Devotional Song: Go to this link … Please, PLEASE, PLEASE take the time to see/hear Twila Paris and Dennis Jernigen singing Dennis’s song On My Knees. praying in song a truth all Christians need to embrace … that we need to be on our knees WAY MORE than we do … PLEASE … Don’t go on reading here without taking in this poignant, powerful, and pertinent song.
Highlight Passage - NKJV Philippians 4: 6-7 …
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
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Highlight Context - NKJV: Philippians 4: 4-9 [NKJV] … GO TO THIS LINK … Paul counsels his Christian loved ones to avoid anxiety by prayer …
Reference Passage #1 … Isaiah 23: 6 [NKJV] - God, through the Prophet, advises an attitude of prayer to find peace in this world
6 “… You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
Reference Passage #2… Matthew 6: 6, 33 [see attached picture] — GO TO THIS LINK … Jesus certainly preached for His disciples to pray often in secret and seek HIS way FIRST
Reference Passage #3 … 1st Thessalonians 5: 16-18 [NKJV] … Paul gives exhortation to priority disciplines for Christians - important among them - PRAYER …
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Reference Passage #4… James 5: 13-16 — GO TO THIS LINK … James counsels going to the Elders in the church for healing prayer
Reference Passage #5 … 1st Peter 5: 7 [NKJV] - Inspired by God, Peter counsels to bring ALL THINGS to God in prayer …
7 Casting all your cares on Him (God) because He cares for you.
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry, authored by Cindy Hess Casper, zings her readers with a strong truth; … that we Christians have a tendency in our laxness to wait until a time of crisis to pray. However, if one takes in, and meditates on, the scriptures Casper uses in her ODB devotional, as well as those which came into my study today from multiple authors, we should see that we should be using the faith discipline of prayer FIRST … and ALWAYS.
The OT Prophet, Isaiah, from God exhorted believers to keep their focus (in prayer, I believe) on God so that we can receive peace from the Lord. Above in His sermon on the mount [see Matthew 6 passage], Jesus certainly taught about prayer and that His kingdom values should come FIRST. The Apostle Paul, in today’s ODB highlight passage, as well as his letter to the Thessalonians, exhorts Christians to avoid anxiety by praying to the Lord in ALL matters, big and small. The Apostle Peter chides believers to cast ALL our cares on God, recognizing that our Lord cares deeply for us. And James, the brother of Jesus, writes in God’s word to take our healing needs to righteous men of prayer (i.e., the Elders of the Church) so that our sins may be forgiven and we may be healed … physically, emotionally, AND spiritually.
The question is … are we doing what God exhorts and directs through these Biblical writers? I’m afraid I’m under severe conviction about my prayer life from today’s quiet time with God.
>> Prayer first? … Not often enough!
>> Prayer in ALL things? … Not often enough!
>> Prayer from my Elders? … WAY not often enough!!
DUH!!! … I sense a pattern of conviction here.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
My Prayer for Today … Lord, … Forgive me for holding on to my anxieties far too long before bringing them to You. Help me to bring ALL my cares to You - FIRST - because You certainly care DEEPLY for me. PLEASE help all who read here to do the same. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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