Dr. Wesley L. Duewel- Every holy desire that arises in your heart as you pray for others while you go about your normal routine can multiply your prayer investments. Over and over throughout the day, call out to God in a sentence or two of intercession. Every such prayer counts before God.
Throughout each day there are small segments of time that you can use for prayer. Don't waste these precious minutes. (Google image, Young man praying in nature)
Don't despise a single minute —
Each has sixty seconds in it.
If you seize it, you can use it.
Do not waste it or abuse it.
If you pray, your little minute
Has eternal value in it.
Don't treat your prayer responsibility as legalistic bondage and feel you can never take time to relax, chat with others, enjoy God's nature, beautiful music, or time with family and friends. However, countless minutes are wasted by the average person each day—minutes which could all be invested in prayer.
If you have a praying heart, there are multiplied opportunities to make brief prayer investments. If you listen to the radio every time you are in the car alone, if you turn on the television the instant you sit down at home, if you crowd every moment with trivial pursuits, your priorities are clearly not characterized by concern for eternal values. You can spend those minutes carelessly, and they are gone forever, or you can seize them for brief, loving intercession, and they will be eternally blessed. The choice is yours.
But, oh, how wonderful when you deliberately plan for longer times in prayer! Block out a half-hour, an hour, or longer for prayer, then shut your door at the time of your appointment with God. If you cannot arrange for a special place in your home for your prayer time, work within your circumstances.
If you are a truck driver, use the driving time during long hauls for prayer. If you are an invalid lying in bed day after day, make the time fly on wings of prayer. If you are a farmer plowing the fields, plant priceless seeds of prayer.
One of the greatest blessings of retirement, for example, is the possibility of large block of time for extended prayer. In Upper Hutt, just outside of Wellington, New Wellington, New Zealand, one such brother showed me his prayer room and explained with great joy:
"You see, I am now retired and can spend my whole day in prayer. I wash and shave, have my breakfast, and then spend my hours in this room. Would you like to see my prayer book?" I was happy to do so. He showed me a large loose-leaf notebook filled with pictures of One Mission Society missionaries, national co-workers, maps of various nations, and similar items.
"You see, every day I go around the world in prayer," he said. What a reward has now accrued for him in heaven! He will eternally collect dividends on his investment in prayer.
Father, may we learn to utilize our time each day in more productive ways as we go about our normal routines. As every minute counts, may we have the desire to make use of them for the kingdom's benefit.
Help us to deliberately plan for times in prayer by blocking out segments for times with You in special places, or to make work for praying within our circumstances.
Today's Bible verses-
Psalm 107:43 “Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord."
~ Dane Ortlund- The Point in saying that Jesus is lowly is that he is accessible. For all his resplendent glory and dazzling holiness, his supreme uniqueness and otherness, no one in human history has ever been more approachable than Jesus Christ. No prerequisites. No hoops to jump through. Warfield, commenting on Matthew 11:29, wrote: "No impression was left by his life-manifestation more deeply imprinted upon the consciousness of his followers than that of the noble humility of his bearing."
The minimum bar to be enfolded into the embrace of Jesus is simply: open yourself up to him. It is all he needs . . . You don't need to unburden or collect yourself and then come to Jesus. Your very burden is what qualifies you to come. [p. 20, of GENTLE and LOWLY].
~ Suzanne Eller- "Our knocking knees become an outward reflection of faith as they carry us to the One who promises to fight that battle with us."
~ Our God is Faithful to look out for our good. As He is Good and Upright, He promises to teach us His ways. In our learning to handle our everyday problems and challenges, the Lord will guide us to find answers. His way for each of us will be personal and private; the revealing of what needs to be done.
Today's question-
Discipleship: What's the cost?
One wonders what has to take place to become a follower of an enterprise, adventure or person. We need to take into consideration the commitment to the pledge of support. There's the affect of the person's entire life in it and the surrendering of the outcome and its affect on others.
The North Country Christian Fellowship Center Churches,
located in the St. Lawrence county of NY,
broadcast their Sunday services at 10 or 10:15
You can view past services too.
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