When "Sending Prayers" Counts: I honestly prayed for you!

Nowadays, "sending prayers" is a common response to a post in social media.

Everyone uses it to express sympathy and care to the one who posted or to the one who is experiencing a bad situation.

This is really good and encouraging. For those words itself gives assurance and comfort to those who are affected.

But when we say "sending prayers", do we really stop what we are doing at that moment and pray for that person?

Were those words of encouragement ever realized in the presence of God?

If yes, praise God! You are doing it right!

But if your answer is no, this is the time to reevaluate and consider this sending prayer habit.

Every time you say you have prayed for someone God makes you accountable to Him and that person you are wanting to pray for. In other words you are making a commitment to God and that individual.

God wants us to to care and encourage but we have to make sure that we really do what we say! If someone needs our prayer, pause for a while and pray for that person, then tell that person that you have prayed for him/her.

In this way, you are able to encourage and at the same time, have fulfilled what you have spoken.

If, there is no time to pray, how about write it down and make sure you are able to pray for that person in your prayer time, then tell that person you are going to pray during your prayer time.

Imagine, if a hundred people said that they are praying but actually not one of them really prayed, what result can that person expect out of it? Remember, comments on social media are not prayers to God. Prayers to God is spoken to God.

Moreover, if that person lives near you, it is better to visit that person. In this way, you are able to pray with him or her together.

Everyone should make it a habit to pray honestly for the person in need, knowing that God will hear their prayers.

This is when "sending prayers" counts.

I Call on the Lord in my Distress, and He Answers Me. Psalm 120:1

I was watching CSI this afternoon and it amuses me even now how quickly the authorities respond to a 911 call. They treat every situation with urgency and importance. They selflessly rescue everyone without even thinking that their lives could also be in danger. Even a kid at a very young age is already taught how to dial the number so in case of an emergency situation, he or she can be able to call for help. That is why here in the United States, whenever there is a car accident, a disaster or any kind of emergencies, 911 is the best number to call for it is the number set by the government to ensure that every citizen can get help whenever, wherever it is needed. However, not all emergencies can be taken care of this agency. There are urgent matters that only God can address. That is why God has also designated a lifeline for everyone to reach. Sadly, nowadays, even an adult doesn't even know how to use this God-given lifeline. Let's look at this verse closely: 

     "I call on the Lord in my distress and He answers me."

There are two things that I would like to share today: 

1. Acknowledgment of our trouble and weakness. As the psalmists says, "I call...in my distress". He accept the fact that he is in distress and like him, we must acknowledge our situation and see the need for help. Most of the time, we don't see the need for prayer so we don't pray. Our hearts are arrogant filled with sin and pride thinking that we can make it on our own so we feel like we do not need anyone not even God. But that's a big mistake. We need others and we especially need God. We need to confess our sins and tell God of what is troubling us.  

2. Acknowledgment of God's power. As the psalmist calls"...on the Lord...and He answers me." We must acknowledge the existence of God and the power of God in our lives. It doesn't matter how big or small your problem is, God can still help. God answers prayer and God always care. Notice that all the words in this verse are in the present form of the verb, which means God respond the same time we call. Like 911 24/7 emergency hotline, God prioritize every call and prayer that we have. He knows every cry is urgent and needs immediate attention and care. That is why we can pray anytime, anywhere and however you want it to be. What God wants is for us to call with sincere heart with faith that acknowledge his power over all our troubles and fear. Believe in his mighty power. Believe that God can do exceedingly what he has promise and that is to be faithfully listening and answering our prayers.   

Something to do: 

            Today, take some time to pause and pray. Let God know your needs. Let God know your situation. Call upon God in your distress and he will answer you and save you from all your troubles. May God bless you today!

Praying with Wrong motives!

"When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures." James 4:3

God always answer when we call to him, but sometimes his answer is not what we expected. Sometimes we don't really get what we want and expect to receive from him. Why?

Today, let us discover what the scripture says about this:

1. God sees our hearts. Base on the scripture found on the 4th Chapter of James, he explained praying with wrong motive is not a good idea. We must know that God sees our heart for everything is transparent in his sight. Our parents and friends can be sometimes clueless when we lie to them and could probable not find out about it but not with God. Everything is known to God, even the very secrets of our hearts. So praying with wrong motive will not work. So we need to ask ourselves this questions when we pray:

What is my request from God? Why do I pray for it? What is it for? What is my motive in praying? Is it for my own pleasure?  

If we are praying with wrong motive and intention, God will not do it for us. God is the Alpha and Omega, he knows where we have been and where we are going. If our prayers will lead us away from righteousness, then God will say no to it or will give us a better option. Like our parents, God will not give us something that will harm us and put us in danger.

2. Moreover, the condition of the heart plays a big role in prayer. What is the condition of your heart? A heart that is right with God will always have the right motive in praying, for it is one with God. And it follows the will of God. But sin pollutes the heart.

