November 21, 2024

Call Upon Me

January 18, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Then you will call upon Me
and go and pray to Me,
and I will listen to you.
Jeremiah 29:12

Do you ever have those days where you just need to be heard?  The day is going so well that you just want to share, or the day isn’t going as well and you need to take a weight off of your heart.

Let these words seep into your heart and mind… I will listen to you… say what? Someone will listen to me without the fear of them having to top my story, listen to me without a cell phone in their face, or a distraction taking their attention during our time together?  Someone I don’t have to pay or track down?  Yes!

Call upon Me and go and pray to Me….

It still seems surreal to have someone that will listen with unconditional love, and all I have to do is call on Him, all I have to do is pray to Him. Simple talk,  just like He is a friend sitting next to me.

Call to Me, and I will answer you,
and show you great and mighty things,
which you do not know.
Jeremiah 33:3

I used to be intimidated by prayer, I felt that it had to be this super strict, structured time of silence, and if this wasn’t done then my prayer wouldn’t work. Well, as I grew and matured, I found that this wasn’t true.  Now when I read verses like the ones above I love the word “call.”  To me this means that He is available at any time.  When I’m driving and I need to talk to Him. When I’m in a meeting and I need help biting my tongue.  When I need to feel His presence all I need to do is call.  All I need to do is pray to Him. All you need to is pray to Him.

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Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, You make talking with You so easy, You are so easy to call, on, to pray to. We as people make rules and regulations that make prayer difficult. Please remind us of the ease and comfort of coming to You. Remind us that when no one will listen, You will.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

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Finding Peace

January 16, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me,
and I will listen to you.
Jeremiah 29:12 NIV

Ever had one of those days where all you want is for someone to listen to you and there is no one around who does not seem to have issues that far outweigh yours? I have. There are some days where I want to vent and I have no one to speak with. Sometimes when I do, and I start to describe what I believe is occuring, it all seems rather silly and unimportant. I begin to wonder why I allowed those thoughts to come in and linger as long as I did. Then I remember that I have God who can and will hear me.

God sent His son Jesus to be that perfect example of what it looks like to share His thoughts.  Ultimately, we have to put our ‘self’ to the side and wait for the Holy Spirit—the Helper—to relay the message from our Father.  When we truly seek our Lord and truly share our burdens, then God is able to use us, an empty vessel for His Kingdom.  When we choose to let go of past hurts and even current ones, God can make us clean. We have to be willing to be on our knees or on our face and have a heartfelt cry out to our Father. Without God at our center, we are nothing but a bag of bones floating along life’s way. I want to dance, I want to sway to the music of God in my soul!

As we go through our week, let’s put away—one by one—the past. Let us focus on what can be, not what could be. Let us remember what it was like when we first believed in our Father. Remember the excitement and longing to do all that God has planned for us.

Paul writes in Galatians 5,

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

We have to make an effort to follow these seemingly simple instructions. Each day it can become easier with God’s help and seeking His peace in our frantic, busy lives. We just need to make time for God!

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Father, help us today to not get so caught up in our busyness that we forget to focus on You. We desire to have the relationship that brings us peace. A peace that is only accomplished by a more intimate relationship with You, putting You first in our lives. We want Your love and light to shine so brightly, that others desire to know what is creating our joy. Help us to choose joy in our everyday life. In Jesus Name. Amen.

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He Always Listens

January 15, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

 

In those days when you pray, I will listen.
Jeremiah 29:12

Finding God is not a difficult task. He is all around us! The Bible explains, “They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (Romans 1:19-20). Stepping outside and basking in what God has made can bring you near to Him.

Even better, we have been gifted with the privilege of prayer. Should we need to find God we simply need to “go a-calling.”

The thing I love about prayer the most is that prayers don’t have to be formal for God to listen. I can recall many times when I have briefly thought about things (not specifically praying for them) that have come to pass. To name a few:

  • Prior to being saved, I wished that I had a friend in my life who knew who I had been and could appreciate and celebrate the progress I had made. The Lord spoke to me and told me that He was that friend and now I have plenty of friends who are walking this faith journey with me. I never would have imagined such a “small” desire would have such a tremendous affect on my life.
  • I had the idea of working in daycare well before the opportunity presented itself. And now I work at a preschool.
  • I had a passing thought about writing for GCH when I first got connected with this community. And when I say passing thought, I mean just a passing thought. It was a quick “Oh, I’d like to write for them.” Of course, my negative mind chatter came up with a million and one reasons why I couldn’t and I didn’t think anything more about it until the opportunity presented itself.

Intentional prayer is important. However, I believe that God listens to all our requests. He hears the ones we cry out. He hears the ones we bow our heads for. He hears the ones we kneel for. And He hears the ones we whisper in our minds. God listens. Even when we may not be talking to Him directly…He always listens.

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Lord, thank You for seeing me. Thank You that the words I speak and the thoughts I think reach You. And thank You for caring enough about the “little things”—the things I feel are “too small” to bother you with—to answer the whispers that I don’t intentionally bring to you. Thank You for always listening.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

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Seek Him in Prayer

January 14, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogoOne sees rich sand in his hand and scrapes more toward him on the beach to build a sandcastle. One holds bright snow in his hand, then piles and shapes more snow on the wintery ground to build a large snowman. Likewise, one can take a verse and find other passages to support and magnify the truth and concept of the original verse. The act of building can accentuate the original in such a way that the “take-away’ is an accentuated memory or a more impactful lesson learned.

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
Jeremiah 29:12

Never believe that you can live without complete dependence on God! If you try to do so, you’ve made one of the biggest mistakes of your life! When I turn through the pages of the Bible, I see many examples of those who called upon God…yielding their lives toward Him in prayer. Come to Him, and He will hear you.

