Good morning, Lord Jesus. Guide my steps on the path of life in You today.
"I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath.... How kind the Lord is! So merciful, this God of ours! ... Let my soul rest again, for the Lord has been good to me.... And so I walk in the Lord's presence as I live here on earth.... O Lord, I am Your servant; yes, I am Your servant, born into Your household; You have freed me from my chains! I will offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord! ... Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 116:1-19)
You're not a God who's distant, but very near. You're not a God who's indifferent, but attentively engaged. You're not a God who's angry or bitter or uncaring or rude. No, You're my Maker and my Master; You're my Savior and Lord; You're my Constant Companion and my Best Friend. So I will thank You and praise You! I will worship and adore You! I will daily choose to live my life for You, for this awesome God of ours! “May you be blessed of the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 115:15). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, May you be filled with awe today at this God of ours who loves you so, your Maker and Master, your Savior and Lord, your Constant Companion, and your Best Friend, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading this post with me and others and your prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thanks You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I lift up my heart and listen up for Your leading, seeking to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. ...
"For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens
(He is God!), who formed the earth and made it
(He established it; He did not create it a chaos,
He formed it to be inhabited!): I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob 'Seek Me in chaos.'
I the Lord speak the truth, I declare what is right" (Isaiah 45:18-19).
You're not the author of chaos or confusion. It's not Your character to cause anarchy. You speak the truth; You declare what's right. You bring order, even as You allow freedom (1 Corinthians 14:39-40). You fulfill law and order, even as You lavish us with mercy and grace (Matthew 5:17).
So come and speak Light in the midst of our darkness. Come and speak Life in the midst of our destruction.
You alone are our Savior. You alone are our Hope. And You alone can bring order out of chaos, stability out of insecurity, to set things right when we let You write Your law on our hearts and guide our steps by Your Spirit. You stretch out Your hand to all who will take it and open up Your heart to all who will receive it, calling out to the nation who will hear:
There is no other God besides Me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is no one besides Me.
Turn to Me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn,
from My mouth has gone forth in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
'To Me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.'
Only in the Lord, it shall be said of Me,
are righteousness and strength" (Isaiah 45:21-24).
Yes, Lord. We turn to You, in desperation and faith, in repentance and prayer, in humble trust in the goodness of Your character and the mercy of Your love. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may the law of the Lord be written on your heart and and the order of His ways be established in your life, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections from reading this post with me and others and your prayers in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
I could use your financial support for One Direction Community, my family, and those on the margins God has placed in my path I refuse to walk around. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758.
Thanks You!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart.
"When an attendant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. His servant said, 'Alas, master! What shall we do?' He replied, 'Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.' Then Elisha prayed: 'O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.' So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:15).
When You open my eyes of faith, You don't close to my eyes of reality. You just help me see the deeper reality I hadn't seen before. You let me see the truth that You are with me, that You are mighty, that You are in control, that Your victory is already won (Colossians 2:15). "For whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the word but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:4-5). "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!" (Romans 8:37)
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, that I may see You and Your truth and Your provision and Your power (Ephesians 1:18). There may be a "thief (who) comes only to steal and kill and destroy, (but You) came that (I) may have life, and have it abundantly!" (John 10:10) Open the eyes of my heart to drive away any fear I may have and allow me to receive your peace and assurance. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33)
Even though I may see and acknowledge my very real enemy, You give me eyes of faith to see my very real Savior! The enemy may have his armies, but the Lord of hosts, the God of angel armies, has His! My battles are real, but so is Your victory. "Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.... Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory!" (Psalm 24:8-10) And the King of glory has already given me victory over every enemy I'll ever face! (1 Corinthians 15:57)
"Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as Head above all!" (1 Chronicles 29:11) "May we shout for joy over Your victory!" (Psalm 20:5) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray this morning you will set apart time with the Lord that through that time the Lord will open your eyes that you may see the deeper reality of the truth of God's victory for your life no matter what battles you're facing, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Speak to my heart and guide my thoughts, as I seek Your face and listen for Your voice, Good Shepherd of my soul.
"Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And He was transfigured before them, and His clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, 'This is My Son, the Beloved; listen to Him!' Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus" (Mark 9:2-8).
Father God, Your cloud overshadowed the disciples who were called apart to come away and be with Jesus. And from the cloud of Your Presence, You spoke to their hearts to listen to Jesus. Then their eyes were opened to see Your glory manifested in Your Beloved, Your only begotten Son, Jesus. And in that moment, they saw nothing else, "but only Jesus."
God, that is a picture of these morning times of contemplative, centering prayer, as I seek to begin my day with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You call me apart from everything else. And before I descend into my daily responsibilities, You lead me up on the mountain of prayer to come away with Jesus. You overshadow me in the abiding Presence of Your Holy Spirit and lead me to listen for the voice of Jesus, encouraging me, "Listen to Him!" You open the eyes of my heart in these first moments of my morning to see nothing else, "but only Jesus."
