Prayer Time All The Time

Any and every time is a perfect time for prayer.

Prayer is the breathe of the soul and it is unfortunate that we do not pray as often as The Bible tells us that we should. Many of us know and quote 1 Thessalonians 5:17 which says "pray without ceasing" and yet we hardly do. 

Make time to pray/talk to The LORD. Do not wait until there is an issue, or you need something to pray. Praying is talking to The LORD. Speak to Him reverently, respectfully and often. If you have a best friend/spouse or significant other that you love and adore, you want to spend every waking moment with that person, so why would time with The LORD be anything less? Practice praying your way through the day today and every day.

Watch and Pray

It's been quite an emotionally tumultuous last couple of weeks.

The 100 Days of Prayer have ended, The General Conference session has passed, and I am still in the black on some things since I spend more time praying than watch the sessions.

I am constantly reminded of two words The LORD said to His disciples; "watch" and "pray". As we see many things unraveling before our very eyes, we must watch and pray like never before.

How do we watch?

God has blessed us with physical sight, but it is our spiritual sight that needs to be strengthened in these last days. I believe we can strengthen our spiritual eyesight by:

1) Studying The Word:   2 Timothy 2:15   Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

2) Meditating On The Word: Psalms 77:12   I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.   Psalms 119:15   I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 

3) Praying Always:  1 Timothy 2:8   I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.   1 Thessalonians 5:17   Pray without ceasing.

The LORD Christ Jesus was not a concealer. He was very transparent with His Followers about the future and how they should watch and pray. In Mark 13, The LORD repeats the importance of watching especially. It's crunch time; let's echo and meditate on these words of Jesus in the end of the chapter:


  Mark 13:33   Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

  Mark 13:34   For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

  Mark 13:35   Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

  Mark 13:37   And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

 

Devotion: Your Constant Helper

This was my devotional thought today from Bible Universe. I especially resonated with these two paragraphs and wanted to share with you all:

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. - 1 Peter 5:6-7

Do not be overanxious about anything. Go quietly about your duty which the day brings you. Do the best you can; ask God to be your helper. Do what you can, and do not neglect to pray and watch thereunto and in no case neglect your religious duties. Never let your studies interfere with your religious exercises. You want to be obtaining a more thorough knowledge of the will of God as well as to advance in the sciences. If one must be neglected, let it never be religious duties. Go on from day to day doing what you well can, and be content with that. You may say, I do the best I can today and leave what I cannot do without worriment or care. And when tomorrow comes I will, in the fear of the Lord, do what I can on the morrow. Thus from day to day pursue your course of duty, trusting in God to be your helper and to give you quick perception and heavenly wisdom that you may be fitted to honor Him with your talents.  

Have you fully consecrated yourself to the Lord? Feel every day, "I am doing my work for God. I am not living for myself, to glorify myself, but to glorify God." Oh, trust in Jesus and not in your own heart. Cast your burdens and yourself upon Him. If you feel no joy, no consolation, do not be discouraged. Hope and believe. You may have a precious experience in the things of God. Wrestle with your discouragements and doubts until you gain the victory over them in Jesus' name. Do not encourage grief, despondency, and darkness. Cast your burden upon Jesus and be sure not to withhold yourself.    

Taken from BibleUniverse.com, Daily Devotion.

What A Time To Be Alive...

Perception is a very interesting thing.

By definition, perception means "the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses". According to who you speak to, one might see the proverbial glass as half full, and another sees the glass as half empty.

If you take a minute to look at the state of your home country, there will be some who will see nothing wrong with society, others who will see everything wrong, and yet others who can be found along both extremes

Everyone has something to say about the times we are living in. We are constantly bombarded by the happenings in our world via the media. Yesterday alone, the Supreme Court voted to uphold gay marriage and the funeral service of Rev. Clementa Pinckney (pastor of the Emanuel AME) was held after a young man heartlessly murdered him and 8 others at a bible study last week.

If you ask governmental leaders, celebrities, sports multi-millionaires, popular businessmen, famous clergy, and just about anyone who is in the public's eye, everyone has opinions on everything under the sun. Who do you listen to? Who do you believe? What do you believe? Do you think society is just going through a phase? That things will get better (perhaps with a new president)? Do you think things have gone too far and that these are the last days of earth's history?

It's no secret I am a Bible-believing Christian. I don't have time to listen to the opinions and thoughts of any and everyone. My standard is the Bible and before I have opinions about anything, I go to the LORD's book first. Too often many Christians have opinions and personal doctrines first and then go to the Bible to find supporting scripture when it should always be the other way around. The Bible should be our measuring rod; everything we believe should have its foundations in our faith and not in our feelings.

