Psalm 141, John 17:17-19

One of the things I love most about the Psalms is the beautiful imagery David uses to express his feelings about God. And there isn’t a more glorious picture he paints then our arms raised to the sky in worship. And our prayers ascending to heaven in the cool of the evening, rising like a sweet-smelling fragrance to our Heavenly Father. David knew that prayer is a powerful tool to connect us to God. To bring about change in our lives, and to receive God’s blessings, love, grace, and guidance. But more than just the beauty and power of prayer, this Psalm also has wisdom we can apply to our daily lives.

1. Our dependence on God - Not a single second of a single day goes by where we don’t need God in our lives. We are weak and vulnerable, and apart from Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:5) And so humbly and thankfully, we need to acknowledge the Lord as Sovereign in our lives and turn to Him in times of trouble.

2. The danger of temptation - Even the strongest Christian can fall to the lure of sin. That’s why we need to be vigilant about recognizing and resisting temptation in our own lives. And when we feel the pull of sin taking hold, ask God to help us. For He will provide all we need to endure, overcome, and escape. (1 Cor. 10:13)

3. Trust in God's justice - It’s frustrating to see the wicked prosper. But we serve a just God. (2 Thess. 1:6) And we can trust that in His perfect timing He will bring about perfect justice to punish the wicked. And one day very soon, God will ultimately set all things right and bring about a world of peace and righteousness.

The days are growing darker. And as the time hastens until the soon return of the Lord, we need now more than ever to draw near to God. To lead dedicated prayer lives, have eyes open to the evil around us, and to trust the Lord completely in times of trouble.

Pause and Reflect - 

How can I deepen my prayer life and connect more deeply with God? What are the areas of my life where I am most vulnerable to temptation, and how can I seek God's help in resisting these temptations?

Lets pray together, 

Our dearest Father in heaven above, Ruler and Creator of all things, hallowed be Thy name. Father we come before you in humility, recognizing our need for Your help and protection. We ask that You would hear our prayers and guide us in our journey of faith. Father help us to resist temptation and to stay on the path of righteousness. Protect us from the lure of sin and help us to remain vigilant in our walk with You. Above all, Father we ask that You would draw us closer to You. And may we always turn to You in times of trouble, trusting  in Your perfect justice and mercy. In Jesus precious name we pray, Amen.

Don't' forget to head over to our Facebook group at, https://www.facebook.com/groups/womenintheword2 to join in on the discussion. Also check out our public Facebook page at, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083156569388 and give us a like!

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts, and I pray your day overflows with love and blessings.

💖 Lisa

 Today's Scripture: Psalm 122

Psalm 122:6 actually commands us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, but I had to wonder, why are we being commanded to pray?  

The very name Jerusalem includes this hope for peace, for the last part of Jerusalem, “salem,” comes from the Hebrew word “shalom,” which means peace, wholeness and completeness.

When we pray for the peace of Jerusalem we are praying for hostilities to cease — such as terror and missile attacks, and the enmity that exists between Israelis and Palestinians.

But I believe the command goes deeper than that in that we are also praying for the eternal peace that will come when Jesus the Messiah returns to reign.

Before we study further, however, let me ask you ... how often do you "pray for the peace of Jerusalem"? Do you include this petition as part of your daily prayers? Perhaps when we're finished here, you too may want to commit to praying for the peace of Jerusalem.

 Psalm 86, John 2:19-21, Revelation 15:3-4

One of the greatest gifts God gives to us is prayer. The awesome privilege of being able to come before our Creator anytime, anywhere. And David used this gift often. Many times he found himself on the brink of death, in despair, and facing defeat. And just as many times he came before the Lord in prayer. 

Why? Because David knew the way to win any battle was on his knees before God. And as a passionate seeker of the Lord, David also understood that prayer is so much more than just for asking God for a favor. Prayer is about relationship, faith, and unity. 

