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The Word of God says:

Luke 18:1 (KJV)
¹ And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

My reflections on the Word of God:

In this verse Jesus stresses to His disciples the importance of persevering in prayer. Jesus used the word “ought”, which the NIV translates as “should” to teach His disciples the necessity of constant prayer. Prayer should be to the Christian as normal as breathing.

Just like breathing fresh air is necessary for maintaining our physical life, so is constant prayer necessary for maintaining our spiritual life. If we do not pray without ceasing we will faint. The word faint describes a Christian who loses heart. He or she gets so discouraged that they want to quit. Praying constantly brings you into the conscience presence of God at all time. When you are tempted to sin God is with you. When your faith is tested God is with you. You will be encouraged and strengthened by being in the presence of God. You can call upon Him and know that He is there right by your side.

1 Chronicles 16:11 (KJV)
¹¹ Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.
Jeremiah 29:13 (KJV)
¹³ And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Matthew 26:41 (KJV)
⁴¹ Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Philippians 4:6 (KJV)
⁶ Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father, I praise and thank You that You have chosen to make Your home in the hearts of Your believing children. Father, I know that Your unlimited love motivates You to give good gifts to Your children. Therefore, I am asking for grace and the faith to pray and not lose heart because we know that You are always working in every circumstance in our lives for Your glory and for our good. Lord, help us to keep our attention focused on You, and not on our circumstances. Help us be people who pray without ceasing so that we will continuously breathe the pure air of heaven from being in Your presence always.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV)
¹⁷ Pray without ceasing.

Close To Thee (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/l/closthee.htm

The Word of God says:

Ephesians 6:18-20 (NIV)
¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV)
¹⁷ Pray without ceasing.

My reflections on the Word of God:

The passage cited above from Ephesians provides an appropriate way for us to move into a reflection on the topic of “The Call to Unceasing Prayer”. The focal verse we will be using to reflect upon this topic is the verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

Dr. Henry Blackaby has said the following regarding our topic:

“Jesus also said in praying that we ought never to ‘lose heart’ or become discouraged. Today, we are living in dark and desperate times. Many believers have grown weary from the moral decay of our culture …Others have become discouraged with our involvement in Iraq … He (Jesus) wondered if people would possess the type of faith required for such a prayer life.”

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (AMP)
¹⁷ Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];

The exhortation to continuous prayer is not prayer without any interruptions. Prayer is the way that God has provided for His children to communicate with Him. As we walk through life’s highways and byways there is never a time that God is not with us because He lives and abides in us. It is the means that we speak to Him, and it is the means that we listen to Him. He speaks to us primarily through His Word, and by His Spirit.

Hence, the exhortation to “Pray without ceasing” is not only the will of God for believers, but it is our lifeline for getting everything that we need to fulfill our God ordained purpose and mission for our life.

Matthew 7:7 (KJV)
⁷ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

John 16:24 (KJV)
²⁴ Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, I pray that we who are Your children will seek forgiveness for the times we have allowed darkness, temptation, desertions, and delays in answered prayer to weary us in praying. Father God, we confess that when we act like this that we are acting like spoiled children, by ceasing to pray when we can’t have everything our way.

Father, I pray that we will heed the exhortation from Your Word that says to us that we should pray without ceasing. Lord, for Your name’s sake, I pray that You would help us pray without ceasing. And, with God’s people everywhere, we say Amen.

In The Garden (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.biblestudycharts.com/SH_In_The_Garden.html

The Word of God says:

Psalms 30:6-10 (NIV)
⁶ When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.”
⁷ O Lord, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.
⁸ To you, O Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy:
⁹ “What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help.”

My reflections on the Word of God:

David had that terrible experience of realizing the results of the sin of pride. When he was experiencing the favor of God things were going well in his life. However, when David rebelled against the Lord by allowing his pride to get the best of him he experienced the chastening of God.

If you were to ask Job he would say to David and to us that the Lord allows trouble in our lives so that we won’t get too comfortable in our walk with Him. In fact, Job did have something to say about this subject.

Job 16:12 (NIV)
¹² All was well with me, but he shattered me; he seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me his target;

When David allowed pride to enter his life there was no place for humility. When David’s trust was in the Lord he experienced the blessings of God. The bible shows that when God’s face is shinning upon His people that reap the harvest of His blessings.

Numbers 6:23-27 (NIV)
²³ “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
²⁴ “‘ “The Lord bless you and keep you;
²⁵ the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
²⁶ the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”‘
²⁷ “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

David did not enjoy being in the position of being alienated from God. The place of the rebel is not a comfortable place to be. In fact, all of us are just one breathe away from death and the grave. David argued with God about His discipline, but he did the right thing and repented, and sought God’s favor again in his life by exchanging the position of pride for the position of a humble servant of God.

