[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Monday, January 27, 2014

[Linda Mentink]

We just need to pray that God's will be done, or that our will 
becomes His will, or do nothing until we have peace about the question.

Blessings,

Linda

At 02:29 PM 1/27/2014, you wrote:
>Hello to all of you on this Monday, another day which the Lord has 
>made.  I hope that those of you reading these lines are having a 
>good day, whether that be morning, afternoon or evening, by God's 
>matchless grace and His providential care.
>
>Sometimes in searching for something to post in these Daily Thought 
>messages, I draw a blank.  However today at my senior citizens 
>center, I had a considerable amount of downtime, so I brought along 
>a past edition of Decision Magazine, published by the Billy Graham 
>Evangelistic Association.  Some of you may have read this article 
>previously, and some may not have.  Anyway it was written by Ross 
>Rhoads who is BGEA's chaplain, and he wrote what I consider to be a 
>short but very profound article.  It is entitled "Do We Pray?" and 
>is rendered as follows:
>
>If we examined the needs of our hearts and the needs of the world, 
>we would pray more than we would do any other activity.  Martin 
>Luther said he should pray three hours before he spoke 30 
>minutes.  There was something about the early Reformers--let alone 
>the apostle Paul, who said, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 
>5:17)--that we do not have in the church today.
>
>We hold the Bible as innerant, we have the cardinal doctrines, and 
>we hold all of those dear.  But we don't pray.  I know I don't pray 
>enough.  This past summer I preached four times every weekend for 15 
>weeks.  Talking, talking; teaching, teaching.
>
>Did I spend equal time in prayer? I talk to people; do I talk to 
>God? Do I listen to Him? Do I set aside times when I don't have 
>distractions, and just think about the Lord Jesus and pray to the 
>Father and ask for the fullness of the Holy Spirit?
>
>Remember this rule:  Little prayer, little power; much prayer, much power.
>
>And what do we pray about? Do we call on Him only when we're in 
>trouble and need help? I would encourage you to talk to the Father 
>about His Son.  If you talk to me about my children and 
>grandchildren, my ears perk up! How do you think the Father feels 
>when we never thank Him for His presence and brag about Jesus--which 
>is what praising is?
>
>Here is a thought that should comfort us:  Jesus is ever living to 
>make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25).  Even if we're not praying 
>enough, Jesus is praying.  His will shall be done, with or without 
>our prayer.  But our prayer is an evidence of our love for Him.
>
>And there you have it for today.  I hope this article, short as it 
>was, ministered to you today.  For me, the most difficult part of 
>praying is praying "according to God's will" as it says in 1 John 
>5:14.  This might sound like an ignorant question, but if we don't 
>know what God's will is in a particular situation while praying for 
>loved ones or circumstances in one's or another friends' life, how 
>can we know clearly the will of God to pray effectively with that in 
>mind? If this is an ignorant question, maybe I just have to return 
>to the kindergarten of prayer.  Among the many readers of these 
>messages there are at least three pastors, and would appreciate 
>prayerful consideration from them if they are moved to respond, as 
>your answers will be shared with the others.  Thanks for any 
>Spirit-guided responses.
>
>And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, 
>individually and collectively, in these last days in which we 
>live.  Lord willing, tomorrow there will be another Daily Thought 
>message for you.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul
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