Relationship - “Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer.” From the moment He created us, God knows every need we will ever have. (Matt. 6:8) So why do we have to ask? Because what God wants most of all is a close, personal relationship with His children. And when we come to Him vulnerable, hurting, and in need, we establish an intimate connection that can be found with no other.

Faith - “I shall call upon You, for You will answer.” To pray takes faith. Pride tells us we handle anything on our own. That we have the best solutions to our problems. But faith tells us God is in control. That He uses all things for our good, (Rom. 8:28) and His way is always best. Praying for God to intervene shows we trust He will answer, and in His perfect ability to help us. 

Unity - “Unite my heart to fear Your name.” David, like all of us, repeatedly fell into sin. Yet even though he at times wandered,  David never lost his passion for seeking God’s heart. (1 Sam. 13:14) And so often David prayed to return to doing what God wanted him to do. To have a heart undivided, devoted to the Lord alone. And to live a life that glorified his Father in heaven.

David was a passionate prayer warrior. And he’s in some good company. For one of my favorite quotes is by Abraham Lincoln in which he says, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go.” We serve a gracious God. One who is slow to anger, and overflowing with lovingkindness, mercy, and truth. (Ps. 86:15) And most of all, One who longs to hear from me and from you. 

Pause and Reflect -

Has pride ever kept you from praying to God? What has happened when you relied on your own strength to meet your needs instead of God’s? How’s your prayer life? Do you come to God throughout your day? He’s always ready to listen! 

Finally lets pray together, 

Our dearest Father in heaven above, hallowed be Thy name. Oh Father we thank You for Your grace and mercy. For You are gracious and good, giving Your abundant love to the one who is poor in spirit. How awesome it is that You, our Father who wants for nothing, wants to hear from His children. So Lord may we come to You often in prayer and with open hearts, eager to receive Your love, power, wisdom, and provision. May we trust Your listening, attentive ear. And may we rely on Your promise that our prayer is heard and we, as Your beloved children, will receive what is best from Your hand. In Jesus precious name we pray, Amen.

Don't' forget to head over to our Facebook group at, https://www.facebook.com/groups/womenintheword2 to join in on the discussion. Also check out our public Facebook page at, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083156569388 and give us a like!

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts, and I pray your day overflows with love and blessings.

💖 Lisa

I love how psalm 66 starts out with songs of praise to God for His glory, greatness, and works. Oh how easy it is to sing such wonderful songs when we feel surrounded by God’s glory. Those times we experience a spiritual, physical, and emotional closeness with Him. Usually it’s due to a received blessing, answered prayer, or a need fulfilled. We feel as if we’re walking on a cloud. Our hearts are filled with the joy, comfort, and warmth of fellowshipping with our Lord. And in our thankfulness we swear to never again forsake God, vowing to faithfully follow His will. 

Then life goes on, and it’s business as usual. And slowly our focus wanders away from the Lord. Our time and energy is spent once again pursuing our fleshly desires. We let go of His hand, stray from His path, and go about attempting to meet our needs in our own strength. We put God in our back pocket, never pulling Him out again until the next crisis. But the joyful news is this. No matter how much we forget or reject God, He never does the same in kind. Never will our Heavenly Father withhold His precious love, time, or attention. Nor ever turn a deaf ear to our prayers. 

Don’t you hate it when you’re trying to reach someone and your call goes straight to voicemail? That never happens with God. Through the privilege of prayer, we have a direct and open line of communication with the Lord. And no matter how long it’s been, He picks up on the first ring. Because God is always excited to hear from His children. For He’s been anxiously waiting, ready and eager to receive our call. Sadly, some Christians mistakenly believe that God only wants to hear from us about the big stuff. But the truth is, He cares and wants to hear about every area of our lives both big and small.

