IN GRATITUDE...(PRAYER)

Great Father in Heaven, Author, Creator and Giver of Life, everything we are and have comes from You. There is nothing that are, do and say which You know not of…..if we climb to the highest mountain of Faith, Thou art there. If we make our beds with the lost of the world, and sin with them - Behold - Thou art there too.

Thank You for the next breath we take because it is simply a gift from you.

Thank You for the gleam in our eyes and the smile on our faces.

Thank You for the pep in our step and glide in our stride.

Thank You for the food You provide and the warm and cool home in which we abide.

Thank You for the car that we drive and the places we work.

Thank You for doctors, nurses and truck drivers.

Thank You for pastors, teachers and evangelists.

Thank You for Granmas and Granpas and coaches who motivate.

Thank You for grocery clerks, gas station attendants and sanitation workers.

Thank You for so many things too many to list….and Lord as the harvest time cometh in the agricultural fields of the northern hemisphere, we pray for all in the chain- from the precious, hardworking farmers to those who transport the crops to their destination to be packaged, processed and distributed across the world. We thank You for embedding within them the desire to feed the world. Thank You, Jesus.

Wonderful, merciful Savior. Precious Redeemer and Friend. Who would have thought that a Lamb could, rescue the souls of men! Behold He is the Lamb Who taketh away the very sins of the world…of anyone who trusts, believes and then repents. Father we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord.

In Him we find Eternal Life

Through Him we find the meaning of Life

With Him we find the abundant Life

In His Presence there is fullness of Joy.

Therefore on this day in our gratitude for just another day to see our children and the red cardinals in full flight, we gave Thee great acknowledgment and bow before Thee in all humility, in gracious thanks for Your great mercy and loving kindness- which endureth forever, and ask for Your grace for another day, in the Name which is above all names, amen.

THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO....(PRAYER)

Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so

Little ones to Him belong, they are week, but He is strong....

Most Gracious God in Heaven, You created man, in the beginning to work and keep Your Garden in Eden. Even though that man, Adam, ushered in sin and death into the world, You, in Your grace, mercy and loving kindness, hath provided for us and all mankind throughout the generations, nay, the millennia. If through due diligence and hard work, we persevere, oh Lord, You will feed and clothe us and so much more than we deserve, because You and King Jesus love us so.

When You gave the Israelites, the Land of Milk and Honey, you gave them the lush lands to raise their milk cattle and the conditions to raise bees for honey.

You provide fertile soils across the bread baskets of the Americas and elsewhere where we feed the rest of the world.... from the cattle grasslands of South America to the flat wheat plains of Kansas...and so much more.

You provide the rich soil to plant the corn, fruits and veggies.

Then You provide the time and rain to cause them to grow. You, oh God, not some phony bing bang godlessness taught in colleges, universities and high schools worldwide.

You gave us the freedom to tend to Your creation to sustain life: past, present and future.

You gave us freedom to raise our families.

You gave us freedom to sing praises to our most high God. While godless men and women in political power have curtailed these temporal liberties, we, who know You as Lord and Savior, already have the freedom and peace that passeth all understanding. We, who are born-again, and trust Christ and the Holy Spirit, each and everyday, know that we are sojourners in this troubled land and our Eternal Future is so much more secure, beautiful and divine where no corrupt human being will ever be allowed.

There will be no sun, because the Magnificence and Brilliance of the Lord will light up Eternity.

There will be no fears because the King is on the Throne.

There will be no tears, because He wipeth them all away.

Oh death, where is thy sting?

Oh sin, you have been destroyed.

Oh rulers of this world, you will have been dispatched by the Great I AM - YHVH - on the White horse on the fields of Armageddon forever...and your day is coming closer to that event.

Until that day, oh great and Almighty God, we pray that You in Your Providence, will give us a work to do, our own piece of the wall, if You will, so that working together, here at the start of a new month, a new season, a new paradigm, we may further the interests of the Kingdom to a lost and dying world.

May we brush aside the noise of this world, like the annoying gnat that it is, and never take our eyes off the prize.

May our hearts be stayed upon Jehovah.

