Entering in to a 40 day prayer

Folks, I am entering in to a 40 day prayer. I receive a wonderful devotional each and every day, from a Pastor Frank, and I wanted to share with you what he said in today's devotional:

Psa 100:4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name.

No matter what!

No matter what you see in the natural!

No matter what you feel in your emotions!

No matter what a Christian did or did not do correctly!

WOW! Did I need to hear this.

I also received this daily devotional in my email, from Dr. Charles Stanley:

The Nature of Discouragement

Psalm 16:7-11

Discouragement is a powerful, destructive force. Before we can understand how to rid our lives of this deadly landmine, we must recognize its harmful nature.

Understand that discouragement...

1. Is something we choose. Nobody else can make us discouraged; it is a choice that we alone make when facing disappointments.

2. Is universal. Everybody will face periods of disappointment and discouragement from time to time. This simply cannot be avoided, because we live in a seriously flawed world that is filled with equally flawed people.

3. Can recur. Sometimes we think we've settled an issue, which later resurfaces when we least expect it. Or, we may have old emotional wounds that are torn open by something a person says or does.

4. Can be temporary--or it can destroy our life. The choice is ours. If we refuse to deal with discouragement head-on, we are opening the door for it to completely dominate our life.

5. Is conquerable. With the Lord's help, we can choose not to be discouraged. If we don't believe discouragement can be conquered, then we're actually saying that God doesn't want His children to have a rich and fulfilled life.

Are you stuck in the throes of discouragement? If so, it will simply be impossible to experience the peace and inner joy that God wants for His children. Let Him help you out of that lowly state: start by believing that the Father wants to lift you up and get your life back on track with Him.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org

We need to be Christians, that LIFT one another up, to the FATHER. There are way too many Christians, that waste precious time and effort trying to tear someone down. If you are one that does this, you need to STOP IT! Time as we know it, is growing short, and there are plenty of people who are lost and dying, watching you. Ask yourself: What is my TESTIMONY and WITNESS, to them? If it is negative, then there is some heart changing that needs to take place. It is time to purge yourself, and get a clean heart, prepared to SERVE the LORD.

It isn't about us. It is about serving the ONE, who can and does SAVE us, from all unrighteousness. We all fall short of the GLORY of GOD. There is not a single Christian, that has been made equal to GOD, nor will we ever be completed, in this lifetime. We need so desperately, to get down on our faces, and really seek the LORD, to make necessary changes, from within.

What we show the world, is who we really are. You can't hide behind a mask, and pretend to be something your not. What we show them, comes from our hearts. The words we speak, often give our hearts away. The BIBLE tells us, that the tongue, a little member, can destroy all that is good. Is your tongue in check?

Righteousness, comes by following GOD'S WORD. Can you honestly say, that you follow the TEACHINGS of CHRIST? You know, the words that are written in RED, in most BIBLES? If you are missing one point, the WORD says, that one sin, is breaking all sins. WHOA? That means, that you are the same as a murderer, or something just as vile! It is time, for Christians, to really seek the LORD, while HE is yet to be found.

I'm doing this 40 days of prayer, to ask the LORD to pull on our heart strings, and to motivate Christians, everywhere, to put on the FULL ARMOUR of GOD. Let's stop play acting, and get down to the FATHER'S BUSINESS.

