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"Faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12).
Yesterday
we stopped by The Village Farm Market, east of Ephrata Pennsylvania for
lunch. As I waited for Brooksyne to bring out our made–to-order ham and
cheese subs I sat down at one of the picnic tables under the big roof
overhang in front of the store. Two younger "Plain" men who sat at the
table right next to me appeared to be carpenters. Without saying a word
to each other they bowed their heads for a few moments of silent prayer
as is their custom prior to a meal. From an early age they were taught
by word and example the practice of giving thanks for the food set
before them. Of course I have no idea about other aspects of their
spiritual life, but was heartened by this simple act of faithfulness
and devotion toward God.
Prayer is a foundational expression of faith. We speak but cannot see the One to whom we speak. We listen, not with our physical sense of hearing, but rather the spiritual inner heart. Jesus says in John 4, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." The effects of our prayers are often not immediate and at times seem ambiguous, at least from our perspective. Bluntly we may wonder if prayer really does any good.
In Colossians 4:2 Paul offers a similar verse to today's text: "Devote yourselves to prayer."
In fact in the Greek it is the very same phrase. The sense of "devote"
implies a strong attachment, allegiance, and affection for someone or
something; in this case, prayer and the act of praying. It would
include one's passion, time, and needed resources. One who is devoted
is passionate in his commitment and consistency and will not be
disloyal, inconsistent, or indifferent. This character description
should give us a mental picture of one who is devoted to prayer.
"Faithful" is in the present imperative which denotes that we are to continually, habitually follow this command. It is to be one's continual way of life (lifestyle). This Scriptural call is not a suggestion but a command to make it our habitual practice. Remember that whatever God commands of us He also provides the grace and empowerment through His Spirit to carry out.
Someone has well said that "Prayer is the breath of
the Christian life and almost nothing decays so fast in the fallen
human heart as the desire to pray." In other words, nothing is more
vital than prayer in Christian existence, and few things are more
vulnerable to neglect. We must come back to it again and again and
stoke the fire lest, out of neglect, it becomes nothing more than
useless cold embers.
Most Christians will confess the difficulty of maintaining a regular and effective prayer life. The reason is not difficult to discern. If Satan can keep us out of touch with God, he will not have to worry about any trouble we might cause for his evil kingdom.
Believing friend, when we are prayed up our allurement to sin is far less appealing, our spirit is strengthened, and our communion with God becomes the anchor which holds us steady in the daily stresses and major events of our life.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily Prayer: Father, the clamor for our heart's devotion comes from many sources and often overpowers the beckoning command from Scripture to devote ourselves daily to prayer. As we are faithful in prayer we have power to overcome the enemy and intensify our love and devotion to You. We know that prayer is not optional for the believer, but an ordinance from the Bible. You who created us knows what will sustain us and keep us from falling into the hands of our enemy. Help us to be faithful in prayer so that we will be also be joyful in hope and patient in affliction. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Yesterday Tom, a longtime friend from northern PA, commented on the message "Patient in Affliction" and suggested reading Psalm 66. I note verses 10-12 are especially pertinent to the topic.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
Click on the link to open and play.
(In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.)
"I Must Tell Jesus" Video Mark Jones and the Cornerstone Church Choir. We are both greatly blessed by this hymn and this particular version. The soloist sings with such earnest expression. A line in this hymn has often spoken to my heart and is so needed today:
"I Need Thee Every Hour" Video Selah (Includes an eclectic mix)
"Sweet Hour Of Prayer" Video George Beverly Shea
Instrumental version
"Give Me Jesus" Video Fernando Ortega Includes some very touching video clips from the funeral service for Ruth Bell Graham. It shows you the power of prayer in a woman whose life was fully devoted to God.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Today's message is the third in a 3 part series from Romans 12:12:
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer."
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer."
"Faithful In Prayer"
"Faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12).
Yesterday
we stopped by The Village Farm Market, east of Ephrata Pennsylvania for
lunch. As I waited for Brooksyne to bring out our made–to-order ham and
cheese subs I sat down at one of the picnic tables under the big roof
overhang in front of the store. Two younger "Plain" men who sat at the
table right next to me appeared to be carpenters. Without saying a word
to each other they bowed their heads for a few moments of silent prayer
as is their custom prior to a meal. From an early age they were taught
by word and example the practice of giving thanks for the food set
before them. Of course I have no idea about other aspects of their
spiritual life, but was heartened by this simple act of faithfulness
and devotion toward God.Prayer is a foundational expression of faith. We speak but cannot see the One to whom we speak. We listen, not with our physical sense of hearing, but rather the spiritual inner heart. Jesus says in John 4, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." The effects of our prayers are often not immediate and at times seem ambiguous, at least from our perspective. Bluntly we may wonder if prayer really does any good.
In Colossians 4:2 Paul offers a similar verse to today's text: "Devote yourselves to prayer."
