Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come. 
Thy will be done in earth, 
As it is in heaven.
Give us our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us. 
And lead us not into temptation, 
But deliver us from evil. 
For thine is the kingdom, 
The power, and the glory, 
For ever and ever. 
In the Name of Lord Jesus Christ,

I pray this prayer for all of us, thanking You, for everything.

Amen.

The USA Assemblies of God is looking to have 24/7 prayer for Jan 7th to the 13th. You can join us by signing up at: http://weekofprayer.ag.org/Sign-Up Thanks! Believing for great things. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. Although scripture instructs us to live with thankful hearts, some times of the year tend to turn our minds more than usual toward thanksgiving. For me, the start of a new year is such a time.

I enjoy looking over the previous year, recalling what God has done that I'm thankful for - kind of like how Joshua had 12 men take stones from the middle of the dried-up Jordan riverbed to create a memorial to what God had done in getting them into the Promised Land (Joshua 4).

So, here are a few of my "stones of remembrance" for 2017 - things God has done or experiences he has given me that I'm thankful for:

• The ability to work from home (losing the 4-hour a day commute that I had when I was living in the Chicago area)
• Weekly time with my parents, watching Turning Point and beginning our spiritual lives together
• The National Quartet Convention in September, full of music honoring God and encouraging us.
• The annual Write-to-Publish conference, learning more about writing, making good contacts, and spending time praying about God's direction for my writing
• Time with my best friend Mike, mutually encouraging each other and sharing what God is doing in our lives
• Significant improvement in my wife's health, thanks to a doctor God led us to

I'm sure I'm forgetting many things - but wanted to acknowledge publicly some of the blessings from God that I'm thankful for over 2017.

How about you? Has God brought an unexpected blessing? Brought you through a difficult situation? Revealed himself to you in new ways? What are you thankful for in 2017?

Yemen has felt the burden of injustice for the past three years with war, famine and epidemics which have ravaged the country. Please pray Psalm 12:5 over the people of Yemen: "Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, now I will arise," says the Lord; "I will set him in the safety for which he longs." (NASB).

Furthermore, humanitarian tragedies have permeated. Each statistic represents a person who has suffered grief, heartache and hopelessness. Please pray that everyone will hear about a loving Savior who will take away pain and will comfort those who mourn. Pray that the physical needs of the people will also be met, that food and supplies will be allowed into the country and will be given to those who need them.

Most of us have grown cynical about New Year's resolutions. But if we are pressed we would admit that they could be good things. Have you ever kept one? If you have, you surely think that was a good thing. But why are they so difficult to keep? I believe the fundamental problem is our approach to resolutions. We make them, and try to keep them in the flesh.

Goals are great things for Christian Believers. But they need to spring from our relationship with Christ. I am intrigued by the title, Habits of The Heart, although I have not read the book. I recently looked it up on Amazon.com. I actually found two items, Habits of The Heart, individualism and commitment in American life, and Habits of The Heart, 365 daily exercises for living like Jesus. The latter has to be better.

But as most of us can attest, even godly goals can be approached in the flesh. It is better to begin with promises. Ask God to direct you to promises He wants you to focus on as you begin the year. You will have to spend serious time reading your Bible to do this right. Then, memorise the Scripture or Scriptures God is directing you to.

Finally, the most important factor in keeping a New Year's commitment is prayer. Don't just say, “I will do this,” or “I will do this if it kills me.” Pray, “Lord, I need You to produce this in my life.” The reminder on your mirror might read, “Father, glorify Your name as You do this in me.”

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

Psalm 150 The Message

 ^1-6 Hallelujah!
Praise God in His holy house of worship,
    praise Him under the open skies;
Praise Him for His acts of power,
    praise Him for His magnificent greatness;
Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
    praise by strumming soft strings;
Praise Him with castanets and dance,
    praise Him with banjo and flute;
Praise Him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
    praise Him with fiddles and mandolin.
Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
    Hallelujah!

Many of us have a few quiet days after Christmas. This is a good time to rest. You may want to read something you have not had time to read or maybe a new book given you for Christmas. This is also an important time to think and pray.

As Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart, it is well to savor all that God has done for us, for you. As you think of your celebration of Christmas, you may remember things that did not go as you wished or as God desires. Was there a conflict in your family? Pray for the people involved. Pray for God to heal the rift. Do you need to forgive someone? Do you need to ask God's forgiveness? Do you need to struggle with repentance until you can rest in the luxury of His grace.

You may need to look back at the tumultuous year that is coming to a close. It should alarm us, and cause us to pray. Americans need to pray for our country. We need to pray for the world. But even in the midst of the turmoil we need to rest in God. He is sovereign even in the face of immorality, lies, terrorism, war, disruption of homes driving needy people across the world.

And while you are thinking and praying, ask God to show you what you need to be praying for the coming year. What is God calling you, us, to join Him in?

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

Here’s a Christmas word for you. The oft-read “Christmas Story” from Luke 2, contains a wonderful word, largely a lost word in our vocabulary – “ponder – “to consider something deeply and thoroughly; to meditate; to weigh carefully in the mind; to consider thoughtfully.” “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). One of God’s greatest gifts is the gift of memory. In fact, much of our Christmas observance is spent remembering, pondering. And pondering has a direct connection to praying, and an even closer connection to meditating. In his book, “Too Busy Not to Pray” Bill Hybels wrote, “When the spirit of adoration takes over and we begin pondering God's attributes, we soon say from the heart, 'I am praying to a tremendous God!' Which only motivates us to keep on praying.” I’m praying today for a Merry Christmas and a Happy Pondering!

Isa 9:2, 6-7 NLT

2The people who walk in darkness

will see a great light.

For those who live in a land of deep darkness,

a light will shine.

6For a Child is born to us,

a Son is given to us.

The government will rest on His shoulders.

And He will be called:

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7His government and its peace

will never end.

He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David 

for all eternity.

The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies

will make this happen!

Believers need to continue to pray for one another when we're apart throughout the week. It is very easy to be so busy with our families, our jobs, our lives that we don't even remember our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul wrote to Timothy that he remembered him in his prayers day and night. He wrote something very similar to Philemon and to the Philippians and other churches.

Frankly, my memory is not always that good. So I must discipline myself to remember my brothers and sisters. To do that I need a list. I need to pray through a church roll. I need to write people's names down, especially new people I meet on a Sunday or at other times in the week. And I need other people to help me remember. We have a prayer meeting each week with the primary purpose of praying for every church member.

I've also discovered that God we'll remind me to pray for other people. This sometimes seems coincidental although I'm not sure that it is. I may be going through a Walmart store, trying to pray for everybody I pass in the aisles, or sitting in the doctor's office praying through the waiting room. I see someone who reminds me of a brother or sister in Christ. I use that as a cue to pray for the person I remember as well as the person I see.

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

Bahrain's National Day is December 16.