prayers
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Today was a tough day. It started with a 2.5 hour root canal and proceeded to get worse when I came home to clean the pool of leaves and ended up falling in. With my phone in my back pocket. Yes, I know better than to do this with my phone in my back pocket and I ignored the voice of the Holy Spirit not once but twice reminding me to put it on the table away from danger. I did not wave the voice away but I did say, "okay as soon as I get back around to the other side". I never made it that far. I beat myself up for hours today over my foolish choice. As of this writing I still do not have a working phone and have spent many hours trying to fix this problem. If only I had listened. How often do we create our own problems by delaying our obedience or turning a deaf ear or blind eye to the cautions from the Spirit? I am grateful that God gives us another chance, over and over and over. He is patient with us but I have to wonder if he had a good chuckle over my fall into the pool. I don't think he would ever maliciously laugh at me or take pleasure in my struggles, but it had to look a little humorous. Especially as I climbed out of the deep end (no small feat), ran for the back porch, and hastily removed all of my wet clothing while praying that no neighbor was peering into our backyard! And since my Lord knows he has already provided a way out maybe he indulged a little. I knew immediately that God would have a way for me but it didn't help me have a better attitude for hours and hours. Another poor choice that I hope I do better with next time. Any part of the day that I could have salvaged and made productive was lost to my poor attitude and self-pity. Has he ever let me down or left me without a path forward? No. I hope that in the future I will remember how blessed I am in pretty much every single area of my life. Now, I am thinking about the real struggles faced by real people everyday and how they persevere in circumstances that I cannot even fathom. The character they must have built inside to keep on fighting even when they can see no end in sight. My "struggles" pale in comparison. My prayers tonight are that God wold reveal himself to those people and that the Holy Spirit would guide believers across their path to share the hope of Jesus Christ with them. I also pray for me - that God would strengthen me inside like them. Help me to not sulk or mope or even beat myself up. But instead, that I could resolve to forgive myself because we all make mistakes. And that I could quickly learn to embrace the lesson and then move on to be productive for Him and not waste the time He has given. None of us knows the day or the hour so we had better make the most of each day and each opportunity. James 3:2, NLT Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. Romans 8:1, ESV There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14, NIV Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. A song to lift our spirits and remind us of His power and love Great I Am - New Life Worship Mountains shake before you, the demons run in fear At the mention of the name, king of majesty There is no power in hell Or any who can stand Before the power and the presence of the great I am PRAYER FOR OUR COUNTRY: Heavenly Father, an old hymn comes to mind where it says, ‘Mold me and make me after your will, while I am waiting yielded and still.’ We need Your healing touch in this nation and pray that you will gently mold us back into a country that brings glory to You. Like a lump of clay in Your hands, You may need to press us, pinch us, wet us down, and keep us spinning on Your potter’s wheel for a bit. But our trust is in You to craft us into what You want us to be, for Your own sake, we pray. -We pray for national healing. -We pray that Christians would seek unity with one another, regardless of political positions, knowing that it is God’s purposes that are being worked out. -We pray for election officials where vote counting, or recounting, is yet underway. -We pray that candidates, whether in victory or in defeat, will fight for the truth that Americans deserve and be ready to accept the election results when the fight is complete. -We pray for our Supreme Court Justices and ask for supernatural wisdom and courage. -We pray for clarity in understanding how God could be reshaping us through these national circumstances. Amen
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Why pray?Lifting our elections up to the Lord helps all of us keep the focus on the most important topics as well as softens our hearts to love everyone, even those with whom we may disagree. Believing differently shouldn't stop us from sharing God's love and His Word with others. Archives
May 2022
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