The Bible is clear about where we are in earth's history. It is no surprise why things are the way they are now. The Word is very clear that the world is headed for destruction, mankind will continue becoming more perverted, and even Church-going Christians will "have a form of godliness" but will lack God's power (2 Timothy 3:5).

I used to say often that this world will have to be polarized before The LORD's second coming. That the 'grey' area Christians will disappear, and everyone will ultimately be all-for-Christ or not-for-Christ. In the great war between good and evil, there are only two sides (no Switzerland). If it was time to sleep yesterday, you and I both know its high time to wake up, get girded with the whole armor of God and get ready...we are at war.

Ten Days of Prayer (2015)

Saturday (Jan 17th) marked the end of the Worldwide Church's prayer initiative. At the beginning of each year, 10 days are carved out for the whole world to pray collectively on one theme. This year's theme was the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

 

It was a blessing to praying with my church family via conference call these past 10 days. It was also a focus on each part of that Heavenly Fruit per day. I am planning to go over each day again and spend some time going over the readings of each day. You can join me too! Go to http://www.10daysofprayer.org for all the resources.

 

Now let's look at the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is so amazing how this ONE fruit has so many components. Here they are as stated in the Book of Galatians (5:22-23 KJV):

• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Longsuffering
• Gentleness
• Goodness
• Faith
• Meekness
• Temperance

One point that was brought up in our conference calls was that since its one fruit, we cannot have one (or some) parts of the fruit without the other. We should have all or none at all. That made me think. Do I exhibit one or more portions of the fruit? How about you? Am I loving but show no temperance? Would that mean that I don't have the fruit at all? (questions, questions, questions).

 

I just thought about another thing. You can't have some of the Holy Spirit either. You are either filled with The Spirit or not at all. So in the same way, we either manifest His Fruit (His Whole Fruit) or none at all. Let's pray that we may be filled with the Spirit so His Fruit can be seen in us.

Watch and Pray (Before We Act)

What a year it has been so far....

• - Winter Olympics took place in Sochi, Russia amidst very erratic weather conditions.
• - Deadly mudslide in Oso, Washington kills 43 in March. 
• - Ebola rages and starts spreading in the Western African countries.
• - Many states rule on legalizing same-sex marriage.
• - Ongoing turmoil between Ukraine and Russia escalates.
• - Malaysia Flight 17 is shot down in Ukraine, and Air Algerie Flight 5017 crashes in Mali (298 and 116 die respectively)
• - Eric Garner is killed by police officer Daniel Pantaleo in New York in July.
• - ISIS shows videos of beheading American hostages throughout the year.
• - Michael Brown is shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Missouri.
• - Thomas Eric Duncan is the first person in the U.S. to die of Ebola (who gave the disease to nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson).
• - Dr. Craig Spencer is first diagnosed Ebola patient in NYC.
• - As the year progresses, more people contract Ebola outside of the Western Africa. 
• - More unarmed African Americans are killed by police officers as year progresses (sadly, too numerous to mention their names).
• - Protests, violence, and riots break out in Ferguson after the acquittal of Officer Wilson in November.
• - National anger and protests explode after the acquittal of Officer Pantaleo in New York City in December.
• - Outbreaks of other diseases (Enterovirus, Legionnaires, Chikungunya...) fill the news feeds.

.... and this is not even a quarter of all that has happened in 2014.

As I write, many people are angry; beyond angry. The acquittals of Officers Wilson and Pantaleo have angered more than just Americans, but the world.  The growing trend of injustices to minorities, along with the lack of care and funds to Ebola-stricken countries, the silence of the American public over political unrest in other countries, the famines, the wars and rumors of wars...the human plight seems to be getting worse. We are in the midst of winter, but we have been getting more rain than we do in Spring! The world as we know it, has changed forever, and will continue to change year by year.

One of the most memorable texts Jesus said while speaking to His disciples about the end days was in Mark 13:33 'Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is'. It is easy to get up in arms when we see things in the media that anger us. The enemy wants to divide and conquer us. He is a mastermind at stirring people to hurt each other. But as tempers flare, and passions rise, remember this is the very time we should be watching and praying THE MOST! Please take some time to pray and plead for ALL those who have been involved in the recent minority murders, in wars, in shooting sprees and in terrorism groups. We forget Christ did tell us to pray for our enemies; that's not a group we even want to mention on our lips, but we are commanded to pray for them.

