--Bytes of Wisdom: Regarding Prayer ~~
---- /

--"When I am in the presence of God, it seems profoundly unbecoming to demand anything."
---Francis Shaeffer

--"We need to put away our formal language of prayer and lay the foundation of truth."
---David Egner

--"To be immediately right, say from your heart the truth about your wrongs."
---(unknown)

--"It's hard to listen to God when we're doing all the talking."
---David Egner

--"Do not use the excuse of prayer to cover up what you know you ought to do."
---Oswald Chambers

--"One day....we shall gratefully see that God's great refusals were sometimes the truest answers to our prayers."
----P.T. Forsythe

--As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?" (Psm 42:1-2)
----King David

--"Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him." (Psm. 42:5)~~
---King David

--Bytes of Wisdom / Regarding Prayer~~

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."-

-'I have often learned more in one prayer than I have been able to glean from much reading and reflection.'
--Martin Luther~
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-'He who prays fervently knows not whether he prays or not, for he is not thinking of the prayer which he makes, but of God, to whom he makes it.'
--Francis de Sales
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-'As we are involved in unceasing thinking, so we are called to unceasing prayer.'
--Henri Nouwen
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-'Not to want to pray is the sin behind sin.'
--P. T. Forsyth
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-'We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power. We have a great deal of activity but we accomplish little; many services but few conversions; much machinery but few results.'
--R. A. Torrey

--Bytes of Wisdom/ -- Regarding Prayer~~

---Let God Have You

How long has it been since you let God have you? I mean really have you? How long since you gave him a portion of undiluted, uninterrupted time listening for his voice?

Apparently, Jesus did. He made a deliberate effort to spend time with God. Spend much time reading about the listening life of Jesus and a distinct pattern emerges. He spent regular time with God, praying and listening. Mark 1:35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Luke tells us, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

Let me ask the obvious. If Jesus, the Son of God, the sinless Savior of humankind, thought it worthwhile to clear his calendar to pray, wouldn’t we be wise to do the same?

--Just Like Jesus/ML

--Bytes of Wisdom ~ / Words of the Wise ~

-MY niece's husband recently wrote these words on a social media site: "I would say a lot more online if it weren't for this little voice that prompts me not to. As a follower of Jesus, you might think that little voice is the Holy Spirit. It isn't. It's my wife, Heidi."

With the smile comes a sobering thought. The cautions of a discerning friend can reflect the wisdom of God. Ecclesiastes 9 says that the "words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard" (v.17 NKJV).

-True wisdom begins and ends with God. ~~
-ODB/CHK

--Mother's Prayers Answered!

--Made White as Snow

--“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow . . .” - Isaiah 1:18

-I heard of a man giving his testimony at a Salvation Army meeting. There was a heckler in the crowd shouting, “Would you shut up? You’re just dreaming!”

The heckler felt a tug at his coattail and a little girl said, “That’s my daddy up there. He used to be a drunkard and beat up my mommy.. We didn’t have enough food to eat. But then he got saved, and my daddy’s life is changed. See that woman over there? See how happy she is? That’s my mommy. Mister, if my daddy’s dreaming, don’t wake him up!”

What a Savior who can take a poor lost sinner and wash him, save him, and make him new. Hallelujah!

When was the last time you shared Christ with a homeless person? Avail yourself and allow God to use you to shine His light in that direction.~~
--Adrian Rogers ~~ / Wonderful, Merciful Savior~ Selah
<https://youtu.be/oiVvHxgHL5Q>

--Bytes of Wisdom / Prayer~~

--'In prayer, we are aware that God is in action and that when the circumstances are ready, when others are in the right place, and when our hearts are prepared, He will call us into the action. Waiting in prayer is a disciplined refusal to act before God acts.

--Eugene Peterson~~
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--'I am often, I believe, praying for others when I should be doing things for them. It's so much easier to pray for a bore than to go and see him.'

