Our Fuel

The following quote is attributed to C. S. Lewis in Wild at Heart by John Eldredge:

"A car is made to run on gasoline, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on himself. He himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other."

You Are Not An Accident

You are not an accident. Your birth was no mistake or mishap,
and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents may not have
planned you, but God did. ... Long before you were conceived by
your parents, you were conceived in the mind of God. He thought
of you first. It is not fate, nor chance, nor luck, nor
coincidence that you are breathing this very moment. You are
alive because God wanted to create you!

-- Rick Warren

Pray for The Soldiers

Prayer

"Lord, please hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen."

Prayer Request: When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops around the world.

At The Feet of Jesus

Those who are willing to come apart from the clamor and demands of
each day's activity in order to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to
His heart are the ones who will be blessed with intimacy beyond that
which most believers will ever know.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss in A Place of Quiet Rest, p.235.

Purpose Of Your Life

The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal
fulfillment, peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far
greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest
dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on
this planet, you must begin with God. You were born BY his
purpose and FOR his purpose. - Rick Warren

Be A Friend

VERSE:
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
1 Corinthians 10:24


THOUGHT:
Isn't it amazing how the more we try to fix things for
ourselves, the more we focus on "looking out for number 1," and the
more we also find ourselves isolated from meaningful relationships
that make life worth living. "If you want to have a friend, then be
a friend," the saying goes. You know what? It's right! It's easy to
seek what is only for our own good. That's what most folks do as a
matter of course. But what makes Christians redemptive, what makes
them like God, is their willingness to think of others before
themselves!

PRAYER:
Father, forgive me, because I know that I am often selfish and
seldom think through the implications of my decisions based on the
needs of others. I want to have the mind of Christ and be more
selfless and sacrificial with everyone who needs your grace and the
tenderness that you have placed within me to share with them.
Please bless me as I seek to be like your Son in this area of my
life. In Jesus' name. Amen.

"Busy-ness"

www.heartlight.org

VERSE:
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own
business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that
your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you
will not be dependent on anybody. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

THOUGHT:
What's your ambition? I don't know about you, but I'm not so
sure I could say my ambition is to "live a quiet life ...." But
when I hear the reason for that directive, I understand. So many
people I meet are frazzled, run down, and exhausted with all their
"busy-ness." So let's make a commitment to cycle down a little,
trust God more and more each day, and seek to live a life that wins
the respect of those around us!

PRAYER:
O precious and righteous Father, I need your help to learn to
slow down and tend to my own responsibilities instead of running
around out of control and without purpose. Please grant me not only
the wisdom that I have been praying for, but also the patience and
quietude that I need for that wisdom to change my heart and mind.
In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen.

Ask Someone To Pray For You

I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me" Romans 15:30

This week, ask someone else to pray for you in your struggles. Let the Lord guide you to the right person. During your prayer times, when your struggle comes to mind, rest in the fact that someone else is carrying that burden for you this week.

Jennifer Kennedy Dean
The Praying Life Foundation
www.nationaldayofprayer.org

"My most important appointment today is with Jesus in prayer."

-anonymous

God Is Near

Recently I noticed the following words of Moses: "What other nation
is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is
near us whenever we pray to him?" Deuteronomy 4:7

I believe God is always near us but in a unique way when we pray to him as his children.

Joseph Suttle

Urgent Need for Prayers - Baby Bennett

There is an urgent need for prayers. Please pray for Travis, Kelly, and Bennett. Petition God on their behalf and ask him to heal little Bennett and meet the emotional and physical needs of Travis, Kelly, and their families.

http://prayingforbennett.blogspot.com/

He Cares For You

-Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

Carrry Each Other's Burdens

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:1-3).

This week, ask the Lord to place on your mind someone for whom you are to pray. It may be someone you know well, or it may be someone with whom you are only acquainted. It may even be someone you only know of. Write the name down. Be faithful in praying each time that the name comes to your remembrance. Watch for the amazing ways the Lord will lead you in prayer and the ways He will give you a glimpse of His work. Write them in your journal.


Jennifer Kennedy Dean
The Praying Life Foundation
www.nationaldayofprayer.org

Surrender

Whether climbing a mountain or writing a book, I have a goal-oriented, accomplish-the-mission attitude toward life, and prayer stops me in my tracks. I learn that I cannot "fix" the people I am praying for. I cannot get everything I want in the time frame I want. I must slow down and wait. I have to present my request in a manner that seems at first like surrender. I "give them up" to God, and through that act of submission God can at last begin to grow in me the qualities, or "fruit," that I needed all along: peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

-Philip Yancey in PRAYER Does It Make Any Difference?, p.154-155.