May our minds be found 100% immersed in the Bible - Your Precious Word - until He comes, or He calleth us Home.

Father, we love You, we praise You, we magnify and adore Your precious and Holy Name and it is in the Name, the strong and mighty Name of the Soon-coming King Jesus, we pray. Amen and amen.

PRAYER FOR AFGHANISTAN SITUATION AND MORE

Heavenly Father, on this most glorious day, we thank You for Your Faithful promises, grace, compassion, mercy and love which wakes up each morning and gives us our next breath.

Thank You, oh God, for bringing us to the start of a new week.

Thank You for the Hope of Eternal Life, which is guaranteed to all who have repented, believed the gospel and belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, Your Only Begotten Son.

Thank You for the calling on our lives to serve You and the Kingdom, and the fact that You have equipped us to do so even in our lowly estate.

Thank You for the Holy Spirit Who seals us until the Day of Redemption, and Who teaches, guides and directs into the paths of all truth.

Lord on this day, we remember all who have given all in the service of the King - Jesus. From Stephen the first Martyr, who spoke Truth to corruption in the Book of Acts, to Tyndale who brought the Bible to the English speaking world to so many others who are too numerous to mention. Lord, we remember the sacrifice of the Burnhams in the Philippines over twenty years ago and Your great servants Jim Elliott and Nate Saint who gave it all that may be saved in Ecuador.

So, most Gracious God, today and this week, we pray into Your Mighty Hands, the fate of our wonderful missionaries who are trapped in Afghanistan and have almost no way out. They may be abandoned by the world but they are foremost in Your Eyes.

Lord, many have been left behind as a disastrous 20 year war has officially ended. However oh most gracious God in heaven, the pain and suffering for so many is just beginning.

We pray for the grieving families of lost US military personnel- all thirteen families who lost their dear, young loved ones so tragically last week. Comfort them in their affliction, shock and sadness.

We pray for the many who were horribly injured in that incident in the Kabul airfield, and the other hunters of soldiers who witnessed the attack. Many will come back with post traumatic stress syndrome - PTSD.

We pray, oh Lord, that many will turn to you, will stick your face and the comfort and love and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We pray that they will get the correct treatment that they need, and that the local church will be the source of support and love and mercy and compassion for these returning soldiers in their communities and bases around the United States.

We pray for the people of Afghanistan, who suffered terribly for 20 years and now will suffer even more, due to lack of freedom and humanity by those from the powers of darkness, who have taken over their government. God bless them, make Your Face to shine upon him and, Give them Your peace that passes all understanding in Jesus Name.

We pray, Heavenly Father, for those who have caused this disaster by wrong and even short term selfish decisions that caused people to get hurt.

We pray that they will seek Your forgiveness and do better from now on.

We pray, as well, with those who are suffering from Covid disease, young and old who are close to death due to this problem, and the pandemic. Lord, please send a Mighty Rushing wind and your cleansing fire…..please clean out the potential from the disease to harm people and to keep multiplying itself to make so many others so very ill.

Father on this day we pray to you, Almighty God for fresh wind, a fresh fire, that will unfold in Your people. We pray that the power of the Holy Spirit will run right through us and emboldened us, We pray that we may be under the power of Your love, by the grace You have given us, love so many others to Christ, especially in these last dark and scary days.

May You continue to give us the opportunity, the will , and the means to reach out to so many others, in prayer, word and deed….and May it be all for Your glory in the Mighty Name of Jesus, amen and amen!

WHAT DOES ONE'S "CALLING MEAN"?

There is a general misunderstand of what our "vocation" or "calling" is in life. In the old days, pre- Reformation, a vocation was only a religious calling where someone would take a vow of some sort, go join and monastery and live a secluded life until his/her days were up.

The Reformation changed all of that and Martin Luther among others expounded on what the Christian life is and the many attributes of one's calling in life.

Text-(Matthew 25:14-30)

Parable of the Talents

14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 The one who had received the five talents immediately went and did business with them, and earned five more talents. 17 In the same way the one who had received the two talents earned two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground, and hid his Master’s money.

