Dr. Wesley L. Duewel- Scripture and prayer are interrelated and indispensable to each other. All prayer is based on our knowledge of God as revealed in the Bible.
Given this foundation for praying, the following are some of the ways to use Scripture in seeking to make your prayer more effective: (Google image, Folded hands on open Bible, 10 prayer tips)
1. Begin your regular prayer times with God's Word. Your prayer time will be the more effective if you listen to God through His Word before you pray. This was the great secret God taught George Mueller, the "Apostle of faith."
Reading Scripture first helps you realize God's immediate presence, helps you concentrate your thoughts, and often suggests things to include in your prayer. Spend as much time in devotional reading of God's Word and listening to God through the Word as you spend in prayer. Thus, if you spend an hour in prayer, spend half of the time with Scripture. There are exceptions when your have a special prayer burden.
2. Apply to your life what you read. What do you find that personally encourages you? How should this help you? How does it guide or correct you? How does it bless you today? Constantly apply to yourself what you find in God's Word.
3. Personalize Scripture passages during your prayer time. You can adapt praise or prayer passages and make them a part of your prayer. You can pray for the things God says to you through the Word. For example,
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations" (Ps. 100:4-5).
You can pray these verses like this: "Lord, I enter Your gates with thanksgiving; this morning my heart is filled with praise. I thank You and praise Your name, for You have been so good to me, Your love has so surrounded me! You have been so faithful to me! Oh I thank You and praise You!" Such a paraphrase of God's Word prepares your heart for praise and worship of him.
Another example: "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy" (Peter 1:8).
As you read this verse, you can pause and lift your heart to God, "Lord, I can't see you with my eyes, but in my heart I see you. I know one day I will see You face to face. But Lord, You know I love You. You are so precious to me. And the more I love you, the more joy I feel in my heart. I do believe You; I believe Your promises. I love your Word, and, Lord, I love you more and more. Praise your name!"
One more example: "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing" (2 Dor. 2:14-15).
A sample personalized use of this verse might be: "Lord, I'm so glad You defeated Satan at Calvary. I'm so glad You are the Victor over all the powers of darkness. I'm so glad You are leading me step by step. Lord, I love to follow You. Thank You for leading me in Your triumphal procession. I know the world is watching.
Lord, help me to show Your joy and triumph in my face today. Thank You, Lord, that as You put Your beauty in my face and in my life, and as I manifest a Christlike spirit regardless of what happens, that this is like a sweet perfume to the Father that reminds Him of You.
Lord, I am not worthy of this. Help me to be more fragrant for You. And help me to be fragrant before the world also, that today whatever I say or do will be like a sweet perfume that reminds people of You. Make me a blessing, a fragrance to unsaved people today, too. Oh, Lord, I am so insufficient for these things. I depend upon You. Bless me, help me, and make me fragrant for You today."
Father, we're coming to You for Your help in keeping our prayers interrelated with Your Holy Word, as it's revealed there. The foundation for praying to make our prayers more effective are shared with us today, by Dr. Duewel.
It is suggested that we begin our prayer time by reading some of Your Word to help us realize Your immediate presence. This will help us concentrate our thoughts, and sometimes gather suggestions You'll give us before we begin praying. May our devotional reading of Your Word and listening to You through the reading of Word, become our daily habit.
We ask that You help us find what personally encourages us in our daily reading, if there's some correction that applies to us, and if it builds up our faith in Christ. May we learn to adapt praise or prayer passages as part of our praying for others, praying specifically what You say to us.
We ask for Your guidance in our daily lives, to be a blessing to others. We know that we are insufficient in ourselves for the work You've called us to, so we will depend upon You to guide everything we do. Make our lives be fragrant to the unsaved people we connect with today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen
Today's Bible verses-
Lord I thank you . . . the lessons and truth I thought I learned about you , . . . your faithfulness, your grace, your correction and guidance, your love . . . were not
lessons at all
but they’ve been You . . . keeping your promise . . . with me all my days . . . ever speaking to me, comforting me, loving me . . .
not lessons for me to learn in my mind . . . but the reality of your presence in my heart . . . Thank you Lord.
~ Gwen Smith- "Living in unity doesn't mean we will all agree on everything. There will be as many opinions as there are fish in the sea. When all is said and done, however, we honor God when we make every effort to love well and align our heart with the teachings of His Word."
When you think of your future, do you see Jesus there with you? He will never leave you; from birth till now. Imagine your future, and thank Him that He'll be with you each day along the way.
Today's guest post-
7 Tips for Waging War against Cancer Dr. Michelle Bengtson
"Cancer is a prevalent disease, and it seems that everyone knows at least someone who has been impacted by this disease. My husband is a three-time (each time different types) cancer fighter, while I am on my second fight.
We’ve learned so much over the years about how to fight this battle and how to stand up against it. The cancer battle is not just a physical fight, but an emotional and spiritual one as well."
Today's question-
Can we actually be wrong in our personal theology?
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| 5 birds by Jeff Jett by permission |
The North Country Christian Fellowship Center Churches,
located in the St. Lawrence county of NY,
broadcast their Sunday morning services at 10 and 10:15.
Our pastors' recently recorded daily devotions are available too.
Check out the livestream with this link: https://www.cfconline.org/
You can view past services too.
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