As my Beloved Jesus is transfigured before me, my spirit is transformed within me. "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).
Lord “it is good for me to be here.” Let me live on this Mountain of Transfiguration. Let me daily embrace -- morning by morning, moment by moment, Your Spirit of Transformation, embraced by my Father, centered in Jesus Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, May you prioritize to make time today to set yourself apart from everything else and through time spent in contemplative and centering prayer encounter Jesus. May you be transformed from glory to glory, morning by morning and moment by moment, beholding the Lord in His ever-abiding Presence, embraced by Your Father, centered in Jesus Christ, and filled with His Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Keep me grounded in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit.
As I pray over our country, my neighborhoods, the churches I pastor, my family, and all my domain, I listen for Your leading this morning, I hear in my heart, "Stand Your Ground."
Yes, Lord. Show me what You mean for me today...
This Scripture immediately comes to mind:
"Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.(Ephesians 6:10-18).
I know this Scripture well. I'm often led to "put on the whole armor of God" piece
by piece in prayer and proclamation in the morning before I step out of my shower
and into my day. In putting on the armor, I'm putting on Christ, to deliberately,
intentionally affirm and declare that I am "clothed in Christ" (Colossians 3:27).
Lord Jesus, You are my Belt of Truth (John 14:16); You are my Breastplate of Righteousness
(1 Corinthians 1:30); You are my Shoes of Peace (Ephesians 2:14); You are my Shield
of Faith (Hebrews 12:2); You are my Helmet of Salvation (Acts 4:12); You are my
Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (John 1:14). And when I "pray in the Spirit
at all times," Your Holy Spirit is building up my faith (Jude 1:20), continually
clothing me in Christ, and empowering me in Christ to stand firm in You.
That's how I'm "strong in the Lord." That's how I "stand firm" all "in the strength
of Your power." That's how I "stand against the schemes of the devil." That's how
I "overcome" my spiritual enemies and "overthrow" what would seek to stand against
me and steal away from me my "ground" and all You've entrusted to me (Revelation
12:11). By the power of Your grace, in the whole armor of God, continually clothed in Christ
as I pray in the Spirit at all times, I will not "shrink back" from my trust and
faith in You (Hebrews 10:39). By the power of Your grace, may I never surrender
nor retreat before the enemies of the cross and the schemes of the devil! "Having
done all" because You've done all this in me, I will stand my ground. In Jesus'
name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may "stand your ground" in the power of God's grace. I pray starting this morning you will intentionally set aside time daily over this long weekend in Scripture and prayer working on your wardrobe clothing yourself in Christ and the whole armor of God, praying in the Spirit at all times, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God -- help me begin my day in the conscious communion of Your Presence.
"The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.... Keep straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil" (Proverbs 4:18).
Lord, keep my path straight. Let my steps be sure and let my path be clear -- growing "brighter and brighter." Take me by the hand. Lead me by the heart. Fill me with Your thoughts and Your desires so I can walk in the way You've chosen for me. Your Word says, "Your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'" (Isaiah 30:20-21).
As I keep my eyes on my Teacher, as I keep my heart open to Your Spirit, as I allow You to keep transforming me by the renewing of mind, as I remember I am a child of God, living into the fullness of my destiny and seeking to grow into the completeness of maturity, I can trust that You will keep me on Your path. It's all in Your righteousness, not mine. It's all by the power of Your grace, not my will power. "For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13).
"Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when He delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand.... Wait for the Lord, and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land" (Psalm 37:23-34). Lord, make my steps firm today, so You can delight in my way and lead me in the way that leads to the fullness of life in You. "You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with Your Presence!" (Acts 2:28) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, as you step out your front door, may you walk in the path of life that grows brighter and brighter before you each day, full of gladness in the presence of our God who is with you always, every step of the way, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who testified to the word of His grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through them" (Acts 14:1-3).
In our days, as in the days of Paul and Barnabas in the city of Iconium, there will be opposition to the Word and the Spirit of God in any city where the presence and power of God is on the move. Those whose minds are blinded to the truth of the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ, will resist and riot, stirring up strife, and trying to poison minds and harden hearts. But like Paul and Barnabas, we must keep "speaking boldly for the Lord."
When we're speaking boldly for the Lord, we're speaking against the so-called "god of this world (who) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4). "For it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).
As we speak boldly for the Lord, He moves in His power and displays His glory. He begins to "testify to the word of His grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through (the Body and the Bride of Christ)" in our city and our world, beginning in our hearts and then changing the heart of our city (Acts 14:3).
