Tag: prayer

God Sees Our Hearts

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of joining a church in a time of fasting and prayer, something many churches do at the start of a new year. Although a fast is challenging, it is also exciting to spend extra time with God in prayer and let His presence replace some of the daily foods I consume and activities that take up my time.

It’s also a time of anticipation, as I anticipate growing closer to the Lord, hearing His voice more clearly, and learning whatever He wants to teach me through His Word.

During my time of fasting and praying, God strongly impressed upon my heart how much He loves His church, the community of believers, who confess Jesus Christ, His Son, as Savior and Lord. He showed me how His heart breaks when our hearts drift away from Him.

He revealed that one of His greatest desires for those in the body of Christ, who have drifted away from Him, is for them to repent and return their hearts to Him. I could sense God’s urgency, so this caused me to examine my own heart and repent of the ways I have knowingly or unknowingly allowed my heart to drift away from Him.

Acts 3:19-20 NIV

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.

Through this time of fasting and praying, God also impressed upon me that He desires to be our main Source for provision, protection, value and acceptance. Many have turned from Him and now search for these things in the world, but He is the supplier of our needs.

He is our Provider, our Protector, and the One who accepts us and loves us unconditionally. Our value does not come from worldly accomplishments. Our value does not come from the opinions of others. We are valuable because we are created in His image (Genesis 1:27).

The world offers us many options apart from God, but He is beckoning us to choose what is best, to choose Him, above all else. He loves us more than we even know and cares for us in ways we do not always understand.

God illuminated to me how far above this world His Kingdom is. His kingdom exceeds anything this world could ever offer us. Yet many times as His children, we get caught up in the temporary satisfaction this world has to offer.

Psalm 145:16-17 NIV

You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.

We can return our hearts to God daily, through the time we spend with Him in prayer and His Word, and through the choices we make that show our love for Him and our allegiance to His kingdom. 

One thing we can always be sure of, is that God always wants our hearts to be fully surrendered to Him. 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us that, “…People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

We can be confident that the God we serve sees our heart, which encourages us to come to Him about anything. We don’t have to hide, because God sees all, but still chooses to love us unconditionally.

How blessed we are to belong to Him and be part of His kingdom. May God continue to bless and keep you as you abide in Him daily.

John 15:4 NKJV

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

Scripture & Prayer: Meditate on God’s Word, Psalm 1:1-2

Psalm 1:1-2 NIV

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night.

Photo by: Tara Winstead

Dear Heavenly Father,

Your Word declares that we are blessed when we choose to not follow the ways of those who reject you. It is you who makes our paths straight and keeps our way pure. Help us to stay clear of sin and choose to walk in the righteousness that we have received through the blood and body of Jesus Christ. When we struggle with sin, help us to turn to you, repent, and receive the strength and courage we need to change.

May we walk in the Spirit of self discipline that you have given us and choose to meditate on Your Word day and night so that we can know and understand your truth, hide it in our hearts, and be doers of your Word. For your Word is flawless and it will always stand.

In the name of Jesus. Amen. 

Have a blessed week!

Scripture & Prayer: God is our Source, James 1:17

James 1:17 NIV, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Father, 

I honor You today and thank you for being who You are. You are my Source, the Giver of every good and perfect gift. You do not change, You remain the same through every season of life I encounter. 

I am thankful to you for working out the details of my life, even when there are detours, interruptions, or some type of mistreatment by others, You are still in control. You protect me, care for me, and comfort me. 

Father, I praise You. You are the God who never forgets me. You always see me, hear me and love me. 

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Have a blessed week! And remember life and people change, but God is always with you. His love remains the same.

Every good and perfect gift is from above

Do You Have An Answer?

1 Peter 3:15-16 NIV, “15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 16 But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”

Photo by:
August de Richelieu

Recently while attending a small Bible study group, the speaker asked the question, “What keeps you committed to Christ?” For me, it was a very timely question because I had been thinking about this just a few days earlier.

These verses in 1 Peter tell us to be prepared to answer this question. We never know when we will be given the opportunity to share with someone the reason we have chosen to put our hope in Jesus Christ.

When it was my turn to answer the question, and share about something that keeps me committed to Christ, I said, “He always sees and He always hears.”

I love that Jesus is the God who always sees me. He is always aware of me and what I am going through. Although I am blessed to have people who care about me, people cannot always see what He can. I am never out of His sight. He understands me and my circumstances completely.

Secondly, I love that Jesus is the God who always hears me. I can pray at anytime and He will hear me. No appointment needed. He is always available. He does not slumber or sleep.