Psalms 30:9-10 (NIV)
⁹ “What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help.”

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for the divine favor that You shower upon Your people when Your face is shinning upon us. Father God, I pray that You will grant to me and to all of Your believing children a new heart that will walk humbly in Your sight, and will be pleasing to You in every respect.

Take My Life and Let It Be (Click on link for lyrics and midi):

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/m/tmlalib.htm

The Word of God says:

Psalms 30:6-7 (NIV)
⁶ When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.”
⁷ O Lord, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.

My reflections on the Word of God:

In His prayer David prayed for the Lord to deliver him from the sin of self-sufficiency. As long as David was trusting in the Lord things went well for him. However, when he put his trust in himself things did not go well. The thought of God hiding His face from David was enough for David to resort to prayer, and to refocus his trust from trusting in self to trusting in the Lord.

Psalms 22:24 (NIV)
²⁴ For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

Psalms 27:9 (NIV)
⁹ Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.

David came to the realization that when he trusted in God things went well. However, when he trusted in himself that he was self-sufficient things did not go well.

Psalms 30:7 (NIV)
⁷ O Lord, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, I praise and thank You for Your divine favor that You lavished upon Your children when we put our trust in You. Father God, I invite You to examine my heart, and see if You find any trace of self-sufficiency in me, and I ask that You remove it from me as far as the east is from the west. Lord, I want to learn to trust You more, and to trust You with my whole heart.

‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.biblestudycharts.com/SH_Tis_So_Sweet.html

The Word of God says:

Psalms 30:1-5 (NASB)
¹ I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
² O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.
³ O Lord, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.
⁴ Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name.
⁵ For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

My reflections on the Word of God:

The thing I like about the Psalms is that I find in them problems that are common to people of every generation. In this Psalm David remembers how the Lord had delivered him during a time of great trouble in his life.

Troubles will come into your life and into my life, and we have the privilege of turning to the same God that David turned to in his time of trouble.

John 16:33 (KJV)
³³ These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

David describes in verses two and three how the Lord delivered him out of his trouble. Each of us can look back at a time when God was faithful to deliver us from the troubles we faced. When the Lord answered David’s prayer, David was careful to remember to give God the praise, and to thank him for hearing and answering his prayers. David even invited others to join him is giving praise.

Psalms 30:4 (NASB)
⁴ Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank You that there is a God in heaven who hears and answers to cry of His children in their time of great need. Father, I thank You for the comfort I have in knowing that I never have to face my problems and troubles alone. Father God, I am so glad that Your divine favor last for a lifetime.

Psalms 30:5 (ESV)
⁵ For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Joy Comes In The Morning (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.angelfire.com/oh3/kenskorner/joy.html

The Word of God says:

Psalms 13:6 (NASB)
⁶ I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Ephesians 1:3 (NASB)
³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

My reflections on the Word of God:

There is a common thread that runs through each one of these selected verses that I have chosen to reflect upon today.

The common tread is that God is good to His children. The testimony of the Psalmist is that God has dealt bountifully with him, and that he could rest in the blessed assurance that no matter the size of the trouble that he may encounter in his life he could take comfort in knowing that God will take care of him.

David learned early in life that there was a God in heaven who cared about him, and who invited him to trust in God to meet all of his needs. Therefore, when David was faced with trouble in his life he cried out to God for help.

Psalms 142:5 (NASB)
⁵ I cried out to You, O Lord; I said, “You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.

The Apostle Paul sums it up for the believers of his day, and for believers of every age. God the Father has given us His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Take the time to consider how blessed you are to have Christ living in your heart.

Colossians 1:27 (NASB)
²⁷ to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

My prayer I response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for Your divine favor, and unconditional love that You have so abundantly lavished upon Your believing children. Lord, like Your servant David, we can say that You have dealt bountifully with us.

Father God we can also say that no matter what trouble may come our way in this life, we can always take comfort in the knowledge that God loves us and cares for us. Lord God Almighty, I take comfort in knowing that God’s provisions are always greater than my needs.

Philippians 4:19 (NASB)
¹⁹ And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

God Will Take Care of You (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.digitalhymnal.org/dhymn.cfm?hymnNumber=99

The Word of God says:

Romans 10:9-10 (KJV)
⁹ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
¹⁰ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

My reflections on the Word of God:

Today we conclude the larger topic of our look at the Great Commandment (Mat 22:37), and the sub-topic of “Heart Replacement”.

Our subject today is “A believing heart”. Our focal passage for today makes it clear why we need a believing heart. In this verse we see the only human requirement for salvation. God has done His part through the work of His Son. The human part is repentance and believing.

