Morning Prayer
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
Inspiration
Paul and Silas were in a very discouraging situation – they had been arrested, beaten and placed in prison for doing nothing wrong. Anyone else in that given situation would have been in tears, discouraged by their circumstances. Paul and Silas chose to pray and sing hymns to God. This account ends with them miraculously escaping jail. Prayer can also help us in times of despair; it can open doors for the miraculous to occur. When we resort to praying, we are going over our emotions and setting our minds to God's faithfulness instead. That, in itself, is defeating the plan of the enemy, who was only interested in keeping you down.
Prayer
Dear God, I thank you for your faithfulness and the blessed assurance I have in you, that I am in Christ and He is in me. Father, I thank you that there is no situation that is bigger than you. Lord, I pray that in any time I find myself in despair, may I focus on you and your goodness. I will always remain hopeful and I will find a reason to rejoice. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Devotion
My Refuge, My Fortress
Frances Taylor
When we are in trouble, where do we turn? Is God our first thought? Do we really believe that God is our fortress, and our refuge? From the beginning Scripture tells us to trust in God. From Adam and Eve, we find human beings want to trust in themselves first. When we fail, then we turn to God. Ever wonder what it might be like to turn to God first? If we turn to God and place our trust in him, it would save us a lot of unnecessary anxiety. The key is trust. We need to trust that God knows best, that he is with us through whatever is going on, that our prayers are being heard. The difficulty is that we think we know what's best and we can get upset when God has other plans. We pray and don't like the answer, or don't want to wait for the answer.
I remember a story once told me about how we can miss God's answer because it wasn't the answer we wanted. A woman had to work to pay her bills and her mother got sick and needed full time care. She ...
Morning Prayer
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved; )
Inspiration
I must admit that in times of trouble I have demanded that God show me a sign, talk to me, anything to reinforce my faith in him. What an ego I have! We are blessed to be given the gift of life on earth and life everlasting. It is through his mercy that we have the opportunity to be saved at all. Seek this opportunity and ye shall find it.
Prayer
Father! My heart cries out to you for mercy! We are the clay, and you our potter and all of us are the work of Your hand. Our ancestors have praised you, and now it is our blessing to do the same. I pray that you will use me as a tool for good, and deliver me from sin. I wish to do all things in your holy name, as your son, Jesus Christ, did for us. In his name I pray, Amen.
