Sometimes what gets us to that point of feeling despair is worrying too much. In His Word, God advises us to not worry:

“Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7, J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

He doesn’t just say it once, either.

“That is why I say to you, don’t worry about living—wondering what you are going to eat or drink, or what you are going to wear. Surely life is more important than food, and the body more important than the clothes you wear. Look at the birds in the sky. They never sow nor reap nor store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you much more valuable to him than they are? Can any of you, however much he worries, make himself an inch taller? And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They neither work nor weave, but I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was never arrayed like one of these! Now if God so clothes the flowers of the field, which are alive today and burnt in the stove tomorrow, is he not much more likely to clothe you, you ‘little-faiths’?
 
“So don’t worry and don’t keep saying, ‘What shall we eat, what shall we drink or what shall we wear?! That is what pagans are always looking for; your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your heart on the kingdom and his goodness, and all these things will come to you as a matter of course.
 
“Don’t worry at all then about tomorrow. Tomorrow can take care of itself! One day’s trouble is enough for one day.”
 
Matthew 6:25-34, J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

There’s definitely a theme happening here…

Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7, J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

What about when people hurt you, and put you down? It’s human nature to want to retaliate, but that is not God’s way either. No matter how big or small the offence is, we should always be kind and loving, and let God be the judge, because He is the only one who can be an honest, true, and just judge. Basically, Do good, even if you suffer for it – you will be blessed by Him, and that’s all that really matters in this life. As Christians, we desire to please our Father in Heaven, and we feel a need to make Him proud of us – in the same way that children want to make their parents proud, but we have to remember that God’s ways our not human being’s ways because we are flawed. He, however, is perfect, and we should always be striving to be more like Him, no matter what the cost to our pride.

After all, who in the ordinary way is likely to injure you for being enthusiastic for good? And if it should happen that you suffer “for righteousness’ sake”, that is a privilege. You need neither fear their threats nor worry about them; simply concentrate on being completely devoted to Christ in your hearts. Be ready at any time to give a quiet and reverent answer to any man who wants a reason for the hope that you have within you. Make sure that your conscience is perfectly clear, so that if men should speak slanderously of you as rogues they may come to feel ashamed of themselves for libelling your good Christian behaviour.
1 Peter 3:13-16, J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and in both the Old and New Testaments, there are verses that remind us to not worry and to trust that God will help us, He will provide for us. We simply need to have faith that He will do so, and He will – he always keeps His promises! He is the Way Maker, the Creator of all things!

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18-19, English Standard Version (ESV)

“Don’t worry at all then about tomorrow. Tomorrow can take care of itself! One day’s trouble is enough for one day.”
Matthew 6:34, J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

“I tell you, as friends of mine, that you need not be afraid of those who can kill the body, but afterwards cannot do anything more. I will show you the only one you need to fear—the one who, after he has killed, has the power to throw you into destruction! Yes, I tell you, it is right to stand in awe of him. The market-price of five sparrows is two farthings, isn’t it? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. Why, the very hairs of your heads are all numbered! Don’t be afraid, then; you are worth more than a great many sparrows! I tell you that every man who publicly acknowledges me, I, the Son of Man, will acknowledge in the presence of the angels of God. But the man who publicly disowns me will find himself disowned before the angels of God!”
Luke 12:4-9, J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

No matter how dark life gets, how hard things get, we must always hold on and not lose our faith. We must not be overly focused on the past or future, but rather on the present, and the best way to do that is to take life One Day At A Time.

The post One Day At A Time appeared first on BibleTalk.Life.

I tend to be a thinker, and as a thinker, I often ponder about life, our society, our nations, our world, analyzing and seeking to understand things from different perspectives, such as historical, cultural, and psychological. These things are all within my grasp of understanding, but something that usually goes beyond my scope of understanding is pondering on God and Who He is, How He is, How His presence is everywhere, and then there’s the ultimate “Does God really know and love me?” question.

This concept has always been difficult for me to understand, because according to His Word, He does really know us and love us – every single individual on the planet is known by God!