In fact in the Greek it is the very same phrase. The sense of "devote"
implies a strong attachment, allegiance, and affection for someone or
something; in this case, prayer and the act of praying. It would
include one's passion, time, and needed resources. One who is devoted
is passionate in his commitment and consistency and will not be
disloyal, inconsistent, or indifferent. This character description
should give us a mental picture of one who is devoted to prayer."Faithful" is in the present imperative which denotes that we are to continually, habitually follow this command. It is to be one's continual way of life (lifestyle). This Scriptural call is not a suggestion but a command to make it our habitual practice. Remember that whatever God commands of us He also provides the grace and empowerment through His Spirit to carry out.
Someone has well said that "Prayer is the breath of
the Christian life and almost nothing decays so fast in the fallen
human heart as the desire to pray." In other words, nothing is more
vital than prayer in Christian existence, and few things are more
vulnerable to neglect. We must come back to it again and again and
stoke the fire lest, out of neglect, it becomes nothing more than
useless cold embers.Most Christians will confess the difficulty of maintaining a regular and effective prayer life. The reason is not difficult to discern. If Satan can keep us out of touch with God, he will not have to worry about any trouble we might cause for his evil kingdom.
Believing friend, when we are prayed up our allurement to sin is far less appealing, our spirit is strengthened, and our communion with God becomes the anchor which holds us steady in the daily stresses and major events of our life.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily Prayer: Father, the clamor for our heart's devotion comes from many sources and often overpowers the beckoning command from Scripture to devote ourselves daily to prayer. As we are faithful in prayer we have power to overcome the enemy and intensify our love and devotion to You. We know that prayer is not optional for the believer, but an ordinance from the Bible. You who created us knows what will sustain us and keep us from falling into the hands of our enemy. Help us to be faithful in prayer so that we will be also be joyful in hope and patient in affliction. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Yesterday Tom, a longtime friend from northern PA, commented on the message "Patient in Affliction" and suggested reading Psalm 66. I note verses 10-12 are especially pertinent to the topic.
We enjoy harvest scenes and fully matured plantings are being harvested all through the summer. Presently it's wheat and hay.
I was visiting some men in a factory in the course of our chaplain work yesterday and noticed this scene outside of one of the shipping docks. I suppose this is not a common sight for too many of our readers where they work!
The wheat is cut and then stacked in shocks to dry. It will be gathered and the grain will be removed with a thresher (see photo). I spoke to my friend Elvin, a member of an old order group yesterday, and he told me that the children will help in pitching up the wheat onto the wagons. That would be a great photo!
This farmer had five of his children on the wagon.
Notice the little girls with their bonnets!
We had a thunderstorm yesterday afternoon and this farmer managed to get his freshly baled alfalfa into the barn just in time!
We stopped by a friend's house for a visit late yesterday afternoon and Daniel invited me to sit up on his cart. It was a pleasurable sight to watch him riding along on his cart as he was delivering some plants to neighbors. I thought you'd get a sense of how miniature the horse is if I sat on the cart. Some dog breeds are bigger than these horses.
I was visiting some men in a factory in the course of our chaplain work yesterday and noticed this scene outside of one of the shipping docks. I suppose this is not a common sight for too many of our readers where they work!
The wheat is cut and then stacked in shocks to dry. It will be gathered and the grain will be removed with a thresher (see photo). I spoke to my friend Elvin, a member of an old order group yesterday, and he told me that the children will help in pitching up the wheat onto the wagons. That would be a great photo!
This farmer had five of his children on the wagon.
Notice the little girls with their bonnets!
We had a thunderstorm yesterday afternoon and this farmer managed to get his freshly baled alfalfa into the barn just in time!
We stopped by a friend's house for a visit late yesterday afternoon and Daniel invited me to sit up on his cart. It was a pleasurable sight to watch him riding along on his cart as he was delivering some plants to neighbors. I thought you'd get a sense of how miniature the horse is if I sat on the cart. Some dog breeds are bigger than these horses.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
Click on the link to open and play.
(In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.)
"I Must Tell Jesus" Video Mark Jones and the Cornerstone Church Choir. We are both greatly blessed by this hymn and this particular version. The soloist sings with such earnest expression. A line in this hymn has often spoken to my heart and is so needed today:
O how the world to evil allures me,
O how my heart is tempted to sin,
I must tell Jesus, and He will help me
Over the world the vic'-t'ry to win.
O how my heart is tempted to sin,
I must tell Jesus, and He will help me
Over the world the vic'-t'ry to win.
"I Need Thee Every Hour" Video Selah (Includes an eclectic mix)
"Sweet Hour Of Prayer" Video George Beverly Shea
Instrumental version
"Give Me Jesus" Video Fernando Ortega Includes some very touching video clips from the funeral service for Ruth Bell Graham. It shows you the power of prayer in a woman whose life was fully devoted to God.
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Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials)
1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only.
2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print.
3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.)
4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.)
5) Print!
Scripture
references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version.
© 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD
BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation,
New King James
Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the
King
James Version.
Personal
Mission Statement:
"I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ
I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord.
My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and
to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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Copyright 2010
Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
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