My sister-in-law Helen shared this devotional with us this morning. I hope you find it a inspirational reminder of including God in every aspect of our lives. Make time for spending alone time with Him, but don't forget about Him once you stand up and walk away from your "prayer closet".
To Invoke The Name Of God
(The LORD said) ... "Call to Me and I will answer you ..." Jeremiah. 33:3a
Some friends and I went fishing at a river.
When we gathered to begin our trip, one of those friends requested that somebody invoke the Name of God and ask Him for His protection for our trip.
With the respectful silence of everyone, that was done.
To invoke the Holy Name of God is to pray, praise and thank Him in all situations. As Christians, this is what we are called to do.
Unfortunately, there is a problem here. Some people are of the opinion they don't have time to consult with the Lord, while others find no value in praying to God.
When our Savior walked this earth, He didn't hold to either of those positions. Although He was incredibly busy fulfilling the Heavenly Father's directive to save us, Scripture records Jesus spent considerable time in prayer.
Maybe the Savior knew if a person is too busy to pray -- he is too busy. It's also quite possible He wanted us to realize that if the all-knowing, all-powerful Son of God took time to pray, sinful human beings ought to do the same.
That doesn't mean we have to be tied to schedules and timetables, nor do we have to use 25-cent words when we come to the Lord. The truth is we can pray anywhere and anytime. As for topics, just the living of the day will present many, new and very specific needs which will provide the springboard to raise our voices to God and invoke Him in our prayers.
Please, do not forget to praise God for what He is and always thank Him for the gifts we receive through His grace. Let us pray today and always, saying,
THE PRAYER: Lord, for the love of Jesus, stay by our side with Your blessings. God, our Lord and Father, thank You for Your love and for Your gifts. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Biography of Author: This devotion is based on a text submitted from Pastor Egon M. Seibert serving with Lutheran Hour Ministries in Paraguay. Established in Asuncion in 2000, LHM-Paraguay operates as Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones and is active in door-to-door ministry, radio programming, Project JOEL, Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC), and Equipping the Saints (ETS) training
(The LORD said) ... "Call to Me and I will answer you ..." Jeremiah. 33:3a
Some friends and I went fishing at a river.
When we gathered to begin our trip, one of those friends requested that somebody invoke the Name of God and ask Him for His protection for our trip.
With the respectful silence of everyone, that was done.
To invoke the Holy Name of God is to pray, praise and thank Him in all situations. As Christians, this is what we are called to do.
Unfortunately, there is a problem here. Some people are of the opinion they don't have time to consult with the Lord, while others find no value in praying to God.
When our Savior walked this earth, He didn't hold to either of those positions. Although He was incredibly busy fulfilling the Heavenly Father's directive to save us, Scripture records Jesus spent considerable time in prayer.
Maybe the Savior knew if a person is too busy to pray -- he is too busy. It's also quite possible He wanted us to realize that if the all-knowing, all-powerful Son of God took time to pray, sinful human beings ought to do the same.
That doesn't mean we have to be tied to schedules and timetables, nor do we have to use 25-cent words when we come to the Lord. The truth is we can pray anywhere and anytime. As for topics, just the living of the day will present many, new and very specific needs which will provide the springboard to raise our voices to God and invoke Him in our prayers.
Please, do not forget to praise God for what He is and always thank Him for the gifts we receive through His grace. Let us pray today and always, saying,
THE PRAYER: Lord, for the love of Jesus, stay by our side with Your blessings. God, our Lord and Father, thank You for Your love and for Your gifts. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Biography of Author: This devotion is based on a text submitted from Pastor Egon M. Seibert serving with Lutheran Hour Ministries in Paraguay. Established in Asuncion in 2000, LHM-Paraguay operates as Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones and is active in door-to-door ministry, radio programming, Project JOEL, Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC), and Equipping the Saints (ETS) training
Good right? This is my heart's response to Helen and the devotional. My gracious sister-in-law encouraged me to add this to my blog.
That was a great devotional reminder. It brought to mind a book I have read a couple times "Too Busy Not to Pray". I find its when I am most busy that I need to quiet myself and spend time reading the Bible and talking to God...and listening.
The other thing I find is the better I am at recognizing God's ever presence in my life I am become better at "Blessing the Lord at all times" and "praying continually".
My mom had a friend who drove off the road a couple of times and when asked what happened by her "rescuers" she said "I was praying" or "I got caught up praising the Lord"- she closed her eyes. Before we add a disclaimer to 1 Thess. 5:17 and several other verses (Do not pray or praise or worship while operating heavy machinery. Doing so may cause serious injury...), I think that prayers and prayer times should and need to include quiet, alone prayer time, but should not be limitted to those times that we get down on our knees, bow our heads and close our eyes. I think God desires us to include Him in every part of our lives. When we are driving and view an amazing sunset, it should be natural for us to simply respond "Thank you God for this amazing sunset. It is beautiful!"
Intimacy comes from a deeper knowledge of someone and that deeper knowledge comes through intense and deeply private conversation as well as the familiar interaction that occurs through our day to day lives. Our approach to deepening our relationship with God needs to be an all day approach. So invoke His Name and presence on a fishing trip, worship Him during a hike, praise Him while baking cookies, seek His comfort and wisdom sitting in the doctor's office. Our knees should feel comfortable when ever they bend for prayer but our hearts should be kneeling throughout the day.
I don't know how a "that was a great devotional" turned into all that but... There it is :D.
I don't know how a "that was a great devotional" turned into all that but... There it is :D.
Hope you spend some time talking with God in the midst of life and that you are able to take time out of your lives to spend time alone with Him too.
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