Category Archives: prayer

Andrew Murray on Prayer

The bond that unites a man with his fellowman is no less real and close than that which unites him to God: one with them.  Grace renews not only our relationship with our fellow human beings, too.  We not only learn to say “my Father,” but also “our Father.”  It would be unnatural for the children of a family to always meet their father separately, never expressing their desires or their love jointly.

Believers are not only members of one family, but of one body.  Just as each member of the body depends on the other, the extent to which the Spirit can dwell in the body depends on the union and cooperation of everyone.  Christians cannot reach the full blessing God is ready to bestow through His Spirit until they seek and receive it in fellowship with each other.  It was to the 120 praying together in total agreement under the same roof that the Spirit came from the throne of the glorified Lord.  In the same way, it is in the union and fellowship of believers that the Spirit can manifest His full power. 

“Moore” Thursday

GOD’S MOTIVATION FOR SURFACING

THE DESTRUCTIVE PARTS OF US IS SO

WE WILL FACE THEM AND COOPERATE

AS HE UPROOTS AND HEALS THEM. 

 

O Lord, have mercy on me.  Heal me, for I have sinned against You (Ps. 41:4).

See how distressed I am!  I am in torment within, and in my heart I am disturbed, for I have been most rebellious.  Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is only death (Lam. 1:20).  But thank You that I can be assured You will never forsake one of Your children crying out in agony over sin.

Lord God, lift me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire.  Set my feet on a rock and give me a firm place to stand.  Put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to my God!  Blessed is the one who makes the Lord his trust (Ps. 40:2-4). 

Beth Moore Praying God’s Word Day By Day

 

Prayer for Faith

Dear Heavenly Father,  Bless me with faith that can move mountains.  May I not be tempted to forget Your power.  May I not be tempted to forget Your love.  May my mind not stray to the might of the destroyer but remember instead the might of the Lord.  Show me Father.  I know You will have the last word, the final say.  And I won’t worry.  You will redeem me.  I will resurrect.  You will bring forth new life from all apparent death.  You create from what the darkness has destroyed, for Your power is infinite, Your forgiveness total, Your mercy complete.  I might fall, but I will not remain down for my God is with me.  You will lift me up.  You will create a new day.  You will bring me home.  Thank You Father.  Amen

President anyone?!

Please excuse me as I jump right off my soapbox before I even share my frustrations with you about the presidential candidates.  I just feel the need to pray for our country. 

Dear God,

I come to You now to celebrate this nation and surrender its destiny to You.  Thank you for giving us this country.  I thank You and ask You to bless the souls of those who founded this nation, this ONE NATION UNDER GOD.  Fill us with Your love and righteousness, so that we can bring healing to our country.  May we be cleansed of all our destructive thoughts.  May judgement of others, such as bigotry, racism, and intolerance be taken from us, wash us clean, O Lord.  Let our minds be filled with thoughts of You, and Your unconditional love and acceptance for all peoples.  May you forgive us, this nation, of our transgressions, and bless us.  Help us to learn from our mistakes.  Use us for Your good.  Turn our lives into instruments of resurrection, that the sins of our fathers might be reversed through us.  May the beauty of this land burst forth in the hearts of the people.  May the dreams of our forefathers be realized in us, so that we might live in honesty, integrity, and excellence with our neighbors.  Make our country a light for all nations, a light of hope, goodness, peace and freedom.  Cast darkness and violence out of our midst Dear Lord.  May hatred no longer grow here.  May we all feel Your grace upon us, and the spirit of truth in our hearts.  May we be forgiven, repaired and renewed My Lord.  May You bless our children.  May You bless our government leaders.  O Lord, please bless America.