So much so that one of the many wonderful names of God is El Roi, the God who sees me. Our Lord never slumbers nor sleeps. His eyes are always watching over the righteous, His ears always listening for their prayers. Take a minute and really think about that. As Creator of the universe, God has His hands full. But even so, not a moment goes by where He takes His eye off of us. For He is the One who, “keeps us in life, and does not allow our feet to slip.” (Ps. 66:9)

Prayer is a gift God gives to us so that we can come to Him anytime, anywhere, with anything. Be it a petition, guidance, thankfulness, or to unburden our heart, God wants to be our first and daily destination. Out of His great love, when we talk to Him, God promises to both listen and respond. And although we may not like the answer, we can give thanks that no prayer will go unanswered! 

Pause and Reflect -

How much time do you give God each day? Do you make Him a top priority? How does spending time in His presence daily make a difference in your life? 

How can making a joyful noise to God bring happiness to God and to you, even when you do not feel joyful? Why do you think expressing joy is important to both us and God? 

Finally let’s pray together, 

Our dearest Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Heavenly Father we lift up our voices in praise to Your glorious name, for You alone are worthy, You alone are the Lord Almighty. You have saved us from the pit and have set our feet on the Rock of salvation. How awesome are Your deeds. We thank you Lord for remembering and never forsaking us. You are always faithful, even when we are not. Father thank You for the gift of being able to come to You in prayer. Please cleanse us from all wickedness harbored in our hearts. Free us from anything that hinders You hearing our pleas. For we know You bless obedience, not stubbornness. Father we give thanks for Your precious Son, Jesus and praise your awesome works. In Jesus precious name we pray, Amen.

Father, You are our rock, our fortress and our deliverer.  Our God, our rock in whom we take refuge.  Our shield and the horn of our salvation, our stronghold and our refuge.  You save us from violence.  We call upon You Lord and we are saved from our enemies.  In our distress we call to You, Lord.  Yes we cry to You our God.  You hear our voice and our cries for help comes into Your ears.  You deliver us from our strong enemy from those who hate us and are too strong for us.  You are our support.  You rescue us because You delight in us.  Help us to keep Your ways and not act wickedly against You, our God.  Help us to keep ourselves from iniquity.  You are our lamp and You illuminate our darkness.  Your ways are blameless. Your word is tested.  You are a shield to all who take refuge in You, are our strong fortress.  You train our hands for battle.  You have given us the shield of Your salvation and You help makes us great.  You gird us with strength for the battle and blessed be the Rock of our salvation.  We will give thanks to You, O Lord.  We will sing praises to Your name. You are a tower of deliverance and show lovingkindness to us Your anointed, forever.  Amen  [II Samuel 22]

Selah,

Lyn

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*Jesus was a very real person like you and me.  He experienced every temptation that we face in our lives.  Just as Jesus often went off by Himself to pray to the Father, so should we. We should be devoted to prayer with an attitude of thanksgiving.   

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving Colossians 4:2

*We are to be praying as the Holy Spirit guides us.  Be sensitive to the Holy Spirits leading when talking with someone…they may be needing prayer at that time. Pray also for boldness in sharing Jesus with others. 

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view,  be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, ¹⁹ and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:18-20

*There are times when I do not know what to pray but I know that when my heart is heavy and there are no words, the Holy Spirit intercedes for me to the Father.

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; ²⁷ and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27

Do you have an inner room to pray in secret to the Father?  I do not but I do have a place where I go in the quiet time of the morning to spend time with the Father.  It is my most treasured time of the day.

But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:6

Prayer is powerful and we should be doing it often throughout our day.  Look for opportunities to pray and be bold in your prayers.  Pray according to His will and it will be done.  Sometimes our prayer requests are a long time in coming but don’t give up…His timing is perfect.

Selah,

Lyn

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Ephesians 6:18

After telling Christians about each piece of the armor of God, Paul adds on another crucial part of our uniform. Prayer. And although it’s not something we wear, without it, winning any war is impossible. Why? Because prayer is our lifeline to the power of God. And as our great Commander, the instructions we receive through prayer can mean the difference success and failure. 

