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. 

“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?.”  Deuteronomy 4:7

Heavenly Father, I shudder to think what it would be like if Your holy restraining hand were 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. 

David wanted us to know. He used his voice. He was crying out which means he did more than shoot a quickie silent arrow prayer to God. This saint was serious. He was cryING to the Lord. What did David know that led him to exercise his faith in such a serious and intentional manner? Psalm 3:3 tells us.
Read more...

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 holt 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.

To which of the King of King’s instruction is He calling you? That you keep His commandment without stain? To repent of the love of money? To fix your hope on God rather than the uncertainty of riches? To be rich in good works? To flee from temptation?  What a blessing that our King sets before us eternal life and tells us to take hold of it. Will we? In which regard?

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

I see it in his eyes. They are kind. His eyes say it all. His eyes tell me what’s in his heart. My husband, Keith, looks at me with kind eyes. My response? I feel the most tender of love for him.

The eyes tell us what fills the heart. And, so we wonder. What fills Jesus’s eyes?  What if you were in His presence and He looked deeply into your eyes. What if you couldn’t take your eyes away from His. What would you see in His eyes for you? You’d see kindness beyond anything you’d experienced. The kindness that causes you to love Him with every fiber of your being.  So, the apostle asks in Romans 2:4, “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His KINDNESS and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the KINDNESS of God leads you to repentance?”  What a question! Do we?  Do we think lightly of God’s KINDNESS and tolerance and patience toward us? In other words, are we going about our day hardly looking Christ’s way? When He convicts us of sin, do we look in Jesus’s eyes and sincerely apologize to Him? Do we pause during the day and look into His eyes and say thank you for the little gifts of life? Look in Jesus’s eyes today. Think deeply of the riches of His kindness.

Dear Savior, You are so kind and loving, and patient. Forgive me for sinning against You and one another.  Help me look deeply in Your eyes and reflect Your kindness to others. 

Record Christ’s attribute, KIND, in Prayers of My Heart. Click to ORDER. 

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 at 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 each 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.

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 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. 

Years ago our grandson asked if I’d take him on a ride on our Polaris. Soon he was seated beside me and we headed to the pond. After throwing food to the fish, he looked up at me and said three words that grabbed my heart. “I so happy.”  Looking at that sweet boy’s face, I realized how it must please our Heavenly Father when we’re happy. Understandably we aren’t happy when faced with problems. However, are there factors that affect our happiness? Does God care if we’re happy? Yes. In John 16:24 Jesus said we can ask in His name so our joy is full. If you’re struggling with your emotions, start writing your prayers and recording God’s answers in the journal, Prayers of My Heart. You’ll discover prayers are being answered and there are things for which you can be so happy.

If there was something you could do to have a better attitude and increase your happiness would you do it? I imagine you are thinking, “Bring it on, baby!” Okay. Here it is. Write down what you’re thankful for every day. Bam! That simple. But will you do it? It literally won’t take you more than five minutes…if that much time. Research proves it’s a game-changer in our attitude. A simple click on my journal, Prayers of My Heart  and you’ll have a journal with three sections from which you can choose as a landing place for you to write, “Thank you, Lord, for…..” Will you do it? How important is your innermost heart? How about your mindset? What about your attitude and how it affects others? Take the step with this game-changer today.