A Child of God

I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way - inall your speaking and in all your knowledge. 1 Corinthians 1:4-5

Apostle Paul was amazing. He is writing one of the most problematic churches and yet finds reasons to give thanks for them. He is thankful for them because Jesus died for them. When God extends his grace to others, how can we not do the same?

Paul's example reminds us that a child of God is something to be cherished, even if that child has problems.

LINCOLN'S THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION

It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.

We know that by His divine law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world. May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.

But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are so journing in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.

--Abraham Lincoln - October 3, 1863

Personal Prayers

Lord God, help me to remember to give thank to You, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in all things and to maintain an attitude of prayer.
Colossians 1:3

Thank you, Lord, that through Your Son I have been made complete.
Colossians 2:10

Help me to bear fruit daily in the work I do and increase the knowledge of You. Colossians 1:10

I pray that You will have first place in everything in my life.
Colossians 1:18

Help me, as a husband and father, to grow in love for and understanding of my wife and children.
Colossians 3:19,21

I pray that my children will be obedient to us as parents in all things because this pleases You.
Colossians 3:20

In whatever I do, show me how to perform my work happily for You, rather than for people.
Colossians 3:23

Help me to devote myself to prayer, keeping an alert in it, with an attitude of thanksgiving.
Colossians 4:2

Lord, help me to be faithful to whatever You have called me to, and help me fulfill it in faithfulness.
Colossians 4:17

Pray For You

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. I always pray for you, and I make my requests with a heart full of joy because you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again. It is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a very special place in my heart. We have shared together the blessings of God, both when I was in prison and when I was out, defending the truth and telling others the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. I pray that your love for each other will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until Christ returns. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation those good things that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ – for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Philippians 1:3-11

Thank you for the joy I feel about my fellow believers. Thank you for the partnership we have in your Son Jesus.

God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by telling others the Good News about his Son. One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. Romans 1:9-10

I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly
Ephesians 1:16

Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.
Ephesians 6:18

We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.
1 Thessalonians 1:2

True Prayer

Christians today are beginning to awaken to a foundational truth: all
true prayer is spiritual warfare. This is true because all of our aims
in prayer---closeness with God, spiritual refreshment, other people's
forgiveness, blessings from God, forgiveness, peace, joy---are contrary
to Satan's design. In prayer you are moving out into enemy territory.
As your enemy, Satan will oppose your church's efforts to reach out.

Prayer is your most powerful weapon in defeating him.

-Alvin Griend(The Praying Church Source Book p.228)

Ephesians 6:10-20
A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere. And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words as I boldly explain God's secret plan that the Good News is for the Gentiles, too. I am in chains now for preaching this message as God's ambassador. But pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

Our Forever Faithful Priest

Another difference is that there were many priests under the old
system. When one priest died, another had to take his place. But
Jesus remains a priest forever, to save everyone who comes to God
through him. He lives forever to plead with God on their behalf.

-Hebrews 7:23-25

Why He Was Heard

"While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with
a loud cry and tears, to the one who could deliver him out of death.
And God heard his prayers because of his reverence for God." -

Hebrews 5:7

Believe

I believe in God like I believe in the sun rise. Not because I
can see it, but because I can see all that it touches.

-- C. S. Lewis

Pray, Pause, and Listen!

The trouble with nearly everybody who prays is that he says
"Amen" and runs away before God has a chance to reply. Listening
to God is far more important than giving Him your ideas.

-- Frank Laubach

Creator's Divine

"When the Creator's divine plan is ignored the truth of human nature is lost."

- Pope Benedict


"A day hemmed in prayer seldom unravels." -anonymous

Teach Me

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good
Spirit lead me on level ground. Psalm 143:10

We want the Spirit to be at work in us to make us like Jesus.
For this to happen, we must open our hearts to the will of God.
There are no greater words God wants to hear than "teach me to do
your will." That is what it means for him to be God, to have
control over our lives and our wills.

David's prayer was to be taught to do God's will, not his own. A prayer
for guidance is self-centered if it does not recognize God's power
to redirect our lives. Asking God to restructure priorities awakens
our minds and stirs our wills.

Theme: A prayer in midst of hopelessness and depression. Our prayer
should fit into what we know is consistent with God's character and
plans.

Author: David

Be His Friend

On days when life is difficult and I feel overwhelmed, as I do
fairly often, it helps to remember in my prayers that all God
requires of me is to trust Him and be His friend. I find I can
do that. -- Bruce Larson

Worry or Pray?

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and
praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your
concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything
coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's
wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of
your life. -Philippians 4:6-7 from The Message

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Lean On Me

Click on Lean On Me ( this will take you to Heartlight.org article on Lean On Me )

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” Ruth 1:16-17

I love this prayer...
Father, I pray that you give me the character of Ruth. Her commitment to Naomi humbles me and encourages me to be a better friend, husband (wife) and brother (sister). Thank you for her faith. Thank you for her strength. For if we could all be a Ruth to our families and friends, this world would be a better place! Amen.

Jesus Quotations...

"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." Matthew 21:22

"Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Matthew 26:41

"Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 6:1

"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:32

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me." John 14:6

"Of that day or that hour no one knows, not even angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch; for you do not know when the time will come." Mark 13:32-33

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." - Matthew 22:37-40

"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 14:11

Jesus said that "where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20

God Whispers To Us..

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
--C.S. Lewis

"We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship." --C.S. Lewis

With Him

Perhaps one reason God delays His answers to our prayers is
because He knows we need to be with Him far more than we need
the things we ask of Him. -- Ben Patterson

Prayer Hinders Sin

Not only does sin hinder prayer; prayer hinders sin. The two
are always opposed. The more careless we are about sin, the
less we will pray. The more we pray, the less careless we will
be about sin. Both sin and prayer are powerful forces. Which
one is moving you? -- Dr. Alvin Vander Griend

Let Him Go

After Jesus said this he called in a loud voice, "Lazarus,
come out!" The dead man (Lazarus) came out. His hands and
feet were wrapped with pieces of cloth. He had a handkerchief
covering his face. Jesus said to the people, "Take the cloth
off of him and let him go." John 11:43-4

I love Jesus' words, "Unwrap him and let him go!" Death cannot bind him
anymore, so don't let his grave clothes bind him either! Think of the
power of this statement! One day, Jesus will speak our name, call us to
himself, and forbid death to bind us. Lazarus is the great example of
what we anticipate -- receiving back those who have died and gone
before us and receiving our call to be set free from the demands of a
mortal body. Lazarus is the great reminder that we are free from the
power of death to hold us captive!

Lord God Almighty, the Father of all that lives, thank you for giving
us back what we throw away with sin. Thank you for the assurance that I
will be united with those that I love who have died in faith. Thank you
for the assurance that death cannot hold me captive. In Jesus' mighty
name I pray.
Amen.


from www.heartlight.org

Seconds

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one
to say 'thank you?'

-- William A. Ward