Prayers of My Heart

Following the Israelites exodus from Egypt, Moses recounted their conquests and urged the people to obey God’s Law. In his discourse, he spoke the poignant words in Deuteronomy 4:7. Ponder them with me.

“For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the LORD OUR GOD whenever we call on Him?”

Have you ever thought about his words in relation to our nation? The LORD OUR GOD is OUR God and whenever we call on Him, He’s NEAR? Now you may be thinking that God hasn’t heard our prayers for our nation and hasn’t answered them. But oh, dear friend, we have absolutely no idea the outpouring of evil that might have occurred had God’s hand not been on satan’s neck. God hears our prayers. The Holy Spirit is acting and moving in response to them. If not for our prayers and God answering, I shudder to think how depraved our nation would be. So keep praying! Keep calling on God to raise godly leaders, to protect all who are standing for truth, righteousness, and freedom. What we see on earth is a reflection of the unseen spiritual warfare being played out in the heavenliness so pray like never before. There is power in prayer and your voice counts. In the meantime, it is important to have a grateful heart to God for the daily victories He is accomplishing. Is there any good in your life? Is there a victory in a leader speaking up rather than being silent? Is a family member standing strong under pressure from friends to compromise their beliefs? Are you mindfully thanking God? If not, begin! It’s important that our thanks reach God’s ears. Don’t delay. Order your copy of Prayers of My Heart journal and in the monthly calendar section, jot down 3 ways you see God work each day. Why? Because if you pause over the day with the intention of thanking Him, you’ll bring forward in your mind how God did show up big. It will bring Him pleasure to see you recognize His handiwork. It will alter your mood so that you are a more joyful Christian. 

Heavenly Father, I shudder to think what it would be like if Your holy restraining hand was ever lifted. I shudder to think the extent to which evil would prevail were Your Holy Spirit not restraining it. Yes, You are near, hear our prayers, and are working magnificently. We give You praise and glory. Hallelujah, praise You, Lord. Continue on. Show off big. And, may your saints be cheering You on with their daily, mindful, intentional praise.

Journal Your Praise 

Who do you call on when you’re anxious or scared and it seems there is no one who can help you? Who do you call on when you’re powerless to change a situation? Those times have a way of humbling us. Whereas we may have been too busy to pray, we suddenly find we’re continually praying. We’re calling on God. We’re crying out to Him. Such was the case with King Hezekiah when Sennacherib, King of Assyria, threatened to overtake Jerusalem. Hezekiah prayed and prayed hard. Listen to his prayer:

“O LORD OF HOSTS, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. … Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, LORD, are God.” Isaiah 37:16-17, 20

You can hear the plea in Hezekiah’s heart. He didn’t want to be defeated. He didn’t want Jerusalem to be overtaken by an enemy. But there is more to his prayer. There is a higher reason to pray for God to deliver you, a loved one, or our nation – so people will know that the LORD is God of all the kingdoms of the earth. When we pray, do we pray only for ourselves? Or, are we praying so God is glorified in and through us and our struggle or situation?

LORD of Hosts who is enthroned above the cherubim, we worship You and recognize You as God alone over all the kingdoms of the earth. Your will be done in our hearts and lives so You are glorified. 

I struggled with today’s devotional because first I went in one direction and then another. There are so many important points!  The key verse is 1 Timothy 6:15 and the Lord’s attribute is King of Kings. It’s a rich verse. “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the KING OF KINGS and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”  The verse is straightforward. It’s beautiful to read. The context, though, goes contrary to our human bent. Would you share your thoughts as to why the glorious description of Jesus as King of Kings who dwells in unapproachable light is in the context of  1 Timothy 6: 7-19? Warning: if you read it closely, you may get a holy jolt. 

For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.  

But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.  Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

Which of the King of King’s instructions did you need to hear? Was it that you keep His commandment without stain? Was it to repent of the love of money? Or, was it to fix your hope on God rather than the uncertainty of riches? What about His word to be rich in good works? Or, flee from temptation?  What a blessing that our King sets before us eternal life and tells us to take hold of it. Will we?

KING OF KINGS, give us a holy jolt to obey You.

Do you ever feel like things in life aren’t fair? Have you wondered why some people get away with things with no apparent consequences? Often, those questions are warranted. As thinking people, we can’t help but wonder about the justice system. But then we must quickly remember that in the end, no one gets away with anything before God. He sees sin and knows people’s thoughts. Most importantly, God is JUST. As Psalm 89:14 states,

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne… 

God weighs hearts and motives. He forgives repentant sinners. He deals with unrepentant ones. Lay any vengeance you have toward another person at God’s feet. He will rule justly because that is His nature – JUST.

Lord, we praise you. You are JUST!

TIP:  Write God’s attribute that I highlight in every 365 Days of Praise devotional in Prayers of My Heart. Writing it on paper writes it on your brain. When you’re troubled, flip through the pages of your journal and thank God for who He is as you reflect on His nature. It will build your confidence, decrease your stress, and help you live a more joy-filled life. Click HERE  to order.