3. For that reason, sin must not be present. Confess to God the sin that has been committed, whether it is big or small, a sin is always a sin that contaminates the mind and the heart. So we must turn away from it and be one with our creator in prayer.

I remember an illustration about a man with the devil whispering on the left ear and an angel of God on the right ear. The devil whispers and suggests ideas that appears to be right but is wrong and so the presence of the devil confuses the man on what to do. Sin also does it in our prayers, as long as we have sins in our hearts, being right with God in our prayers is impossible. So we must get rid of the sin by asking forgiveness. Sin contaminates our thoughts while we pray.    

4. Therefore, after repentance, our prayers will be selflessly following the will of God for us. When our hearts are right with God, then our motive changes. Instead of the "I" being the center of the prayer, it will become "God" as the center of it. Then we are praying for the WILL OF GOD in us and not our own selfish desire.

SELF CHECK:

Today before you pray, list all your prayer request and see what are your prayers to God. Check the purpose, motive, and intention of your request. Then ask God to help you to pray. Pray for your prayer. Ask God to help you pray selflessly and according to God's Will.

PRAYER:

Dear God,

    Thank you for your word today. I know that sometimes, my prayers are so selfish and not according to your will. My prayers are impure and are only for my own benefit. Please help me by changing my prayers according to your will. That my heart and mind will be one with you. That I will prayer with a pure heart and mind. Please help me. Let me confess my sins to you and ask for your forgiveness. Let your light shine in my heart and make me pure as white as the snow. Let my prayers be pleasing to you. If my faith is not enough for me to trust and believe you in my prayers, please show yourself to me and let me experience your power so that I may give you praise and worship  you all my life. This is what I pray in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

THE LORD'S PRAYER is the best example of a prayer that Jesus himself taught us. This can be found in Matthew 6:9-13. The Lord's Prayer is one of the topic that I will be working on shortly. Please don't forget to share the Word of God daily. Thank you and have a great day!

God: "Ask For Whatever You Want Me to Give You."

"Sky is NOT even a Limit"

QUESTION:

If you have one prayer or a wish in your life, what will it be? Will it be to find a job? Or for your family to be united? Or to travel the world? Or to be rich? Or to cure a son or daughter? If you have a lamp like Aladdin, what kind of request will you make from the genie? Will it be for yourself or for someone else?

I remember one story in the Bible about God asking Solomon of what he wanted to receive from him. Here is the story taken from 2 Chronicles 1:7-12 New International Version (NIV):

⁷ That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you."⁸ Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

¹¹ God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, ¹² therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”

Tell me, what if God ask you the same question: What do you want God to give you? What will you ask of him? The sky is not even a limit, what will you ask? Today, we will see why God was pleased with the response of Solomon and why he gave him more than he asked for:

Response of Solomon:

1. Selfless request. God can give him anything he wanted, but Solomon chose to ask for wisdom and knowledge, not for himself but for the sake of his kingdom. God even emphasized that he could have ask for the death of his enemy or for a long life. But he put Israel ahead of himself so God was pleased.

2. Need over want. Solomon knows that he needs wisdom and knowledge more than wealth and long life to govern and so he ask for it.

3. Pure and good motive. More than anything, he clearly wanted to securely govern his kingdom well and has no plan of destroying it or giving it up to an invader so God was pleased.

Response of God:

1. A quick answer. God responded immediately to Solomon.  

2. Granted his request. God gave him wisdom and knowledge as he asked.

3. Gave more that what he asked for. God gave him wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before him ever had and none after him.

And if you haven't received what you ask for:

James 4:3" When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. "

God wants us to be like Solomon, asking for our needs selflessly with pure and good motive. We can ask for anything like money, job, health, and everything else, but we must consider and ask why we ask for it. Sky is not even a limit for God. Try him.

SOMETHING TO DO:

If you haven't ask God for anything yet, try to ask him of something, but please consider the pointers above. Ask him and see what he can do for you today.

PRAYER:

Dear God,

Thank you for letting me know that you are able to do anything for me, but most of the time my heart's desire is not even in line with what you want me to have. Please let me know how to ask selflessly with the right motive. And if my faith is not enough to believe let me experience you today. Be with me and show me what big difference you can make in my daily life. This is what I pray in the mighty name of Jesus I pray, amen.

Do not Give up!

Are you having difficulties and problems today? And everything seems falling apart? And you will like giving up? Do not worry, just pray continually and do not give up. I remember a story in the Bible about Jesus telling his disciples to pray and not give up. Something that we all must do when we are in trouble or in a situation that is out of our control. Let's read this short story and see what Jesus means:  

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ²He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Praying is essential to every Christian. It is a lifeline that helps us continue and survive the trials and difficulties in life. Prayer is a lifeline to God. But tell me, how do you ask God about your needs? Are you persistent enough to get your prayers answered? Or do you pray without even believing that God can do it. God made it plain and even tell us a story about the power of prayer and how we must pray. Let us discover the power of prayer through the character of the widow in the parable:

CHARACTER OF THE WIDOW:

1. Persistent. The most obvious character of the widow is being persistent. She keeps on coming to the judge for help. This is exactly what God wants us to do. To keep on coming to him. We must pray continually without ceasing. Why do we need to be persistent? Because God sees our sincerity through our persistency. Persistency pays a lot even in prayer as Jesus mentioned,"And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?"   If we cry to God and plea for our needs, will he keep silent? No he will not so we must pray continually without stopping as God is listening to our cry and will act in our behalf. 