It takes a city-wide church to win a city-wide war. It takes a growing unity of the Body and the Bride of Christ, living by the Spirit of Christ, shining with the light of Christ in the midst of the darkness of our world. Just as Christ is "the Light of the world" (John 8:12), so we are "the light of the world" with the Light of Christ shining through us, pushing back the darkness and opening up the heavens wherever we are (Matthew 5:14).
We don't cast out the principalities and powers and ruling authorities of the kingdom of darkness over our cities like we would cast out a demon. And we don't pull down spiritual strongholds by pulling down people or burning down buildings or coming down to the level of the spiritual forces of evil that seek to divide us and destroy us. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (of the spiritual realm around us)" (Ephesians 6:12).
No, we displace principalities by living in the opposite spirit, by the power and the grace of God living in us. We expose sources of evil and their lies and dispel them with truth by being a source of light in our communities in the darkness, not by imitating forces of darkness and being a source that deepens the darkness in our communities.. Light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it (John 1:5). "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good" (Romans 12:21).
We need to be the ones opposed in our cities and oppose the “Caesars” of this world as Jason did, “When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” (Acts 17:6-7)
Come Jesus! Holy Spirit. Empower us -- in our hearts and our cities -- to walk in the opposite spirit than the spirit of the world around us, to shine with the light of the glory of God that pushes back the darkness. By Your Word and Your Spirit, may we live our lives to honor Christ in the opposite spirit of the world, so that "now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him" (Ephesians 3:10-12). In Jesus' I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be empowered by the love and grace of God to live in the opposite spirit than the spirit of the world, as the Lord confirms and displays His glory through His Word and His Spirit in your life and your city, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. As best as I can and all by Your grace, I entrust this day and my life into Your hands and Your will -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
I went into the grocery store this weekend and noticed the big sign on the door, "Face Mask Required." And of course, everyone was wearing their mask. But though we were all together in a crowded place, albeit six feet apart, it still felt really lonely. Gone were the warm smiles and welcoming greetings we're accustomed to in the south, even among strangers. And it felt a little like we were all suffering from the leprosy of loneliness through this disease of distance.
The Scripture came to mind of the Old Testament leprosy laws: "The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, 'Unclean, unclean.' He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp" (Leviticus 13:45-46).
Lord Jesus, we need You to come into our loneliness. We need You to heal our disease of distance. Connect us in love. Cure us with kindness. Cause our eyes to smile even when our mouths can't or at least can't be seen. Fill us afresh with a joy that can't be silenced and a hope that can't be suppressed.
And just as this disease and these masks seem to separate us from one another, there is no greater sickness or disease than the sin that separates us from You. There's no deeper loneliness than living a life apart from You -- for these few moments on earth and for every moment of our eternity.
Without You, we'll be forever "unclean." And without You, we'll be forever lonely. So even use all we're going through in our world to draw every soul who will respond into the embrace of Your love and the mercy of Your grace. You're not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance by turning to You and receiving Your healing, saving love (2 Peter 3:9). "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
Give me eyes to see the unclean and the lonely around me today. With a smile in my heart, with the kindness of my eyes, with the power of a prayer or with the encouragement of a word, let another soul come to know You and Your love today. May they live out the rest of their lives on this earth and throughout all eternity with no leprosy of loneliness and no disease of distance between You and them, where no mask is required. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may be filled with a joy that cannot be silenced and a hope that cannot be suppressed, letting the kindness and love of the Lord flow through you -- wether through your prayers or in person -- to touch the life of someone who feels lonely or unclean today, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me, as you live through me today.
"It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:3).
On their journey through the wilderness, God fed the Israelites with food that came by the power of his grace alone. It did not come from the works of their own hands (Deuteronomy 8:3). Moses told them, "(The Lord) humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. The clothes on your back did not wear out and your feet did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a parent disciplines a child so the Lord your God disciplines you" (Deuteronomy 8:3-5). All the while, You were "bringing (them) into a good land ... where (they would) lack nothing," as they learned the humility of willingly choosing to be desperately dependent upon You alone (Deuteronomy 8:7).
Lord, keep teaching me these same lessons. All that happened to Israel was written down to teach me. "These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Corinthians 10:11). I want to "lack nothing" and live in "the good land" You've prepared for me as my inheritance and destiny, secure in my identity as a child of God, loved and disciplined by my good Father, providing all I need and even extravagantly blessing me with "the desires of (my) heart" (Psalm 37:4).
It is not with the words I see and read on social media I need to feed my soul, it is your words of life. Keep leading me to learn more every day how to live in the humility of willingly choosing to be desperately dependent upon you alone. Help me desire to sped time in your Word to learn to live by every word that comes from your mouth into my heart, by all you've expressed by your written Word. Make your words come alive in me and become your living Word by your Holy Spirit leading my human spirit. "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Romans 8:14).
