Dear followers,
I am taking a temporary break from the Blog and all forms of Social Media.
I plan to check back in with you sometime in late October.
Blessings,
Lynn ♥
September 10, 2018
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Author: everydaywiththeking
Summer of Prayer Series
Earlier this week was the conclusion of the Summer of Prayer Series
Did you miss the last post, first post, or any post? Not sure?
↓ Here is a link to ALL the post in the series ↓
Summer of Prayer Series
Want more on the subject of prayer?
Consider enrolling in the E-Course Design Your Daily Quiet Time
Hope your summer was fantastic and you are ready to jump into the season of Fall.
Blessings,
Lynn ♥
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Constant Prayer
Summer of Prayer Series
Constant Prayer
You may already be familiar with some Bible verses that mention constant prayer but please take the time to look at a few scriptures with me today. If you have your Bible handy, please find the following verses. I hope you are able to read the entire chapter or more surrounding these verses.
- Acts 1:14
- Ephesians 6:18
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
If you’re not able to access a Bible, please see the verses below in the NKJV.
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. -Acts 1:14
praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. -Ephesians 6:18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
What does it mean to practice constant prayer?
It is easy to begin our day with prayer. But how do we continue in a state of prayer once our daily activities have started? Well, why did the time of prayer end? Just because we leave the place where morning prayer began does not mean our time with God is over.
One of the marvelous things about a relationship with Jesus is that He is constantly present. Our problem is forgetting He is there!
The difficulty in maintaining a lifestyle of constant prayer is caused by not living in awareness of His continual presence.
Is your life-quest for Jesus? Is your greatest desire to know Him? If so, you need to discover the joy of living daily in the awareness of His presence. This not only changes prayer but actually every single facet of your life.
On the subject of being always in prayer, E.M. Bounds said, “Always does not mean that we are to neglect the ordinary duties of life; what it means is that the soul which has come into intimate contact with God in the silence of the prayer-chamber is never out of conscious touch with the Father, that the heart is always going out to Him in loving communion, and that the moment the mind is released from the task upon which it is engaged it returns as naturally to God as the bird does to its nest. What a beautiful conception of prayer we get if we regard it in this light, if we view it as a constant fellowship, an unbroken audience with the King. Prayer then loses every vestige of dread which it may once have possessed; we regard it no longer as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege which is to be enjoyed, a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty.”
This is the last is the last post in the Summer of Prayer Series.
Did you miss any posts?
Follow the link below to access the entire series all together ↓↓
Summer of Prayer Series
I pray that you have found something helpful in this series.
Please leave a comment ♥
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Praise Part 2
Summer of Prayer Series
Do you think of praise as an option? Is it like a p.s. that you might tack on at the end of a prayer? Is praise something you do when things are going your way?
Praise is an important part of prayer and a joyful life.
“There should be a parallel between our supplications and our thanksgivings. We ought not to leap in prayer, and limp in praise.
– Charles Spurgeon
Praise is worship
Praise is not about your circumstances but about Who you are praising. God is always worthy of praise no matter what is happening or not happening in your life or mine.
A praise-filled day is like the perfect outfit. It is always the right fit and goes with everything.
So, anytime is praise time!
Praise is a key to constant prayer.
God is with us at all times. We live in His continual presence.
He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, – Acts 17:27-28
We need to grab onto this powerful reality and apply it to our lives each day. Living in this awareness will cause praise to happen easily and often.
Praise can become a lifestyle.
Sing out your praises to our God, our King. Yes, sing your highest praises to our King, the King of all the earth. Sing thoughtful praises! Psalm 47:7 (TLB)
I will praise the Lord no matter what happens. I will constantly speak of his glories and grace. Psalm 34:1 (TLB
Need some help getting into praise mode?
Turn on some praise and worship music!
Please share your thoughts on praise in the comments below ♥
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Praise Extra
Summer of Prayer Series
This was not originally going to be a blog post at all but only shared on the Facebook Page. But Facebook has taken it down each time I attempted to share it. So, instead of giving up I decided to share through this blog post. Of course, that means it will actually reach more people than it would have through Facebook alone 🙂
The Leading the Way website offers literally 200 choices for sharing the content. So especially strange that Facebook is not allowing it since Facebook sharing is clearly encouraged on the website.
Follow the link below to the Empowered by Praise audio series by Michael Youssef
↓
Empowered by Praise
Please take a moment to leave a comment below and consider sharing ♥
UPDATE on Facebook situation
Guess what happened?
Every one of the posts that Facebook had taken off the Every Day with The King Facebook Page was mysteriously put back up on the Page!
Interesting…
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Praise Part 1
Summer of Prayer Series
Praise – an act of worship that focuses our attention on God
Praise is an important part of a healthy prayer life.
