Tag: prayer

Jesus, Our Daily Bread

John 6:35, “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

I hadn’t heard this song Breathe by Michael Smith in years, but I woke up this morning with it on my mind. Truly Jesus is the air that we breathe. As Christians, His Holy Presence living inside of us is everything. He is the bread of life. In Him we are filled completely. He is the One who can take away our emptiness and replace it with joy. His words give us life and hope.

Praying you have a very blessed day!

I hope you enjoy this song:

Breathe by Michael Smith

Prayer In The Waiting Room

Colossians 4:2 NLT, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”

Yesterday I had to go visit the GYN for my annual exam. It’s a very busy place, so when I go, I always know that I’ll be waiting at least an hour before I see the doctor, but this time my wait ended up being an hour and a half. I waited one hour in the main waiting room, and thirty minutes in the exam room.

All the women I saw were anticipating the arrival of a little one. I thought to myself, at this point in my life, I wouldn’t want to change places with them. But I also remember when I was there like them, expecting my daughter, and how exciting it was as the time for her arrival drew closer. It’s hard to believe how fast the years have flown by.

I was happy when I thought my name was called, but I was a little preoccupied on my phone, so I verified with the medical assistant at the door that she did say, “Dawn”. I was glad she said yes when I asked her. When I got into the exam room, she gave me a pink gown to change into.

As I was sitting on the exam table waiting for the doctor to arrive, I noticed the gown was a little flawed in some places. All of a sudden, I begin to think about all the women who had worn that gown before me. I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to say a prayer for them.

I thanked God for all the wonderful blessings that He had bestowed upon them. I also realized that some of the women who had worn the gown had received a life changing diagnosis. Some had struggles with infertility. Maybe even some were victims of rape or some other type of abuse that had altered their lives. Buried in the hearts of the women who had worn that pink gown, were many joys, but also many pains.

In all the years I have been going to the GYN, I cannot recall ever being lead to pray for other women while waiting in the exam room, but I’m thankful I had the opportunity to do so. I’m thankful God used my prayers to help bring comfort and healing to women who I will never know personally.

My doctor, who is originally from the country of Jamaica, is a very intelligent and personable lady. I always enjoy talking with her. She has a way of helping you to get over the fact that you had a long wait. She’s really good at what she does, so I assume that’s why she has so many patients. I’m thankful I found her office, and had her as a GYN doctor while in Florida. God always leads us to the right places with the right people.

We can’t physically be everywhere or know everything, but through prayer, God uses us to make a difference. Our prayers can reach all the way to places we can’t go. And they can help change the lives of people we may never see.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJB, “Pray without ceasing.”

The One In You Is Greater

1 John 4:4 NIV, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

The Holy Spirit who lives within us is greater than any opposition that tries to come against us. We can look to Him to give us the strength we need to overcome the obstacles that we must face. He will empower us to victoriously live for Jesus and follow the plan God has for us. He will give us eyes to see beyond the difficulties that attempt to hinder our progress for the Lord, so that we can stay focused on God’s greater purpose.

As you go throughout your day, remember that the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you is greater than the enemy who tries to steal your peace. God’s light always shines through the darkness, and He is with you every step of the way.

Exhale In God’s Presence

Exodus 33:14 NIV, “The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Have you ever had days where during your time of prayer, there was so much to talk to the Lord about, that you didn’t even know where to begin? Trying to put everything that was in your heart into words seemed overwhelming. Well I had one of those days recently. Because I had many things I wanted to talk to God about, I wasn’t sure where to begin.

As I entered into prayer, I could sense the Holy Spirit telling me to just be still. Instead of trying to figure out what I’d say first, He lead me to just quietly rest in God’s presence without saying anything. I begin to feel His peace, and my busy mind begin to quiet down. After a few moments of taking time to exhale in God’s presence, my prayers to Him begin to flow.

I’ve been learning to take time out to allow the Holy Spirit to encourage me. He is always ready to fill us with whatever we need. Rather it’s a scripture He brings to our memory, His comfort when we are hurting, His peace when we are anxious, or His wisdom for decisions we must make.

The struggles we face, rather financial, mental, emotional, or even physical are not too great for our Lord. We can depend on Him to supply what we need. When we feel as if our resources are limited, we must look to Him. He is an abundant God. He has ways of getting us what we need. He can bring the right people and opportunities into our lives. His resources will never run out.