Psalm 121:3-5 NLT, “3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. 5 The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.”

Photo by: Mental Health America 🇺🇸

I was glad the Bible study leader asked us this question. I was reminded to always be ready to give others an answer for the hope Jesus gives me and why I choose to stay committed to Him. It could be a non-Christian asking us about our faith in Christ or even another Christian who needs encouragement. Whatever the case, we should be ready.

I could use some encouragement and I am sure others can too, so I am asking you to please share in the comments, “What keeps you committed to Christ?”

No Need to Worry

Philippians 4:6-7 NLT, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

These are verses that are familiar to many of us. And they’ve been on my mind quite a bit over the last week. As we all know, life can be tough and give us many reasons to worry. However, God is giving us another option. He invites us to choose to be thankful, and present our worries to Him in exchange for His peace.

Photo by: Oleksandr P of the Ukraine 🇺🇦

I am convinced that choosing not to worry takes some intentional effort. Because even though we may not want to worry, worry often consumes us and we find ourselves struggling to trust God. Trusting God can be especially hard when we do not see immediate answers to our prayers. But nevertheless, we have a choice. Even when we do not see the immediate answers we hoped to see, we can still open our hearts to receive God’s peace.

Since choosing not to worry takes effort, then prayer is an essential first step. No matter where we are or what we are doing we can whisper a prayer to God. We can repent for not giving God our worries in the specific situation (repentance refreshes us, Acts 3:19-21) and then we can ask Him for His help not to worry. It is such a blessing that He is always willing to help us do the things He instructs us to do. We can also pray for discernment and wisdom in our situation and God will show us what He wants us to know or do. And through all of this, we get to receive His peace as He guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Photo by: M Venter of South Africa 🇿🇦

Through these verses in Philippians, God is inviting us to relinquish control of people and situations and trust Him. Trust his goodness, trust His justice, trust His mercy, trust His provision, trust His faithfulness and trust His love.

God is a good Father, who wants the best for us. His desire is for us to walk in His perfect peace. I pray that we would quickly pray and learn to receive His peace, no matter what we are facing.

Isaiah 26:3-4, ”You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.”

God’s Power is Perfect

12 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

These were my mom, Belle’s, favorite two verses in the Bible. She has it engraved on the cover of one of her Bibles.

We can be strong, because of the grace that is given to us through Christ. When we are weak, He is strong. His strength and power never run out.

My dear mom, went home to be with our Lord and Savior, Jesus, on the morning of January 21st. Of course I miss her, and find it hard to believe she is no longer here with us. However, I am thankful for the life she lived and the love she gave to me, my family and countless others.

Mom was ill for awhile, so I am also thankful she is no longer suffering. I can’t imagine the bliss she is now experiencing, being in God’s presence for all eternity, with a new glorified body. She loved trees, so I thought of her when I chose this picture…

Photo by: Felix Mittermeier of Germany 🇩🇪

God’s grace is sufficient. That is a truth that my mom lived each day and I am thankful that through Christ, we can continue to live in that truth too. Weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties, do not change who He is. His power is perfect. We are secure in His love.

We are busy planning my mom’s memorial service, plus I am still processing the reality of losing her, it’s very difficult. So, I may not post every Monday for awhile, but I will still be checking in, reading and commenting, from time to time.

I ask for your prayers during this time. May God continue to direct your path as you trust Him, and as always, thank you for your love, support, and prayers. Blessings.

Be Still, Stay Calm and Watch

Over the last couple of days, I have been meditating on Psalm 136. The verses in this chapter, recount instances of God’s enduring love throughout scripture. One of my favorite parts, is when it mentions how God divided the Red Sea, in verses 13-15.

Psalms 136:13-15 (CSB)

13 He divided the Red Sea, His faithful love endures forever. 14 and led Israel through, His faithful love endures forever. 15 but hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea. His faithful love endures forever.

The original story is told in Exodus 14. However, verses 13-14 in Exodus, also stood out to me. It says, “13 But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. 14 The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

Sometimes, we just need to stand still, stay calm and watch to see what God will do.

Photo by: Iforce

Reflecting on these miraculous events from the past, brings us strength for today. We can choose to cast our cares upon the Lord and trust Him to fight our battles. He never runs out of whatever it is we need. He will create a path for us to walk through, just like He did for Moses and the Israelites. Every verse in Psalms 136, ends with, “His faithful love endures forever.” These are words we can all take comfort in. No matter what we are facing, we can remember that, “His faithful love endures forever.”

For more inspiration Visit Drawing Closer to Christ on YouTube