Tag Archives: Prayer

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman -The Heart of the Gospel

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Read: Isaiah 53:1-6

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

This, of course, is the very heart of the gospel, the good news. Jesus took our place. As Peter puts it, He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, (1 Peter 2:24). He took our sins and paid the price for them. He had no sins of his own and Scripture is very careful to record the sinlessness of Jesus himself. He was not suffering for his own transgressions, but for the sins of others. One writer has put it rather well,

It was for me that Jesus died, For me and a world of men. Just as sinful and just as slow to give back His love again. And He did not wait until I came to Him. He loved me at my worst. He needn’t ever have died for me If I could have loved Him first.

That is the problem, isn’t it? Why do not we love him first? Why is it that we can only learn to love our Lord once we have beheld his suffering — his excruciating agony on our behalf? It is because of our transgressions, as this passage declares. They have cut us off from recognizing the divine gift of love that ought to be in every human heart.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Samson and Delilah

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Read: Judges 16:1-31

If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me. (v. 17)

The names “Samson and Delilah” live in popular imagination as a romantic ideal. One only needs to read the Bible to learn that’s not true. Samson did love Delilah (love is not used to describe his other sexual pursuits), but it’s hard to say exactly what Delilah felt. She played Samson for a fool—repeatedly—with tragic consequences.

In his commentary on the Book of Judges, Australian scholar Barry Webb suggests the story of Israel is mirrored in Samson. Israel was set apart from other nations by God’s election, Samson was set apart from other people by his Nazirite vow. Israel went after foreign gods, Samson went after foreign women. Samson wound up blind, which is a fitting description of Israel as Judges winds down.

Deuteronomy 7:3-4 prohibited intermarrying because the future of the nation was at stake. Samson knew this, but he couldn’t help himself. Delilah was his undoing, or, more accurately, the shaving of his hair which canceled his Nazirite vow was his undoing. Although he was supposed to deliver Israel from the Philistines, he mixed with them constantly. He never acted like he wanted to be set apart. The result is that unlike the other judges, there is no rest for the land under Samson. He failed to deliver Israel, and all he really accomplished was to kill a bunch of Philistines. After Samson’s death Israel’s downward spiral will continue—and get worse.

Prayer:

Lord, help us resist temptation and stay true to you.

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R.- Foundation Fundamentals

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How often do you go to church on Monday? Unless you are the church custodian, probably not a lot. But here’s an interesting fact about one of the greatest churches ever known, London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle, and one of the greatest preachers, Charles Spurgeon. Every Monday, the church was packed to the rafters for “prayer meeting,” an event Spurgeon called “the spiritual thermometer” of his church. “I always give all the glory to God,” he wrote, “but I do not forget that He gave me the privilege of ministering from the first to a praying people. We had prayer meetings that moved our very souls; each one appeared determined to storm the Celestial City by the might of intercession.”

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

Psalm 127:1

Does God hear “crisis” prayers – those made on a deathbed, or in a foxhole, or in a crumbling house? Yes, certainly, but how much better to make prayer the foundation of your week and a fundamental of your life rather a last ditch salvage operation.

America was built on a firm foundation, mostly by praying men and women who understood that the Lord must be the builder. Today, pray that the nation’s citizens will again be praying people – and let it begin with you!

Recommended Reading: James 5:13-20

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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie –Persistent Prayer

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Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”—Mark 10:46–47

I wonder whether Bartimaeus, a blind man, would have been healed by Jesus if he had simply sat in silence when Jesus walked by. Would Jesus have stopped and turned toward him and touched him? Perhaps. But there were a lot of blind people around during Jesus’ earthly ministry. There were a lot of deaf people. There were a lot of people with leprosy. There were a lot of people with all kinds of physical problems.

But Jesus didn’t heal all of those people, did He? In fact, we usually find in Scripture that Jesus responded to the people who called out to Him. In the case of Bartimaeus, he cried out, and his voice was heard. It probably helped that he screamed. We do not need to scream in our prayers, necessarily, but we do need to be persistent.