--C.S. Lewis~~
~~~~~~~~~
--'In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without heart.'

--John Bunyan~~
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--'To pray is the greatest thing we can do, and to do it well, there must be calmness, time, and deliberation.'~~

--E.M.Bounds~~

---THE POWER OF PRAYER~~

-"Do not stop crying
out to the LORD our
God for us, that He
may rescue us."
--(1 Samuel 7:8)--

--When the Israelites asked Samuel to continue praying for them, the Lord answered clearly by throwing their enemy into confusion (v.10). Though the Philistines may have been mightier than the Israelites, the Lord was the strongest of them all.

When we ache over the challenges facing those we love, and fear the situation won't change, we may be tempted to believe that the Lord will not act. But we should never underestimate the power of prayer, for our loving God hears our pleas. We don't know how He will move in response to our petitions, but we know that as our Father He longs for us to embrace his love and to trust in His faithfulness.

-Do you have someone you can pray for today? G-D is always listening and answering prayers. He may answer with a 'yes', or perhaps 'not now'. He is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. We can always trust in our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer Jesus Christ. ~
--ODB/ABP
--"I Offer My Life To You"// Don Moen--/<https://youtu.be/8KcrogBmQ7U>
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~~Prayer/ The Most Important Ingredient~~

-"Lord God, with Your help, let me courageously face whatever I'm afraid of, in Jesus Name. ~ amen"

--"You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light."
---(2 Samuel 22:29)--

~~~Last year I worked hard to rid myself of a bad habit--gossip. I decided that I'd try to measure my speech by the old rule of "Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?" Although it took a lot of prayer to keep my lips clamped together, I discovered a certain peace in my relationships that wasn't there before.

Then one cold winter morning I felt a chill in the office that had nothing to do with the weather. Maybe I'm imagining it, I thought. I ignored it for a week, but by the eighth day I knew that I had to approach my coworker Mary. I prayed, "Lord God, give me the words to talk with her directly. "Is something wrong?" I ventured. "I noticed you've been chilly toward me."

"I heard that you said I wouldn't be a good manager because I had no brains," she said.

"What?" I couldn't believe that such an ugly rumor had gone around, especially since I'd been so good about not gossiping. "I never said anything of the sort---" and then I stopped, remembering. "I said promoting you to management would be a no-brainer!"

Mary and I both had a good laugh over that one, and I realized that eight days of coldness, hurt feelings, and worry could have been avoided with one straightforward discussion. But at least I had my new personal resolution for the New Year cut out for me: Don't let things fester. If something seems wrong, speak up. ~~

--"I Need You Now"/ Matt Redman ~~ <https://youtu.be/NMhxVJChhYM>
~~~~~~

---THE POWER OF PRAYER~~

~~"Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours." (Ask according to His will) // Mark 11:24 (NIV)


--I was born into a Christian family and we attended church every Sunday. But when my parents separated during my adolescence, I went through a crisis of faith. For many years, I asked: Does God exist? Why does God allow such suffering in my family? I concentrated on my studies, continued my education, and I became a nurse. Then I got a job in a children's hospital.

I was one of the nurses on call in the emergency unit when a 12-year-old girl named Alejandra was brought in. She was in a coma suffering from meningitis. The other nurse told me: "Stay with Alejandra. I will manage the other patients in the unit." I don't know why, but I started to pray. I prayed with faith throughout the night, trusting that the child would not die, that God would intercede. At 5:45 a.m. the next morning, just before my shift ended, Alejandra opened her eyes, took my hand and said, "Beatriz."

After this experience, I have maintained the discipline of prayer because I now understand that God, Jehovah Rapha, is with us every moment and in every situation. We serve a God that heals. Sometimes it's here on earth, and other times it may be when He calls us home to Heaven. God never abandons us. He is with us at all times. ~~

"Lord God, Giver of all good things, you have plans for each of us. You know when our faith is vulnerable, and you respond to renew our hope. We thank You in Jesus' name.~ Amen~"

--Upper Room/Uruguay/BN~
--"God I Look To You" // Jenn Johnson (Bethel Church) // <https://youtu.be/CR5IoWH9OiI>
~~~~~~~~~