Tomorrow is the "National Day of Prayer"

Learn more about the National day of Prayer by clicking on this link http://nationaldayofprayer.org/

For as long as I can remember the National Day of Prayer has been a grand reminder that God is in still in charge of this world and our lives. Yet our lack of prayer speaks volumes about our faith and what we believe about God. Be honest. How much time you spend praying each day? Just a meal times? Maybe just when you are in trouble? Again, be honest and make s choice to pray.

Last week I heard a powerful message from Brian Houston who is the pastor of Hillsong in Australia. He shared some points that really hit home with me. You may have read much of this in an earlier blogpost, but here are some thoughts from my sermon this past Sunday which was about prayer:

James 5:16 (NLT) --- Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Prayer is a God encounter. Recognize and never under estimate what God can do. Prayer is multi dimensional. Those dimensions include lots of power for those who meet God in prayer.

There is power in praise. Don't take it for granted. Praise is telling God how much you love Him and how good He is. There is power in being still. People lean in when you do that. "Be still and know that I am God." But being still is not easy. When we stop and are still, we may just be able to hear God better. Prayer has lots of pieces to it that we might be missing

1 John 15:14-25 (MSG) --- And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he's listening. And if we're confident that he's listening, we know that what we've asked for is as good as ours.

We can and must Come boldly before God. We have confidence in Him and because of Him. He hears. He answers. Believe and come to God with no sense of limitation. We never graduate from the need to come before God in prayer.

There is also power in CRYING OUT to God. There are times when there is a need to CRY OUT to God. Never lose our desperation in trusting God. One last way we often miss is this: There is power in meditation. Let God bring it up again (speaking about Scripture). The capacity to focus on who Jesus is worship and that's when extra ordinary things happen. There is nothing boring about prayer.

We must be people who know the power of prayer.

Have you heard of EDITH BURNS?

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas . She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying,"My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you ...

wash feet, sharing hope

John 13:4-5,14 NLT So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him… 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. Jesus set the example we follow. He served. He valued and gave value to others. That is why we choose to serve. For 18 years our church has shared an outreach called back2school, and for 16 of those years we have chosen to give students brand new shoes and socks as well as washing their feet. It is one of the most important parts of this event. Washing feet is a humbling experience where both the give and the receiver learn how to share some moments that might change their lives. Jesus said we should do this. See the verse above. Follow His example, do what He did, and give far more than you will ever know....

Catalyst ticket arrived

My ticket to the Catalyst Conference, in Atlanta Oct 8-10, just arrived. I'm excited!

Michael Harrison's e-devotion

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