He knows everything we do, and everything we think:

“You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away. You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.” Psalm 139:2-4 (NLT)

He knew us even before we were born, and He formed us in our mother’s womb:

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT)

“‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.'” Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV)

He places great value on each and every one of us:

“What is the price of five sparrows? A couple of pennies? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7 (NLT)

He has awesome plans for our lives:

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'” Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

He considers us His friends, and loves us more deeply than we can begin to fathom to the point of making the ultimate sacrifice: laying down His life for us:

“And here is how to measure it – the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.” John 15:13 (NLT)

He loves to give us gifts, and He hears our prayers and petitions:

“Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. You parents – if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” Matthew 7:7-11 (NLT)

Now, accepting these verses as truth and understanding this concept are two completely different things. For a long time, I have accepted that God knows me and loves me, but never really understood its implications. I would still ask questions like the following:

“How can God love every single person on the planet? I don’t know as many people as He does, but I know it’s not always easy to love every single person in my life.”

I’m pretty sure you can relate – we all know people who, let’s just say, make it “challenging” to live out Jesus’ commandment to: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39, NLT).

One day a few months ago, as I was driving, I was thinking about this very subject, and suddenly I had the privilege of receiving a “brain dump” from God that lasted less than 30 seconds, but provided me with such a clear understanding of His answer to the above question that I’m still processing its full significance. God used an analogy that worked on my level of understanding:

When we meet someone, whether it’s a newborn child, niece or nephew (basically a new family member), or a new friend, we get to know them better as time passes, which in turn evolves to loving that person. In a parent’s case, they love their child from the beginning, even before that child is born, but even when it comes to meeting new people (friends) in our lives, as we open our hearts to that person and they do the same, we eventually come to love that person. Basically, from a human perspective, loving someone comes from knowing someone.

This is how God loves every single person on the planet – He knows us all and has known us all even before we were born! He formed each of us in the womb, and He knows us more intimately than any other person on the planet – even more so than ourselves! It doesn’t matter what choices we make in our lives, good or bad, He loves us regardless, just as a parent loves his or her child no matter what mistakes the child makes, and no matter what stage in life they’re at!

So, the typical human cycle of relationships, whether they be family or friends, is the following:

God’s cycle is more like this:

After receiving this revelation, everything seemed so much clearer to me when it comes to understanding God’s love for us! We can’t think of His love from humanistic standards, because He doesn’t work on the same level as we do.

For example, to us, a murder is a much worse crime than someone stealing a toddler’s lollipop, however, from God’s point of view, they are both equal! To God, sin is sin, and its severity doesn’t matter to Him – it is all equal in His eyes – it is all sin. God hates our sin, but He loves us, no matter what sins we have committed in our lives!

Almighty God, Father, and friend, indeed KNOWS YOU AND LOVES YOU! Take a few minutes to watch the video below. It is a letter from God’s heart to yours:

Remember that in life, your ultimate need is not food, shelter, or even family and friends, but rather, knowing and having God in your life! He already knows you, He already loves you, and He will never let you go! Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for you and gave his life for you in order to close the gap that sin creates between you and God. He opened the door so that you can have a relationship with Him, just as He desired when He first created us!

When you’re feeling overwhelmed with life, remember that God is with you every step of the way, and He wants to help you in every aspect of your life. Take a few more minutes to clear your mind, then listen to the song in the below video. They are God’s words to you!

The post Does God Really Know You? appeared first on BibleTalk.Life.

And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even;
1 Chronicles 23:30, KJV

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
John 4:24, KJV

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Psalms 100:4, KJV

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful
Colossians 3:15, KJV

This was the duty of the priests of God when they roamed the desert. It showed that praise should be done in the morning and at night, so as saints of God having the priesthood completed in Jesus Christ, we should likewise praise Him in the morning and at night. Not just ask for His help, but also to praise Him for all He has done for us. Praise is just as important a part of prayer as our requests are. It also says to thank the Lord – a thankful attitude is what God wants from His people. It says that peace shall rule in our hearts if we are a thankful people. So in our prayers, we should tell God about how thankful we are to him.

We have three elements which should be in our prayer life besides our requests: praise, worship and thankfulness. Just waking up in the morning is a reason to thank the Lord.

We should also take time to delight in the Lord for without Him, we would have nothing; indeed we would not even exist. The law of the Lord should make us happy. Though we now live under grace, we should still rejoice in both his law and grace.

Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.
Psalms 119:92, KJV

And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.
Deuteronomy 12:7, KJV

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
1 Chronicles 16:10, KJV

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13, KJV

We see in the above verses that we should rejoice in all the blessings that we have been given by God. If ever you think that you’re not blessed, remember those who live in dirt huts and are dying daily because they can’t afford food or health care. Rejoicing is an important part of prayer. Remembering his blessing is how we can rejoice in troubled times. It also shows in the second verse that we are to seek the Lord, as seeking God is also an important part of prayer. It is important to note that seeking God isn’t a half-hearted effort. We are commanded to seek Him with all our hearts and then we shall find Him.

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Philippians 4:6, KJV

Requests are also a part of prayer. It is important to note that the above verse says that our requests are to be made with thanksgiving, so we must come with a thankful heart to God when we are going through trials and need His help. There will always be something to be thankful for.

To sum it all up, we pray by praising God, worshiping God, being thankful to God, being delighted in God, rejoicing in God, making our requests known to God and seeking God with all our hearts. This is how we are to pray, by putting all these things in our prayer life. Prayer should also be a daily thing. For God desires time with us, as any parent would want time with their children.

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Keep in mind that all these answers depend on qualifiers that need to met. The first answer is: yes, God does answer prayer. We will talk about the qualifiers after I show that God answers some prayers with a yes answer.

Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
John 16:24, KJV

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 14:13, KJV

And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
John 16:23, KJV

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Mt 7:7, KJV

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Lu 11:9, KJV

Clearly the scriptures are showing that God is a God who answers prayer. In fact, he longs to answer our prayers; He delights in giving good gifts to his children.

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Mt 7:11, KJV

So we see here that God does at times answer prayer with a yes, but what about the qualifiers to the “yes” answer?

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Mt 21:22, KJV

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 15:16, KJV

If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
John 14:14, KJV

You have to do more than just ask; you must honestly believe that God will answer your prayer. It isn’t mentioned as often as the verses that say that you will receive, but you must take the whole bible in account when it comes to prayer. So, to get an answer requires that you absolutely believe you will get an answer. That doesn’t mean that you will get a “yes” though.

We are also told to ask in Jesus’ name – that’s very important. Jesus died for us that we might have life, so we need to go to him and in his name ask for the things we need.

There is also a qualifier that gives you a “no” answer.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
James 4:3, KJV

Whenever you ask for something that will allow you to look down on your Christian brothers, or worse yet on unbelievers, or when you ask for something you can boast in, or use it for you own glory, then God says, “NO!”

So believing isn’t enough, for we must still ask with the right motives in mind, and sometimes, God commands us to wait:

And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Acts 1:4-5

Here God made the disciples wait for the promise of the father that he would send the comforter to be with them for all times. This was the promise of the Holy Spirit. If you study it, they waited ten days to get that promise. He didn’t make them wait because he wanted to toy with them, but so that they would be ready to receive what God had in store for them. Sometimes, God makes us wait so that he can purify us to be ready for what God has prepared for us to receive.

So we see that God doesn’t always answer as we expect, but he answers according to his will. However, he still always provides an answer. Whether it is yes, no, or wait, there is always an answer. God promised to provide all our needs as promised in the bible, but nowhere does he promise to meet our wants.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Php 4:19

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Like so many other parents, I have a child not following the Lord in the way I would like, so I was praying fervently for him.

“God would you send your Spirit to draw him to you. Father, wrap your arms of love around him and never let him go. Spirit, bind him to you with cords that cannot be broken.”

As I prayed, the Spirit gave me a picture.

I saw our son plodding away from both us, and God the Father, with his head down, his feet dug in; he was straining to get away. What he couldn’t see, was that there were two broad, elastic bands wrapped around him, stretching back from him, to God and us. The more my son pulled and the farther away he went, the tighter and stronger the pull of the bands became. Suddenly, in a moment of weakness, he lost his resolve, and his grip, and his feet slipped, snapping him back to the Father’s heart, and back into our arms of love. He was right back where he belonged.

