Category: Prayer

4/23/2023 1 Comment

Because of His Majesty

How do we avoid sinning? It’s a fundamental question that has many implications for our lives. Reading through the book of Job, we can pick up some amazing insights from a man horrifically tormented by Satan for his righteous life. In chapter 31, Job identifies at least thirteen things that would be inappropriate for him to do, with verse 23 serving as the lynchpin for his profound reasoning.

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3/22/2023 0 Comments

Boldness

Herodotus, a Greek historian from Halicarnassus, wrote the Histories, a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars that modern historians and archeologists have largely validated.[1] The Roman orator Cicero called him “The Father of History.” Herodotus wrote, “It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what might happen.” Herodotus understood Spartan warriors' courage and the Greeks' bravery in defeating Persian armies that dwarfed them in size and resources. Imagine if this astute historian had understood the boldness available to those who serve an unshakable kingdom!

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2/28/2023 0 Comments

From a Deeper Place

Hannah suffered from three places. First was the place of torment. She had a rival—a woman who taunted her severely to provoke her, often reducing her to tears and enflamed resentment. Second was the place of pain. She could not bear a child, which ate at her soul as she felt God’s withholding hand. Not even the encouragement of her loving husband could ease the ache she carried. Third was the place of misunderstanding. Eli, the priest, mistook Hannah’s silent prayer in her anguished worship. He saw her moving lips and thought she was drunk. Instead of investigating, he scolded her and told her to stop drinking.

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1/16/2023 0 Comments

No Choice in the Matter

David & Teresa

Around 2010, David was having his quiet time on his outside patio when the Lord said, “I want you to give me everything.” He responded, “Lord, You have everything . . . we served You on the mission field . . . ” The Holy Spirit then impressed on his heart, “I want everything in your bank accounts.” David’s heart broke, and he began weeping. Then he conceded, “Lord, it’s all yours.” He went to his wife, Teresa, and shared what had happened. She replied that before emptying their bank accounts, she wanted confirmation. After two days of prayer, Teresa heard from God and agreed with her husband. They emptied all their accounts and wrote a check to Eternal Perspectives Ministries. David told me, “It was fun to write that check but very scary.” About two years later, God directed them to move from Indiana to Oregon. Without funding or a job but full of faith, they obeyed. For six months, with two of their children and a dog, they slept on couches in friends’ homes until the time came when God blessed them with provisions to have their own place and ministry.

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1/14/2023 8 Comments

Navigating the Christian Life

Author Geoff Davis

Over forty years ago, on April 1, 1982, I pinned on a US Army Ranger Tab. When I began that program on February 2, 1982, I started with some of the Army’s best soldiers. God used it as one of the most formative lessons in my walk with Him, so that I might know Him better.

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10/17/2022 0 Comments

Just a Youth

In 336 B.C., Alexander III of Macedon succeeded his father, Philip II, in becoming king of Greece at the age of twenty.[1] Alexander was not content to rule Greece. By age thirty, he had conquered so many nations that his rule extended from Greece to northwestern India. Alexander was undefeated in battle and is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. No wonder he was called Alexander the Great. But did you know that Alexander was tutored until the age of 16 by the Greek philosopher Aristotle?

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10/10/2022 0 Comments

Trees and Fungi

Suzanne Simard is the tree professor at the University of British Columbia.[1] She discovered through her research that yew trees communicate chemically through fungi with their neighboring trees for mutual defense. Trees are connected below ground through a fungi network that resembles the human brain’s neural networks. For example, Simard observed a Douglas fir injured by insects that seemingly passed chemical warning messages to a nearby ponderosa. The pine tree produced defense enzymes that protected it against insects. Similarly, birch trees protected fir from Armillaria root disease. When trees are dying, they pass off as much as 40% of their carbon to their neighboring trees.

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9/26/2022 0 Comments

Why We Exist

Gerry got back from Afghanistan, and he is not in good shape. Half his squad was on a mounted patrol when their vehicles were hit by an improvised explosive device (IED), killing four and badly wounding two. Unfortunately, he had to identify the bodies and could not get the images out of his head. Now between alcohol and too many medications, his life has lost meaning, and he has frequent thoughts of ending it.

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8/26/2022 1 Comment

Give Us a King!

The old prophet Samuel’s sons were wicked, and the elders of Israel were not about to have them lead the nation. So, they visited Samuel at his home in Ramah and demanded he appoint a king to be their judge and leader, just like all the surrounding nations (1 Samuel 8:4,5).