2. Faith. The woman knows that the judge can do something about her problem because he is of the authority and power to fix it. She has faith with the judge. God also wants us to go to him persistently asking him in faith, believing that God can do it for us and that he can handle our problems and issues in life and that he has the authority and power over all.

3. Determine. The woman never give up. She is determined that she will be helped and justice will be served. We must be like her, determined that God can do it, never giving up, but always looking forward to what God can do for it. Let's put our hope in God. As Scripture says, "Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame." Romans 10:11


RESPOND OF THE UNGODLY JUDGE:
He refused for a while but helped the widow eventually. Though the judge refuses for a while but because of her persistency the judge eventually helped her. “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!

RESPOND OF GOD:
God will quickly answer. “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. God knows our heart and if he sees that we are persistently praying in faith he will quickly respond to our prayer. God is a just God and he will make sure that justice is serve. He will help the helpless especially those who cry for his mercy.

God always answers when we call to him with an earnest heart. Call to him and he will come and rescue you.

PRAYER:

Dear God,

            Thank you for reminding me today that you are willing to help me and that I should be persistent in faith when I call on you. I know that you can help me and you are bigger than my fear and worries in life. You have the authority over all the earth and over my life. Please let me know that you are near and that you can do something for me. If my faith is too small, please let me experience you that I may believe and be blessed by you. Thank you Oh, God! Let me pray continuously without stopping, let me know that you are able. This is what I pray in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

In God's Perfect Time

     I woke up early this morning to bake some bread for my friends. I was hurrying up because they need to leave early so I tried to fast track the preparation and baking. So I put the dough in the oven and set it to a temperature higher than the usually thinking it will help lessen my time of baking but I ended up burning the top of the bread. Good thing I have an extra dough. Then because of this, I realized three things, first is that following instruction is really important. Second is perfect timing makes a perfect bread. Third is though the bread tastes fine, I knew, it could have been better.

From this experience, God impressed his Words in my heart from Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV) :  

"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens:"

     It is amazing how God teaches us the lessons in life through our daily activities and I would like to share with you what I have learned today: 

1. Following instruction is important. Like baking, cooking and even operating a machine, following instruction is essential for it will help you achieve the best result, which is quite true, I could have set the temperature according to the baking instructions but I didn't so the result was not as it was suppose to be. Like in life, God handed us over his very Word for instruction and guidance and sadly even though most of us already know about the Word of God and its effect and power, we still tend to experiment and follow our own worldly ways, so a lot of people go astray. As it was inquired and answered in the Bible:

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word" Psalms 119:9

2. Perfect timing makes a perfect bread. If the instruction says 20 minutes, then 20 minutes it is. Not 10 or 15 nor 25, it must be 20. The instruction on the packaging was not easily written down nor formulated. Bakers have done multiple trial and error to make sure that the process is perfect and will produce the best result. Therefore, I must wait for the perfect time for my bread. As the Bible said, "There is a time for everything.." Like baking, in life there are times that we need to wait, sometimes for a job, or for a medical result, or even for a spouse to spend the rest of our lives with. Waiting is one of the hardest thing to do and as we all have heard, "Patience is a virtue" and yes, it is true. Blessed are those who wait, especially those who wait upon the Lord. God has his own timeline, we may not know what he has instore for us but if God tells you to wait, know that what he has, is best and perfect for you.

3. Though the bread tasted fine, I knew, it could have been better. And as a result, the bread tasted just fine. But if I have just followed the instruction and waited a little longer, the bread could have been better. Life is often times like this, we could have waited a little more for God but instead we have chosen something else and settle for less.

Life is filled with decision making and what we decide on today can greatly impact our tomorrow so if our decision needs time, then we must take the time. We must ask God for guidance and give us patience in waiting. I know it is not easy to wait, but waiting in God is worth it because he is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last is he. He knows best and will always gives the best for those who wait on him. "No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause." Psalm 25:3

If your single, do not rush, God is preparing the best and Godly spouse for you.

If you are looking for a job, do not be involved with illegal businesses, God has a decent job for you. If you are waiting for a relationship to be restored, don't give up, God is mending it for you. 

If you have an unanswered prayer, God is working on it for you. 

PRAYER:

Dear God, 

     Thank you for everything that you have done for me. Thank you for reminding me to wait on you and seek you while waiting. Thank you for this great joy knowing that you are able and that you are always near. Help me to have patience and give me wisdom to recognize and discern your will in my life. Please let me know that you are working on my behalf. I will put my trust in you and wait on you.

Thank you Lord, this is what I pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.