Prayer is a protest against the kingdom of weeds. Prayer is a protest against the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. (Ephesians 2:2)
J. Edwin Orr described the situation in America in the 1780's. Drunkenness was epidemic. The streets were not safe after dark. The churches were losing more members than they were gaining. The Congregational Church in Lennos, Massachusetts had not taken one young person into membership in 16 years. The Episcopal Bishop of New York took other employment since he had taken in no new members in so long that he considered himself out of work.
The popular universities were also struggling. Harvard University took a poll and discovered there was not one follower of Christ in the whole student body. Princeton had just two believers. Students at Harvard took a Bible out of the Presbyterian church and burned it in public.
When it seemed things could not get more ugly, God's people protested in prayer. In 1794, Isaac Backus, a Baptist pastor, urged prayer across every Christian denomination in the USA. Small groups set aside the first Monday of every month to pray. Quietly, anonymously Christians protested in prayer to Almighty God.
God intervened.
Then, in the summer of 1800 a powerful revival broke out in Kentucky. Eleven thousand people came to a communion service. Out of this prayer movement came a great awakening in the country. Christians repented. They found courage in Christ. Out of this eventually came the abolition of slavery, the sending of missionaries, Bible societies, the Sunday school movement and much more. (Grieg and Roberts, Red Moon Rising, 2005, P.9-11)
Your prayer today is a protest against the kingdom of this world. We pray to Almighty God, "Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
I'm praying Paul's prayer for you today. That the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which you've been called, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19)
Pray fervently. Be strong and courageous
Mezuzahs & Prayer (Valerie Hubert)
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD, the LORD is one! you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your
heart. You shall teach them diligently to your kids, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, ...lie down, ... rise up. ... You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deut. 6:4-9
"What is that thing they rub on the doorpost?" A friend asked that question after talking about the Scriptures we were reading and then that question regarding The Chosen series we watch here at CCC on
Sunday mornings.
It reminded me of a conversation with an attorney at my very first law office job. He was pounding something into the doorpost of his office. Since I knew nothing of Jewish traditions, he explained that
what he had was called a mezuzah, a small vase which contained Scripture and when rolled correctly, the word "Shaddai" (one name for God) would appear and yes, placed crooked on the post . That Scripture
(usually the one above) was a blessing on the household. It let other Jews know that that house believed in our God too. It is amazing to me how similar the above verse is to Matthew 28:18-20. "As you are going, teach . . ." Each of these Scriptures had another before it stating that God and Jesus have all authority. And Jesus promised He would be with us always. At the Last Supper He promised that the Holy Spirit would come to live in our hearts. Not only the Word of God but God, Jesus and Spirit! We are living breathing mezuzahs! And we can move anywhere.
I know, we all fall down but so did the disciples even as Jesus ascended to Heaven One of my favorite verses is in 1 Peter 5:10. After warning us how to avoid Satan seeking to destroy us, the Apostle Peter wrote, "But may the God of all grace (and do we need it), WHO CALLED US TO HIS ETERNAL GLORY BY CHRIST, after you have suffered a while, will HIMSELF restore us (me) and make you strong, firm and steadfast." In 1,000 years, God's Word did not change. Read the Scripture before and after these verses. We belong to Him and because of people like you and me, with God, His Word has been relevant for 2,000 and more years. Come join us in this time of prayer and seek God's Word and power in our lives and continue being living mezuzahs until He comes.
Pray in these directions (Anonymous)
Lord, help us to “Be still, and know that you are God.” (Stop……, Be
still, and focus on who God is; Creator, Eternal Lord God Almighty, loving Father running to welcome
His repentant child home, ………. Father who gave His Son to die on the cross for you and me………….)
Lord, help us be devoted to prayer, with alertness and thanksgiving. (Stop….. take time to thank God for 5-10 specific blessings.) Help us to seek you first and trust you for the outcome. Give us eyes to see what we
need to confess and then help us to not only say “I’m sorry,” but to
commit to, with your help, to stopping that behavior or attitude or pattern of thinking and replace it with what pleases and honors you. Thank for your promise of forgiveness. Thank you for your incomparable great power at work, ready to help us live transformed lives as we surrender to your will. Knowing that Christmas and Easter are seasons of the year when people tend to be most open to an invitation to church or a discussion about the significance of the “holiday,” open a door of opportunity for each of us to talk to
someone today or this week about you; (your love, _______________, or the salvation available to any and all because of what Jesus did on the cross, and because of His Resurrection!). Help us to behave wisely and speak truth, graciously. “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before
his glorious presence without fault and with great joy- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, no and forevermore! Amen.”