To be a victorious prayer warrior, Paul goes on to give us, the soldiers of God, practical applications when praying. First he tells us to pray in the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit isn’t about the words we say. Instead it means praying according to the prompting and leading of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit then carries those petitions to our Heavenly Father and lays them at His feet. But praying in the Spirit can only happen when we have a close, personal, relationship with God. 

Next Paul tells us to stay alert. Being alert includes being sober minded and watchful. (1 Peter 5:8) For the Enemy’s attacks are never ending, and his deviousness knows no bounds. But nothing stops Satan faster in his tracks then when we drop to our knees in prayer. So just like soldiers who keep their guns at the ready, we are to be ready at a moments notice to go to God with all perseverance in constant and fervent prayer. 

Paul ends by telling us the the importance of praying for the needs of other believers. I once read that as prayer warriors, we are spiritual weapons in God's mighty hand. I love that! That means we have the honor and great privilege of being part of God’s master plan. And when we pray for others, we become important, intricate, parts of seeing that plan come to fruition. Both in the world, and in the lives of other Christians.

Today I challenge you to prepare for battle. The days are growing darker and shorter before the Lord’s return. But until that glorious day, we are to be powerful prayer warriors on the battlefield of a Satan ruled world. So pray! Pray in the Spirit, in all alertness, and for the needs of the world! 

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Father, I earnestly and humble come before You.  I have been so caught up with things of this world and they have only brought me anxiety, worry and fear.  I keep looking at my circumstances instead of focusing on You.  You are the only One who can bring me peace and joy.  You are the only One who answers my prayers. You are the only One who can guard my heart in Christ Jesus.  I come to You with a thankful heart for all that You have done for me in my lifetime.  I thank You that You have answered and will continue to answer all of my prayers and petitions before You.  I ask You for____________________________.  I will keep, asking, seeking and knocking, with a humble heart before You.  I know that my prayers are a delight to You.  I wait expectantly to see what and how You will accomplish Your will.  In Jesus name, Amen

Selah,

Lyn

Proverbs 15:8-9: “The sacrifice of the wicked is hateful and exceedingly offensive to the Lord, But the prayer of the upright is His delight! ⁹ The way [of life] of the wicked is hateful and exceedingly offensive to the Lord, But He loves one who pursues righteousness [personal integrity, moral courage and honorable character].”

By carefully reading these verses we can realize that the prayer of a child of God is an offering that pleases Him. He delights and loves one who fears Him and wants to live in His ways. We are so privileged to have God’s word and be able to pray His word back to Him! Imagine, what would be of our prayer life without the Psalms?

David was a man that had a passion for God. He continually prayed to God, and offered his heart with praise and worship through his Psalms. He was not a perfect man, but was one who prayed from his heart, to the heart God!

 “His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man; but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” (Psalm 147:10-11)

In God he found his delight, and he also knew God was pleased by this!

When David failed and sinned against God, he also knew he was falling in the path of the wicked and realized he had deeply displeased his Lord:

“My [only] sacrifice [acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart [broken with sorrow for sin, thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.” Psalm 51:17 AMP

In our prayer time with the Lord we must come to Him with a humble and repentant heart, because we fail so many times in our day to day! As Paul wrote in Romans 12:1

“ ^[a]Therefore I urge you, ^[b]brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.” 

He also knew how to pray from his heart to the heart of God, dedicating his whole being to Him!

If we continue reading Proverbs 15, we fill find how the writer continues to highlight the importance of the prayers of God’s children:

^26 “The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but gracious words are pure in his sight.

 ²⁹ The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. (15:26, 29  Emphasis mine)

When we come –pray- to our Heavenly Father in total surrender we find the hope, the strength and the purpose of our lives, even in the midst of trial and difficulties:

Yes, let us rejoice in Him for He listens, cares, and delights in us as we seek Him in prayer!!

Next time you come to “your secret place” remember that the prayer from your heart to His heart is a pleasing sacrifice to Him. He is Worthy!!

Mari