Tag Archive | prayer

Paying Attention?

Jun28

The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. Therefore the Lord brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon. When he was in distress, he entreated the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
2 Chronicles 33:10‭-‬13 NASB

I once was told that history repeats itself. I believe it does. The part I truly hope will repeat itself in this day and age is the earnest, humble praying of the church that will move the heart of God to show mercy to our city, our nation, our world. Pray asking that our city, nation and world will know that the Lord is God!!!

Continually Seeking Him,

🌹Sharon

Lord, I Need You

Jun20

I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the Lord.
Psalms 40:1‭-‬3 NASB

Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.
Psalms 27:14 NASB

🌹Waiting is hard but so worth the end result. God is worth waiting for. Seek Him in prayer; reading and meditating on His word while trusting that He will answer at the perfect hour.

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon

Sacrifice

Jun19

Then the man Elkanah went up with all his household to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow.
But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord and stay there forever.” Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you. Remain until you have weaned him; only may the Lord confirm His word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was young. Then they slaughtered the bull, and brought the boy to Eli. She said, “Oh, my Lord! As your soul lives, my Lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
1 Samuel 1:21-‬28 NASB

God gave Hannah her greatest desired treasure. Hannah also returned that desired treasure, her greatest blessing back to God. Will be done

I admire Elkanah’s words to Hannah; “Do what seems best to you. Remain until you have weaned him; only may the Lord confirm His word.” Elkanah respected Hannah’s choice, that she had sought the Lord in her decision. He also gave her good advice: affirm that this decision is from God and ask God to help you to do His will.

🌹God is a giver of blessings. What blessing are you willing to give God? Your life for His service and purpose?

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon

To Whom Do You Turn?

Jun16

She (Hannah), greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.
1 Samuel 1:10‭ NASB

Hannah knew where to go. When you are
afflicted, agitated, anxious, anguished, distraught, or troubled, where do you go? When experiencing anxiety, the blues, desolation, discomfort, disappointment, grief, suffering or tribulation, where do you turn?

As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. . .
1 Samuel 1:13‭ NASB
She told the priest, Eli, “No, my Lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; . . .I have poured out my soul before the Lord.
1 Samuel 1:15‭ NASB

To the Lord, is where Hannah went and she poured out her soul before the Lord.
Why do we not pour out our souls to the Lord in whom we can trust to hear, understand, console and direct our steps? The result of prayer is evident when you arise from the pouring out of your soul. . .
So the woman (Hannah) went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
1 Samuel 1:18b NASB

🌹Let’s pour out our souls more often before the Lord so we can shine bright for Jesus instead of being a “Gloomy Gus”.

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon

Speak Boldly

Jun14

And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
Acts 4:31 NASB

Speaking the word of God with boldness.
Sharing the gospel without fear. How does this happen?
By prayer and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Time in the word of God and in prayer strengthens our knowledge of God’s word and our spiritual relationship with our Lord. We trust the Spirit to speak through us.
Who can you be praying for and sharing the gospel with?

🌹For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
Matthew 10:20 NASB
for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
Luke 12:12 NASB

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon

Miracles Through Prayer

Jun8

Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a devout man who prayed to God continually.
Acts 10:1-2
Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.
Acts 10:9 NASB

Cornelius, a Gentile, prayed continually.
Peter, a Jew, prayed.

God moved and the gospel was opened to every living person until Christ’s return.
Two men miles apart connected by prayer. The faithfulness of God to move, for His will and purpose, in His people who pray.

🌹What miracles and movement of God are we missing out on because we do not pray regularly, earnestly, continually?

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon

P.S. Please read the entire account of Cornelius and Peter in Acts 10. It is a wonderful testimony of the power and movement of God through prayer.

Prayer Changes Things

Jun7

Then Moses entreated the Lord his God, . . . . . So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.
Exodus 32:11‭-14 NASB

God hears the prayers of His righteous ones. He answers them according to His will. He is near the one who calls upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of the those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them. The righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of their troubles.
1 John 5:14/Psalm 145:18-19/Psalm 34:17 NASB

Then why are we not earnestly praying?