Psalm 46:10, Revelation 4:8, Luke 15, John 3:16, Colossians 4:1, 2-6, Matthew 6:33. 1 John 1:9, Ephesians 1:17-20, Jude 24-25
The orientation of your heart (Jim Twardowski)
Matthew 6:19-21 NIV. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” As we focus on prayer and fasting during this season before Easter and our Lord’s resurrection… What influences you? Is it the world around you or is it our Lord and His word? Do you spend time each day with Him? Or do you spend time trying to gain more for yourself? Each day we are influenced by the world and can easily get distracted and lose our focus on what is most important. It’s very easy to turn inward and our pride can take over and sooner than later we start to think that the things of this earth are better and we need to strive to gain them. We start to look forward to gaining wealth and making a name for ourselves like so many others we know. But even the most well-known people around us have a new and different perspective as their time here on earth comes to a close. I read the following about Steve Jobs the cofounder of Apple Inc. In 2011 at age 56, he died a billionaire of Pancreatic Cancer and here are some of his last words: "I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to. At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.” So, where is your heart today? Don't get wrapped up in the things of this world. I pray that you can focus on our Lord today and ignore the things of this earth. Remember we are part of His family and not part of this world, we live here but we are foreigners in this land. Our Heavenly Father, we praise you and bow before you knowing that you are truly awesome and you love us. The things of this world can certainly distract us and we can lose our focus on you. As we go through this day, I ask that you help us stay focused on the prize of heaven. Help us to be good servants of your word and share your love with those around us. We can be easily distracted and I pray we can remain strong and courageous for you in all we do today and store our treasures in heaven. Place on our hearts a desire to love others as you love us.
Jesus with us (Jim & Donna Ebersole)
It all starts with "Now I lay me down to sleep." It progresses to "Bless this food we are about to receive," and a final daily prayer, “Thank you for all you have blessed me with today."
I call these the easy prayers as they cover most everything that happens in a day when we are young. "Oh the good old days!"
As you mature, your daily ritual becomes more complicated. Daily routines become disrupted with life's complications. Yes, the teen years! Almost every day is an adventure in confusion and bewilderment!! Your world becomes more complicated and the "good old days" of childhood are disappearing and prayers are changing.
Sometimes you don't even know what you are praying. For instance, you think, I wish that girl would like me. Wait, did I just say a wish... is a wish a prayer? Or was I really praying?
Here's my take on that: No one heard except God, so he is the only One who can help you. And as I think back, he has helped me countless times. And no matter what the results were, they turned out to be the decisions that were best suited to me. I call it, "Divine Intervention.
Through all the ups and downs, God was always with us showing his love and compassion.
That brings us to the adult stage of our life. We thought the teen years were tough. Dating has turned to marriage and marriage has brought children, then grandchildren. These seem to be the years that even more prayer occurs. The good times, the uncertain times... the “what the heck was I thinking" times, they all seem to run together.
The common denominator in all our adult lives is Jesus was with us, either walking, pushing, carrying, but always guiding us through his grace and love. But that's not the end of the story.
For those that are in an "end of life" situation, which we will all face someday, there are still choices. Yes, more choices if you haven't already made yours.
Here is the choice: Heaven or not?
We have made our choice and we pray others will join us. It isn't a choice you actually touch, but a choice made by faith. We choose Jesus, God and heaven. That's where we will be. We pray you will join us!
For by grace we are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8
Part 2 - Prayer for Dummies (ignorant, unlearned) (Renee Paul)
You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives. That you might spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God!? (James 4:2b-4a). *Before I pray and ask God for anything, I check my motives. I check my deepest corners of my heart and mind. Am I being self-righteous, haughty, envious, greedy, vindictive, judgey, etc. If I am guilty (which I have been) the Lord always convicts me. I humbly ask for His forgiveness and then I go to that person and ask them to forgive me. Lord keep me humble, honest, and kind always.
Prayer Guide for Dummies (ignorant, unlearned) - Part 1 (Renee Paul)
When I wanted to know a deeper way to talk with My Heavenly Father, I joined a Bible study at church about prayer. There I learned two very helpful guides which have also been preached many times since.
#1) Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:9-13)
*Recognize Who I am talking to, petitioning to Wow!
*Always, always, His will first and foremost, above all, because His will is way better than I can imagine.
*Fill my heart and mind with Your truth, Your Word above anything in this world.
*Please forgive me of my sin, seen and unseen. Open my ignorant head to the unseen so I would repent and stop making the same wrong doings.
*Fill my heart with grace and mercy towards those who hurt my feelings, do wrong against me, so I can quickly forgive and pray for them as You have done for me.
*Lord put a wall up between me and any temptation that wants to take control of me. Lord, I ask You to be my only addiction.
*Protect my Spirit from the evil one who is always after me. I pray You will overcome him every time for Your glory Always.
To be continued…
Prayer & Power (Sean Cronin)
Who doesn't love sitting around a campfire on a starry night? My family does. Through the years we've enjoyed many nights telling jokes and swapping stories sitting around a fire on the shores of Conneaut Lake, PA. On one occasion my dad and I ventured out to the beach the next morning to find smoke rising from the ashes. I wasn't alarmed by this, after all the fire was out. No flames were visible, just a little smoke. Harmless I thought. My dad didn't think so. He went on to lecture me about how important it is to completely extinguish a fire before coming inside for the night. When I told him that the lack of any visible flame was reason to believe the fire was extinguished, he fired back with, "Sean, where there's smoke, there's fire."
I'm still wrestling with the validity of that statement, but one thing I do know for certain is this: Where There's Prayer, There's Power. I've seen it in my life, and I see it in scripture. Acts 4:31 describes one instance when the early church experienced this power saying, "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." (Read Acts 4:23-31 for context)
Could you use some power, energy, courage, conviction, to boldly follow Jesus today? Spend time with God. Acknowledge him as the Sovereign Lord. Tell him what your day has in store and ask him to empower you to represent him boldly today.