Waiting Continually on God

Prayer is the most important spiritual discipline we can accomplish. Prayer is speaking to God from our heart. Rote prayers and formulas for prayer are unnecessary. God already knows our heart and wants to hear our own words (Luke 16:15).

God places His burdens upon our heart for the lost people groups in our world, for those laden by illness, for people devastated by the loss of a loved one through death or divorce, and those suffering from other ill effects of this life.

Waiting continually on God all day long, we pray without ceasing, worship the beauty of His holiness, live in His presence and praise His holy name (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Psalm 16:11, 29:2, 138:2).

Once we entirely surrender to Christ in us, there is no limit to what God can do in and through us. We bow in humble adoration of our King and walk in perfect submission to His will.

He heals our diseases and nurtures our soul, lifting our head from the pillow of illness or a posture of depression; and putting a new song in our heart (Psalm 3:3-4, 40:3).

He takes our trials and tribulation personally, because He dwells within each one of us and experiences everything right along with us (Acts 9:4-5).

We hope in God alone as He sustains us, comfort us and puts a smile on our face (Psalm 42:11). As we find our delight in Him, He fills our soul and spirit with His glory and places His desires in our heart (Psalm 37:4).

Prayer:

Father God, You fill us with Your love in a world that is full of anger and hate. You encourage us when our soul is bowed with the cares of this life. You teach us to forgive when others fail to admit that they have mistreated us. You feel our pain and You carry us through our tribulation.

You lift our head from the pit of despondency and make our feet like hinds feet to climb higher still into Your presence (Psalm 18:33). We look forward to dwelling with you throughout eternity, because You are our great God, full of loving kindness and mercy (Psalm 95:3). 

Thought for the Day:

It has been said, "When we go God's way, we bump into the devil who is always trying to discourage us and derail our attempts to walk in God's will."

Relationship of Love

In my early years with the Lord, I worked hard so that God would love me. In my human relationships, I had to earn love; so I thought I had to earn His love too. 
 
I wanted to meet His expectations and to make Him happy with me. I tried desperately to earn His approval, not realizing that I already had it through Christ in me.

It took me ten years to learn that He already loved me, even when I was still lost in sin and prior to me ever surrendering my life to Him (Romans 5:8; Genesis 2:17).

His love is a free gift (Romans 6:23). He is not interested in our human efforts. We prove our love to Him by our obedience to His Word and His Spirit, as well as our faith in His faithfulness (John 14:15).

He will allow our best human endeavors to fail, simply to teach us to trust in Him and to follow His Spirit each moment of the day. He wants absolute control over our thoughts, words and actions.

God is not looking for puppets with no will of our own. He wants dedicated servants with no agenda of our own. He does not need our energy and efficiency, but our submission and adoration (Isaiah 31:1).

We cannot earn favor with God. He gives it to us voluntarily as His endowment to His children. God's Spirit leads us in a victorious life of fulfillment, joy and blessings.

We bring God glory, honor and praises with a life dedicated to His Kingdom. He works in and through us as we empty our soul of earthly attachments and goals, lay down idols which cause negative emotions and surrender our life to His love.

Jesus loves us with our Father's love; and we can trust in His love to meet all of our needs according to His glorious riches (Philippians 4:19; John 15:9). We abide in Him as the branch on the Vine (John 15:5).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us to speak to You in prayer, focus on Your will, meditate on Your Word and walk in Your Spirit. We delight in You and we thank You for leading us in Your way (Isaiah 30:21). Jesus is the only way, truth and life (John 14:6). Let people see Christ in us and to desire the same relationship of love that we enjoy.

Help us to imitate Your character, to adopt Your perspective on life and to abide in Christ each moment of our day. Remind us to persist in prayer, because of the spiritual forces of darkness, which come against the fulfillment of our requests (Daniel 10:1-13).

Thought for the Day:

Our relationship with Christ is not about our works, or we could take pride in it; but has everything to do with Christ's finished work on Calvary's cross. 

- Ephesians 2:8-9; John 19:30

The High Praises

 

As we praise the Lord, we exalt Him and bless His name each moment of our day, for as long as we live and then on into eternity. He is great and so worthy of all of our adoration. His greatness is incomprehensible to our finite mind (Psalm 145:1-3). His name will endure for eternity and every generation will know Him as Lord (Psalm 135:13).

Everyone that has breath praises Him in worship, in nature, with musical instruments and with dancing (Psalm 150:1-6). Each generation will communicate His works to the next, and they will declare His mighty acts to each individual, as well as to the nations, which He blesses (Psalm 145:4-6, 21).

Therefore, we should sing praises to the Lord our God, while we live (Psalm 146:1-2). The Lord longs to be gracious to His people. He makes every effort to show compassion to us. He is the God of justice and mercy, and we are blessed if we wait for His timing in everything we say and do (Isaiah 30:18). Singing His praises is good and beautiful.

