And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him. - I John 5:14-15
And the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. John 6:37. "This man receives sinners" and He turns away no one. We come to Him in weakness and sin, with trembling faith, small knowledge, and slender hope; but He does not cast us out. We come by prayer, often by imperfect prayer; with confession, and that confession faulty; with praise, and that praise far shor...
Keep ReadingAnd Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? . . . Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right. " Genesis 18: 23, 25.Abraham knew that wicked Sodom, where his nephew Lot lived, would soon be destroyed. And, so Abraham boldly approached God and begged him to spare Sodom's few righteous residents. His humble plea began with a req...
Keep ReadingNow it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, 'Bring me another vessel' and he said unto her, 'There is not another vessel.' And the oil ceased. 2 Kings 4:6. Oil often represents the Holy Spirit in Old Testament writing. In this story of God's miraculous provision for a starving widow and her son, valuable oil kept flowing as long as space rem...
Keep ReadingGive us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11. Remove falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is allotted to me. Proverbs 30:8 There is always a danger of going to extremes. Some people are so spiritual that they would take God out of the secular realm and leave it wholly to the devil and the world. Now, it is bec...
Keep ReadingI pray, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon. But the Lord was angry with me on your account and would not listen to me, and the Lord said to me, 'Enough of that! Speak no more to me of this matter. Deuteronomy 3: 25-26. We all share this experience of Moses' from time to time. He had worked so hard to ta...
Keep ReadingHe who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him. Hebrew 11:6. While the prayer of faith is sure to succeed, our prayers, alas too often resemble the mischievous tricks of children who knock at their neighbors' houses, and then run away. We often knock at mercy's door, and then run away, instead of waiting for an ent...
Keep ReadingNow it came to pass in those days, that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom also He named apostles. Luke 6:12-13. We sometimes think that talking to other Christians and being busy with Christian activity, especially when we are sharing ...
Keep ReadingHAPPY THANKSGIVING! Praise God that today, our nation adopts an attitude of gratitude. Pray that many will consider the source of every good and perfect gift - - -our Lord and Savior Jesus and worship Him. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and shout joyfully to Him with psalms. Psalm 95:2. Can we expect future mercies, if we are not thankful for past ble...
Keep Reading"Do not hide Your face from me: Do not turn your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation." Psalm 27:9. At times, God's face seems hidden from us. We feel like He is absent or maybe disinterested. There is no truth in thosefeelings. God doesn't put up barriers between us. However, things in our own lives, such a...
Keep Reading"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28. "The Lord will perfect that which concerns me." Psalm 138:8 Go for yourself, with all your temporal and spiritual wants, to the Lord. Bring also the necessities of your friends and relatives to the Lord. Try this, and you will pe...
Keep ReadingMake glad the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. Psalm 86:4. (NASB). We may venture to ask for and expect to receive gladness if we are God's servants. All His creatures have a claim on Him for blessedness according to their capacity, so long as they stand where He has set them. And we, who have departed from that obedience which is joy, may y...
Keep ReadingBut when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried, saying, 'Lord save me!" Matthew 14:30.You have to love Peter, the disciple who dared to walk on water. He's so much like all of us. When things get really scary, we desperately plead for God's help. Our Father is quick to intervene - - even if it means letting us experience some of...
Keep ReadingFriday, November 17, 2017 And my God shall supply all you need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:19. More than a 100 years after his death George Muller remains an inspiration to everyone who hopes to live a life by and through prayer. As director of the Ashley Down Orphanage in Bristol, England he cared for more than 10,000 childre...
Keep ReadingNovember 16 "Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,And revive me in Your way." Psalm 119:37. Could the psalmist have imagined all the noise vying for the attention of Christian minds today? Would he have found anything of value in our daily dose of modern media? Take a minute and think about screen time. Do your eyes turn to things that bring glory to Go...
Keep Reading"O God, You are my God; early will I seek You." Psalm 63:1.That brief verse tells us exactly what we should do to live a productive, victorious, joyful Christian life: Acknowledge that God is the one with the best plan for your day. Let Him be the boss. Understand His divinity and appreciate that there is great wisdom in spending time with Him---The Lord Go...
Keep Reading"Ask, and you will receive that your joy may be full. John 16:2 The lack of joy in Christian hearts may often be traced to a failure to discern the difference between the prayer which is only supplication, and that which takes its reward from the outstretched hand of Jesus. Too often our prayers seem like lost vessels; when, in fact, they have landed with a rich load of...
Keep ReadingSaturday, November 11, 2017 "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31.Why do we pray? The answers are as varied as the human condition. We pray to draw close to God, to relieve our fears, to alleviate pain, to restore relationships and heal broken bodies. We pray for provision and ask for forgiveness. We pray to tell God we love Him and we're ...
Keep ReadingFinally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith. II Thessalonians 3:1-2The absence of faith subjects the human spirit to all kinds of tragedy. Worry and fear cause us to pursue lots of crazy things that make us feel OK-...
Keep ReadingAnd the king said to her, "What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to youup to half the kingdom - Esther 5:3 If you know Queen Esther's story you'll remember she was really afraid to approached her husband let alone ask him for a favor. Unless the king extended his scepter to welcome her into his presence, she could lose her life for bein...
Keep ReadingO LORD my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. Psalm 30:2.God is the great physician, able to treat malady of body, soul and spirit. When we cry to Him he always has the perfect cure. We may not experience physical restoration but His divine Spirit works in us with power and wisdom so that even encounters with sickness, injury or disease can expand our faith and str...
Keep ReadingThere is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. -Romans 8:1 Praise God that we are made righteous by faith in the perfect atoning work of Christ. When we are His, the Holy Spirit is in us and by the Spirit, we are humbled and convicted of sin and are led to repentance by a loving and caring Fath...
Keep ReadingWednesday, November 8, 2017 Daily Devotional Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;Keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm141:2-3.This Old Testament Psalm reflects a heart pleading for acceptance before God. Today, believers may turn that desperate attitude into a hymn of p...
Keep Reading"He who testifies to these things says, 'surely I come quickly.' Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" Revelation 22:20.It has been so very long since John's great revelation of the Lord's return! And here we are, still saying Lord, come soon. Often in our prayer time we echo that impatience. So many hard things confront God's people and we want fast relief. But our God tell...
Keep Reading"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8, 9.Sometimes we think God wants to restrict the boundaries of life to hinder our joy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God's ways are big, expansive, ...
Keep ReadingTherefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. I Timothy 2:1-2We are called to pray for all and especially those regarded as leaders over us. Our position with God is one of privilege. B...
Keep Reading"Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, have mercy also upon me and answer me." Psalm 27:7.David, who wrote that psalm, was so passionate about prayer, he often cried out to God. There is something cathartic about talking aloud to the Creator of the Universe. However, it is also comforting to know that our Lord understands us so intimately He also interprets the silen...
Keep ReadingFriday, November 3, 2017 "Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." Colossians 4:12."Laboring fervently" conjures up images of hard work. The term therefore deserves some clarification. Spending time with God is never laborious. We are wel...
Keep ReadingThursday, November 2, 2017 Daily Devotional "Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31.Waiting is hard. We want what we want and we want it fast. Exercising patience when it comes to the things of God is contrary to our natural tenden...
Keep ReadingAnd having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith. --Hebrews 10:21-22. For thousands of years the Jews relied on a human to be their high priest. He was charged with the ongoing, messy job of killing innocent animals to atone for the people's sins. All that ended with the destruction of the Temple in 40 AD (less...
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