"Now to Him who by the power at work with us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generation forever and ever!" (Ephesians 3:20-21) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you are led by God's Spirit and blessed by God's Word on your journey with Him into the fullness of your inheritance and destiny in Christ, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections or experiences on silence and prayer in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of all I am and all I do today. ...
"I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken" (Psalm 16:8).
In every challenge, every circumstance, every moment of my day, I have a choice of where I will look. And where I'm looking larging determines where I'm going.
Will I look to my problems? ...
No, "I keep my eyes always on the Lord."
Will I look to my past failures? ...
No, "I keep my eyes always on the Lord."
Will I look to man and other peoples' opinions about me and judgments over me? ...
No, "I will keep my eyes always on the Lord."
Will I look to the darkness of my world, with all its chaos and confusion, hatred and fear, violence and lawlessness, injustice and unrighteousness, dread and despair? ...
No, "I will keep my eyes always on the Lord."
I don't ignore those things. But I don't focus the priority of my attention on those things. I don't allow those things to define me or control, to limit me or label me. I don't honor those things by having more faith in those things and their power of destruction than my faith in my God and Your power of redemption. No, "I will keep my eyes always on the Lord."
As I wait and listen, I hear in my heart: "Look to Me and keep your eyes on Me. Listen to Me and keep your heart turned to Me. See that I am with you. Hear that I am leading you. Know that I am abiding within you and will not let you be shaken even when things are shaken around you." ...
Yes, Lord. Your written Word immediately comes to mind to confirm Your spoken word in my spirit: "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:28-29). And by the power of Your grace, by the abiding presence of Your Holy Spirit, Your unshakable kingdom is within me (Luke 17:21). "For the kingdom of God is ... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).
So as best as I can and all by Your grace, I choose this day to keep my eyes always on You -- always listening for Your leading, always trusting in Your abiding presence of Your Holy Spirit within me. And as I do, I will not be shaken, for You are establishing in me a kingdom that cannot be shaken. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you unshakeable in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit abiding in you, as you keep your eyes always on the Lord, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please post and share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You're welcome here in my heart and every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
I read Psalm 91 over my family and my domain several times a week.
"You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, 'My Refuge and my Fortress; my God, in whom I trust.... Because you have made the Lord your Refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. Those who love Me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know My name. When they call to Me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them My salvation" (Psalm 91:1-16).
Yes, Lord. You are our Shelter, our Refuge, our Fortress, our Dwelling Place. You are the Almighty! You have prepared a place for us, for all who trust in You and call on Your name. And that Place is You. You are the Place of Your abundant provision and steadfast protection. In that Place, we will rest in You and look with our eyes to see all You have done for us from the safe and secure Place of Your Presence, no matter what happens around us (v. 8).
In the arms of the Almighty, You are our Abundance. You provide all we need according to Your riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). "Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever! Amen!" (Ephesians 3:20-21) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be safe and secure in the abundance of all the Lord has prepared for You in your Father's arms, in the Shelter of the Almighty, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please post and share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of all I am and all I do, as I seek to begin my day grounded in Your Word and filled with Your Spirit. ...
"Then (David) took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew new to the Philistine.... When the Philistine drew nearer to meet with David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David's hand" (1 Samuel 17:40-50).
We are in a time when we need run to the battle and face our giants just as David ran to the battle to confront Goliath.
We are called to run to the battle in prayer over our cities. To pray and seek repentance, in solemn assembly of calling on Your name in worship and praise, in spirit and truth, in humility and unity, together as one blood in one faith in our God and Father of all with our “% smooth stones.”
These "weapons of (our) warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4). These "weapons of our warfare" are not weapons of prejudice and pride, murder and violence, looting and lawlessness, intimidation and fear, chaos and control, isolation and division, rebellion and idolatry. These "weapons of our warfare" are not the physical weapons of this world, but the spiritual weapons we wield in humility and faith, in obedience and repentance, in the sensitivity and submission to Your Word and Your Spirit to pray in Your power and speak with Your voice, as we walk in love in the opposite spirit of the enemies we face. We "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).
The "five smooth stones" in our "shepherd's bag" that are to be ready to be slung in our "sling" of faith to hit the mark and bring down the giants we face You were showing me that morning are these: The Word of God; faith and trust in God; intimacy with God; security in our identity as children of God; and our confidence in God to fulfill the purposes of God in our lives.