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort

at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships

so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger

at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,

so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears

to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,

so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and

to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness

to believe that you can make a difference in the world,

so that you can do what others claim cannot be done

to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Prayer and fasting

Today was awesome in the most amazing way!  I prayed for over 31 families today, some that I’m close to and some that I’ve never met.  I prayed specifically for their needs, each and every one of them.  I feel so honored that they all shared their requests with me, and that I could do something that is so simple for me, yet can be so profound.  To everyone that emailed me, please know that I covered you in prayer on at least two separate occasions today, and many of you just popped into my head as I was doing something else so I prayed for you again.  I have faith that God is going to bless you all with His favor.  He is in control.  I learned so much today.  Sometimes a person has to be at rock bottom before they finally reach out, or cry out to Jesus.  When I pray for strength and endurance for my dh, maybe what he really needs is to feel empty and hopeless, so he has nowhere to turn but God.  That might be hard to surrender to, but I’m game if it works.  Surrender…

In a way, that’s what I did today.  I surrendered myself and put all else before me and it felt so good.  Did I get hungry?  Yeah!  You know those days where you’re just so busy you don’t have time to eat?  You don’t even really notice it!  Well I’ve done that before, and this is so much different.  I knew today that I couldn’t eat because I was giving that up for the greater good, and I got hungry.  My stomach was growling, and I was thinking of food.  But the Word of God sustained me.  He filled me up! 

In the words of Andrew Murray, “Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal.  Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.” 

I need to do more of this, and I’m trying to listen and follow God’s leading, so I’m going to have to get back with you on what that actually means.  For now, I want to leave you with some very wise words from one of the women from the 1 Peter 3 group that I’m in.  We all participated in this fast today, and prayed for the salvation of each of our loved ones.  R wrote this.  “He will speak.  Expect it.  Don’t be surprised by the revelations or the confirmations.  Don’t be surprised by the power of your prayers or the desires to worship.  Do as the spirit of God leads and watch Him work through your surrendered hearts to bring about transformation.  He is doing a new thing.  Don’t be afraid of that new thing.  For some, your prayer life will change.  For others, you will understand worship in a new way.  And for others, you will be given the direction you’ve asked for.  This isn’t about giving up food, but about seeking His presence and His will above all else.  Enjoy your fellowship with Your creator.  Rest in His arms.  Give Him your cares and concerns.  Trust Him with what you’ve held onto.  The attack of the enemy will be strong.  But your God, He is bigger than the enemy’s attack!  Put on your full armor and wage war against the prince of darkness through worship.  Enter the holy of holies and dwell there.  Just hang out.  Drink up His presence and soak in His truth.  He Will Speak.”

Prayer and fasting

This morning has been awesome.  I’ve only missed my frosted mini wheats and Cranberries once, and then God filled me up with love and adoration!  I’ve had 7 people request prayers, with 27 specific prayer requests so far, and I’ve spent the morning covering these friends in prayer.  I know God has heard and will respond to those in need, and I feel so blessed already.  I’ve discovered a new Psalm that is so beautiful I want to share it, but now have my little one who needs mommy’s attention.  I’m off to snuggle and pray some more for my 1 Peter 3 group.  If I can pray for you, please leave me a comment and I will be happy to include you.  God is so amazing! 