NEHEMIAH

When Nehemiah heard about the destruction of Jerusalem, he at once sought God in prayer for Israel. “As soon as I heard these words I sat down and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said, ‘O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you (Nehemiah 1: 4-7).
To see how God wonderfully worked through this praying servant, read Nehemiah 1-13.

JESUS

Jesus sought God and said a prayer of thankfulness to God for hearing His prayers and to bring God glory before He performed a miracle—bringing Lazarus back to life. “So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.’ When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth…” (John 11:41-44).
God always heard Jesus’ prayers. Jesus came to earth to do the will of the Father. As Jesus went and prayed to God, so should we. God will hear our prayers!

BELIEVERS IN ACTS

When Peter healed a crippled man by the power of the Holy Spirit in Acts 4, Peter and John were brought before the Jewish Council. “So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard’” (John 4:18-20).
Then, the believers sought God and prayed for boldness. “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:29-31) A prayer-activated boldness through the power of the Holy Spirit is the only kind we should desire!

Seek God, pray at once, and believe with a thankful heart that He hears your prayers and will answer them. Great things, like miracles and boldness, can happen if you seek God and pray to Him. He will hear His people when they come to Him!

Dear God, let us all come to You in prayer. In crisis, in calm, in confusion, and in everyday, let us be a dependent people who recognize that we need You to help us and guide us. With You in all things, our lives are made better and with purpose. We recognize our need. We recognize Your love. Let us recognize You as Lord. In Jesus’ precious Name I pray, Amen.

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Pray to the Father

January 13, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

You will call to Me and come and pray to Me,
and I will listen to you.
Jeremiah 29:12

 Do you ever feel alone? Do you ever feel like you have more on your list than you can handle? Do you ever feel like there is no hope? Do you look for a miracle; perhaps you receive it or you do not receive it? Do you ask for something only not to get it? I think that everybody can answer yes to these questions—at some point in their lives.

Yet, many people rely on the outside world to find answers to these questions. However, the world itself cannot truly fulfill the answers to these questions/feelings. We must call on the highest power—the power of God—to answer these questions. He does not leave us. He will be there for us and help us when we feel like we have too much to handle. God brings us hope, love, and peace. He gives us the miracle we need (not what we may think we need).

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

 Prayer is our way of talking to God. We should pray daily. Through prayer we can talk to God about our problems and request help for situations that we cannot control. If we hold true to our faith in God, He will bring relief to us. He will show us mercy and listen to us. As His children, God always has our best interest at heart. We may not like how God answers our prayers, but He answers them in ways that are always for our good.

Our Father loves us dearly. He answers our prayers in the ways that He knows we need. We may want something very much, and pray for it, but if God knows that it is bad for us, He will answer us in a way that protects us. He answers our prayers in the ways that are best for us. He knows what will harm us, and as any father would do, He protects us from what is not good for us.

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Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for looking out for us. Sometimes we do not know what is best for ourselves or our families. You do. Without You, we might make the wrong decisions and put ourselves in harm’s way. Continue to protect us and look out for us. In Jesus name, amen.

 

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Seeking Him – In His Presence

February 2, 2013 by

This week in our current series, Seeking Him, we will focus on the joy of intentionally seeking the Lord and His presence during our quiet time.

Each Saturday we have been looking in-depth at a few of the most important aspects of having a dedicated, purposeful quiet time.  At the beginning of this series I had the privilege of sharing with you a few thoughts from some friends about their own quiet time.  Gathering from their experiences, there seem to be a few basics which include:

Bible reading
Prayer
Praise Songs
Meditation
Seeking the Lord

As we have taken the time each week to consider each of these aspects in turn, we have learned that the quality and the depth of our quiet time is truly based on our hearts’ attitude as we enter into it each day.  If we force ourselves to simply eke out a few minutes…sing a song…and read a few verses…voice a quick prayer—and be done—we surely are not going to experience the joy of what the Psalmist communicates as he wrote about how important his time with the Lord was. Here is just one example from the book of Psalms where we read of David expressing his absolute need of, desire for, love for seeking his God and being in His presence.  Listen….

Psalms 27:4-11
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life,
to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness]
of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple.
For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter;
in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock.
And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me;
in His tent I will offer sacrifices and shouting of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; have mercy and be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need].
My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek,
inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].
Hide not Your face from me; turn not Your servant away in anger,
You Who have been my help! Cast me not off, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation!
Although my father and my mother have forsaken me,
yet the Lord will take me up [adopt me as His child].
Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain and even path
because of my enemies [those who lie in wait for me].

Can you feel yourself being drawn into David’s experience?  Can you ‘hear’ the passion in his voice?  Can you understand, to an extent, just how very much David yearned to just dwell in his Lord’s presence?

Here…try this: read these verses through again and this time, in each place where David speaks of and about himself, think of yourself.  Put your name in there.  Try it, would you?

Almighty God desires to make Himself known to you.

He wants you to seek Him with all your heart.

“As we seek Your face…May we know Your heart…Feel Your presence, acceptance…As we seek Your face.   At Your feet we fall…Sovereign Lord…We cry ‘holy! holy!’…At Your feet we fall.”

Keep seeking Him and enjoy your quiet time with your Lord!  As you seek Him, He will be found…He promises!

Jeremiah 29:12,13
Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me,
and I will hear and heed you.
Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity]
and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Praying for each of you!  I know that the Lord will answer your heart’s cry as you are seeking Him with ALL your heart!

♥ coleen

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If you would like to send a personal message to Coleen concerning the series, Seeking Him, you may email her at:  Coleen@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

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