January 7, 2016: He Hears!!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2016 - Day 7  

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a video of images from Twila Paris singing to her child … God Is All Around Us, expressing the truth behind our faith … that our God is all around us and He listens and knows best for our lives.

Highlight Passage:   Matthew 6:8-9 [NKJV] …  
8 “Therefore do not be like them [the hypocritical Pharisees]. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: … 
… Pray His way; and He hears.
============
Highlight Context – Matthew 6:5-10 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK  …  
… Jesus said to pray … should be enough for Christians, should it not?
============      

Reference Passage #1 … Psalm 116:1-2 [NKJV] …  
1 I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. 2 Because He has inclined His ear to me; … therefor I will call upon Him as long as I live. 
… Simple paradigm; … He is there; … He hears; … Therefore, I pray.

Reference Passage #2 … John 10:25-30 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …  
… It’s really all a matter of whether we believe Jesus was Who He said He was, isn’t it?

Reference Passage #3 … Hebrews 11:6 [NKJV] …  
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
… The question is ... do we have faith that He is?

My Journal for Today:  Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Phillip Yancey, used a clear personal word picture to teach a truth about prayer; and I would suggest that any readers here use the link below (in my Blogger’s Note) to read his teaching.

 However, today’s OBD message, brought me to reinforce something I’ve come to learn, believe, and activate in my life. So, take in these serial questions; and see where you stand.

1 … Do you really believe God is real and believe He’s the omnipotent, omniscient, all sovereign God? [See Hebrews 11:6] 
2 … Do you really believe God bends down to hear you when you pray? [See Psalm 116:1-2] 
3 … Do you really believe, as a disciple of Christ, we should do what Jesus commands us to do? [See Matthew 6:8-9 and John 10:27 ] 

 Now, … my friend, … this really doesn’t take a rocket scientist or a Ph.D. in Theology to understand. If you’ve answered “YES” to all three of those questions above, … as I would expect any born-again Christian to do, … why are we not praying more often and with more intensity?

 I had to deal with the logic of this conundrum as I went into this New Year; and I’m doing all I can to live out a resolution I made for 2016 to make this MY YEAR OF PRAYER. We’ll just have to see, at the end of 2016, whether I seriously believed what I’m teaching here and have implemented what my thoughts imply.

 I’ll leave it to you to deal with this logic in your life … especially if you’ve answered “YES” to those questions. If not, I would seriously wonder about the depth of your relationship with Christ. Email me [ @ billb13@bellsouth.net if you have more ??? or add a comment to my blog.]

My Prayer Today:  Heavenly Father, … I know You hear, Lord; and I come to You each day to pray. 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.