The LORD warned us on what to expect in the latter days, and as much as it rips our hearts and weighs heavy on our souls to see all that is going on in the news, we must always, always, always commit our ways to God before we spring into any action (especially when we are enraged, hurt or frightened - those are the moments we are more prone to making matters worse instead of better). 

So family, as you seek an eye for an eye, as you demand 'blood' and justice for injustice, as you riot, protest, cry, swear, destroy other people's property and their characters, check in with the Commander-in-Chief first for your orders on how to respond to any situation. Like a good soldier, watch and pray.

So let's act!

Let's advocate for the right!

Let's talk and find ways to fix a broken system of justice.
Let's protect and love each other!

Let's watch and pray and work to make things better in this world!

BlackLivesMatter but even greater than this, ALL LivesMatter as well! 

Perilous Times, But Pray and Praise Anyway

I cannot keep up with the signs of the times....

As I type, there was a U.S. airstrike on Isis in Syria, a sit-in near Wall Street to protest Climate Change, a bus tragedy that resulted in 2 deaths and many injured; increased prevalance of the Ebola and Chikungunya outbreaks (in West Africa and in the Caribbean respectively), and the capture of a White House intruder who had more than 800 rounds of ammunition!

And that's not even the half of it.

Our world is in turmoil. Those who once dreamed or believed society was 'getting better' are now realizing that things are indeed getting worse. Despite it all, the Bible had forewarned us about the times in which we live in. It also tells us that we should be spending a lot more time in prayer AND praise.

How do you react to these different headlines I just mentioned?
 
Do you just shrug your shoulders and keep on living?
 
Does depression grip you and fear for the future?
 
Do you ignore it? Do you pray about it? What do you do with it?

Friends, fear is not from God (2 Tim 1:7). Even as we see so many painful situations in the world, The LORD gave us The Comforter (in the form of The Holy Spirit) to comfort our hearts and to be our teacher in all of life's matters. Two of the most comforting verses in the book of John reveals the work of the Holy Spirit and the compassion of The LORD to give us The Comforter in these troubling times:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
 

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  John 14: 26-27

Did you notice that? We can have peace in THIS world! Peace! 

Cling to Christ. Pour out your heart to Him. Give Him your fears, anxieties, trepidations, worries and everything in-between. You cannot burden Him, and He never gets tired of hearing from us (He never sleeps!!!). As we struggle in our day to day lives, endeavor to make time to pray and to praise God without ceasing. To learn how to pray, go to Matthew 6:5-15. To learn how to pray, go to the Book of The Psalms. 

Life's hard and it won't be getting any easier. Why not come unto The LORD, give Him your burdens and He will give us His rest (Matt 11:28). Learn to pray and praise Him more than ever before.

So Much To Pray For

One of the most quoted, most loved and most memorized verses in all of Scripture is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.  It says;

"Pray without ceasing"

May I submit to you that it's also one of the least performed commands in all of Scripture. How many of us actually 'pray without ceasing' anyway? We spend an exorbitant amount of time fantasizing, fussing, worrying, plotting and everything else but praying constantly. 

Some may wonder how is this possible, but if it is commanded, then that means there must be a way to be in prayer without stopping. The LORD never tells us to do something that is impossible to do, otherwise why would HE ask us to perform an impossible task! HE knows us better than we know ourselves and HE knows the limitations of fallen mankind, yet we are told to pray unceasingly. We must learn what that means.

I believe Enoch mastered this command and it is probably one of the reason why The LORD took him to be with HIM. In Genesis 5:22, it says "And Enoch walked with GOD after he begat Methuselah...", and again in Genesis 5:24, "And Enoch walked with God; and was not, for God took him".  The ability to have a never-ending prayerlife with God is to walk with HIM! Imagine, if you are with your very BEST friend in the whooooole world for a week; you would be talking up a storm with this person throughout the day! I believe this is the very relationship The LORD wants to have with us, and even more deeper than that one! 

Well, with that realization, these last few weeks have been intense! There are increasingly more things/situations/people to pray for and I can't keep up with my prayer list!!! I will tell you this; it is must easier to pray throughout the day when you have a long list of family members, friends, situations and petitions to pray for than if you didn't. Whatever you are experiencing, give it to THE LORD. He bids us come to HIM especially when life's trials seem soooo gigantic and our faith seems so small...

Exhale.

Pray without ceasing guys....