[Prayer] Part II

Provoking video on Prayer from David Platt

[Prayer] Part I

So this year...my only resolution was to study prayer and pray more! Prayer is such an amazing gift and one that I take for granted so often, I mean we get to talk to the creator of the universe ANYTIME we want, and he will ALWAYS listen to us, and answer our prayers! God is the only person who is there for you 24/7 who always wants you to come to him and wants to hear about your life, God genuinly loves it when we talk to him, and in order to have a deep growing personal relationship with God we must pray to and talk to our father. it's just like any friendship, the more you talk, and the more you pour out your heart to someone the closer you become.

I get discouraged sometimes when I realize how little I pray, but I'm seeking to read, and study and practice prayer daily and I am praying that God will help my life to be one characterized by constant communication with and dependence on my Savior and Maker the God of the universe!

1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing

....I'll continue to write more posts on prayer and I journey through becoming someone who constantly seeks the Lord! Can't wait to watch how God works in my life and see the amazing things he does through my simply, and inadequate prayers.

God Time!

"Make a plan now to keep a daily appointment with God. The enemy is going to tell you to set it

aside, but you must carve out the time. If you're too busy to meet with the Lord, friend, then

you are simply too busy" ( Charles Swindoll )

Such a challenging quote! So often my quite time get pushed out by the craziness of life! I need to

carve out time for God and be disciplined and spending time in prayer and his word.

My goal for the week: Spend 30min with God EVERY day!

Honestly that's really not that much time at all... and if you add the the couple minutes here and there on facebook, blogs etc. I'm sure it adds up to more than 30min...so if I can spend 30min wasting time online I can afford to cut that out and spend 30min with something that has eternal value spending time with my Lord and Savior!

I'm so excited to see how God is going to meet me this week as I seek to be diligent and spending time with him! :)

Overwhelmed

Its been over a week since I last posted...because life has been a little crazy! So much going on!

OVERWHELMED that sums up how I've been feeling.

but God has been so faithful over these past few days, and has given me little bits of encouragement and strength to keep going. For example

I had an awesome time just fellowshipping with God at Epicenter on Sunday

I got an encouraging e-mail yesterday from one of my admissions counselors:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

(Proverbs 3:5-6)

"He has been faithful in the past when you have felt overwhelmed and He will be faithful this time too"

My homework load has been a lot lighter this week (praise God)!

Hugs (its amazing how much of a difference a simple hug can bring)

Simple reminders of God's truth and love...and somehow instead of being stressed and weary I have found peace and strength this week! Something that could only have come from God!

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart

leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song” (Psalm 28:7)

I just need to keep leaning on God, because he has always been faithful!

(hopefully i'll have time to write a blog post sooon!)

Sweet Promises!

I want to remind you brothers of the gospel I preached to you. (1 Corinthians 15:1)

Paul emphatically takes us back to the gospel and back to the blessings we have in Christ in order to push us deeper into a knowledge of His amazing grace. So, below is a list of promises that are just some of the many afforded to us if we have trusted Jesus. You don’t have to earn these truths, you don’t have to work hard to gain these truths, you simply have to receive these powerful gifts we have in Jesus. Note they are all in past or present tense.

They are already true even if you don’t acknowledge it. If you are in Christ these all apply, so rest, accept, and live in light of them.

You are loved | Ephesians 2:4
You are forgiven | 1st John 2:12
You are healed | Isaiah 53:5
You are new | 2nd Corinthians 5:17
You are secure | Hebrews 6:19-20
You are no longer under condemnation | Romans 8:1
You have the Holy Spirit | Ephesians 1:13
You have every spiritual blessing in Christ | Ephesians 1:3
You will never be abandoned | Matthew 28:20
You are partakers of the divine nature | 2nd Peter 1:4
You are pursued | 1st John 4:10
You are clean | 1st Corinthians 6:11
You are holy | Colossians 1:22
You are blameless | Ephesians 1:4
You are His | Titus 2:14
You are made in His image | Genesis 1:27
You are written on the palm of His hand | Isaiah 49:16
You are free | Galatians 5:1
You are filled with a Spirit of power, not of fear | 2nd Timothy 1:7
You have Jesus as your advocate | 1st John 2:1
You are justified | Romans 5:1
You are not on trial anymore | Colossians 2:14
You have a Father that graciously gives all things | Romans 8:32
You have Him interceding for you at all times | Romans 8:34
You are a Child of Him | 1st John 3:1
You are His bride | Ephesians 5:31-32
You are His friend | John 15:15
Your old self is buried with Him | Romans 6:3
You are raised to new life | Romans 6:4
You are dead to sin | Romans 6:7
You are in union with Jesus | Galatians 2:20
You are a member of His body | Romans 12:5
You are chosen | Ephesians 1:4
You are hidden with Christ in God | Colossians 3:3
You are a branch of Jesus | John 15:5
You have perfect access to Him at all times because of the blood | Ephesians 3:12
You are God’s poetry/workmanship | Ephesians 2:10

Maybe copy and paste these into a word document that you print out and put in a place you will see every day. Maybe commit to meditating on a few each day, marinating in its implications. Or, maybe open the Word and find the countless ones not even listed here that add to the list!

(wonderfullymadeblog.org)

Even in the calm...

"Oh no you never let go...through the calm and through the storm

oh you never let go of me."

What a comfort to my soul! Often we focus on how God is always with us in the storms, darkness and trials of life, and he is and that is an awesome truth, but today a new thought hit me. What about when everything is going okay? when we're happy and there is no big storm? Does God leave us to go through life by ourselves and then when a storm or bump comes he swoops down and helps carry us threw and then he leaves us again? Thankfully that's not what he does. God is with us holding and sustaining us all the time, no matter what circumstances we are in. I don't know about you, but I am so glad that I don't have to live one week, day, hour, minute or second without my heavenly father guiding and sustaining me. I know I can't do this life on my own even the "easy" parts. So today I am dwelling on the fact that even if I am not in a storm right now, my God is still the good, sovereign, faithful God, who is always with me. He is still holding me and leading me and giving me the daily strength I need to glorify him with my whole life!

Let that encourage you today, as it has me! & thank God that he is ALWAYS with us!

sunshine&hope

The beautiful weather after the yucky rain this morning (I even wore a short sleeve shirt!)

Sometimes God speaks to me and teaches me things in the smallest, little mundane moments of life...when I am open and actually slow down and listen he is always teaching me and showing me truth.

This afternoon was one of those times...I was driving up the street to the gas station, to get some study snacks for my sister and I. As I pulled up in the drive-way and got out of the car I couldn't help but enjoy the beautiful rays of sun as they shined down on me. I just stood there for a minute in the air that was cool, but warm with beams of sun rays hitting my arm,everything just seemed SO pretty! Then the thought hit me...this was the exact opposite of what happened early this morning. I came outside to go to school and it was dark, dreary and rainy. There are nothing pretty about it, but then 6hours later the weather had completely changed and the sun was out and the rain was gone....this reminded me of how God always brings "the sunshine" into our life. We may be going through a hard time, a trail, sickness, stress or just the everyday burdens of life and that's like the dark rainy days. But God will never leave us there he will always bring light and hope to even the darkest circumstances (he never leaves us he's always holding us & giving us strength). It's just like He brought the sun light out after a dark gloomy morning! :) Some how good is going to come out of it all! Persevere and rejoice knowing that God will use whatever circumstance you are going through for your good and in the end it will bring God glory and make you more like your amazing creator and savior!

"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." Psalm 30:5