Keep On Praying!

A couple of days ago, I put a poem, by Harper Welch, on my Blog about our prayer life.  Since today is Friday, and we are looking to the coming Lord's Day, I wanted to continue with some thoughts on prayer.  The songwriter said --
      "Just keep on praying until light breaks through --
The Lord will answer; He'll answer you!
      God keeps His promise -- His Word is true --
Just keep on praying until light breaks through!"

I like this quote that someone has said --
     "You have not really prayed until your heart has talked."
And the Psalmist said --
     "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy."

I found the following quotes a few days ago in a Bible my husband gave me in 1976.  They spoke to my heart, and I trust they will to yours also.

     "The winning quality in prayer is persistence."
     "Men may spurn your appeals, reject your messages, and oppose your arguments, but they are helpless against your prayers."
     "Prayer is our highest privilege, our gravest responsibility, and the greatest power God has put into our hands.  Prayer, real prayer, is the noblest, the sublimest, the most stupendous act that any creature of God can perform."  (May God help us to see it as we should).
      Dwight L. Moody has said --"Behind every great movement of God, there is a kneeling figure."

And the Lord said in Jeremiah 33:3 --
     "Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."  Praise the Lord!!
  

Prayer Life!

We read in God's Word that "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."  We are admonished in God's Word to "Pray without ceasing."   (I Thessalonians 5:17)   Earnest, intercessory prayer is, perhaps, one of the greatest needs of the church today.  Without prayer, we are powerless and fruitless!  I think the verse in Ezekiel 22:30 is such a sad verse.  I picture the Master looking -- seeking -- longing -- for a man to pray -- to intercede -- to stand in the gap for the land, but He found none.  Can you feel God's longing and disappointment in these sad words --
     "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none."

I trust this poem by Harper Welch will challenge your heart today, as it has mine.

     "          I failed to pray --
       And icy chords of earth slipped round my soul.
      My heart, once warm with love, turned chill --
      And dead toward Him who gave Himself and died for me.
      The needy souls of men about me touched me not.
      No surges of compassion filled my being,
      No springs of human kindness for the helpless;
      No joy, no peace, no satisfaction for my portion,
                  Because I failed to pray.

                  But then, I prayed --
      And heaven's warmth burned in my once cold heart,
      And God's great love was mine in fullest measure.
      The needs of men weighed heavily upon me;
      My obligations to my Lord were clear and plain.
      And 'Peace which passeth understanding' --
      Joy, and life abundant, and a glow deep settled:
      These I knew through God, my Heavenly Father,
                    Because I prayed.

      Help me, dear Lord, to pray as I ought, always,
      Not fainting with the tensions of my life;
      But strong, and stalwart, and courageous in the faith,
      Supported by the Spirit, and the grace  which can and shall be mine,
                      Because I pray!"

Turn Back ---

Yesterday was a blessed day in the house of the Lord, but I wonder -- where do you find yourself on the road of life this Monday morning?   Are you traveling down the broad way that leadeth to destruction, or are you walking in the narrow way which leadeth unto life? 

Last night at church, my son sang a song which my husband used to sing.  It always touched my heart, and still does, as I picture the Good Shepherd searching for the lost sheep.  Do you need to turn back today?

     "I strolled along the road one day -- but it was not the narrow way;
I met a stranger -- He spoke to me.
      He said, 'My child, where goest thou?'  I said --
'I seek the road just now to wordly pleasures along the way.'

      I said, 'There is so much to see -- I cannot turn, I must be free --
New fields to conquer as on I go.
      I never shall forget that day -- How sad He looked as He turned away!
He bowed His head -- and He dropped a tear.

      And as I journeyed on my way, I stooped to pick a lovely spray,
But it was sorrow that looked so gay.
      And then a dark cloud rolled my way; twas then I heard the Saviour say,
'Turn back, my child -- come home with Me.'

      'Turn back my child, for the way is very steep --
The things you'll find out there you cannot keep --
      The way is filled with thorns, and the things you'll find are cheap --
Turn back, my child -- come home with Me.'

      And then He gently took my hand -- He lifted me from sinking sand;
He said, 'My child--believe in Me' --
      And then such beauty I beheld!  I'm sure that I could never tell
Just why He saved a wretch like me.'

      Turn back, my child, for the way is very steep --
The things you'll find out there you cannot keep --
      The way is filled with thorns, and the things you'll find are cheap --
Turn back, my child -- come home with Me.'"