No doubt there are other stones, but these are the ones You're highlighting to me and perhaps for these times and these battles we face together as the Body and the Bride of Christ. These are the stones we're to carry in our bags to the battles we face, in courage and confidence in You, our Shepherd and Warrior and Mighty Giant Slayer. By the power of Your grace at work within us, may we sling the one that hits the mark to bring down the giant we face -- in our lives, in our cities, in our nation, in our world -- all in Your way, all in Your time, all for Your glory. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you be empowered to overcome every giant you face with the "stones" the Lord has provided for you as you run to the battle in humility and courage and faith, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends”Five!
Please post and share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Rock of my salvation, Shepherd of my soul -- I look to You and listen for Your voice, for Your sheep hear Your voice (John 10:4). ...
I believe I hear You speaking these words in my heart and bringing them up to my mind to ponder in the communion of prayer with You -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. And I have a sense these words not meant for me alone:
"Turn to Me.
Turn away from the TV.
Turn away from the computer screen.
Turn away from what you're worried will happen and
turn to the One who already sees all that will ever happen and
will turn it all to good.
Turn to Me.
Trust in Me.
In returning and rest, in quietness and trust, I will see you through." ...
Yes, Lord. Your written Word comes to mind to confirm these spoken words to my heart. "For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength" (Isaiah 30:15). "Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I Am God, and there is no other!" (Isaiah 45:22). "Return to Me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you" (Zechariah 1:3). "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8).
Many are at home today -- here in my home and around the world, even to the ends of the earth. Someone even said it's like "a forced sabbatical" for the earth as we respond to the threat of contagion from this virus and its spread of sickness, disease, and death. But it's also an opportunity to turn to You, to trust in You, to put all our hope and faith in You. Even the wisdom we receive of how to respond and the courage we receive of how to act ultimately comes only from You. You said, "Ask for wisdom, and I will supply it" (from James 1:5).
But it's also an opportunity to for us to invite the world to turn to You -- through our words, through our prayers, through our actions, through our example. Let those who don't yet know You hear Your call to turn to You, to find their peace in You, their security in You, their wisdom in You, and their hope in You.
Now is the time to pray for a great move of God across the earth! (Habakkuk 2:14) Now is the day of salvation! (Hebrews 3:13) Now is the season of great harvest! (Matthew 13:39)
Lord God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- I turn to You. And by the power of Your grace and the moving of Your Spirit, may I keep turning away from all that's less than You. May I make more time for You. May I be free from any temptation to squander these opportunities and be free from any distractions from Your great purposes, to be part of Your great harvest in our day and to the ends of the earth. "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Matthew 9:37-38). Lord, I'm asking, even as I'm turning to You -- now and moment by moment throughout my day. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, may you turn to the Lord to trust in Him and be free from distractions and anything less than Him to take hold of the opportunities set before us for a great harvest in these days, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please post and share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
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In my last blog post last week I shared a paragraph from a Make Way Partners monthly news letter. It dealt with the mission’s status in Southern Darfur, Sudan, but it applies to us in so many ways. Here it is again:
"We are not people of a Pollyanna faith; rather we are a people called to run straight into the Darkness so that we might be the Light in the moment of despair. We are a people appointed to call out the names of Darkness so that those held in its grip might be set free. Christianity is not for the faint of heart, nor for the political aspirant—as sometimes the things we hold near and dear are the very entities, which we must confront for the Greater Good. Sometimes, in this naming of what is good for me and mine, we may even find the stain of ink bearing those names of innocents upon our own hands—as in how we as a nation may also profit from such wars. Still, we must boldly name, forge a new path, and rescue those who suffer the consequences of our profit and “security." Kimberly Smith
I told you it would take me a few days to unpack this paragraph. This morning I reflected on this sentence. “We are not people of a Pollyanna faith; rather we are a people called to run straight into the Darkness so that we might be the Light in the moment of despair.”
The picture above of the woman sitting on the ground was taken on my first mission trip to Africa with Make Way Partners in the three and a half weeks I spent in Southern Darfur. It was a hard trip. The woman is sitting in the dirt road of a small village in the 118 degree heat of the day. She is very sick, emaciated, starving and near death. She is so weak she is sitting in a mud pool of her own urine, as she does not have the strength to get up. I passed her and took this photograph as our Sudanese guide was taking us on a walking tour of the devastation in war-ravaged villages and areas in Darfur. The Sudanese people were just walking by her as we were doing, and I asked our guide “Why isn’t anyone helping her?” He said, “These people are poor. They are trying to survive. They are to busy trying to find enough food to feed and take care of themselves and their own family let alone to help this woman. They have nothing to offer her. She is near death anyways and will soon die.” We walked on in the heat to continue our hike through various villages and areas of the region. However, though I saw many disturbing things that day, I could not get the woman out of my mind.
The next day I got Benjamin, my Sudanese translator who was armed with an AK-47 for protection, and we head out to where we saw the woman the previous day. We found her and she was in the same place except dragged off more to the side of the road.
