verseoftheday

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. Mark 1:35 ESV For Jesus the battle was on. He was teaching, healing, casting out demons, leading his team of disciples, travelling...and praying. Often for me prayer has been something I'll slip in when I have time, or in response to a situation. Jesus is modeling something different. Deliberate Time Alone Uninterrupted Seems difficult in our world to find that kind of space. Maybe Jesus was struggling with that too, which is why he got up very early, so no one else knew, and ducked off somewhere quiet. Paul talked of closing his door. This is not the only time Jesus did this. Prayer was his habit. I wonder if my mission would be clearer, my focus better, my walk with God more secure, my questions, doubts, challenges and troubles...I wonder if I would see and respond to those things differently if I was more deliberate in my prayer. If I ju...

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 NIV We love a good formula. Could probably write a book on this one, complete with notebooks with tabs for each part...Paul's 4 step plan to peace with God...or something like that. But there's other formula's in other places so that indicates that these are useful guides for us to use to move us closer to God's heart. So feel free to write the book :) For now, think about this word "petition". A petition takes effort, passion, committment to write it up and get others on board. It's not something we do lightly or on the spur of the moment. A petition is for something that has really stirred our heart. We can't let it go It's driven from something deep within. A need for justice, change, deliverance. A place of deep need. That's what the "last word", the living God, wants to hear f...

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best... Philippians 1:9-10 NIV Yes I want to know what's best. Yes I want knowledge. Yes I want insight. The path to get that is Love. Agape. Literally the love God prefers. The love that brought Jesus from heaven. The love that took Him to the cross. The love that held Him there. The love that withstood separation from the Father The love that took all my sin. That love. Giving, sacrificial, costly, other oriented. May that love abound in you and me, overflow... more and more. Loving like that leads to insight, to knowledge, to knowing what's best... Paul is praying that over the church. This morning I'm praying that for you. Is there someone who you can pray this prayer for? #prayer #inthistogether #love #lovelikeJesus

...so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart." I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God of heaven... Nehemiah 2:2-4NIV The waiter doesn't get asked how things are in his life. The king doesn't need to be interested. Nehe is afraid as the king has complete power over his life. If he upsets the king his life could be over... So what does he do in the heat of the moment? When the pressure is on? He prays. #nehemiah #prayer #whentheheatison #pray