Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of Red Marlow on TV singing his song… I Pray … poignantly singing of how we should pray when we don’t know what else to do.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Romans 8:26 [NLT] … 26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
… God’s Spirit is always there to pray for us … and with us.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Romans 8:26-30 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God shows us that His Spirit ever intercedes with/for us.
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Reference Passage : … Matthew 6:5-13 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus teaches His followers how to pray.
Reference Passage : …John 17:9-11 [NLT] … 9 “My prayer is not for the world, but for those You have given me, because they belong to You. 10 All who are mine belong to You, and You have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to You. Holy Father, You have given me Your Name; now protect them by the power of Your name so that they will be united just as We are.
… Jesus prays for US in the garden; and He’s still praying for us now on His throne in heaven.
Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 1:11 [NLT] … 11 And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.
… Paul gives thanks for the prayer of fellow Christians and pleads for continued support thru prayer.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, James Banks, used a personal reflection of a young friend’s experience with the gift of prayers from others. The ODB author wrote: “I didn’t realize what a gift prayer was until my brother was sick and you all prayed for him. I cannot tell you what a comfort your prayers were!”
Laura had tears in her eyes as she thanked me for the prayers of the people in our church for her brother, who was facing a cancer diagnosis. She continued, “Your prayers have strengthened him in this difficult time and have been an encouragement to our entire family.”
As I saw today’s ODB photo of the young girl praying and posted a song written by a singer who was inspired by prayer; … and then I took in the highlight ODB passage and remembered the reference scriptures above, I was taken by the reality of what a wonderful and powerful gift prayer is for others. That’s why Jesus taught His disciples to pray in His sermon on the mount. And it’s why He prayed to His Father for His disciples (and us) in the garden just before He died for us. And it’s why He is still praying for us on His throne today. What a wonderful gift prayer is to us from God and from us to others!
So, we need to take it seriously when we tell someone, “I’ll be praying for you,” and doing exactly that … not just saying that as a way of showing we care. In fact, in recent years, I’ve developed the habit when I tell someone I want to pray for them … to stop and do just that with them on the spot [as in the photo]. In that way my gift of prayer is given face to face; and I don’t have to worry about forgetting the gift later.
So, … today, … let’s be alert whom we can pray for and then give them our gift of prayer.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for praying for me right now.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Help me to give Your gift of prayer for someone today. … 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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