A tearful goodbye/celebration

I don’t know what else to call it, besides the best funeral I’ve ever been to.  It sounds crazy to say that, but that’s how I feel.  I was dreading this funeral so badly, but was blessed by attending it in so many ways.  My dad’s cousin Jimmy died on Saturday.  He was only 52 and it was totally unexpected.  Married with three beautiful boys, the oldest is a teen.  It’s so hard to think about sometimes, but I urge you to take the time to talk with someone about what you would like to happen when you’re gone.  Jimmy and his wife did that, and I want to do it too.  There were 3 songs sung by two women, and then we sang two hymns.  These were songs that he had wanted.  The pastor opened up the floor for people to talk, and I was amazed by the outpouring of love to the family.  Everyone spoke of how much he loved his family, and how much he loved the Lord.  He touched so many lives, and didn’t even realize it I’m sure.  That’s just the kind of person he was.  He cared.  People from his church, and people from his workplace all loved him, and were blessed by the Holy Spirit within him.  One woman was talking about how he always lifted them up if they were struggling at work, and then she broke out singing Wind beneath My Wings!  It was beautiful!  Another person spoke highly of Jim, and didn’t know his wife, but said he knew her potato salad, and to fed ex it to them every now and then if she had to.  That made her laugh!  There were tears and there was laughter, and I guess the difference that I felt in this funeral was this.  We were a room filled with more believers in Jesus Christ than not.  We know that his earthly presence will be missed, but that he is truly home with God right now.  We may not understand it, but God has a plan for Jim, and it includes him at His side.  The pastor then preached, because he said that’s what Jim wanted him to do.  He preached about salvation, and that doesn’t mean just doing good things.  We have to confess, repent, and ask for fogiveness of our sins, and He will forgive.  We need to ask Jesus into our hearts and lives, and commit to follow Him.  And it’s too late when we’re in the coffin.  I had some family members sitting right there with me that needed to hear that, but I’m not sure they did.  I don’t understand it, but I don’t need to.  I just need to continue to pray for them.  (Off on a tangent again!)  Anyway, even in his death, Jim was witnessing to others.  He  planned that all out, and he knew who needed to hear it!  One person that stood up said we might ask why?  We should turn that around and we get YHW.  That stands for Your Holy Will!  Isn’t that great?  WHY= Your Holy Will 

I could go on and on, that’s how amazing it was!  I’ll stop, but I ask for prayers for his family.  I know they have a great church family that will lift them up, but you can never have too many prayers! 

I have one more funeral to attend this week.  A friend who passed away on Sunday, unexpectedly at the age of 36.  He too has a wife and 2 kids, the oldest is 12.  I just ask that these families be lifted in prayer, and that God would wrap His loving arms around them and provide comfort to them, that only He knows how. 

“Moore” Monday #4

THE LORD GOD OMNIPOTENT REIGNETH.  HE IS GOD, AND THERE IS NO OTHER. 

WHEN HE STANDS TO HIS FEET, HIS ENEMIES ARE SCATTERED.

 

Lord Jesus, You have revealed to us that one day, You whose name is the Word of God will be dressed in a robe dipped in blood.  The armies of heaven will follow you, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 

Out of Your mouth will come a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.  You will rule them with an iron scepter.  You will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.  On Your robe and on Your thigh You have this name written:  King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:13-16). 
Yes, You are coming soon!  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus!  Untin then, Your grace is with Your people (Rev. 22:20-21). 

This is another installment in my Beth Moore journey..Praying God’s Word Every Day.  Yes, He is coming.  Are you ready?  Do you think we are living in the end times?  Is there something more we have left to do?  I think we are living in the end times, and our job, our goal, is to win people over for Jesus Christ.  Lord, I just pray that You would give me the words to speak, and the wisdom and understanding that only You can provide.  Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, so that I can move souls to reach out to you.  Amen

I was dreaming?

I saw my hand and a rope.  I was trying to hold onto the rope, but my hand was at the end.  I could see the rope separating and starting to fray.  I was slipping, and the rope was giving away.  Then another hand envelops mine.  A worn and calloused hand.  A tanned and tattered hand.  A nail scarred hand.  It came from nowhere and covered my hand with a mighty strength, so powerful I could feel it.  Feel the flesh on mine.  And I knew it was going to be OK.  When I can no longer hold on, He, Jesus, is here to help me.  He will carry the load, and let me hang freely while He nourishes my soul with His peace and love.  He will carry me until I regain the strength to hold on and fight for myself again.  Because He loves me so much.  Thank You Lord, for answering my prayers.  Thank You for showing me this, and sending me this security.  I will follow You.  I will praise You in the storm, because You are worth it.  Thank You for grabbing my hand, and teaching me.