Confess & Believe in Me!

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Confessing Christ!


"I tell you, if any person stands before other people and is
willing to say that he believes in me, then I will say that
person belongs to me. I will say this before the angels of
God. But if any person stands before people and says he does
not believe in me, then I will say that person does not
belong to me. I will say this before the angels of God."

-- Luke 12:8-9 (ERV)


KEY THOUGHT:
Confessing Christ is crucial! Confessing Christ can be costly in human
terms. Christians in generations before us were sometimes put to death
simply for saying, "Jesus Christ is Lord" rather than calling some
other ruler "Lord." However, the significance of our confessing Christ
is revealed most clearly by Jesus' own words here: he will claim us if
we claim him!

Strength

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VERSE:
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the
weak.
-- Isaiah 40:29


THOUGHT:
Even the most pumped up and positive ones of us find ourselves
broken and weary at some point in our life. It isn't so hard to
believe and follow Jesus when we are soaring on the wings of eagles
or running and not getting weary in our walk with God. Often the
toughest time to keep our faith vibrant is when we are trying to
keep putting one foot in front of the other while not fainting. In
those moments of absolute powerlessness, weakness, and brokenness
the Lord is often most real, most powerful, and most present.

PRAYER:
Thank you, God, for sustaining me and keeping my faith alive
when I have been under attack from the Evil One and have grown
weary with the challenges and hardships of life. Please give those
I love, and mention now by name, ... the strength to press on even
though they are weary and weak. Please be real in their lives and
let them know that you are coming with grace to help and redeem as
their Great Deliverer. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen

The Greatest Answer to Prayer?

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The Greatest Answer to Prayer?


"Does any of you have a son? What would you do if your son
asked you for a fish? Would any father give his son a snake?
No! You would give him a fish. Or, if your son asks for an
egg, would you give him a scorpion? No! {You are like all
other people}--you are evil. But you know how to give good
things to your children. So surely your heavenly Father knows
how to give the Holy Spirit to those people that ask him."

-- Luke 11:11-13 (ERV)


KEY THOUGHT:
What's the greatest answer to our prayers? The gift of God's cleansing,
justifying, sanctifying, saving, empowering, and indwelling Holy
Spirit! If fathers know how to give good gifts, don't you think the
Father will give us and empower us with his Holy Spirit? So let's ask,
expect, and receive this greatest of gifts.


TODAY'S PRAYER:
Father, I know when I was saved you cleansed me by your Holy Spirit and
that you came to live in me and make my body your temple through your
Holy Spirit. Now I ask that the Spirit's presence and power be more
real to me, not just to sense your presence but so that I can be like
Christ in every way. In Jesus' name. Amen.

"Give us today our daily bread" (Matthew. 6:11 ).

This week, focus each morning on Matthew 6:11. Ask Him for His provision in every circumstance and every need that the day presents. Rest in His willingness and His ability to meet every need as it arises.

Jennifer Kennedy Dean
The Praying Life Foundation
www.nationaldayofprayer.org

Teach Me to Pray!

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Lord, Teach Me to Pray!


One time Jesus was praying in a place. When Jesus finished
praying, one of his followers said to him, "John taught his
followers how to pray. Lord, teach us how to pray too."

-- Luke 11:1 (ERV)


KEY THOUGHT:
So many books have been written about prayer. Most of us have attended
classes that chose prayer as their subject matter. Yet, when was the
last time you gave serious time to looking in the Gospels (Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John) and studying Jesus as he prayed, what he taught
about prayer, and what the importance of prayer is? Why not commit to
spending several months with a hilighter reading the Gospels? As we
read, let's ask Jesus each day, "Lord, teach me to pray!" While we pray
in the power and authority of Jesus' name every day, let's also commit
to learning to pray as Jesus prayed.


TODAY'S PRAYER:
Holy God and Almighty Father, thank you for giving me the avenue of
prayer to speak with you, to seek you, and to come into your presence.
I recognize that prayer is a gift from you, ensured and assisted by the
intercession of your Son and the Holy Spirit. Please, dear Father, lead
me and guide me in my efforts to learn to pray as your Son prayed and
as he taught his disciples to pray. I long to draw nearer to you, to
honor you more completely with all of my being, and to open my will up
to your will. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Let Your Will Be Done

"Your kingdom come, Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10 ).

This week, focus each morning on Matthew 6:10. Bring each situation to the Lord and pray, "Let Your will be done in every detail. Let Your kingdom rule take effect in every detail." Bring every detail of your situations before Him, asking Him to take full charge.

Jennifer Kennedy Dean
The Praying Life Foundation
www.nationaldayofprayer.org