Like candles? And incense? We don't know all the details about God. We'll have to wait until we go live with Him to discover more. One thing we do know is that He loves incense.
When Isaiah encountered the Lord God Jehovah in the temple, the seraphim (high ranking angels) were busy burning incense. the entire temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6)
There's a magnificent scene in heaven that John the Apostle share in Revelation 8:3-4. John went on a tour through heaven. He discovered that the angels were mixing incense with the prayers of the people who believe in Him. Imagine that!
Picture our heavenly Father loving us – lavishing affection on us! He has angels mixing our prayers with the incense! He treasures our prayers. I think that Jesus and the Holy Spirit must be sorting through our prayers to sweeten them by changing them from our raw selfish requests to something noble and perfect for the Father. The angels mixing them with incense are stirring the pot like kitchen helpers.
The Lord of the universe sits on His throne and waits to hear from us! In this age of easy access to God’s throne room, how sinfully prideful are we when we offer Him irreverent, slovenly prayers?
Visit Do You Know How God Loves You?
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Since you are already a leader of somebody, do you need to be a great leader?
Every effective human being is a leader at one point or another in life. I have heard that Nehemiah was one of the greatest leaders ever. I became interested in how he began. What did he do first?
A Prayer of Nehemiah, The Birth of Leadership is a look at his starting point. I'm sharing this with you as a Kindle book on Amazon.com.
Since you are already a leader of somebody, do you need to be a great leader?
Assuming a role of leadership can be challenging. We face all kinds of problems when we step out to lead. The struggles a leader faces are human problems that have not changed over the centuries of history.
Nehemiah, a cupbearer for a Persian king more than 400 years before Christ was born, led a company of his people from Babylon to Jerusalem, where he restored the walls and civil authority. Where his country once existed, he found ruins. His challenge was for him a great one.
This man Nehemiah has been studied and admired through the centuries as an example of a great leader. In his writing he admitted his human frailties and told how he coped.
A Prayer of Nehemiah is an informal conversation about the first prayer Nehemiah wrote in his book. His starting point is surprising but effective.
If you are ready to develop your leadership skills, read this little book. It is not necessary to buy a Kindle to read Kindle books. Simply download the software onto your computer.
A Prayer of Nehemiah, The Birth of Leadership is a look at his starting point. I'm sharing this with you as a Kindle book on Amazon.com.
Since you are already a leader of somebody, do you need to be a great leader?
Assuming a role of leadership can be challenging. We face all kinds of problems when we step out to lead. The struggles a leader faces are human problems that have not changed over the centuries of history.
Nehemiah, a cupbearer for a Persian king more than 400 years before Christ was born, led a company of his people from Babylon to Jerusalem, where he restored the walls and civil authority. Where his country once existed, he found ruins. His challenge was for him a great one.
This man Nehemiah has been studied and admired through the centuries as an example of a great leader. In his writing he admitted his human frailties and told how he coped.
A Prayer of Nehemiah is an informal conversation about the first prayer Nehemiah wrote in his book. His starting point is surprising but effective.
If you are ready to develop your leadership skills, read this little book. It is not necessary to buy a Kindle to read Kindle books. Simply download the software onto your computer.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Pour Out Your Heart!
“Our Father...” (Luke 11:2)
Tell your heavenly Father what is on your mind and in your heart. Although He already knows, He wants you to tell Him. Great men in the Bible – such as Job, Abraham, Moses, and Joshua – told God exactly what they thought. He responded, and He blessed them.
When we express ourselves to our heavenly Father (in Jesus’ name as we are instructed) He hears us. If we expect to hear Him, we should give Him honest communication.
There was a woman who was bitter because she could not have a baby. She cried until she was sore. She prayed. All the feelings in her heart she poured out to the Lord. “O Lord of hosts,” she prayed, “if Thou will indeed look on the affliction of Thine handmaid...” (I Samuel 1:11) Her name was Hannah. As she knelt in the temple in Jerusalem, she prayed with her heart. Her lips moved, but no words came out. Eli, the priest, thought she was drunk.
She promised God that if she could be given a son she would give him to the Lord. When she went back home, she and her husband Elkanah tried again. “The Lord remembered her.” (I Samuel 1:19) And she called her son Samuel, who became God’s prophet and the last ruler-judge of Israel. He anointed Israel’s first king, Saul, and Israel’s greatest king, David.
The Bible has some wonderful promises related to prayer such as this one: “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22)
Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.
Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 15:13-16)
Nowhere in the Bible is there a verse that forbids us from respectfully pouring our hearts out to our Father as we take a walk, lie in bed, or drive home from work. Instead, God’s word says, “Pray without ceasing.” (I Thessalonians 5:17) As our warm, caring Father. God wants to have a loving, personal relationship with us.