1 John 2:23 (KJV)
²³ Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

1 John 4:15 (KJV)
¹⁵ Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for sending Jesus into the world to take upon himself the sin debt for the whole world. Father God, I thank You that You have provided the means of salvation for everyone who is willing to turn from their sins, and turn to Jesus as their only means for salvation. Father God, I thank You that anyone who repents of sin, and believes in Jesus shall have everlasting life.

John 5:24 (KJV)
²⁴ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Trusting Jesus (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/r/trusting.htm

The Word of God says:

Psalms 119:10-16 (KJV)
¹⁰ With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
¹¹ Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
¹² Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
¹³ With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.
¹⁴ I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
¹⁵ I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
¹⁶ I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

My reflections on the Word of God:

Today we continue our topic of looking at heart replacement, by looking at what the Word has to say about the kept heart. The focal verse for our reflection today is verse eleven. This is a verse that is an excellent candidate for committing to memory.

Psalms 119:11 (KJV)
¹¹ Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

A key word in this verse is “hid”. Other versions use “treasured”, “laid up”, “stored up”, and” hidden”. The message comes through loud and clear that the Word of God must be stored up in our hearts if we are to have a kept heart.

If we do our part in hiding the Word of God in our hearts, the Holy Spirit of God will be our helper in understanding, and applying the Word to our hearts. And by the grace of God, we will be not only hearers of the Word but doers of the Word also.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for the Word of God, and for the Holy Spirit of God who You have given to us to be our helper. Father God, we realize that to have a heart that is pleasing to You we must treasure the Word of God in our hearts so that by the grace of God we will be not just hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word also.

James 1:22 (KJV)
²² But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Thy Word Have I Hid in My Heart (Click on link for lyrics and midi):

http://www.biblestudycharts.com/SH_Thy_Word_Have_I_Hid_in_My_Heart.html

The Word of God says:

Matthew 22:37-38 (KJV)
³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
³⁸ This is the first and great commandment.

My reflections on the Word of God:

Jesus made this response to the teacher of the law who asked Him the question, “Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the law?”

Today, our focus is upon the first and great commandment, the commandment to love God with all of our heart. There are two phrases in this great commandment that causes me to pause, and let them sink into my heart. The first is “thy God”, and the second is “thy heart”. These phrases say to me that God is a personal God.

This God who is Sovereign over all is not a far away God. He is a God who is a Spirit, but who is also personal. He relates to His people on a personal basis. Jesus said that the first in importance is the commandment to love God with all of your heart, soul and mind.

The response of the teacher of the law indicates that he got it. As a result of this powerful and authoritative answer by Jesus, the Pharisees did not ask anymore questions of Jesus for fear that ever more of the people would turn from them and turn to Jesus.

Mark 12:32-34 (NASB)
³² The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is one, and there is no one else besides Him;
³³ and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength , and to love one’s neighbor as himself , is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father, and the Father of all who come to You by faith in Jesus, I praise and thank You for the privilege of having a personal relationship with You. Father God, I acknowledge that it would be impossible for me to love You if You did not first love me. I know that only You can give me a loving heart. Thank You for giving me that loving heart when Jesus came into my heart to take up permanent residence. Father God, I love You so much, and I want to love You more and more each day.

O, How I love Jesus (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.digitalhymnal.org/dhymn.cfm?hymnNumber=248

The Word of God says:

Luke 24:28-32 (KJV)
²⁸ And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
²⁹ But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
³⁰ And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
³² And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

My reflections on the Word of God:

Today we continue our focus on the topic of heart replacement. Two followers of Christ had an encounter with Jesus after His resurrection, and it had a profound impact on their lives. It is significant that these two men invited Jesus to come to their home because they wanted to know more about Him. Notice what happened to them after spending time with Jesus.

Luke 24:32 (KJV)
³² And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

This would never have happened if they had not invited Jesus to their home. If they had allowed this divine opportunity to pass, they would perhaps have never known that it was the risen Christ that they had encountered on their travel to Emmaus.

It was the Word of God that stirred the conviction in their hearts, and it was their response to the conviction, inviting Jesus to their home, that led to them coming to know Jesus personally.

Jeremiah 5:14 (KJV)
¹⁴ Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

Revelation 3:20 (KJV)
²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for the powerful and effective Word of God. Father, I thank You for the compassionate and loving heart of Jesus. I am so glad that Jesus is willing to respond to our invitation to come and spend time with us. He is willing to come to our house, and to open our eyes, and give us a burning heart if we are willing to invite Him.

Let Jesus Come Into Your Heart (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://junior.apk.net/~bmames/ht0415_.htm