Tag: #prayer&thanksgiving

Will My Troubles and Trials Ever Go Away?

Text:

Psalm 55:1-5 (ESV)

1 Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!

2  Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan,

3  because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

4  My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

5  Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.

Observation:

In this Psalm David writes about the troubles and terror that he was facing in a season of his life. The troubles were from within, and without, but they both drained him of his peace, and his joy.

Psalm 55:6-8 (ESV)

6  And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;

7  yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah

8  I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.”

When we find ourselves feeling like this, when we think will I ever get out of this pit. This is the time to be still, and remember who we are, and whose we are. It is time to connect with our Father in heaven.

Psalm 55:16-17 (ESV)

16  But I call to God, and the LORD will save me.

17  Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.

Yes, there is nothing in this world that will satisfy our souls, and heal our wounded hearts like the presence of the Lord. That is why David writes this near the end of his Psalm, and you can claim this promise in your season of trouble, and pain.

Psalm 55:22 (ESV)

22  Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

The Apostle Peter draws upon this wisdom, and writes this encouragement to the first century believers, and it speaks to us today.

1 Peter 5:7 (ESV)

7  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Prayer: 

Father, I exalt and give praise and honor to Your name; the name that I cherish above every name on earth below, and in heaven above.

Father, hear our cry; hear our plea as we cry out to You in prayer for others, and for ourselves. Father, we declare that our hope is in You, and that our help comes from You.

Father, we know that You can, and that You will hear our prayer. We watch, and wait for Your answer to our prayers. Amen.

—

Ephesians 6:10-11 (ESV) 
10   Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
11  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Read all the Daily Devotionals by Herb Cotton; click here:

http://herbcotton.blogspot.com/

Do You Know Why It Pays to Pray?

 

Text:

Luke 11:1-2 (ESV)

1  Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

2  And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.

Observation:

I frequently hear people say, “We need to do more than pray”. I never receive those words.

I heard something recently that  reflect more accurately what the Word of God says about prayer.

“We can do more than pray after we pray, but we cannot do more than pray until we pray.”

Notice that Jesus said to His disciples “When you pray”. He did not say, “If you pray”. Without God we cannot do the work of God.

The disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray”. I don’t know about you, but I need the practice in knowing how to pray. However, there is so much more that we get when we pray.

When we pray, we are brought into the presence of  the Almighty and All Knowing God. We get to spend time alone with Him in prayer. We get to communicate (listen and talk); we also get to connect our heart with His heart.

Additionally, we get to exchange gifts. What we have to offer Him is our highest praise, and our most sincere gratitude for who He is, and for what He does.

What we receive from Him are the blessings from His storehouse. Our Father is rich; His resources are unlimited.

Our gifts of praise and thanksgiving offered to Him creates an atmosphere that positions our hearts to be stirred with love, joy, and peace that comes from being in the presence of the LORD.

Our hearts are prepared, and are conditioned by His desires; they become our desires. Then we are strategically positioned and ready to Ask and receive everything we need.

1 John 5:14-15 (ESV)

14  And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

15  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Psalm 37:4 (ESV)

4  Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Are you ready to spend some time with the Father in prayer so that His desires will become your desires? It pays richly to pray regularly.

Prayer:

Father, I am so grateful for the privilege on being able to enter into Your throne room, and to have the privilege of having a private audience with You.

Father, smile on Your people as they meet with You face to face. Father, we offer up to You our sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

—

Isaiah 55:11 (KJV) 
11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Read the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

http://herbcotton.blogspot.com/

Hear the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

https://soundcloud.com/praying-for-you-ministry