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Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Holds Everything Together

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“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do not appear.” (Hebrews 11:3)

Did you ever wonder what holds this world together? Why don’t we fall apart as we walk around? Why don’t the planets spin out of their orbits? What keeps the sun (a huge flaming ball of gases) all together instead of splitting up into thousands of flaming little sun-balls? What holds our insides in and keeps the outsides out? If you think of water in a pitcher, the pitcher holds the water in and keeps everything else out, right? But what is it that holds the pitcher together? As we walk around outside, we do not fall apart. Why? Because our skin holds us together! But what really is it that keeps your skin holding together?

Some say that Newton’s Law of Gravity holds us together, or a bunch of other recognized scientific laws. Isaac Newton did not create gravity, though; he just discovered it. Who invented gravity and designed it to do what it does? Some people say they just don’t know what keeps the universe running.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Some Things Don’t Change

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Today’s Scripture: Philippians 4:11

“I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”

Contentment with what we have is worth far more than all the things we don’t have. The person living on the basis of merit is never content. One day he thinks he isn’t being rewarded fairly by God; the next day he’s afraid he has forfeited all hope for any reward. Far better to adopt the biblical attitude that grace doesn’t depend on merit at all, but on the infinite goodness and sovereign purpose of God. I would much rather entrust my expectations of blessings and answers to prayer to the infinite goodness of God and his sovereign purpose for my life than rely on all the merit points I could ever accumulate.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The Barren Places

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Today’s Scripture: Esther 1-2

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. – Jeremiah 17:7-8

As far as I know, the book of Esther is the only book in the Bible in which the central figure rose to prominence by winning a beauty contest. But Esther never considered her promotion selfishly. In fact, she put everything on the line, including her life, to do the will of God in a very difficult situation.

For Esther and her people, the Jews, circumstances were bad. They had been taken captive from their homeland many years before and were second-class citizens in this place. Now a plot was being hatched to exterminate them from the face of the earth. But the hand of God was leading Esther and her Uncle Mordecai in what seemed to be a God-forsaken place.

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – JONAH’S DISOBEDIENT REST

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Read Jonah 1:1-16

In April 2014, the driver of a Chicago Transit Authority train fell asleep at the wheel as she approached the terminal at O’Hare airport. The train jumped the tracks and crashed into the terminal, destroying an escalator. Later it was revealed that she had fallen asleep at the wheel before.

You might say that Jonah repeatedly fell asleep at the wheel, wreaking havoc on others and himself. Commanded by God to go to Nineveh, Jonah fled in the opposite direction to Tarshish (v. 3). His goal was not only to avoid going to Nineveh, the capital city of Israel’s brutal enemy Assyria, but also to escape from God’s presence.

He couldn’t outrun God. The Lord pursued Jonah by sending a storm so fierce that the sailors feared for their lives. Unperturbed by either the storm or their terror, Jonah went below the deck and literally fell asleep. The outraged captain woke Jonah and urged him to pray. Notice the great irony here. Throughout Jonah’s story, even after he is finally forced to obey the Lord’s command, idol-worshiping pagans seem to have a greater sense of piety than God’s prophet.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN IS AFFECTING MARRIAGES

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“There’s something about Mr. Trump that makes it hard for people who love him, and people who hate him, to love each other.” So states The Wall Street Journal, reporting on marital rifts being created by Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy.

One couple has set its rules: When Mr. Trump appears on the evening news, one or the other must leave the room, or they must flip to the National Geographic channel. And they never discuss him in the bedroom.

Politics are getting more divisive by the day, it seems. In last night’s Republican presidential debate, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz repeatedly attacked Mr. Trump, who responded in kind. And Bernie Sanders is sharpening his criticisms of Hillary Clinton on the eve of the South Carolina Democratic primary.

Michael Scherer notes in Time that America’s presidential contests “are designed to be brutal passion plays, the best alternative to the bloody wars of succession humanity used in centuries past.”

And so it has been across our history.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Fighting the Battle Against Sin

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Read | 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

God established protective boundaries for His children because He knows the dangers of disobedience—for both the transgressor and others affected by the sin. His Word warns us not to give in to temptation but to follow Jesus Christ in a life of sacrifice, which is the only way to true contentment.

