Bless God

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Shirlee Abbott


Psalm 66:8-9 (ESV)
Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.

Pray with me:

Here I stand, Lord, alive and grateful. Bless You!

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Bless You!

Posted on August 9, 2022 by Shirlee Abbott

 

“Ah . . . choo!”

“Bless you!”

 

What does that mean?

Might be an automatic response.
                   Means nothing.

Some trace the tradition back to the Middle Ages, when a sneeze was an early symptom of the bubonic plaque.  ‘Twas a polite version of “Don’t die.”
                   Not very cheerful.

Others say it comes from an ancient belief that a sneeze forced your soul out of your body for a moment. “Bless you” kept the demons from moving in.
                   Creepy.

Maybe it comes straight from the Bible.
                  Psalm 115:15 (NLT)
                 May you be blessed by the Lord.

 

 

 

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The Circle of Blessing

Posted on August 8, 2022 by Shirlee Abbott

Ephesians 1:3 (ESV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

We bless God. God blesses us.

The Hebrew word translated as “blessed” is eulogétos, meaning to speak well of, to praise.

We speak well of God. We speak well to God. God speaks well of us. God speaks well to us. Good words all around.

And that’s something to think about.

 

 

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Thought-Provoking Prayer

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Shirlee Abbott


“It is not that we bring God into touch with our minds, but that we rouse ourselves until God is able to convey His mind to us.”
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)

 

Prayer connects us to the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:15-16 (NRIV)
(also Isaiah 40:13)
It is written,

“Who can ever know what is in the Lord’s mind?
 Can anyone ever teach him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.

“The mind of Christ” — best thoughts ever.

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Thoughtless Prayer

Posted on August 4, 2022 by Shirlee Abbott


“You must pray with all your might. That does not mean saying your prayers, or sitting gazing about in church or chapel with eyes wide open while someone else says them for you.”
William Booth (1829-1912)

 

Mindless words aren’t prayer. Pray with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

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Thoughtful Prayer

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Shirlee Abbott


“You can do more than pray
after you have prayed,
but you cannot do more than pray
until you have prayed.”
John Bunyan (1628-1688)

 

“On every occasion of uneasiness, we should retire to prayer, that we may give place to the grace and light of God and then form our resolutions.”
John Wesley (1703-1791)

Pray first, think, then act.

Philippians 4:6 (NLT)
Tell God what you need, and
thank him for all he has done.

Pray, think, act, thank.

 

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Thoughts on Prayer

Posted on August 2, 2022 by Shirlee Abbott


“Prayer should not be regarded as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege to be enjoyed, a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty.”
E.M. Bounds (1835-1913)

 

“Prayer is not only asking, but an attitude of mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural.”
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)

James 5:16 (AMP)
The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power]. 

Prayer is a privilege, perfectly natural, and powerful.

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Thoughts and Prayers

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Shirlee Abbott

 

This week, I plan to share a variety of thoughts about prayer — including a few of my own.

 

 

“Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God . . . by fancying that you know what He can do.”
Andrew Murray (1828-1917)

“We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; The Bible idea of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.”
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)

Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you. 

Prayer — God is in charge.

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The School of Answered Prayer

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Shirlee Abbott

Andrew Murray included this prayer in his book, With Christ in the School of Prayer:


“Lord, Jesus, teach me to pray with all my heart and strength that there may be no doubt with You or with me about what I have asked. I want to know what I desire so well that as my petitions are being recorded in heaven, I can also record them here on earth and note each answer as it comes.”

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The School of Prayer in the Spirit

Posted on July 28, 2022 by Shirlee Abbott

 

In his book With Christ in the School of Prayer, Andrew Murray urges us to first seek the Spirit.

 

 

“The Holy Spirit is the first of the Father’s gifts and the one He delights most in bestowing. The Holy Spirit is therefore the gift we ought to seek first.”

Murray tells us to start with the Spirit, then stay with the Spirit.

“If there is one thing we should pray for to draw us to the Father’s throne and keep us there, it is the Holy Spirit.”

Pray in, with and through the Spirit.

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