She was dead.
I stood there and looked over her, with flies all over her face and flying around her and at the Sudanese people walking by and I was very sad. So with Benjamin sitting under a shade tree watching over me, I dug a shallow grave in the hard sand and rock and I buried the woman.
As I was digging the grave I started getting angry. Angry thinking about how people could let someone starve to death like this and walk by! And none of the passer-byers for the three hours it took me to dig a grave in the sun-baked sand and rocks stopped and offered to help. Then God spoke in me. He said that is why you are here Gary. These people do not know me. They do not love me. If they do not love me, how can you expect them to love their neighbor? You are here to share with them the Gospel. To share with them that the kingdom of God is at hand and help lead them into adoption through Christ into the kingdom as sons and daughters of God. It is not until they embrace and see the immense value in themselves, and that they are worth saving, that they will see the immense value in others like this woman, and that they are worth saving.
I wrote out the sentence from above, and inserted my name in it and read it out loud to myself as Jesus speaking it to me. “Gary, you are not a person of a Pollyanna faith; rather you are a person I called to run straight into the Darkness so that you might be the Light in the moment of despair.”
Reflect today on this. Insert your name in this sentence and read it out loud as if Jesus was speaking in to you. “___________, you are not a person of a Pollyanna faith; rather you are a person I called to run straight into the Darkness so that you might be the Light in the moment of despair.”
I reflected how I was like the people who walked by the dying woman like she did not exist. Who is the person like the woman in the dirt street, that you and I, in our busy life, busy schedules, focused on ourselves and our time, taking care of “me”, trying to survive, that we fail to see, or worse see, see them dying in their own filth, and you do not have the time or love to help? And we know the Gospel, we know we are to love our neighbors and we have resources to offer.
My family, I pray you will reflect on, “Who are the people that don’t know God, that don’t love God so they can’t love themselves, and in turn can’t love their neighbors, that you are called to share the Gospel with them?” In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please post and share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me hear Your voice in my heart, as I seek Your face in the heavens. ...
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).
You need to command us to "be strong and courageous" because we have a choice. We have the freedom choose to be weak and cowardly or strong and courageous. You need to command us to "not be frightened or dismayed" because we have a choice. We have the freedom to choose to be frightened or dismayed or to be bold and expectant of good things to come according to Your promises of the good things You have said.
You never promise us that what we will face will be easy or comfortable or without challenges. But You do promise us You will be with us. Wherever we go, whatever we do, whoever we face, we will overcome and come through, with You by our side and with You in our hearts.
Along the way, we will learn obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8); and we will learn our identity through discipline (Hebrews 12:7). We will learn You're always with us by Your ever-abiding Presence. "For God has said: 'Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence: 'The Lord is my Helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5-6)
So by the power of Your grace at work within us to choose well, may we take hold of Your Word: "Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let (our) hearts take courage!" (Psalm 27:14). As You command, let us obey: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might" (Ephesians 6:10-18). As You encourage us, let us take courage in You: "I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
Because You have overcome, because You come alongside us and abide within us, we can overcome in Your courage and strength wherever we go, whatever we do, whoever we face. So by the power of Your grace, I choose to be strong and courageous, neither frightened nor dismayed, in You today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you choose well to be strong and courageous, neither frightened nor dismayed, in whatever you face, by the power and the presence of the Lord who is with us and abiding within you, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please post and share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
I received a newsletter from Make Way Partners. http://www.makewaypartners.org They are the mission group with whom I went to Southern Darfur, Sudan. MWP has constructed schools, a church, and dormitories for the orphans there In one of the most hostile, lawless, evil, unreached places on the planet. The orphanage they built in South Sudan is now near the boundary line between North and South Sudan. Fighting and shelling is happening a mile and a half from them. While all the villages around them are fleeing. They are staying. Where can they go with these children that will be safe? No where. Kimberly Smith is the director and founder of MWP. In the newsletter she writes.
"We are not people of a Pollyanna faith; rather we are a people called to run straight into the Darkness so that we might be the Light in the moment of despair. We are a people appointed to call out the names of Darkness so that those held in its grip might be set free. Christianity is not for the faint of heart, nor for the political aspirant—as sometimes the things we hold near and dear are the very entities, which we must confront for the Greater Good. Sometimes, in this naming of what is good for me and mine, we may even find the stain of ink bearing those names of innocents upon our own hands—as in how we as a nation may also profit from such wars. Still, we must boldly name, forge a new path, and rescue those who suffer the consequences of our profit and “security." Kimberly Smith
There is so much in that one paragraph to try to unpack. It may take me a couple days. One sentence says, “Christianity is not for the faint of heart.” Christianity was born out of a bold, powerful, violent, earthshaking, cataclysmic, paradigm-changing event, The Resurrection of Jesus, that shook and effected all created elements that exist. Resurrection is not for the faint of heart.
