begin to scratch the surface of the entity of God.

Here is a start of who He is in my life.

My life has been hard at times and good at times. I have figured out that you learn so much in the hard times and to be extremely grateful for the good times. God is good and He wants only good for us. But He also knows that we are still in a fallen world full of sin and sinful people. Bad things happen to all, including God’s chosen. His mercy is always there for us. He loves people. He yearns for us to come to him for rest and recuperation, forgiveness and the strength to forgive others. I have learned that He does not want us to be discouraged in the bad times but to look to Him for the answers, the grace to overcome and the peace that He is with us and He has our backs.

Be encouraged with what He has to say to us today:

My children, I call to you from the heavens to follow me. Learn from me and let me heal you. Let me guide you to new ways to live this life in my bounty. Let me show you the gratefulness I have for you. Let me show you how much I love you. Let me be the one you turn to when you need anything at all. If you pray first, hear from me and then act on what I tell you, you will see the good fruits of a relationship with me. You will grow in the presence of my love. You will see how I protect you from the evil one and bless you with my great joy. You will prosper in unseen ways. You will benefit from intimacy with me in your prayer life. You will know how to go about the business of daily life because you have invited me into it and allowed me to guide you. I will not take over your life. I will not be there without your invitation. I am here. I am ready to help you. I am ready to help you learn from the Word that has been written for you. I am ready to bless your life like you have never seen before. But only when you invite me. You have to come to me. I am not forcing my way through or into your life. I am a gentleman that you must call upon. Your call will be answered. I am not magic. I am not a puppet. I am the one and only true God of the heavens. I made you, then I let you go. You have your own will and your own mind. I do not control you or necessarily your circumstances. I am your great confidant. I am a still soft voice in your ear. I am your peace. I am your blessing. Come to me for rest and peace. I love all of my children. But you are not my child if you do not turn to me. Do not look for a “sugar daddy”, but look for the one who loves you and cherishes your time and your effort. Be ready for me to change your heart and heal your wounds. Be ready to walk through the barriers of the world and find a new life in me that is fresh and filled with love. Be ready for kindness to follow after you. I will call your name, but you must listen and you must answer my call. My voice may surprise you! You may not always understand what or why of where I am leading you, but as long as you stay close to me and continue to speak to me and listen for my answer and follow my Word, you will be safe. Come to me my child! Hear my voice and know my strength. I love you with an everlasting love that only I possess. Sit at my feet in prayer and wait for your blessing. It is coming soon. Do not be distracted by what others have or what I am doing in someone else’s life. Don’t pay attention to anyone else concerning your own path. I have made your path for you to follow. It is not for anyone else. It is for you and you only. No one else can be on your path. And therefore, you cannot be on theirs.

Are you going through a storm right now? Something so difficult or traumatic that you aren't sure you'll make it to tomorrow?

Don't give up hope. It often takes a storm to get our minds off our own plans and ways and onto God's greater plan—to realize there's a purpose for our life that is far better than our own. Our storms help draw us closer to God than anything else. So when we're facing a storm, let's remember three things as we learn to ride it with God, instead of letting it control and overwhelm us.

1) Nothing that happens to us happens by chance. Everything comes by way of a plan and purpose, no matter how chaotic or random it may appear to us at the moment. God is God and we aren't. It means he's in charge of the universe and has a purpose and a will that far exceeds our own. God uses both good and evil to accomplish his will. Whatever it is, good or bad, it has to pass first by the Creator of all things. We may never have an adequate answer in this life to our questions, “Why does God permit evil?” or “Why did this happen to me?,” but we do know that God intends to exploit evil to the full, to bring about his good purposes in a world of tornadoes, cancer, genocide, violence, human foolishness, financial reversal, divorce, and all the rest.

2) No matter how utterly our hopes and dreams have been devastated by a life storm, in the midst of the ruins we can see the foundation for hope and recovery. In the aftermath of a tornado or hurricane, it appears that nothing is left to salvage. But right there under the shards of glass, piles of rubble, and splinters of wood, is the foundation. Similarly, if we look closely enough at the crumbling ruins of our life, there in the destruction is the most obvious evidence of hope to rebuild—our foundation. Our immovable foundation is Jesus Christ and the ever-reliable mercy and grace of God. It isn't our faith that's so great, but God's loving kindness, which created our faith and brings it back again when it seems to have blown away. The foundation, the character of God, always remains the same.

3) Even though nothing in our lives is so secure it can't be taken away, there is nothing that can be taken that God can't restore to us. This really does sound impossible when taking into account the loss of a loved one, but this truth is at the heart of the Christian faith. It's called the resurrection. It means that even our life on this earth—which we know absolutely will end one day—can be restored. We come to believe in the reality of resurrection of our bodies and all of creation based on our daily life experiences. God knows that it's very hard for us to believe in what we can't see, so he gives us many little resurrections (the God-incidences) in our present life. He rescues us time after time in the most obvious ways. We can't possibly fail to recognize it as the work of some invisible, intelligent force, and can expect the same at the end of life.

So let's be a Storm Rider. Let us be absolutely confident that God will do what he loves to do and has done since the very beginning: to create for us a rescue ex nihilo (out of nothing). When there is no way out, no exit, no human hope for survival, God speaks into existence a way out and a way in—a way out of our plight and a way into a real, joyful life of fulfillment. This is the meaning of an exodus. As Pastor Chris Linzey says in his article, I'm Broken Inside, "May we all have that kind of faith that holds us close to God no matter what the situation or consequence."

And pray, even when your faith seems to have vanished. Wait for a full, God-designed exodus, not merely an exit from your problem. Keep on asking until something happens. If you don't know what to say, try this: My faith is at very low tide, Lord. I don't know how to trust you right now. I'm too weary and wounded even to believe that you're there. I really don't know if you are. And if you are, I'm not able to believe that you know my name or care about me. I'm sorry for all this, but right now it's the best I can do. Help me when I can't believe anything.

We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. - Romans 8:28