Tag: Prayer

Lifting Each Other Up

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

COVID hit us all hard. It hit us in waves that came crashing down on our lives. First the original strain hit us in 2020. We scrambled and adjusted and hunkered down for months and then slowly but surely things started to get better. The constant fear started to subside but at the end of 2020 and into 2021 the Delta variant hit us. This time we were better prepared, and we knew what to do to get through it. And just when we thought everything was back to “normal”, boom! The Omicron variant came to town at the end of 2021.

These ups and downs are similar to the ups and downs of our emotions as we go through life. Something happens in your life, like a sickness, a divorce, the loss of a job, an argument with your family, and you scramble and adjust and hunker down. Slowly but surely things start to get better…back to normal. Then just when you think everything under control, boom…another wave hits.

These ups and downs happen to everyone but when it is happening to you it is hard to know what to do. It is hard to look up and ask for help. But it is harder to go it alone. In Galatians 6:2 it says, “Carry each other’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  There are people around you that want to help carry your burdens. There are people around you that want to pray for you and pour the love of Jesus into you. Prayer is a powerful tool and asking for prayer takes courage, but it will bring you comfort and peace. James 5:6 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Life is difficult when you try to do it alone. We were made for community. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” Look for a community of people that will build you up, fill you up with the Holy Spirit, and encourage you to grow your relationship with Christ, your savior.

Dear Lord, thank you for sending people into my life that will stand in the gap with me when I am feeling low and help me to be that person for someone else. Encourage me to seek out a community of like-minded people that will pour your love into my life. Amen.

God Is Not a Genie in A Bottle

Philippians 4:6-7 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Some people only talk to God when they have a problem. When they have a prayer of need. Let me ask you this, what would your relationship with a friend look like if they only called you when they had a problem?  They never wanted to celebrate with you or share the good things that happen in their life.  Just their strife, problems and worries.  What kind of a relationship would that be?

God is not a genie in a bottle that you only call on when you want something. God wants a relationship with you. A relationship where you share the good and the bad. A relationship where you acknowledge what you are thankful for and what you need. He wants to communicate with you all day long no matter what your circumstances. When you open that line of communication with God on a daily basis, you will begin to see his presence and feel his peace in ways you have never seen or felt before.

So, I challenge you to change your perspective about a relationship with God. Don’t look at him as a wish-granter or a means to get what you want. Remember that he wants a real relationship with you and that takes time and open communication (prayer) about everything.

Dear God, thank you for your word and for opening my eyes, ears, and minds to understand what you are saying to me. I want a real relationship with you, and I will pray about everything. Amen

My Prayer Today

Philippians 4:6-7 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he as done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

I did not know what to share with you today in Simply Said Devotions and I was worried about that.  So, I decided to do what Paul said in Philippians 4:6. I decided to pray about it through my journaling. After I finished, I realized this is what Jesus wanted me to share with you.  This is was my journal entry.

Dear Lord,

I do not know what to write about. I am overwhelmed by how the people in this world are acting. I know there are good and Godly people out there because I encounter them every day, but I feel like their voices are not the voices that people can hear. The voice of conflict and controversy is the voice that resonates throughout our land right now. Arguing and unrest seems to be what people are drawn to. Rumors and untruths are more fun to discuss than peace and love.

Who are these people at the root of it? Who finds pleasure in stirring up the masses? I just do not understand it. Lord, I ask you to silence them. I ask you to make your glory known to the unbelievers so that they come to know that you are in control. So that they come to know that there is only ONE that can the king of my heart and soul. Shine a light on the fools and open our eyes so that their words are seen for what they are – empty lies.

Thank you for the peace that you promise all who bring you into their hearts. Thank you for the unconditional love that you show your people and thank you for walking next to me every day, even when I am not intentionally walking with you.

Peace be with you. Amen.

When you are worried and unsure how to proceed, take it to Jesus. When you are scared and cannot make a decision, take it to Jesus. When you are depressed and do not want to get up, take it to Jesus. Jesus himself has experienced every human emotion that you feel because he was a human too. Knowing that He is there for you is very comforting. Really, it’s everything to me.

Lord, thank you for being an ever-present help when I am in need. Thank you for being the voice of reason in my head and for providing me with peace in my heart. You are everything to me. Amen.

A Spirit of Fear

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

A spirit of fear has taken over our world because of COVID-19.  I have watched from the sidelines as neighbors and friends have panicked and ran to the store to buy up every last roll of toilet paper, can of Lysol and bottle of hand sanitizer.  But the Bible says that fear is not from God.  So, if it is not from God, who is it from?  Fear is from the enemy. 

Fear often brings on sleepless nights, short tempers and bad decisions.  You end up feeling helpless, overwhelmed and completely alone.  Fear is one of the enemy’s most popular weapons that he uses against us. The most common lie that the enemy uses to instill fear into us is that God is far away or absent from our presence.  God has given us the power to break away from fear.  In Joshua 1:9 it says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discourage, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” 

God has proven time and time again, both in the Bible and in our lives, that He loves us and is always with us.  In Romans 8:38-39 it says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  In a time like this, God’s love should overflow from you to the people around you.  You can show love by helping your neighbors, family and friends.  Check on people that may be vulnerable to illness.  Offer to pick up something from the store if you are going anyway. 

Fear is not a physical enemy; it is a spiritual enemy and a spiritual battle requires spiritual weapons.  So, what weapons do you bring to a spiritual battle?  The most powerful weapons of all.  Prayer and worship!  It is easy to forget to pray and worship in a time like this. You find yourself glued to the media to hear the latest news.  Don’t get me wrong, it is good to be informed, but God has given you self-discipline too.  Self-discipline to stay in prayer.  Self-discipline to stay in worship.  Self-discipline to follow the guidelines given to us by the authorities.  A sound mind in a time like this is a gift from God.  Slow down, pray and worship. God will bring you comfort.

Dear God, thank you for the power you give us to defeat the enemy. Thank you for your never-ending love.  Help us to linger in prayer and worship so that fear is whipped out.  Amen