Christianity was born out of an all-consuming, at all-cost, all-in, all -forsaking act of true love. True love is not for the faint of heart.
Christianity was never intended to be something you enter into “lightly.” When it is convenient and all the world is “safe.” Christianity is something each of us and our communities are confronted with “in our face” that we must reject outright or that, if we accept it, will demand the remaking of our complete worldview. This remaking is not for the faint in heart.
The magnitude of stepping into Christianity, is in and through Jesus you are not simply entering into a new religion, not simply entering into a new form of ethics or new way of salvation, you are stepping into a new creation. Stepping into new creation is not for the faint of heart.
We are in the season we find ourselves putting up boundaries, find the church putting up boundaries. I want to remind you that Jesus’ resurrection both burst through the boundaries of our present history and remains and impacts all within history. In Jesus’ resurrection, the faint of heart could cope with His resurrectiin and being a Christian if Jesus ultimately remains a wonderful and nice idea inside their minds and hearts, proclaimed for one hour on Sundays, and tucked away in stories in Scripture. However, to grasp and enter into the truth of Jesus, the truth of his resurrection that Jesus is the one who comes out of the tomb, who inaugurates God’s new creation in the world today is not for the faint of heart.
My family, open up your Bible to the Gospels, then flip to any page and put your finger down on a verse. Your finger will never touch a verse that supports Christianity is something "nice" or “safe” to be entered into lightly or for the faint of heart. I pray you will pray and reflect on your heart. Your heart towards Jesus, and your heart towards belonging in Christianity, in Jesus’ name. Please pray for me as well. (Though you realize that praying “in Jesus’ name”, means you are removing all the barriers and inviting, invoking, claiming and accepting all of the suffering, the cross, and resurrection of Jesus’ life over your life, is not for the faint of heart.) God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and comments below.
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Put Your thoughts in my mind and Your desires in my heart to lead me in Your ways and make me more like You today. ...
"Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls" (Jeremiah 6:16).
Truly it seems we stand at the crossroads of our times. Truly the choices we are making now will determine our destinies -- personally and as a people, in our individual faiths and our churches, in our communities and in our nations.
Will we rush headlong on the path of self-destruction, divided and devoured from enemies without and within, blinded by rage and paralyzed in fear, hardened in bitterness and burning with vengeance? Or will we choose to "look" to the Lord our God in listening prayer, to "ask" for the ancient paths in humble trust, and to "walk" in the ways You set before us? Will we "find" rest for our souls or find out there's no rest for the wicked, no peace for the prideful and arrogant, and no place that is safe apart from obedience to Your will and trusting in Your ways?
Let us choose well. Let us choose this day whom we will serve. Let us choose what path we will take, with all of its consequences for our lives and our world.
So what are "the ancient paths, where the good way lies"? ...
As I wait and listen, it seems I hear You speaking in my heart: "The ancient paths are My eternal ways I have revealed to you in My Word and revealed to you in the ways of My Son who walked out My will as He walked on this earth for all to see My heart and know My ways and walk in them after Him." ...
Yes, Father. As I think on the life of the Son of God, the Word of God made Flesh to live and walk among us, I think of the good ways He revealed: To love God and love one another. Respect. Honor. The fear of the Lord. Kindness. Compassion. Mercy. Encouragement. Empowerment. Speaking words of spirit and life, blessing and peace wisdom and truth. Confronting evil with good, hate with love. Overcoming darkness with light. Obedient to the Father while growing in wisdom and stature and favor with God and with man. Self-sacrificing. Secure in His identity and fulfilling His destiny in trusting surrender, obedient faith, and expectant hope. Standing up for the downtrodden, speaking up for voiceless, while reaching up to the Father in prayer to be filled up with the Holy Spirt in power to live out a life that honored You and revealed Your Father heart to us.
Yes, Father. These are "the ancient paths, where the good way lies." As we stand at the crossroads -- as I stand at my own crossroads that confront me in every decision I'll make throughout the moments of my day -- may You give us the humility and wisdom to look up to You and ask for Your ways, along with the courage and grace we need to faithfully walk in them. As we do, we will find rest for our souls.
Lord, let it be so in me and in the hearts of Your people who are called by Your name in every tongue and tribe and nation of our world. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may find rest for your soul and seek out the Holy Spirit and ask for the ancients paths, where the good way lies to walk in the ways of the Lord today, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please post and share your thoughts, reflections, questions, or prayers with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
Please support and partner with my self and my family as we serve those God crosses our path with in our community with your one-time or monthly financial gift by clicking link below.Become our partner and support us in our ministries by becoming supporting us monthly or with a one-time gift. Thank you!