This was a beautiful picture to me, that the farther he went from God, the stronger the pull of the Spirit on his life became; a comfort in times of sorrow and pain; a hope for restoration of relationship. God is faithful, so let’s continue to pray for our wandering children with faith, hope and love. They WILL return.

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We all go through difficult circumstances, in order to grow, to relate to others and so as to offer support to them.

Ultimately though, we all just need God to come and intervene in our lives. We need to take our troubles to Him, and leave them in His care. In Christ alone, we find forgiveness, strength, comfort, rest, vindication, provision and any other need we have. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness … .”  That means all our physical needs and all our spiritual needs.

I’ve found that when my eyes are on my troubles, I get so discouraged, but when I keep my thoughts on Christ, thinking about how big, powerful, capable, loving and willing He is to help us, I am filled with hope, comfort and encouragement.

We need to deliberately choose to do this, every single time, our troubles come to mind. God is faithful, and we can trust Him to do as He says He will on our behalf.

Psalm 138:8 says, “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me (KJV).”
Let’s rest in that thought today.

Prayer: God, teach me how to rest in you, and to truly give my troubles to you. Take them and make something beautiful out of them.

Challenge: Every time a trouble comes to mind, give it to Christ and look instead to His power and might.

Thought: Rest: “freedom from exertion, distress or disturbance: quiet, ease (Macmillan Dictionary).” Sounds good, doesn’t it!?!

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Of the points listed above, I will start with prayer being answered according to God’s will.

“A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.” Acts 10:2-4, KJV

Here, God is showing Cornelius in a vision that he was happy with the prayers of his servant. He tells him that his prayers and alms (giving to the poor) have come up before God as a record of his memorial before God. This proves that God was pleased with his servant.

“But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you. ” Philemon 1:22, KJV

“In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answers me.” Psalms 86:7, KJV

Philemon was so sure it was God’s will that he be at a certain place that he told them to prepare him a room to stay in. That’s faith in praying God’s will. God also hears the prayers of those who ask him to hear them. King David was also sure of an answer from God . Both men had faith in God’s ability to answer prayer.

“O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.” Nehemiah 1:11, KJV

This shows how Nehemiah sought the Lord to listen to his prayers and the Lord listened. God listens to the prayers of all his servants, but sometimes there are qualifiers to getting our prayers answered. Here is an important one:

“Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” 1 Peter 3:7, KJV

If you do not treat you wife properly, then it can actually hinder your prayers to God. It isn’t that God doesn’t hear, it is that he isn’t willing to answer those prayers of people who mistreat his children. That can be for wives mistreating their husbands or for parents mistreating their children  as well.

Below shows that when God’s anointed turn from him to false Gods, he no longer hears the prayers. Indeed, when they tried to pray, there was no answer from God, because of their sin. The verse goes so far as to say that God will hide his face from them. The prophets were telling people what they wanted to hear instead of what God had commanded them to tell, so God turned is face away from them.

“Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings. Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.” Micah 3:4-7, KJV

The best way to hear from God is to humble yourself before God and admit that He alone can answer your prayers. This is supported in the verse below and also has qualifiers in it. In addition to being humble, we must turn from our sins.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14, KJV

When a certain King of Judah was brought a book of Moses, he read about all the plagues written in it for those who did not serve the true God. He was humble and God said to him that because of his humbleness, his prayers were heard and the king wouldn’t see the plagues that were to come – all because the King was humble before God. It was the king’s humility that caused God to hear his prayer.

“Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD.“ 2 Chronicles 34:27, KJV

To sum it all up, if we  choose to humble ourselves and turn from our sins to serve the Lord with all out hearts, we have assurance that God will hear our prayers and not turn his face away us. That doesn’t mean that will always get what we pray for, though; God sometimes answers with a “no” or “wait” answer. However, He will definitely answer your prayers when you are committed to him.

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As I surveyed the pending pandemonium from the edge of the lawn, a tender scene was unfolding before my eyes. My three year old niece, not yet old enough to participate in the obstacle course, was tugging on her father’s sleeve. I noticed that there were tears streaming down her face and her little tummy was heaving as she was trying to catch her breath between sobs. Although he was in the middle of giving obstacle course instructions, her father stopped in mid-sentence, bent down on one knee and wiped his child’s tears. I felt my own throat tighten and my eyes begin to moisten as he leaned his ear within inches of his daughter’s mouth. I could see that he was concentrating on her every word. Then he drew her closer with his hands, looked directly into her eyes and spoke to her for a few moments. As my niece buried her head in her father’s chest, he scooped her up, carried her a few feet away and placed her on her grandmother’s lap.