Jesus is calling to you this morning --"Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
Amen!

My Pastor!

October has been designated as "Pastor Appreciation" month, and this Sunday, the 27th, is the last Sunday of the month.  Of course, if your pastor is a man of God, he is worthy of your support-- your prayers--your encouragement--your faithfulness in giving and attendance all through the year!

Lisa Morgan, in 1994, wrote a tribute to her pastor in the following words:

     "Your willingness to follow God's leadership inspires us to do the same.
      Your walk of faith encourages us to walk along unafraid.
      Your desire for wisdom prompts us to read and study our Bible more.
      Your belief that all things are possible gives us wings to soar.
      Your humble, loving, spirit, lets us know you care.
      Thank you, our good pastor, for always being there."

     "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father."  I Thessalonians 1:2-3
      Special Appreciation to my own pastor, Bro. Wallace Thornton, for his faithful ministry to our church family!  

"So much the more . . ."

It is a beautiful morning here in Indiana where I live!  I love the beautiful sunshine streaming through my windows, and I am thankful for the sunshine in my soul that warms my heart this morning.  And--for a little extra blessing this morning, I am looking forward to the mid-week service at my church tonight as I do every Wednesday!  It's like a needed "booster shot" to give me extra guidance and help for the rest of the week as my heart is blessed and encouraged by the singing of the sweet little children, the testimonies of the saints, and the devotional from our pastor.

It makes me sad when I hear that churches don't have the mid-week service anymore, and I think of this scripture in Hebrews 10:23-25--
     "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised);
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
      Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." 
The Bible also contains a special promise that where even just two or three are gathered together in Christ's name, He will be in the midst of them!  Praise the Lord! 
Frances Ridley Havergal wrote a beautiful hymn of consecration in 1874.  I trust it will be the desire and prayer of our hearts today --

     "Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord to Thee.
Take my moments and my days -- let them flow in ceaseless praise.
      Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

      Take my voice and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
      Take my silver and my gold -- not a mite would I with-hold.
Take my intellect and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

      Take my will and make it Thine -- it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart -- it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
      Take my love -- my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself -- and I will be ever, only, all for Thee."  Amen! 

PRAYER

The other day I was looking in a Bible my husband had given me in 1976, and I found this very sobering quote -- convicting me, and reminding me again of the supreme importance of intercessory prayer!

     "When I stand before God on the judgment day -- saved at a fearful cost,
Will someone be there, who for lack of prayer, must go to the world of the lost?
      Will somebody's eyes look up at me, with hopeless, accusing stare?
Will somebody say, 'I might have been saved if you had been instant in prayer?'
      Will someone go down to endless despair, to spend the eternal years
Where hope is unknown, and rest never, in anguish too bitter for tears,
      Because I neglected to mind the Lord, neglected to fast and pray?
For the Lord of the harvest plainly said that this was the only way.
      Lord, help me now to improve the time -- O, help me, Lord to see --
That no one may say at the judgment day -- 'Why did you not pray for me?'"

God's Word tells us in the book of James:  "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
Dwight L. Moody said:  "Behind every great movement of God there is a kneeling figure."

May the following little quote challenge our hearts as we begin another week of  living for Jesus, our wonderful Lord!
     "Every day God leaves us here on earth, we are to be like Salt (making others thirsty for God), a Magnet (drawing others to God), and Light (pointing the way to God)."

AMEN!!

In II Corinthians 1:20, we find a wonderful little verse -- "For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us."  That wonderful little four letter word, "Amen", is quite a remarkable word and is practically a universal word.  It has been called the best-known word in human speech.  I read in a little devotional that it is almost identical to the Hebrew word for believe or faithful.  It is a beautiful expression of absolute trust and confidence, so that when we pray according to God's will we know He will answer, so we close our prayer with "Amen".

This wonderful little word, "Amen", is even a title of Christ Himself, for we see that the last of His letters to the seven churches in Revelation begins with a beautiful salutation by the glorified Lord:
     "These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 3:14).  As our text verse reminds us -- every promise of God in Christ is "yea and amen", so it seems very meaningful that the entire Bible closes with an "amen" in Revelation 22:21 --
     "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen."  Praise the Lord!  It makes me want to sing along with the songwriter --

            "Hallelujah!  Amen!  Hallelujah!  Amen!
                                Hallelujah!  Amen!  Amen!  Amen!"