In contrast, the world says satisfaction is found in acquiring goods, wealth, status, and friends. Satan whispers the lie that gratification comes from self-indulgence. His goal of turning us away from God started with his temptation of Adam and Eve. The Creator had given them access to every tree in the Garden of Eden except one. The first man and woman stepped outside the limit set by the Lord, ate the forbidden fruit, and became separated from Him. Satan used doubt (“Has God said?”), deceit (“You surely will not die”), and self-delusion (“You will be like God”) to achieve his aim (Gen. 3:1-5). He made rebellion against God—which is the root of all sin—seem very attractive. And the enemy’s methods are the same today.

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Go Fever

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Read: Numbers 14:39-45

Bible in a Year: Numbers 12-14; Mark 5:21-43

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him. —Psalm 37:7

On January 28, 1986, after five weather-related delays, the space shuttle Challenger lumbered heavenward amid a thunderous overture of noise and flame. A mere 73 seconds later, system failure tore the shuttle apart, and all seven crewmembers perished.

The disaster was attributed to an O-ring seal known to have vulnerabilities. Insiders referred to the fatal mistake as “go fever”—the tendency to ignore vital precautions in the rush to a grand goal.

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Behold, the Crucified

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Even modern English Bible versions often end up retaining the rather un-modern term “behold” in their translations of the Hebrew word hinneh and the Greek word idou. This is because there is no other equivalent English word that quite does the job that behold does. All the three terms—Hebrew, Greek, and English—have a certain gravitas, and, whenever used, command us to pay careful attention to what follows.

In John’s narrative of the trial and the crucifixion of Jesus, there are five occurrences of the term—three coming from the mouth of the unwitting prophet, Pilate, and twice from the mouth of our Lord Jesus. Each occurrence summons us to a facet of the person and work of Christ.

In John 19:4, “Pilate came out again and said to them, ‘Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.’” We may render Pilate’s words as: “Behold, the Guiltless One!” Christians have always claimed, and will always claim, that Jesus, the Innocent, bore the sins of a guilty world. When his executioners twisted together a crown of thorns and thrust it upon his head, little did they know that they were enacting a prophetic truth! For in that single image—the crown of thorns on his head—is encapsulated the central Christian claim: that this guiltless-but-crucified one bore upon himself the guilt and curse of the whole of creation. Remember: “Cursed is the ground because of you… Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you.”(1)

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – God Is Faithful to Care for Us

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“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9).

God is completely faithful to do what He has promised.

We live in a day of unfaithfulness, don’t we? Some husbands and wives are unfaithful to their marriage vows. Children are often unfaithful to the principles taught by their parents. Parents are often unfaithful to meet the needs of their children. And all too frequently we are unfaithful to God.

Only God is always faithful, a fact often celebrated in Scripture: “Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God” (Deut. 7:9). “Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Thy faithfulness reaches to the skies” (Ps. 36:5). “Great is Thy faithfulness” (Lam. 3:23).

Let’s look at several areas in which God is faithful to us. First, He’s faithful in taking care of us. Peter says, “Let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right” (1 Peter 4:19). The word translated “entrust” is a banking term that speaks of a deposit for safekeeping. We’re to give our lives to our “faithful Creator,” who is best able to care for us because He created us. “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Should You Be Passionate? 

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Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.   Galatians 5:24

“Passion” often gets mixed reviews. On the one hand, we have many verses in Scripture that tell us to put to death the passions and desires of the flesh. In fact, we’re told to flee worldly passions! Yet, on the other hand, Scripture seems to encourage in us passionate living. In the Psalms we see passion on great display, with the psalmist longing for the Lord “more than sentries long for the dawn” (Ps. 130:6).

The secret to understanding passion in Scripture is to focus on the object of our desire. Desire in and of itself is not a bad thing! When we’re told to put to death the desires of the flesh, this doesn’t mean we’re meant to live passionless and emotionless lives! The Christian life is never simply the turning away from sin and death, but is always at the same time the call to turn towards that which is good, holy, and true.