Dear FATHER, thank you for the 36 days of learning from YOUR WORD, through these daily devotions. Thank you for the men, who gave their time to you, and were WILING VESSELS. LORD, if there be any strongholds, that are holding one of YOUR Children back, let this be the day, that they are freed from this bondage. Let us come into the FULLNESS of YOUR HOLY PRESENCE, and PRAISE and WORSHIP YOU, because YOU ALONE ARE WORTHY of our PRAISE and WORSHIP! Thank you for JESUS making a way, for us. Thank you for JESUS BLOOD SACRIFICE, that was ACCEPTABLE in YOUR SIGHT. Thank you for YOUR REDEEMING GRACE and MERCY. Thank you for YOUR LOVE, for us, while we were yet sinners. LORD, we desire to be IN YOUR PRESENCE. Make a WAY for us to be in constant communications, with you, through out our busy lives. Help us see the importance of putting YOU FIRST, in all things. Thank you for giving us PEACE that SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING, when the storms of life are raging. Let us not fear evil, but know that YOU HAVE CONQUERED all evil, for our sakes. Let us be the LIGHT in the darkness. Let our LIGHT, be JESUS, shining through us, for all to see. Thank you for the HOLY SPIRIT, who prays for us, when we do not know what or how to pray. Thank you for YOUR WORD, which INSTRUCTS us, on how to LIVE for YOU. Thank you FATHER, for ALL YOU HAVE DONE, ARE DOING, and WILL DO. Let YOUR WILL BE DONE, on earth, as it is in HEAVEN. IN JESUS PRECIOUS NAME, AMEN.

Day 37

How shall I depend on Him for raising my body from the dust; and saving my soul at last; if I distrust Him for a crust of bread, towards my preservation.

Hall, Joseph

Sept. 16, 2009
Your Perspective in Prayer

Psalm 95:6-8


Why is it that two believers can pray about an issue and come away with completely different responses and attitudes? This has to do with their perspective.

We each come to God with different life experiences and expectations. If we want to hear His voice clearly, we must first address those things that affect how well we listen:

1. Our relationship with God. The Father speaks differently to the unsaved than He does to Christians. And while neither God nor the fundamentals of faith ever change, He does tailor His message to individual believers on the basis of their spiritual maturity and unique situations. So two people may hear dissimilar things, because they are at different points on the journey.

2. Our understanding of who God is. How we view the Lord changes the way we hear Him. For example, if you see God as a loving Father, you will hear His encouraging voice and accept His loving discipline. But if you see Him as a harsh, demanding Father, then you may feel as though you can never live up to His expectations.

3. Our Attitude toward God. If we come to the Lord with a proud, rebellious nature, we will naturally not be inclined to hear His voice of authority. However, if we come with a submissive nature, we will most likely hear--and joyfully receive--His Word.

God is still speaking in the world today. Stop and think about what there is in your own life that could get in the way of His message. What affects your ability or willingness to listen? Lay it out before the Lord today, and ask Him to break through the barriers.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org

The Whole World in His Hands
from the messages of Adrian Rogers
BIBLE MEDITATION:
Colossians 1:17 - "And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
We sing about the Lord having the whole world in His hands. But do you know what is more remarkable than that? He has the whole universe in His hands. He's the One who spoke it into existence. He’s the One who keeps it going. He's the One who is going to fold it up like a garment and tuck it away in a drawer somewhere. He regulates it; He rules it, and He runs it. When you pick up the newspaper and read something alarming, you don't need to panic. That just says "Praise God, I told you so!" God is in control! He Who flung the stars in space has the whole universe in His hands!

ACTION POINT:
Take the hand of a child today and look at the stars twinkling in the night or a leaf changing color, then share about the awesome Creator and Sustainer of all.

http://www.lwf.org/

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
This Morning's Meditation
C. H. Spurgeon

"Partakers of the divine nature."—2 Peter 1:4.

TO be a partaker of the divine nature is not, of course, to become God. That cannot be. The essence of Deity is not to be participated in by the creature. Between the creature and the Creator there must ever be a gulf fixed in respect of essence; but as the first man Adam was made in the image of God, so we, by the renewal of the Holy Spirit, are in a yet diviner sense made in the image of the Most High, and are partakers of the divine nature. We are, by grace, made like God. "God is love"; we become love—"He that loveth is born of God." God is truth; we become true, and we love that which is true: God is good, and He makes us good by His grace, so that we become the pure in heart who shall see God. Moreover, we become partakers of the divine nature in even a higher sense than this—in fact, in as lofty a sense as can be conceived, short of our being absolutely divine. Do we not become members of the body of the divine person of Christ? Yes, the same blood which flows in the head flows in the hand: and the same life which quickens Christ quickens His people, for "Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Nay, as if this were not enough, we are married unto Christ. He hath betrothed us unto Himself in righteousness and in faithfulness, and he who is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Oh! marvellous mystery! we look into it, but who shall understand it? One with Jesus—so one with Him that the branch is not more one with the vine than we are a part of the Lord, our Saviour, and our Redeemer! While we rejoice in this, let us remember that those who are made partakers of the divine nature will manifest their high and holy relationship in their intercourse with others, and make it evident by their daily walk and conversation that they have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. O for more divine holiness of life!

