PM#0551--May the Lord Uphold and Protect Us

 PM#0551

May the Lord uphold us and protect us, so we can mature in Him.  Help us Lord to keep our eyes on You, and to give You praise as Jehoshaphat did in Israel when faced with an impossible battle.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Based on: II Chronicles 20 and Isaiah 9:6 –‘Prince of Peace’ 

Note:  A prince ‘upholds’ (taken from the study on Prince of Peace, in Day 18 in the book 31 Names of God) 

Amazon.com : lewis turner, 31 names of god

PM#0550 A Prayer for America to Sing Again

 PM#0550 A Prayer for America to Sing Again

Father,  

May the presence of your love restore America to singing once again.  May that love reach across the divide in our country bringing people together, regardless of political party affiliation or church denomination and turn our hearts to Jesus.  May Your love direct us to action—not the political party.  May we yield to You, and as we do, begin to sing once again as a Nation honoring Biblical principles and as a Church in unity honoring Jesus.—In Jesus Name, Amen.

PM#0549 A Prayer of My Heart for My Country

PM#0548 

Psalm 66:17-20 (KJV)

¹⁷  I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.
¹⁸  If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
¹⁹  But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
²⁰  Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

 

Many have come before you oh Lord, in humility, seeking you and your righteousness and mercy for this country.  We have searched the scriptures, we want your righteousness over this land.  This nation was founded to honor you, and we seek to return to that vision.

Your word encourages us.  Galatians 6:9 (KJV) says “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”  Ephesians 6:13 (KJV) tells us to “…and having done all, to stand.”

Father, as we come to you, standing for your mercy in our land, may we see your hand at work.  May the works of darkness be exposed.  May your plans for this Nation come forth.  For this, we offer our praise for what you are doing and will do.  Thank you, Holy Father.  Grant us your peace to keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7 (KJV)

PM#407 God's Peace Can Keep us

PM#0407

PM#407

God’s Peace Keeps Us

Phil 4:7 

Have you ever been faced with turmoil that is not of your asking? – Yet you seem to get the brunt of a verbal attack stemming from anger or from accusation that seems not to be founded?

When this occurs, those situations hurt to the core of our very being and they can make us quite angry.  In times like these, we need to cry out to the Lord in prayer for His peace to keep our hearts and minds. God’s peace and his presence is something we all really do need.  In the Presence of God there is peace despite the turmoil.

I would encourage you to take time to meditate on a prayer so you will be able to pray a similar one if a verbal attack again.

Father, I do not know the source of this accusation and anger.  It is causing turmoil.  I ask for your presence and peace to help keep my heart and mind.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

PM423 Can I Make a Difference?

PM#0205 Preparing the Soil

PM#0205

Preparing the Soil

Matthew 13:3-8

A farmer knows of the hard work that is done before a harvest.  It starts with preparing soil, and planting it.  If the soil is not prepared, precious seed may be lost and may not even grow.

To reach people for the Lord Jesus Christ, there is much preparatory work to be done so that people will be ready to hear and accept God’s word for them. This preparatory work starts with prayer, asking God’s help in preparing people’s hearts to be ready to receive God’s word and to respond to His Love. 

If your desire is to reach people for Christ, then join with me in this prayer.

Father, we ask you to go before us, preparing hearts to receive your word.  Help us to show your love to them.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Reflection:

Why is it important for hearts to be prepared to hear God’s word?

Why is prayer important for people to be able to respond to God’s l0ve?

If you have experienced a time where someone responded to God’s love, because someone prayed, please share a few words about it. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PM#424 Bless Them That Curse You Matthew 5 vs 44

PM#0424

Bless Them that Curse You

Matthew 5: 44

When you have been falsely accused, can you respond in a manner that says I love you?

Most of us when falsely accused will respond defensively, and desire to set the record straight.  Is this the way Christ has taught us to respond?

Christ showed us another way in Matthew 5: 44.  It says: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you;” 

This is a difficult command for many of us because when we are hurt or have been falsely accused, we receive it personally.  Christ too could have reacted against those who crucified Him, but He chose to forgive them while He hung on the Cross.

Perhaps we should seek the Lord in prayer for His help in showing love to others and blessing them through prayer.  Consider a prayer like this:

‘Father, I ask your help to be able to show your Love through blessing others.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.’

  

Our responses in many situations are what you might call ‘reactionary’.   Often these reactions are defensive, and if you took a close look at them, those defensive reactions could easily become a curse.  That brings us to a difficult question, what would Jesus do?

In Matthew 5:44 He said to ‘Forgive’, and he also demonstrated this when He suffered the painful cross and said in Luke 23:34 when He said “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

It is very difficult to forgive, but that is what Jesus wants us to do.  A thought about this—does that mean we roll over and play dead?  No—in forgiving we need to pray.  Christ prayed to the Father when he was hung on the Cross of Calvary.  We need to pray for others, and for our heart our responding to them.  We try to fight the battle, but it is best to start on our knees, forgiving, and standing for the truth, letting God direct us His way.

I would like to share another thought about forgiving, forgiving frees a person.  I have seen many times when one forgives, or one asks forgiveness, the shackles that kept a barrier up for sometimes many years are removed.  This is of importance in Day to Day personal relationships in families, Parents to Children and vise versa, and other personal relationships—family, friend, or business.  Again—ask the Lord to help you forgive, and then consider blessing the other when you do.