Shirlee Abbott

Parental Prayers (Thursday)

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

I get caught up in the day-to-day drama of my children’s and grandchildren’s lives. I pray for short-term success; God reminds me to seek long-term maturity.

Me: Lord, open the door to a better job.
God: First, he should seek my kingdom (from Matthew 6:33).

Me: Dear God, grant him a break from the pressure.
God: Let perseverance finish its work (James 1:4).

Me: He needs a good grade on today’s test, Lord.
God: Knowledge starts with worship (from Proverbs 1:7).

Me: I keep missing the mark, God. Why bother?
God: Prayers of a godly mother are powerful (from James 5:16).

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Parental Prayers (Wednesday)

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

Matthew 19:14 (NASB)
Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me.”

I picked these from the synonym lists for hinder: impair, invalidate, neutralize, screw up, undermine, complicate, entangle, inhibit, interrupt, obstruct, restrain, challenge, repulse, weaken, disable, oppose, arrest, stall.

There are many ways a parent can hinder a child from coming to Christ.
Dear God, hinder our hindering!

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Parental Prayers (Tuesday)

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

I remember the adult Sunday School teacher, sitting on his stool and ignoring his notes on the podium. He made no effort to hide his tears as he ‘fessed up about his hopes for his children.

“I discovered something about myself this week,” he shared. “I would be more upset if my daughter decided not to go to college than I would be if she decided she didn’t believe in God. My priorities are all wrong.”

It’s easy, as parents, to tell God what we want for our children. Better to let God tell us his plsns for them.

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Parental Prayers (Monday)

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

Yesterday our church celebrated Children’s Day. We prayed for the children.

What do you pray for the children in your life?

Health and happiness
A good education
Honest and prosperous labor
A godly spouse

Not wrong, but not exactly right either. How about this?

From Deuteronomy 6:5
May they love the LORD our God whole-heartedly, with all their soul and strength.
(also Matthew 22, Mark 12 and Luke 10)

From your heart to God’s.

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Whose Will Be Done? (Friday)

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

I want my own way, you want your own way. We all want to be in charge. We submit seldom, and reluctantly.

God says, “Blessed are the meek” (Matthew 5:5). God blesses us when we are humble, gentle, voluntarily letting others have their way, voluntarily letting God have his way.

Matthew 5:5 includes a reward: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

So if I stop demanding my own way, I get everything?

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Whose Will Be Done? (Thursday)

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

The psalmist says it well.

Psalm 33:4-5 (NLT)
For the word of the Lord holds true,
and we can trust everything he does.
He loves whatever is just and good;
the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.

True, just, unfailing, trustworthy . . . gotta admit, God has stellar credentials. Beats mine all hollow. So why do I keep conniving to have it my way?

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Whose Will Be Done? (Wednesday)

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

Tying two familiar Bible verses together in prayer:
(Matthew 6:10 & Luke 22:42)

Your kingdom come,
not my will but yours be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

It’s not about me and my silly little plans, God.
It’s about your big eternal plan. Have it your way! Amen.

It was good enough for Jesus. bless soul pic

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Whose Will Be Done? (Tuesday)

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

In The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer says,

“Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image.”

I did that–I tried to squeeze God into the job description I made up for him. It didn’t work out well, God kept overflowing my boundaries. Why am I not surprised?

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Whose Will Be Done? (Monday)

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

I’m a Christian. I can ask God for what I want, right?

I can ask, but the answer might be no
God know what I want before I ask
It’s my job to line up my desires with God’s desires before I ask

It comes down to this: I believe that God is all-knowing, all-wise, all-loving. Is there any good reason to want something other than his will for me?

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In Remembrance (Friday)

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

Exodus 20:8
Remember the Sabbath day.

Sabbath-keepers march to God’s rhythm for life.

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