Category: Devotions

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Daily Devotion

The Importance of Prayer
 
You know when you are little, you may have been taught this prayer:
 
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
And if I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
 
If you were like me, you eventually learned the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13:
9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 
10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 
11Give us this day our daily bread. 
12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 
13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
But do you know that if you talk to God and bring your requests before Him the way you would in your normal conversation, that God answers that kind of prayer too?  In fact, because God knows everything about us, He already knows what we need and desire but He wants us to be open with Him and honest.  He hears your cries, He hears you especially when you pray without giving up.  I have been truly feeling out of it lately and praying is the only way that I can relieve my pain.  God answers all prayers—sometimes it may not be the answer you want.  Its important to have three characteristics in prayer: praying from your heart, praying genuinely, and praying without ceasing.  We must also pray for others because its in praying for others most times that God works on our problems and allows us to grow.  We must also be SPECIFIC!  You can't pray for a job and get angry with God when you get a job but its not the one you want.  You weren't specific. 
 
Here are some verses on prayer for you and my prayers are with you today!  I really appreciate you all and hope that you are truly, earnestly blessed today.
 
Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly] 1 Thessalonians 5: 17
"Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18: 19-20(NKJV)
 
Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in your prayer [life], being [both] alert and intent in [your praying] with thanksgiving. Colossians 4: 2
Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. James 5: 16
Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. Philippians 4: 6
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Daily Devotion

Confirmation and Procrastination

Good afternoon everybody! I’m still at work, and I have been doing good today. This has been a hard two weeks for me, and it is taking a toll on my body–so I am diagnosing myself to a day at home tomorrow of reading. I was only going to talk about confirmation today, but I read my devotion just a few minutes ago and I think it is something we all need to be aware of.

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the LORD.” Psalm 27:14

“I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1

“As for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.” Micah 7:7

“My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken.” Psalm 62:5-6

As far as confirmation is concerned, when my cousin passed, I had been thinking of what to say and read at her funeral all day. I went over millions of scriptures and just prayed to God to guide me to it. Y’all know I am one of the MOST impatient people ever, but I am proud to say that God is working in me and I am getting better. However, in my scripture search I came to Psalm 23 and realized how it wonderfully said what I was looking to say. I read then thought, uhh I will come back to it if I can’t find something else. But it was still on my mind. I found my new testament scriptures, and still came back to Psalm 23. Then my cousin calls and says that’s one of the ones that my aunt would like me to read. After we got off the phone I had to thank God for confirmation. In this emotional time, I have been feeling distant from God–because my pain has not eased. My heart is still heavy but in the midst of times like this–where confusion enters and serves as the devil’s tool to separate you from God, you must listen to that small voice and seek God. Wait on Him and He will speak to you. Even in the other things that I am uncertain of right now, I realize that God hears my cry and will give me confirmation of what I seek in due time. Whether it be in an instant or two years from now, you will get it.

As far as procrastination is concerned, I am not talking of typical procrastination. I am speaking of those people we pray for that seem to refuse to accept God and continue to fight against Him. They procrastinate–by procrastinate I mean hesitate and put it off until the end–to accept God until they near that final hour. But I am blessed today to know that even though they wait until the “Eleventh Hour”, God will forgive them! This inspires me to continue in prayer for those in my family that do not follow God’s leading. In the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, the farmer went out at intervals during the day and recruited workers to work in his vineyard. At the end of the day, he paid them all the same. The earlier workers complained but he told them to take their pay and go. They all agreed to work for the same amount. (Matthew 20:1-16) The purpose of this is that we cannot give up on them and should rejoice that even though they don’t respond now, as long as they accept Jesus they will be saved. This is the same as the message of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)–no matter what, God will forgive us and welcome us all home, if we turn to Him with forgiveness! Knowing these things bless my heart today and I hope they bless you! Go forth with confirmation that if you know God and accept Him, in spite of all your procrastination, you will be saved!!