Like supernatural effervescence, praise will sometimes bubble up from the joy of simply knowing Christ. Praise like that is…delight. Pure pleasure! But praise can also be supernatural determination. A decisive action. Praise like that is…quiet resolve. Fixed devotion. Strength of spirit. – Joni Eareckson Tada
In Michael Youssef’s book The Prayer That God Answers, he says, “Without praise, we get too self-conscious. We get preoccupied with who we are, and not enough about what God thinks of us. And then we get grumpy and critical.”
I will praise the Lord at all times; His praise will constantly be on my lips.
-Psalm 34:1
Christians are made to glorify God. We are never in our element until we are praising Him. Prayer and praise are the oars by which a man may row his boat into the deep waters of the knowledge of Christ.
-Charles Spurgeon
Do you want to improve your prayer life?
Start praising and thanking God.
A day filled with praise is a sure way of keeping your focus and attitude right.
Infuse your life with praise and you will soon find joy in ordinary days.
How important is praise?
Share your thoughts ♥
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Corrie and Prayer
Summer of Prayer Series
Selecting things for the Summer of Prayer is enjoyable and a little challenging. It is causing me to realize that having an abundance of material on prayer means the best is sometimes hidden from easy view. The true treasures can be found and like all treasure, it is well worth the effort.
Here are some powerful insights from Corrie ten Boom on the subject of prayer.
45 minutes with Corrie ten Boom
Want to learn more about Corrie?
Visit the Corrie ten Boom Page
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Questions to Ask
Summer of Prayer Series
You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires. – James 4:3 AMP
Some questions to ask ourselves about our prayer life
Am I pushing my own agenda or seeking God?
What are my true motives?
Love to hear what you think.
Please share a comment below ♥
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His Plan
Summer of Prayer Series
The Lord’s prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13 can be used as a literal prayer to say alone or in a group. It is also clearly an outline, guide, and pattern of prayer to be used.
This is the prayer Jesus gave as an example of how to pray.
One thing has been standing out to me recently in this prayer. Notice that the main focus of this prayer is on God and the desire for His will to be fully accomplished now and always.
Prayer is not a listing of needs, requests, desires, concerns, problems or plans. We are not to be finding a place for God to fit into our agenda. The truth is that He is allowing us a place in His plans and purposes. Doesn’t the joy of being included in God’s plans seem more desirable anyway?
Earlier this week I happened to watch an interview with an author whose book is on my to-read list. Link to the show is at the bottom of this post.
Something she shared really got my attention and deeply resonates with me. She was mentioning her time spent in prayer concerning a very serious situation.
I was literally on my knees in prayer on the floor asking God to intervene to make this possible He said, “Michele, I’m not doing you a favor. This is My project.”
I realized in that moment, we were just tools and this was His will and it was going to be done and we just needed to get behind it. So to watch Him move like that was pretty incredible. – Michele Rigby Asaad
It changes our approach to prayer completely when we see this.
→Watch Michele Rigby Asaad on the Life Today Show for the entire interview
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Prayer List Problem
Summer of Prayer Series
It is great to see the interest people have in developing and improving their prayer lives today. A great number of new books, articles, websites, apps, and Bible studies are available on the subject. I actually think the best is to be found in the older classics on prayer, but that’s me. Certainly, the most absolutely reliable writing on prayer is found in the Bible. Something to keep in mind when exploring all the new materials available today.
This post is about prayer lists. I guess because we tend to like having a list and checking things off, the idea of a prayer list sounds appealing to many. This is promoted widely and is generally a good suggestion. However, too much emphasis on this particular aspect of prayer leads to some problems. Sadly, some people are finding prayer to be disappointing when prayer list praying becomes the main focus. Instead of prayer time being the center of a real relationship with God, it becomes something heavy to carry each day. I’ve noticed people that seem to be under pressure to pray about all the things on their list. Praying on behalf of others is viewed as a serious duty with the outcome of people’s lives at stake.
C.S. Lewis mentioned what he called “one very silly sort of prayer. I have heard a man offer a prayer for a sick person which really amounted to a diagnosis followed by advice as to how God should treat the patient.”
I have heard this type of prayer very often when praying with a group.
The outcome of whatever we are praying about is NOT dependent upon us
Faith needs to be in God not in our praying
A vibrant prayer life is not about meeting some requirement but is about your relationship with God.
Put aside the list if it is dominating your time spent alone with the King. After all, God knows everything and does not have need of a detailed presentation to understand the details of problems, needs, requests…
I like to keep a list of people I am praying for but find that the best times of praying for others is when God brings a person to my mind. Amazingly when these times happen the prayer is so easy and natural because it is God who is calling me to pray not my list.
How about you? What do you think about using a prayer list?
Please share your thoughts on prayer ♥