This is a vivid picture to me describing Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.” As believers we are children of God. The word of God says that we are to come to him as little children, trusting and expectant. Whether we come to him with cries of joy or pain, our Heavenly Father leans close, careful to hear every word. He listens intently, drawing us to his bosom to comfort us, rejoice in us. Not everyone has had the blessing of an attentive and loving earthly father who inclined his ear and his heart to them. Yet, as you grow in your faith and knowledge of your Heavenly Father may you come to him as a trusting child, expecting to receive his attention and love.

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“I’ll do anything to win that prize!” were the words my son said to me.

He then proceeded to explain how every previous time, others had won the prize for colouring contests at school. He was determined that this time, the prize would be his! He was focused, determined and so willing to go above and beyond the usual efforts to obtain the prize. As he worked, time ticked by. His school’s starting time came and went. Even though I was getting impatient with him, since I would now have to drive him to school, I recognized that NOTHING was going to stop him from completing his picture and reaching his goal. Finally, he was done, and I dropped him off at the school–an hour late! When the day ended and he came home, triumph was in the air. When the posters had been displayed, his had received the coveted most votes as the favourite picture. It was a lesson in perseverance and determination that day- something that schooling alone could never have accomplished.

In training for a race, one needs to be ready, trained up, eager, pushing through every obstacle and giving “110 percent” in order to be successful. There can be no looking back, no gazing around at the other runners, or one loses their rhythm, momentum and focus on the finish line.

I want to be just so determined to do what’s right, what’s obedient, what’s good and true that I am as focused and determined as my son was that day. I want to go above and beyond the normal expectations, and even be thought of as “strange,” to do exploits for God’s kingdom.

Thought: “My Utmost for His Highest” is a popular devotional book by Oswald Chambers. I think the title says it all. When you encounter an obstacle what do you do?

Challenge: Next time you encounter an obstacle, pray, and push through to victory. (“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!”)

Prayer: God, would You give me Your wisdom in this situation. As You lead, I will keep trying, rely on Your strength and move ahead in resolving or improving it.

The post The Prize appeared first on BibleTalk.Life.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3NIV).”

Now comes the fun part! Once all hindrances are removed, it is time to move forward in God and to reach out to others. When Christ has control of all of our life, and we are not feeling guilty, ashamed and condemned, we are able to see the needs of others and to hear God’s voice everyday.

I received a small inheritance, and so I prayed, “God, where do you want me to pay my tithe for this?” Since I have a relative in full-time ministry working nearby where I live, I thought, “What better way to use the first fruits of this gift!” After I sent the money, I was SO under attack from Satan. Obviously something powerful had been accomplished, for Satan was mad! As I shared this with the person I’d given the gift to, he said. “As your relative, I have the authority to speak against this.” As he prayed for me, I felt so free and light. He didn’t know it, but I was struggling with a relationship issue with another family member, and God spoke to that issue as a result of my having been obedient to give to Him.
I also went to visit this fellow later, and I asked for prayer again, as I’d been experiencing some health issues. As he laid hands on me, and commanded that if there was any spirit causing this, it had to go, and I felt it leave! I was so weak and drained after, but I felt giddy from the release of the oppression. I have thanked the Lord everyday since, because I have not felt such freedom in years. That one gift, opened the door for blessing, healing, and more opportunities for me to bless others. My eyes are opened and I love it when God says, “Go bless this person”, or “Go bless that person,” because it means I am in right relationship to hear His voice.

As we reach out and bless others, they are encouraged and they reach out to others and the circles of blessing just keep moving out into bigger and bigger areas and God’s will is done on the earth!

Thought: Bless: “to confer good or happiness on.”

Prayer: God, thank you for loving me and using me for Your glory. Set me free from my own problems so I can reach out and bless others.

Challenge: Pray and ask God to show you today a specific name and action that you can do for someone. Even an encouraging phone call may make their day!

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