Tell your heavenly Father what is on your mind and in your heart. Although He already knows, He wants you to tell Him. Great men in the Bible – such as Job, Abraham, Moses, and Joshua – told God exactly what they thought. He responded, and He blessed them.
When we express ourselves to our heavenly Father (in Jesus’ name as we are instructed) He hears us. If we expect to hear Him, we should give Him honest communication.
There was a woman who was bitter because she could not have a baby. She cried until she was sore. She prayed. All the feelings in her heart she poured out to the Lord. “O Lord of hosts,” she prayed, “if Thou will indeed look on the affliction of Thine handmaid...” (I Samuel 1:11) Her name was Hannah. As she knelt in the temple in Jerusalem, she prayed with her heart. Her lips moved, but no words came out. Eli, the priest, thought she was drunk.
She promised God that if she could be given a son she would give him to the Lord. When she went back home, she and her husband Elkanah tried again. “The Lord remembered her.” (I Samuel 1:19) And she called her son Samuel, who became God’s prophet and the last ruler-judge of Israel. He anointed Israel’s first king, Saul, and Israel’s greatest king, David.
The Bible has some wonderful promises related to prayer such as this one: “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22)
Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.
Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 15:13-16)
Nowhere in the Bible is there a verse that forbids us from respectfully pouring our hearts out to our Father as we take a walk, lie in bed, or drive home from work. Instead, God’s word says, “Pray without ceasing.” (I Thessalonians 5:17) As our warm, caring Father. God wants to have a loving, personal relationship with us.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
What to Do if You Pray and Your Prayers Aren't Answered
When something doesn't work, it's time to analyze the process. Let's approach the problem the way journalists gather news. They ask the five “W” questions. This method has worked for centuries. Here are the questions:
1.Who?
2.What?
3.When?
4.Where?
5.Why?
Now let's look at the answers . . .
Who? The answer seems obvious. Who? Me. I'm praying. No, the question is not about who is praying but to Whom you are praying. It is not about you. Real prayer is about the Maker of the universe, the Ruler of the world, your loving Father. Until you realize that God created you for His pleasure and that He loves to hear from you, His precious child, you are not praying. Instead you are thinking to yourself – worrying about your problem.
What? What are you asking? You can ask anything you wish. God will answer what you ask as long as you ask according to His will, through His Son, and in His Spirit. God will answer your prayer according to His will, your need, and your desire.
When? God will hear one little whispered prayer. The Bible speaks out against vain repetition, but it encourages repetition. Your Father pays attention to the fervent prayer of a righteous person. (The only righteousness that any human being has is the purity of Jesus on our behalf.)
Where? As a child of God, you can pray anywhere, but don't make a show. Jesus warned against praying in the street corner to get attention. The reward becomes the attention that men give, not the answer that God gives. No matter where you find a physical location to pray, the relevant answer to this question is the spiritual location: near to the heart of God. Now that Christ has come and paid the ultimate sacrifice, we can walk into the Holy of Holies under the cover of Christ's blood.
Why? Why does God not give you what you ask? If the answer is ”no” or “not now” you may think there was not an answer. Your Father who loves you will give you the good things you need. Sometimes the greatest gift is what you may have been calling unanswered prayer.
1.Who?
2.What?
3.When?
4.Where?
5.Why?
Now let's look at the answers . . .
Who? The answer seems obvious. Who? Me. I'm praying. No, the question is not about who is praying but to Whom you are praying. It is not about you. Real prayer is about the Maker of the universe, the Ruler of the world, your loving Father. Until you realize that God created you for His pleasure and that He loves to hear from you, His precious child, you are not praying. Instead you are thinking to yourself – worrying about your problem.
What? What are you asking? You can ask anything you wish. God will answer what you ask as long as you ask according to His will, through His Son, and in His Spirit. God will answer your prayer according to His will, your need, and your desire.
When? God will hear one little whispered prayer. The Bible speaks out against vain repetition, but it encourages repetition. Your Father pays attention to the fervent prayer of a righteous person. (The only righteousness that any human being has is the purity of Jesus on our behalf.)
Where? As a child of God, you can pray anywhere, but don't make a show. Jesus warned against praying in the street corner to get attention. The reward becomes the attention that men give, not the answer that God gives. No matter where you find a physical location to pray, the relevant answer to this question is the spiritual location: near to the heart of God. Now that Christ has come and paid the ultimate sacrifice, we can walk into the Holy of Holies under the cover of Christ's blood.
Why? Why does God not give you what you ask? If the answer is ”no” or “not now” you may think there was not an answer. Your Father who loves you will give you the good things you need. Sometimes the greatest gift is what you may have been calling unanswered prayer.
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