We will never have all the answers to life’s questions. There are many things we will go through that will seem unfair. The weight of life is too heavy for us to carry it on our own. But God’s grace is sufficient for us. Take time each day, to exhale in God’s presence. He is able to carry you.

Take Heart As You Wait

Psalm 27:14 NLT, “Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.”

I can remember a time when I never wanted to wait on the Lord. When I would pray, I wanted immediate answers and immediate comfort from whatever difficulty I was facing. I didn’t care much about God’s purposes. I didn’t take time to think about the fact that He had to work in my heart, and or the hearts of other people before the answers to certain prayers could come. When we pray, we should wait expectantly like the Psalmist did…

Psalm 5:3 NIV, “In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

Although there are times answers come quickly, there are also times when we must wait. I’ve come to understand that part of being committed to Jesus Christ means that we will often have to wait. He freely gives us His love, strength, and peace so that we can stand firm while we wait.

Being willing to wait on Him, is a testimony of our faith and trust in Him. It shows that we honor Him, and realize that His understanding far outweighs our own. He is eternal, therefore He can see way beyond the surface of the issues we face.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to learn to wait patiently. Not because we have all the answers, but because we know our God is the Answer. He is perfect and He is just.

Deuteronomy 32:4 NIV, “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”

Showing God’s Love – A Chain Blog Post

Thanks big brother Matt @ Jesusluvsall for coming up with this idea and tagging me in, “Showing God’s Love – A Chain Blog Post”. I hope also along with you, that we would all continue to encourage one another to show God’s love through these posts. ❤️

Link to Matt’s post:

Showing God’s Love-A Chain Blog Post

To participate:

1. Link the original post of Matt, the creator of this chain blog post.

2. Write a post on love.

3. Tag another blogger.

From my own personal experiences, I can definitely say that the closer I have gotten to Christ, the more I have learned about receiving and showing God’s love. When our hearts are open to receiving His love, His Holy Spirit works in us to heal us from any brokenness and pain we have. He completes us and makes our hearts whole. It is a process, but as God heals us, we will have a desire to share His love and healing with others, because of what He has done for us.

1 John 3:18 GNT, “My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.”

At a church I attended in the past, there was a ministry called, “The Prison Letter Ministry”. You could volunteer to write letters of encouragement to inmates. The commitment was for one year. So I decided to sign up, and shortly after, I was assigned an inmate. Her name was Sherry. You could use the church address and any name you wanted while writing, but I just stuck with my name Dawn.

We were told from the beginning that we may not receive return letters depending on the inmates situation. So although I wasn’t getting any responses from Sherry, I looked forward to sending her letters and cards of encouragement. I wrote her for six months, before being told she had been released from prison.

Shortly after Sherry’s release, I was excited to receive a card at the church from her. She thanked me for diligently sending her letters and cards and said she was really encouraged by them. She apologized for not being able to write back while in prison, and told me she had been incarcerated for seven years.

I don’t know where Sherry is today, but I pray God is continuing to work in her life. When we are willing to be vessels for Jesus, we never know how He will use us to show love to others. I’m thankful I had the chance to help Sherry understand how much God loves her. I always realized that I could have been the one locked in the cell instead of her. But by God’s grace, I was one of the people who had the privilege of offering her support.

I still have the card Sherry sent me. Through her card, God also showed His love to me. Please say a prayer for Sherry, that God will continue to work in her life and bring her healing. Please also pray that God will bring the right opportunities her way. It’s very difficult for people who have been in prison once they are released.

1 John 4:7 NLT, “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.”

I’m tagging…

Jacquie at Joy Cottage

Our Motives Matter To God

Proverbs 16:2 NLT, “People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives.”

Outwardly someone can look and sound like they are trying to please God and help others, but God can see their heart. He can see the motives behind each and every action. Praying and asking God to help us to be aware of the motives behind our actions is beneficial. Every act of kindness should be guided by His love. Having an ungodly desire for attention and credit can do harm to ourselves and others.

Unfortunately I’ve seen people manipulate situations just so they can get all the glory. We don’t have to drive ourselves crazy worrying about rewards. When we operate with pure hearts, God will bless us by making sure we receive the rewards we deserve.

Even in our prayer life, God wants our motives to be pure…

James 4:3 NIV, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

The will of God should be our primary concern. When we ask, we should ask according to His will. When we delight ourselves in Him, He promised to give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4).

Love should always be the motivation behind the things we do, because love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8).