We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him.
John 9:31 NASB
And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
1 John 5:15 NASB

🌹And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Matthew 21:22 NASB

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon

Baruch Hashem Adonai

May31

Blessed be the Lord, Because He has heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.
Psalms 28:6‭-‬7 NASB

Prayer. To go before the Lord in prayer is to trust that He will hear and answer. It takes faith to pray. It takes trust that God will answer. With answered prayer, it is with a thankful heart that we sing His praise!

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon 🌹

TRUST, Simply Trust

May25

but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in the word of truth, in the power of God;
2 Corinthians 6:4‭, ‬7a NASB

Sometimes life is hard. There are times when discerning the Spirit is near to impossible. The weight of the world is pressing down on our life and we wonder, where is God? It is in these times when we just need to  trust. TRUST. . .
Trust that God is faithful.
Trust that if we are His —
He will never leave us nor forsake us.
He loves us.
He has a plan.
God is always at work in us sanctifying our soul.

Do you trust God?

🌹And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
Psalms 9:10 NASB

Pray these verses:

Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
Psalms 55:22 NASB

Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5‭-‬6 NASB

Commit your works to the Lord And your plans will be established.
Proverbs 16:3 NASB

Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
Psalms 37:5 NASB

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon

Decisions

May19

Warning: this is a long one.

Testimony:
I know you have been there, where you are faced with a circumstance you don’t know how to handle. In your carnal (fleshly) mind you think of a quick, rash decision. But . . . God.

Recently I was faced with a circumstance that made me angry. It brought me to tears. I cried out to the Lord for help. The next few events happened without my really being aware until I looked back over my day and saw the trail of guidance my Lord left for me.

I received a phone call asking for assistance if I could. I did. This godly, prayer warrior woman, without her even knowing, revealed that I needed to persevere. I needed to continue to pray, pray, pray. I needed to trust the Lord.

Before and after this encounter I had received a few texts from another friend regarding scripture references from a Bible Study she attended. It is here where God moved in a miraculous way and I can admit I am so glad that I am human and in the hands of my Lord.

I was given Psalm 53:7-12
This is not what I looked up and read, but this is:

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the Lord was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53:7‭-‬12 NASB

Not Psalm but Isaiah. My Lord Jesus faced life oppressed and afflicted and didn’t open His mouth. He had a mission to fulfill no matter the cost. Who am I to expect a perfect life when the perfect One suffered?

Oops, or was it really? It wasn’t Psalm 53, but 52:7-12 and again I was looking in Isaiah.

How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, They shout joyfully together; For they will see with their own eyes When the Lord restores Zion. Break forth, shout joyfully together, You waste places of Jerusalem; For the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God. Depart, depart, go out from there, Touch nothing unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the Lord. But you will not go out in haste, Nor will you go as fugitives; For the Lord will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
Isaiah 52:7‭-‬12 NASB

God has made a way! He reigns! He will comfort! I am redeemed! Salvation is mine! Victory is coming!!

Again, another change. God at work. Psalm 51:10-12 but I read, again, Isaiah.

Was it not You who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; Who made the depths of the sea a pathway For the redeemed to cross over? So the ransomed of the Lord will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, And everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away. “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of the son of man who is made like grass, That you have forgotten the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth, That you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, As he makes ready to destroy? But where is the fury of the oppressor?
Isaiah 51:10‭-‬13 NASB

Praise God, I have something to look forward to, hope. My God is mightier than any circumstance so I will persevere until His return or He takes me home.

God’s word is so amazing and I would not want to neglect the Psalms that were sent to me. God is an amazing, wonderful, loving, caring God who is always a prayer away.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Psalms 51:10‭-‬12 NASB

🌹“Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, But trusted in the abundance of his riches And was strong in his evil desire.” But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever. I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it, And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones. Psalms 52:7‭-‬9 NASB

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon