Pleading in Prayer

Thankful for Freedom

November 21, 2018November 23, 2018 pleadinginprayer1 Comment

Most people will look at this and think of the freedom we have in the United States of America. While it is true that we have freedom of worship, freedom to choose a job, freedom of speech, etc., this isn’t the best freedom.

The freedom that I am the most thankful for is found through knowing Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that God created a perfect world and perfect people. However, those people disobeyed (sinned against) God and broke fellowship with Him. Read the book of Romans and you will find that any of us would have done the same thing. Because of sin, we had a debt that we could not pay. An eternal debt to God. Only Jesus could pay the debt. So He did. When I placed my trust in Jesus (because He pursued me), I gained the most amazing freedom (read Galatians 5).

I have freedom from the power of sin. Freedom from my pathetic whims and desires. Freedom to live in the best way possible – God’s way. This freedom takes a lifetime to discover and learn. I am thankful that God gave me this freedom and continues to teach me about it.

Opportunities to Learn

November 20, 2018November 20, 2018 pleadinginprayerLeave a comment

I am so thankful that God has given me many opportunities to learn. I was in good schools that gave me a quality education with a God centered worldview. My parents sacrificed to pay for tuition. I had the opportunity to attend a Bible college with professors who lived a God centered worldview. God has put me in a church with pastors and Sunday School teachers who desire to teach God’s Word as God intends.

Learning should be life long. We should never stop. The apostle Paul never did (Philippians 3:13). I pray that God continues to instill a hunger for the wisdom in His Word in my life. I pray that I can encourage others to desire the food of God’s Word. I will praise Him for the food He gives.

Thankful for Safety Support

November 19, 2018November 17, 2018 pleadinginprayerLeave a comment

As we go into Thanksgiving week, I want to take time to say thank you to all of those whose jobs are specifically to support my safety. We have law enforcement, fire, ambulance service to help keep us safe. They do not have an easy job. I am thankful that they continue to work at keeping us safe.

Thankfulness and Truth

November 17, 2018 pleadinginprayerLeave a comment

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, thankfulness does not pretend that nothing is wrong. We must be honest about what is difficult in our lives. Some situations just stink. Our issue is that we get tunnel vision and focus on the difficulties. We need to balance talking about the truth of both the difficult and positive pieces of life. If we understand what God has done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ, I think we can much more easily find the positives in life.

Jesus gave His life. He suffered for us in a way we cannot fully understand. He suffered to give us the chance for eternal joy. Once we place our trust in Jesus, no one can take that eternal joy away from us (John 10:28-30).

So allow yourself to be honest about the challenges, but don’t forget the joys. God gives many good gifts (James 1:17). He gives us the strength of joy to make it through the trials.

Grateful Thankful Blessed

November 10, 2018November 25, 2018 pleadinginprayerLeave a comment

I have seen “Grateful Thankful Blessed” on t-shirts, home decorations, screen savers and more. I enjoy the combination of the three words. Gratitude is a heart attitude. Thankfulness is the expression of gratitude. Blessing is why both should happen.

Life if full of difficulties; however, God is good. When I struggle being thankful – or I feel buried in the trials of life, I go back to the first way I learned of God’s goodness. I thank God that he sent Jesus to die on the cross. I thank Him for sending the Holy Spirit to convict me of my sin and show me how to place my trust in Jesus. Once I start with that, I can easily list several blessings. Christian friends and family, God’s Word, a church that teaches God’s Word, and the list goes on.

What are you thankful for?

Hope in God

November 3, 2018November 28, 2018 pleadinginprayer1 Comment

As I work through writing my statement of thankfulness, my mind goes down different paths. Too often, I think we fall into one of two ditches. Either we go about trying to think everything is peachy and happy or we fall into the trap of griping and complaining through our days.

God’s Word gives us several examples of people who struggled through difficulties and learned to balance hardship with praise to God. Many Psalms tell of pain and sorrow as well as hope and joy. Psalm 42 is one. The Psalmist shares his groaning, but keeps reminding himself to hope in God.

As I continue to work through how I believe I should live my life, I want to balance the truth of adversity with the goodness of God. Passages like Psalm 42 help me to do just that. Below is a portion of the passage.

Photo Credit: My friends David and Abby took this picture at the En Gedi Oasis in Israel.

Thankfulness and Praise

October 27, 2018 pleadinginprayer1 Comment

With the Thanksgiving holiday coming soon (3 1/2 weeks), I have been thinking ahead to my traditional Thanksgiving week posts. I have been challenged to come up with a philosophy or thankfulness statement. This has been a thought in my mind for at least a couple of years. I am still working on it, but plan to post it on Thanksgiving Day. Praise and Thanksgiving can get lost in the midst of the difficulties, but God is still good.

Will you praise and thank God with me?

Holding Fast

October 20, 2018October 20, 2018 pleadinginprayerLeave a comment

As control desiring human beings, we often hold tight to what we want. Sometimes our desires are good, but they must be brought under the authority of Almighty God.

God’s Word, His way, His faithfulness are concepts that we can hold tight. He is worth holding fast!

Who Owns Everything

October 13, 2018October 13, 2018 pleadinginprayerLeave a comment

With Thanksgiving coming in a little over a month, I think it helps to remember who owns everything. The greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty belong to God. Too often we want the greatness – and then we will be thankful. However, there is more to be thankful for when we realize despite the fact that we deserve nothing but punishment, God still wants to have a relationship with us and bestow good gifts on us (James 1:17).

God is so good.

Don’t Judge a Book (or a Garage) by its Cover

October 6, 2018October 27, 2018 pleadinginprayerLeave a comment

As people drive up to this garage, they probably wonder what it is for. There isn’t a house in sight, but it is outside of town so it is not unusual to have extra buildings. What one would not expect is that this building contains a living space. No really – this garage was turned into an apartment. A friend of mine lives here. As my active (sometimes overactive) brain thought about this, I knew I could write a blog post.

How often do we look at the external and think we have something figured out? Truthfully, looking at this building and thinking it is a garage would be a valid assessment. This building was built as a garage. However, at some point the owner turned this into a living space. On the left side you will find the kitchen and bathroom, behind the big garage door is the living room and to the right are a couple of bedrooms.

I know for many this illustration will be a bit of a stretch. However, I have noticed in life that we have the tendency to decide we have the correct information without taking the time to verify what we think we know. No matter how obvious something seems, we (as flawed human beings) are capable of misunderstanding. So the next time you decide you have things figured out, ask God. He can show you what you don’t know.