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Spiritual Power

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Do not quench the Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:19

Recommended Reading

Galatians 4:1-7

The Bible says, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). It says, “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Romans 8:14 tells us to be “led by the Spirit of God.” When Jesus ascended to heaven, He asked the Father to send the Holy Spirit to indwell His people and to empower us in our work for Christ. It’s the Holy Spirit who lives the life of Christ through us and who achieves the work of Christ through us.

The Spirit of God has been given to us to empower us in our walk.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Get Alone With God

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But when you pray, go into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open. —Matthew 6:6

Jesus rose early to be alone with God, but Peter pursued Him to let Him know that everyone was looking for Him (see Mark 1:35-36). When you get alone to pray, it may seem that everybody tries to hunt you down. But Jesus sought time alone with God so He could focus on His purpose.

We see the scenario of Jesus praying alone and then meeting the needs of others again and again. Jesus went throughout Galilee preaching and driving out demons. When a leper begged to be clean, Jesus touched him, and the leprosy completely left him (see Mark 1:39-42). If Jesus needed to be alone with the Father before He ministered to others, so do we.

From the book Starting Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

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Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – When Worry Weakens Your Soul

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Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:34

Friend to Friend

My husband, Steve, and I sat anxiously in our seats. I wondered if I was going to be able to endure the ride, especially knowing my propensity for motion sickness. But we began nonetheless.

The guide strapped all passengers into the tiny boats and gave last minute instructions. Of course there were life preservers, but what good would they do in the fierce rapids that threatened to suck its prey below the surface?

The crew boarded and began the journey down the mysterious Amazon. The calm meandering waters quickly gave way to fierce torrents, rushing rapids, and rocky crags protruding from the foaming waters. Alternating between plunging into the water and flying into the air, the boat made its way through the first set of rapids. My body relaxed, thankful that was over. Several times along the journey calm gave way to chaos as passengers maneuvered to keep the boats afloat. Often, I closed my eyes and waited for the turbulence to pass.

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Anything You Ask

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“You can get anything – anything you ask for in prayer – if you believe” (Matthew 21:22).

God’s Word reminds us that we have not because we ask not (James 4:2). Jesus said, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7, KJV).

A godly widow with six children was facing great stress. The family had eaten their last loaf of bread at the evening meal. The next morning, with no food in the house, the trusting mother set seven plates on the table.

“Now, children,” she said, gathering them around her, “we must ask God to supply our need.”

Just as she finished her prayer, one of the children shouted, “There’s the baker at the door.”

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – An Astonishing Impact

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Read: Isaiah 52:13-15

Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. As many were astonished at him—his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men—so shall he startle many nations… (Isaiah 52:13-15a RSV)

This section, which describes the remarkable impact that the Messiah would make upon mankind, opens with a declaration that he would be successful in all that he did: Behold, my servant shall prosper. That success would be accomplished in three specific stages, described here: He shall be exalted; he shall be lifted up; he shall be very high.

First, in the words, He shall be exalted, there is a reference to the resurrection. Jesus was brought back from the dead, stepping into a condition of life that no man had ever entered before. Lazarus had been resurrected, in a sense, but he merely returned to this earthly life. Jesus, however, became the firstborn from the dead, (Colossians 1:18). He was thus exalted to a higher dimension of existence.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The Riddler

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Read: Judges 13:3-5, 14:1-19

Let me now put a riddle to you. (14:12)

The story of Samson not only contains riddles, it is a riddle. Although some think of him as a Hebrew folk hero, I prefer the words of one commentator who called Samson “an oversexed buffoon.” His story is the longest in the Book of Judges, and he is the final judge mentioned in the book. Rather than being the wonderful culmination of the story, he is more of a puzzling disappointment. Samson’s life was chaotic, and chaos follows for Israel throughout the rest of Judges.

Samson was consecrated by his mother to be a Nazirite, someone set apart to serve God. The rules for Nazirites are spelled out in Numbers 6, all of which have to do with ceremonial cleanliness. Usually someone kept a Nazirite vow for a short period of time. Samson was supposed to be a Nazirite for life.

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