Holding my finger to the gate opener, I edged toward the closed gate. Would it open this time, I wondered? It didn’t. Putting my car in reverse, I backed up and approached the gate a second time. Again, it failed to open. Determined, I gave it the ole “third time is the charm” approach. It worked! Have you been attempting to get through a closed door yet failing? Why not try a different approach? Psalm 145:18 tells us God is near to all who call on Him in truth. Have you called on your Heavenly Father and asked Him how to approach a closed door? Call on God. His door is always open. Then, listen to how He directs you. Act on God’s instruction. Journal God’s answers to your prayers and your praises in Prayers of My Heart, a journal designed with you in mind. 

The word “but” is an important word and has significance. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, the apostle Paul encourages believers to imitate him. However he is quick to follow his statement in 1 Corinthians 11:3 saying, “But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man,….”  In other words, Paul explains that he only tells us to imitate him because he is imitating Christ, who is the HEAD OF EVERY MAN. Christ is the One we are to follow. Isn’t it wonderful that we have Christ as our HEAD and He shows us and tells us how to live? Now to Paul’s point, to what degree do we imitate Christ in our daily lives?  I’m reminded of Peter’s words that we have the Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:4) once we become Christians. Are we living by Christ’s Divine Nature? Are we known to those closest to us as being like Christ because we imitate Christ and follow His lead? Ephesians 5 begins, “Be imitators of God…” I just reread the chapter and recorded in my journal ways I want to be mindful of imitating Christ and following His headship. Here’s a snapshot. (Sorry about the poor handwriting. I had Prayers of My Heart on my lap.) What about you? Would you want to also open Ephesians 5 and make your own list of ways you might better follow Christ, your Head? 

Lord Jesus, HEAD OF EVERY MAN, convict us of ways we need to better submit to Your headship and imitate You. Fill us with Your Spirit so we live by Your divine nature and bring glory to You. 

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Did you know there are health perks to having a pet? But what if your idea of a pet is a pet rock? Are there other ways to become healthier? Yes! Studies show that people who keep a journal of their prayers experience health benefits such as less anxiety and more positive moods. They also tolerated pain better. And, for those who are married, findings show that when people pray for the well-being of their spouse when they feel a negative emotion, both spouses—the one praying and the one being prayed for—report greater relationship satisfaction. Journaling our prayers increase our awareness of God’s faithfulness and therefore increases our peace. So, sure, take your pet for a walk, but also walk prayerfully with God. Prayers of My Heart journal will get you started.

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Peace between people. Is it a dream? Is it a far-fetched wish? Is it an impossibility? It seems to be. Why? Because although we aren’t perfect, we expect others be perfect. Now, think about something with me. What if that’s how Jesus related to us? What if the Father, Son, and Spirit demanded our perfection 24/7? What if when we didn’t live up to their expectations, we were out the door, banned forever, with no path of reconciliation? I hope and pray that each of us can in at the least the tiniest of ways have a deep appreciation that God treats us differently than some people treat one another. In fact, not only does our Lord not hold our sins over our heads, it’s important to Him that we live free of condemnation. Remember when the Jews were itching to stone a woman caught in adultery? They had the rocks in their hands. Their self-righteous arms were wound for throw. But when Jesus confronted them, when He invited the one who was sin free to use his rock to pellet her, the self-righteous slunk away. What did the Lord of Lords then do? If you said, pellet her with rocks because she was guilty and deserving of punishment, you’re right and you’re wrong. You’re correct in saying she was deserving of death according to the Law. You are incorrect, however about Jesus’s response. He told her He didn’t condemn her and for her to go and sin no more. Jesus wants the same for us. He is our Advocate, as 1 John 2:1 explains,

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

There it is.  The Bible is our guide on how not to sin and hopefully, we’re asking Jesus to help us walk in His steps. When we have mis-steps, which we will, what a blessing that we have the full assurance Jesus is our Advocate just as He was for the adulterous woman. Only when we arrive in heaven will we fully appreciate the magnitude of Jesus winning our court case by taking our guilt on Himself.  

Lord Jesus, thank You for being our Advocate. Help us be mindful of Your Word. Help us walk according to it.

Your character trait of God to record in Prayers of My Heart and for which to praise Him: Advocate.

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One day while writing, I wondered in anticipation what words the Lord would give to me next. How ready are you for God to work in your life? What are you doing that shows your readiness and your anticipation? Knowing that God sees us and responds to our drawing near to Him should encourage us to live anticipatory lives. We anticipate Christmas. We anticipate Easter. Why not anticipate God? I believe the disciples lived anticipatory lives. They had seen Jesus do miracles so why should He not continue them? If you want to live a more anticipatory life where you see God working, begin recording the daily praise from my email devotional, “365 Days of Praise” in Prayers of My Heart.  Ask God to make His character more real to you. Watch for how He’s working in your life. Go through your day in anticipation of what God is going to do.