Inspirational, Daily Prayer

A prayer for you today, forwarded to me by my friend First Lady Tomekia Williams from Jacksonville, FL.

Dear Lord, I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God's eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing, and receive the forgiveness of God. And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example -- to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will.

Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those who don't believe. But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.

This is my prayer.
In Jesus' name, amen.

~Anonymous

Practical Life Wisdom

A friend of mine sent these words of wisdom to me this morning, and I wanted to share them with you. The author is unknown, but whoever they are, they have some great thoughts to share:

1. Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble; it is a "steering wheel" that directs us in the right path throughout life.

2. Do you know why a car's WINDSHIELD is so large & the rear view mirror is so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, look ahead and move on.

3. Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.

4. All things in life are temporary. If going well enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong don’t worry, they can't last long either.

5. Old friends are like Gold! New friends are Diamonds! If you get a Diamond, don't forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a base of Gold!

6. Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!

7. When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities.

8. A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision."

9. When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them; and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.

10. WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's TROUBLES; it takes away today’s PEACE.

Enjoy,
Krista Dunk, www.KBWomen.com

Why Prayer is Crucial, by Krista Dunk

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." - Luke 18:1

Have any of you read the book called 90-Minutes in Heaven? It's a very interesting read for sure. Here is a quick summary of the first part: A pastor was in a fatal car crash, died, spent 90 minutes in Heaven, then was miraculously brought back to life when a passing minister felt an overwhelming urge from God to pray for him (although he had already been dead for 90 minutes). Here were my questions after reading that book - Why did God have that passing minister pray? Couldn't He have simply had the pastor get up and walk out of the car without the prayer? Are our prayers really that important? Yes, apparently they are.

"Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." - John 16:24. Here's what I've learned so far from the Word about prayer:

• When we pray, we set our minds on Godly things and on His will.
• When we pray, we authorize His hand to move.
• When we pray, we use the authority God has given to us.
• When we pray, God sends angels to help.
• When we pray, we cast our cares on God and let Him take over.
• When we pray, God answers according to His will.
• When we pray, we plant seeds for our future or for the future of others.
• When we pray, we can minister to the Lord.

Many of us have the idea that prayer is more of a feel-good factor, something we do for our own psyche or for our own "spiritualness". Now it's time to see how prayer equals action. We take action by praying, and God takes action by responding. Let's discuss a few of our bullet points in more detail.

When we pray, we set our minds on Godly things and on His will. Daily life is busy. If I were to try and list my daily routine and responsibilities, it might make my head spin! However, by having a mindset or attitude of prayer throughout the day, we bring our focus and thoughts back to God daily, hourly, moment by moment.

When we pray, we authorize His hand to move. This was a huge revelation to me. Before, I did not realize that God waits on me (and others) to ask for things and to pray about situations. He literally may not move or work until someone prays. Just like in the 90-Minutes in Heaven book, God needed a man to speak the words out to start His healing power in motion. Prayer changes things. As Tammy would say, God is a gentleman. He waits for an invitation. His mighty hand is ready to act on behalf of His people and according to His will.

When we pray, we plant seeds for our future or for the future of others. In the Bible, you can see a common theme or principle at work. It's the symbolism of the seed, the sower and of the agricultural growing process. Prayers are seeds that we sow in the supernatural realm that will cause results to show up in the natural world. We can pray for physical, emotional or spiritual healing, provision, protection, peace, children, direction, etc., for ourselves and others. These words and prayers that we speak out to God are used in a very powerful way. As we know, "life and death are in the power of the tongue" and this is why. Prayer is seed.

In those 3 examples alone, we can begin to see how powerful our prayers are as individuals. They are crucial to every aspect of our lives, including our careers or businesses, our families, marriages, health, friends, our country, and our world. The amazing thing is, is that God actually needs our prayers. Our prayers really do make a difference! Think about what you can do today to impact the world around you with your prayers.

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." - James 5:16