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7/16/2022 0 Comments

The Missing Spatula Handle

Ron and Joyce, shortly after getting married, hosted a prayer breakfast at their home. A British Major General visiting Fort Benning was to be the speaker at the prayer breakfast. Joyce baked a coffee cake for breakfast that morning. While cleaning up the kitchen, she realized the spatula handle was missing. After looking everywhere, she concluded it must have fallen into the coffee cake.

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7/1/2022 0 Comments

Inability to See

Meditation
John 8:25-27—“Who are You?” they questioned. “Precisely what I’ve been telling you from the very beginning,” Jesus told them. I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the One who sent Me is true, and what I have heard from Him—these things I tell the world.” They did not know He was speaking to them about the Father.

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3/6/2022 0 Comments

Busted

Ralph wanted to go to the movies with his friends but attending cinemas was not allowed in his church. So, he concocted a story and asked his mother if she would give him a ride to his friend Harold's house the next day to attend his birthday party. She mentioned they would need to get Harold a birthday gift, but Ralph said he didn’t want any presents. His mother must have known that was strange. The next night it was pouring rain and Ralph’s mom suggested as they pulled up to a dark house that Harold's party must have been cancelled. Ralph assured her they were in the back part of the house and ran through the rain to the front door and knocked. When his buddy opened the door and let him in, Ralph’s mother drove off. But the night’s adventures were just beginning.

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1/31/2022 0 Comments

Don't Get Agitated!

Do you know someone who constantly bothers you? Are there people who consistently distress your life by their words or actions? If this is your experience it is not unusual. I am pretty sure almost every human on the planet gets agitated—some on a daily or hourly basis! What causes such tension? Immaturity, unnecessary volume, rudeness, dangerous driving habits, failure to learn and correct mistakes, claiming to know what someone thinks, not listening . . . the list can be annoying long.

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1/28/2022 0 Comments

The Benefit of Help

Jennifer was suffering. Her finances languished after months of just getting past too many bills. Her favorite dog, Lightning, a family fixture for thirteen years, passed away. Her job required her to be vaccinated but she was allergic to the ingredients of the shot. Despite her doctor’s note exempting her, she was getting hassled by her coworkers. Yesterday her car broke down. Just how was she supposed to pay her mechanic for this unexpected disaster?

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8/28/2021 0 Comments

Withering

The Hebrew word navel, basically means wither or lose heart. It is used twenty times in the Old Testament. The word describes Moses in Exodus 18:18—warned about wearing out from trying to judge the people alone. Eleven times it refers to plants dying. Isaiah uses it to show people withering from sin (Isaiah 64:6). When you think of the condition of the world right now does it feel like it is withering? Such a thought should not be surprising for God warned us that this would happen.

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7/7/2021 0 Comments

God's Gracious Hand

Meditation
Ezra 8:21-23--I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions. I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who abandon Him.” So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and He granted our request.

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1/23/2021 1 Comment

Fellowship: Why It Matters

Fellowship is a rich concept much deeper in meaning than we probably realize. In Hebrew the primary word for fellowship is šelem and it occurs 87 times in the New International Version (NIV). Only once is it used in the context of meeting with others (Psalm 55:13,14), in every other instance fellowship connects to God through the giving of a fellowship offering. The fellowship or peace offering in the Old Testament emphasized the opportunity the Hebrews had for close communion with God. This fellowship was consummated by eating the flesh of an animal presented as an offering to God (Leviticus 3 and 7:11-21). The peace offering meant that all was well relationally between Yahweh and His people and it was the last offering given.[1]

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11/24/2020 1 Comment

Thankful

It will go down in history as perhaps mankind’s most bizarre year. Never has the entire globe in unison shut down because of a virus. Restrictions in travel, work, recreation, size of gatherings etc., have ruined businesses, increased the number of suicides and deaths for those with other ailments who cannot be hospitalized, amped fear to unprecedented levels, and created a huge divide in opinion over what should or should not be done. Meanwhile political unrest, rolling waves of violence, storms and disasters add to the cacophony of 2020.

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10/19/2020 0 Comments

When God Speaks

Meditation
Ezra 1:1-2--In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The Lord put it into the mind of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing: This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.”

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9/30/2020 0 Comments

The Return

Abraham Lincoln proclaimed, “It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.” On April 30, 1863, Lincoln's National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer was observed. Two days later, Lt. General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was mortally wounded in a freak accident where he was shot by his own troops. The loss of this powerful Confederate leader changed the course of the war.[1]

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Photo used under Creative Commons from Rachel Maxey Miles