Proverbs 15:8- “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.”
In his book Invitation to a Journey, Robert Mulholland writes, “Prayer is the act by which the people of God become incorporated into the presence and action of God in the world. Prayer becomes a sacrificial offering of ourselves to God, to become agents of God’s presence and action in the daily events and situations of our lives. How different this is from the idea of prayer as asking God to change our situation without any involvement on our part!”
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Alongside the highway outside of Phoenix, there is a regular Bazaar. Enterprising merchants set up shop to sell cheap trinkets and homemade food to motorists. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from six to ten AM Matthew Cordell opens a booth and offers to pray for passing drivers. “His tent is so popular that some commuters are complaining that it causes traffic jams backing up cars for miles.”
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With the difficulties in the economy, a church in Alabama decided the best thing they could offer the unemployed in their community was prayer. Tim Childress, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Sylacauga sponsored a prayer table during a local job fair and found many people wanted to pray. Childers said, “At one point the line for prayer was longer than any line for jobs.”
Responding to the need, Childers and his church rented a local high school auditorium and filled it with representatives from dozens of local churches, all united with a message of hope and comfort for those who were hurting. The purpose of the prayer time was to let the jobless know they were not alone, and to pray that the economy turns around sometime soon. One job and prayer seeker, Sherry Bentley said, “Prayer changes things, so we believe in power of prayer and so we’re praying that God changes things.”
Afterwards Pastor Childers remarked, “You can weather a lot of storms if you know somebody cares, particularly if they know that God cares.”
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Philippians 4:6-Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God
Who hasn’t ever found it difficult to find the time to pray on a regular basis? There is always time to pray when the chips are down, but on a regular basis? That can be more difficult. Well never fear! Now you can outsource your prayer life. For $3.50 per month at InformationAgePrayer.com you can have the Lord’s Prayer recited for you daily. Catholics can purchase a “Complete Rosary Package” for nearly $50.
ANSWERED PRAYER
Matthew 7:7-8-“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Like most young couples, Rick and Karen were financially challenged. Actually, it was worse than that, they put everything they had, and then some, into a down payment for their starter home. They were in debt up to their eyeballs. Karen carefully kept the books down to the last penny, she had too. Their financial survival depended upon her ability to stretch every dollar and keep track of every dime. However, this month she’d made a simple math error, forgetting to carry the 1 and now they were in big trouble. They needed $100.00 or they would begin to bounce checks.
Rick didn’t get mad when Karen told him about the problem. He could tell that Karen felt terrible. “I don’t know what else to do either,” Rick said, “Except to pray.” After they finished praying, Rick hugged his bride, “Everything will be OK,” Rick said, and he went back to work outside.
As he was changing the spark plugs in the family Volkswagen, Rick noticed a bill lying on the ground. Immediately, he reached to pick up the dollar thinking 1 down, 99 to go, but to his utter amazement there were two zeroes after the one on the bill. God had answered their prayer, and He’d done it in dramatic fashion just five minutes after they prayed it.
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At 64 years old, Robert was a confirmed bachelor if there ever was one. He’d learned to be content with his situation and never thought he’d find love and get married. One summer evening in 1988 he was enjoying a moment of solitude, reflecting upon his upcoming retirement and praying about his future. Out of the silence, God spoke to him. Not in an audible voice, but in a real way nonetheless. God told him that he was to marry Nell, a Sunday School teacher in his church.
Robert started remodeling his home, preparing for his upcoming wedding. He enlarged the closet space and got rid of the water bed. He did all of this without talking to Nell. He felt like God had answered his prayer, so he began doing the things he felt like he needed to do. In January of ’89, he finally got up enough nerve to talk to Nell and ask her out on a date. “I felt like a 15-year-old and was shaking all over.” Robert said.
As they were waiting for their food, Robert said, “Nell, God has told me I am to get married.” She looked at him funny and calmly said, “Well, I’m sure He has someone in mind for you.” “Yes,” Robert said, “He wants me to marry you.” Nell didn’t get up and run out of the room, instead, she said, “I’ll have to pray about it.” In the eighteen years since her husband passed, Nell hadn’t given marriage a second thought.
On May 26 of that year, they were married. “I had always heard that marriages were made in heaven,” Robert said, “now I believe it is true. This is the happiest time of my life”
What if Robert had passed the voice of God off as a silly premonition?
Sometimes, we have to put feet to our prayers and go after what we’ve asked for.