http://www.spurgeon.org/morn_eve/this_morning.cgi

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
This Evening's Meditation
C. H. Spurgeon

"Am I a sea, or a whale, that Thou settest a watch over me?"—Job 7:12.

THIS was a strange question for Job to ask of the Lord. He felt himself to be too insignificant to be so strictly watched and chastened, and he hoped that he was not so unruly as to need to be so restrained. The enquiry was natural from one surrounded with such insupportable miseries, but after all, it is capable of a very humbling answer. It is true man is not the sea, but he is even more troublesome and unruly. The sea obediently respects its boundary, and though it be but a belt of sand, it does not overleap the limit. Mighty as it is, it hears the divine hitherto, and when most raging with tempest it respects the word; but self-willed man defies heaven and oppresses earth, neither is there any end to this rebellious rage. The sea, obedient to the moon, ebbs and flows with ceaseless regularity, and thus renders an active as well as a passive obedience; but man, restless beyond his sphere, sleeps within the lines of duty, indolent where he should be active. He will neither come nor go at the divine command, but sullenly prefers to do what he should not, and to leave undone that which is required of him. Every drop in the ocean, every beaded bubble, and every yeasty foam-flake, every shell and pebble, feel the power of law, and yield or move at once. O that our nature were but one thousandth part as much conformed to the will of God! We call the sea fickle and false, but how constant it is! Since our fathers' days, and the old time before them, the sea is where it was, beating on the same cliffs to the same tune; we know where to find it, it forsakes not its bed, and changes not in its ceaseless boom; but where is man-vain, fickle man? Can the wise man guess by what folly he will next be seduced from his obedience? We need more watching than the billowy sea, and are far more rebellious. Lord, rule us for Thine own glory. Amen.

http://www.spurgeon.org/morn_eve/this_evening.cgi

Dear FATHER, Thank you for this 40 day prayer, which will be winding down soon. It is my prayer that these 40 days, have not been spent in vain ramblings, but have put our hearts to test. LORD, we need YOU, now, more than ever. The tides of time, are changing rapidly before us. There is division, among YOUR people. A division, that the enemy has planted. There are wolves among the sheep. Help us to see the difference, between the TRUTH and the lie. Give us the HOLY SPIRIT ANOINTING and HIDE YOUR WORD, within our hearts. LORD, I remember the dream you gave me about the scroll mixing in the air, and I know that one day, all of our vain babblings will burn up, in YOUR HOLY PRESENCE. Today, I seek YOUR WILL, for my life, and for all YOUR children's lives. REDIRECT our footsteps, back on to YOUR NARROW PATH. GUIDE us, in YOUR WORD. REVEAL YOUR TRUTH to us. Remove all the sinful things that hold us back, from YOUR FULLNESS. Help us to become OBEDIENT children. LORD, if it means a spanking, or two, or four, then spank us. We need to be FULLY COMMITTED to RECEIVING YOUR WORD. LORD, if there are indeed wolves in sheeps clothing, then I ask that you soften their hearts, open their ears and eyes, to RECEIVE YOUR WORD. Let SALVATION be the WORD of the day, for those, who like Saul, sought to kill and destroy Christians. Let those that come against Israel, also find JESUS. We need YOU LORD. Thank you for sending JESUS, to be our LORD and SAVIOR. Thank you for making a WAY, when we could not make a way, ourselves. Thank you for loving a sinner like me, and SAVING me, from my sins. Thank you for the NEW LIFE, YOU gave to me. Thank you for ALL YOU HAVE DONE, ARE DOING and WILL DO. Thank you for each MIRACLE and for each new day. LET YOUR WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in HEAVEN. IN JESUS NAME, AMEN.