God is the stability of all times, and we can trust in Him. He is a wealth of wisdom, provision and deliverance to those who put all of their faith in Him. Honoring the Lord is the key to receiving this treasure (Isaiah 33:6). We praise Him for His great mercy, which He gave us through His new birth; and for His living hope, which He provided through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (Psalm 147:1).

Prayer:

Father God, we bless You, because You hear our prayers. You are our strength and protection. Our soul trusts in You, because You are always ready to help us. Our heart exceedingly rejoices in the beauty of Your holiness and we give thanks to You in continual praises (Psalm 28:6-7). You are enthroned between the angels and You alone are the God over every kingdom and nation of this earth, which You created (Isaiah 37:16).

Thought for the Day:

The high praises of God are in our mouth, and His Holy Word is in our hands, as we hide it within our heart. - Psalm 119:11, 149:6; Hebrews 4:12

No Secrets

We have no secrets from God. He knows us from our rising up to our laying down. He knows all of our actions, thoughts and desires. We are never out of His sight. He is behind us and ahead of us, reassuring us with His presence in our life. He is with us in the dark, immersing us in His light. He is with us in the day and in the night. He does this for every one of His children, which truly boggles the human mind (Psalm 139:1-12).

He shaped us in our mother’s womb. We are marvelously made. He knows us intimately inside and out. He sculpted us from nothing and made us a glorious creation. He prepared all of our days before we were even conceived; they are all spread out before Him, even those that did not happen to us yet! We can do no less than to worship Him in adoration and praise for His marvelous works (Psalm 139:13-16).

God’s ways are so stunning and extraordinary. They are hard for us to understand and more intricate and numerous than the grains of sand at the seashore. He has our days numbered and allows us to rise each morning to live in His presence throughout the day. As Saints, we come to abhor ungodliness, and God’s enemies become our enemies. One day, God will eliminate all wickedness and those who mock Him, hate Him and serve idols with their life (Psalm 139:17-22).

Prayer:

Father God, test us, try us and find out the real truth of who we are. Examine us and put us on trial until we see our self for who we are. Correct us and change us and keep us walking on the road of eternal life (Psalm 139:23-24). Help us to influence others to discard the lies, which Satan convinced them of, and to fully embrace the truth of Your Word for their own life. Prepare the soil of their hearts by whatever means necessary, until they are ready to receive the seed of Your Gospel Truth.

Thought for the Day:

The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all.
- Luke 12:2

 

God's Delight

 

Authentic Christians do not have to pray to get back in the Spirit, nor do we have to go to a church to find God, because we continually live and walk in His Spirit (Galatians 5:16,25). God is love. Everyone who loves with God’s Agape love is born of God and knows Him intimately (1 John 4:7). God delights in and abundantly blesses those who love Him and seek after Him. Our petitions and prayers are near and dear to the heart of our Father God. He provides for all of our needs (Proverbs 8:17; Romans 8:28). He delights in the praises and adoration of His people (Psalm 147:11, 149:4).

On the other hand, God actually hates sinners (Psalm 5:5, 11:5). Why? They harden their heart against Him as they pursue a life of sin. Take Jacob and Esau, for instance. Jacob had a heart for God, although he and his mom cooked up some pretty deceptive activities to mislead his father! Yet, God went on record to pronounce that He loved Jacob and hated Esau (Romans 9:13). Why? Esau’s god was his belly (Philippians 3:19). God knows our heart; and like Esau, some people actually despise God with the choices and lifestyle, which they prefer over Him (Luke 16:15; Romans 9:13).

God gives everyone the opportunity to worship Him with all of their heart; however, many choose to turn their back on Him (John 3:18). God calls everyone to stop putting our faith in the wrong people and things, and to put it in Him instead. We exchange our self-centered efforts for Christ-centered ones. Our carnal humanity no longer controls our life, because we surrendered totally to God. As we follow hard after Him, and only Him, then He provides us with everything we need from the endless well of His glorious riches (Matthew 6:33). His peace and joy flood our soul.

Rather than to seek our own comfort or fame, we seek to further God’s Kingdom in the earth. Every part of our soul – our thoughts, choices and emotions – blesses the Lord (Psalm 103:1). We patiently listen for His voice as He wisely directs our steps according to His plan for our life (Proverbs 3:5-6). We start to despise anything that robs Him of the glory due His name. God loves it when our soul chases after Him (Psalm 63:8). We are a magnifying glass through which others see God as bigger than life (Luke 1:46). They pay no attention to us, because they look right through us at Him.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we decrease so that You may increase in and through us (John 3:30). We never leave the shadow of the Almighty or the shelter of Your wings (Psalm 91:1). We love you, and we keep our Father’s commandments as You manifest Yourself to us and through us, instead of us (John 14:21). You love us abundantly more than we could ever imagine being loved. We focus on You and look forward to Your Spirit transforming us into Your image (Romans 8:29).

Thought for the Day:

God transports us into higher and higher realms of spiritual delight as we give our whole body, soul and spirit in worship to Him.