December 23, 2024

Prayerfulness

October 27, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Answer me when I call to You, O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress,
Be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
Psalm 4:1

This verse reveals the kind of person who will be answered by God in times of distress—it is one with an earnest desire for God’s help.

There are times in my life when I have been down and cried to my God to answer my prayers because I felt that they were not being answered and that I was left alone with no one to turn to.  And this only brought discomfort and fear in me. All the faith had gone…all I could see was unanswered prayer and so it led me to focus on the issues and not where the solution can could come from.  But the Holy Spirit communicated to me saying “You know what, Ann? Cast all your cares unto God and He will give you rest.”  And it was at this time when my eyes opened and I remembered Jeremiah 33:3.

Call to Me and I will answer you,
and I will tell you great and mighty things,
which you do not know.

Prayer is a weapon for answered prayer especially when it comes from an earnest heart…and so earnestly He will answer us. Make a choice to engage into a different dimension of living.  Engage in a prayerful gear and you will appreciate, too, what I appreciated.

O Lord, in the morning You hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly.
Psalm 5:3

In this verse, we see David committing himself to three actions

1. Confident that God will hear his voice, he persists in prayer
2. He will pray in the morning – if we orient our lives around God, morning prayers will be a natural thing to do
3. He will wait in expectation for answers to his prayer and throughout the day he will search for signs that God is at work in his life

I rise before dawn and cry for help I have put my hope in Your Word.
Psalm 119:147

The Word of God is not false it is a living thing that helps us to build trust in the Lord.

And then was a widow until she was eighty four.
She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying.
Luke 2:37

Therefore, my brethren, with the few Scriptures quoted in this devotion, I urge each one of you to be earnestly prayerful and regularly engaged in prayer.  With faith, we will have answered prayers.  All that we need is to ask God for help. Our prayers will be granted.

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Lord, I pray that You hear me when I pray as I come to You. I pray for Your mercy to hear me when I call, Lord. Supply to me according to Your riches in glory. Silver and gold is all Yours! Have mercy on me, Lord, and on my sisters in the Lord, too. We seek You and thank You that all things will be added to us, Lord. Glory and honor be unto You always. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

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Encouraging One Another

January 24, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogoCome and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what He did for me.
For I cried out to Him for help,
praising Him as I spoke.
Psalms 66:16-17

Listening to others tell me about what God has done in their lives is like reading a good book or watching a good movie. I always get excited and sometimes my eyes water. I love hearing about how doctors tell women they are infertile but, by the grace of God, they get pregnant with no trouble! Or how circumstance after circumstance piled on top of a person and they just couldn’t make sense of any of it and felt that all hope was gone but, God showed up and changed everything!

I especially like the stories of how a person prayed…waited…hoped…and struggled…waiting for God to fulfill a desire. Somehow those stories make waiting a little more bearable.

It is easy for us to get consumed and weighed down by our circumstances. I oftentimes find this is the case when we get into the mindset that somehow we are the only one in the world who has ever experienced, is experiencing, or will experience our situation.

And that’s why as Hebrews 10:25 advises us to,

…not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,
but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Fellowship with other believers is important.

Fellowship with other believers isn’t about “paying” a church or getting attendance records up. No, fellowship with other believers is about encouragement. We are reminded through the lives of our fellowbelievers that we are not alone! Together we are stronger.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken
Ecclesiastes 4:12

We aren’t called the body of Christ for no reason!  We are meant to work together.

*  ~  * ~  * ~ * ~ *

Lord, I am so thankful for every person you have placed in my path to spur me forward on my journey. You have given me strong friends in the most unlikely places and from the most unlikely people. Thank You for reminding me that I never know how similar I really am to a person until I get to know them. You are so awesome for creating such diversity among Your people and only the Creator of the universe could bring us together…in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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God Hears

January 20, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me!
Psalms 66:19-20

When we speak, God hears us. He hears us when we speak in everyday conversation. He hears us when we talk to him through prayer. Even when we think God is not listening—He is. God is omnipresent. He is aware of everything.

I remember both times that I was pregnant with our son and daughter. I prayed for a boy when I was carrying our son. I almost jumped off the table when the ultrasound technician told us we were having a boy. I fist-pumped when God answered my prayer for a little girl. I wouldn’t have minded another boy, but I asked God to let His will be done. I told God if He wanted us to have a little girl then to please let the baby be a girl. That must have been what God wanted because that was how He answered my prayers. I have several friends who have sons. Each time that they had their last child and were wanting a girl, I prayed for them to have a girl because they were praying for a girl. There was only one mom that He gave a boy instead of a girl. (But then, of course, I was not the only one praying for them.)

My point is that God listens to us all. He does not turn away from us. He is our heavenly Father. He loves us all. God is not going to turn from us at any time. God is listening to us even when we are not in prayer. He knows our heart. He knows our wants, needs, and desires—even when we do not tell Him directly.

Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud:
and He shall hear my voice.
Psalms 55:17

No matter what time of the day or night we talk to God, He will hear us. I talk to God whenever I want or need to. I will talk to Him when I drive, take a shower, or just about anytime I want to. Thanks to the death of Christ, I can talk to God anytime I want and in a way that I can. God hears me no matter the way in which I talk to Him.

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Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your wonderful listening and answers to our prayers. The answers may not be the ones we want, but they are the ones that are best for us. You know us better than anyone here on Earth. Thank You for Your love and mercy. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Encouraging One Another

January 17, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what He did for me.
For I cried out to Him for help,
praising Him as I spoke.
Psalms 66:16-17

Listening to others tell me about what God has done in their lives is like reading a good book or watching a good movie. I always get excited and sometimes my eyes water. I love hearing about how doctors tell women they are infertile but, by the grace of God, they get pregnant with no trouble! Or how circumstance after circumstance piled on top of a person and they just couldn’t make sense of any of it and felt that all hope was gone but, God showed up and changed everything!

I especially like the stories of how a person prayed…waited…hoped…and struggled…waiting for God to fulfill a desire. Somehow those stories make waiting a little more bearable.

It is easy for us to get consumed and weighed down by our circumstances. I oftentimes find this is the case when we get into the mindset that somehow we are the only one in the world who has ever experienced, is experiencing, or will experience our situation.

And that’s why as Hebrews 10:25 advises us to,

…not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,
but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Fellowship with other believers is important.

Fellowship with other believers isn’t about “paying” a church or getting attendance records up. No, fellowship with other believers is about encouragement. We are reminded through the lives of our fellowbelievers that we are not alone! Together we are stronger.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken
Ecclesiastes 4:12.

We aren’t called the body of Christ for no reason!  We are meant to work together.

*  ~  * ~  * ~ * ~ *  

Lord, I am so thankful for every person you have placed in my path to spur me forward on my journey. You have given me strong friends in the most unlikely places and from the most unlikely people. Thank You for reminding me that I never know how similar I really am to a person until I get to know them. You are so awesome for creating such diversity among Your people and only the Creator of the universe could bring us together…in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,