CLICK HERE TO GIVE
Good morning Lord Jesus, you are my way, truth and life. so I come to you this morning.
Jesus tells us, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
We break down prayer into various descriptions: petition, intercession, thanksgiving…ect. Yet prayer is not fundamentally about these. It is not fundamentally about waiting around to hear God speak to us. Fundamentally prayer is the breath of Christian life. And the funny thing about breathing is if you do not breathe, you die. Breathe or die. Pray or die. Abide or perish. And this pertains to the body of Christ; to your personal Christian life, that of your church, and the church universal. The whole point of entering into prayer is it allows us to enter into God’s embrace and fill us with Hs breath of abundant life and joy. Jesus said he came to bring us life and life abundantly. (John 10:10) We breath in that life through prayer.
Something miraculous and powerful happens through Gods grace in us when we set aside a large block of time of an hour or more to pray. The enemy knows this and he will use anything from a dripping faucet to social media to interrupt it.
Some of us just have a hard time focusing on prayer for an hour and our minds drift and wonder. Don't get discouraged, keep at it! As a prayer aid I am giving you a great tool for prayer I received from Curtis Seargent, it is the Prayer Wheel. The Prayer Wheel divides on hour of prayer into twelve, 5 minute long each sections. The prayer Wheel is a wheel or pie that has 12 slices. Each “slice” is 5 minutes long. It aides you remaining focused in praying for n hour by breaking the hour down into 5 minutes sections. I have listed the 12 sections of the Prayer Wheel. Before you begin set the timer on your phone for 5 minutes or look at you clock. Then begin and spend 5 minutes in #1. Praise. After 5 minutes move to #2 Waiting. Continue praying this way through #12 and your hour of prayer will be complete. You can modify the time per section to 2 minutes each if you are at lunch or only have 30 minutes to pray, or add minutes to each section if you have more time to pray.
In this time of coronavirus with social isolation, distancing, and quarantines we find ourselves with more time on our hands. Instead of filling it by tuning in to TV, Facebook and, social media, I want to encourage you to use that time a a gift to tune your heart to God’s through prayer. Maybe your prayer life has not been what you have wanted it to be. Maybe you have found yourself short of breath.
My family, I pray you will commit to setting aside and spending one solid hour a week in prayer a week, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your comments on prayer. I would also love to hear reflections from those who since my first post have spent an hour of time using the Prayer Wheel.
PRAYER WHEEL
1. PRAISE
Start your prayer hour by praising the Lord. Praise Him for things that are on your mind right now. Praise Him for one special thing He has done in your life in the past week. Praise Him for His goodness to your family. (Psalm 34:1)
2. WAITING
Spend this time waiting on the Lord. Let Him pull together reflections for you. Think about the hour before you and the things you want the Lord to do in your life. (Psalm 27:14)
3. CONFESSION
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you anything in your life which might be displeasing to Him. Ask Him to point out attitudes that are wrong, as well as specific acts for which you have not yet made a prayer of confession. Now confess that to the Lord and claim 1 John 1:9 so that you might be cleansed for the remainder of the hour before you, and then pick up and read the Word. (Psalm 51:1-19)
4. READ THE WORD
Spend time reading promises of God in the Psalms, in the prophets, and passages on prayer located in the New Testament. Check your concordance. (Psalm 119:97)
5. PETITION
This is general request for others, praying through the prayer list, the prayer cards, or personal prayer interest on behalf of yourself and others. (Hebrews 4:16)
6. INTERCESSION
Specific prayer on the behalf of others. Pray specifically for those requests of which you are aware. (Romans 15:30-33)
7. PRAY THE WORD
Now take the Scriptures and start praying the Scriptures as certain sections of Psalm 119 lend themselves beautifully to prayer expression. (Psalm 119:38-46)
8. THANKSGIVING
Spend these minutes giving thanks to the Lord for things in your life, things on behalf of the church, things on behalf of your family. (Philippians 4:6)
9. SINGING
Take your hymnal and sing a prayer song, sing a praise song, sing a song regarding soul winning or witnessing. Let it be a time of praise. (Psalm 59:17)
10. MEDITATE
Ask the Lord to speak back to you and keep a paper and pen handy, ready to relate the impressions that He makes upon your life. (Psalm 63)
11. LISTEN
Spend time merging the things you have read from the Word, the things you have prayed, the things you have thanked the Lord for, the things that you have been singing, and see how the Lord brings them all together to speak to you. (I Samuel 3:9-10)
12. END WITH PRAISE
Praise the Lord for the time you have had to spend with Him. Praise Him for the impressions that He has given you. Praise Him for the prayer requests He raised up in your mind. (Psalm 145:1-13)
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website: https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC/ Toney UMC
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