19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have earned five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’

22 “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have earned two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’

24 “Now the one who had received the one talent also came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed. 25 And I was afraid, so I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you still have what is yours.’

26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You worthless, lazy slave! Did you know that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter seed? 27 Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore: take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 And throw the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved

OH PRAISE THE NAME OF THE LORD OUR GOD

Great God in Heaven, You are the God Who calls sinners unto Yourself for redemption and salvation, so we can be made whole and more like You. On this day, dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your calling on our lives to grow in You, to live for You, to serve You and love others to You. Thank You dear Heavenly Father, that while we were yet sinners, Jesus Christ died for us.

Because He rose from the dead three days after Calvary, I will rise from the grave. .

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.

Because He prays for us, we have an Audience before the Throne.

Because His Spirit lives in us, Your true believers, we have the Great Hope.

Because He lives, we can see tomorrow.

All praises are to our God. Every voice of praise is to our God. Every praise, every praise is to our God!

Jesus is the Image of the currently Invisible God.

He is the Firstborn of all Creation

All Creation worships Him. Even the rocks can cry out and groan for that day of Redemption

He delivered us from the domain of darkness, into the Kingdom of His Marvelous Light.

Lord, Your Son Jesus, He reconciles everything unto Himself because Your Fullness dwells in Him.

Thank You, Jesus for Your calling, on those whom You have called. Thank You for making a way, when there was absolutely no other way.

Thank You that You overrule the plans of people and clears a path, an impossible path, that can only be explained by Your divine plans and purposes.

In Your Presence, there is fullness of Joy.

In Your Presence, we have an undefiled inheritance.

In Your Power, and through Your Power, we have an unfading, imperishable and steadfast Hope.

In Your Power, through Faith in Christ, we are sealed until the Day, that Glorious Day, which all the world dreads.

In Your Precious Son, Who is the Word – the Living Word – we find the Truth, by which we live all our days.

In His Mighty Personhood, we rejoice, worship, magnify, sing and shout out loud, that He is OUR LORD! Hallelujah.

We rejoice in You, Father, that You set the course of our lives, before the Foundation of the World. Though Lord, we have not seen You, we know You….and You know us by name. We love You as Your Spirit confirms You, as He guides us into the paths of all Truth. And now, most gracious and heavenly Father, at this time when we see ALL the foundations being destroyed, and as You call the righteous to pray, we ask Almighty God in Heaven, that You grow us exponentially in spirit and in truth.

Strengthen us emotionally, physically and firmly in the inner being. Mature us in Your Word. Grant us discernment in abundance. Protect us from all danger, evil and sin. Search us oh God, and know our hearts and see if there is any dross in us. Refine that dross with Your cleansing fire, that we may be pleasing to You, the One Who calls us by His Grace and grant us the double measure of Your shalom, every day of our lives – day to day, week by week, and forever more and it is in the Precious, Powerful and Mighty Warrior Name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray, amen and amen.

PRAYER: WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?

In Your Word, oh Holy One of Israel, we are called to the truth that "if the Foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3). However, You have told us, oh Mighty Father, that "the effective and fervent prayer of a righteous man, availeth much" (James 5:16).

So Lord, in these dark days, You have called Your people, we, Your elect, to righteousness and prayer. Therefore, help us oh God, to begin anything - a new day, a new week, a new month, a new plan, a new project, with reverence, review and an introspective look at our former Adamic nature, to ensure certain aspects of it, are not attempting to sully the washed-in-the-Blood saints You have called us to be.

As we begin all these things first of all with complete Gratitude for who we are and for Whose we are.  We did not save ourselves, and no one can. But You did. You rescued us from the pit, the furnace, the deep, the dungeon and the grips of the evil one, when we could do nothing for ourselves. For that we are eternally grateful.

You provide the roof over our heads, our food, our clothing, our health care, our modes of transport....in fact EVERYTHING which is just too numerous to mention. All are constantly provided by Your Mighty, Generous and Magnificent Hand!

There is nothing in this world, which we have or participate in, which did not come from You. We of all people are duty-bound to acknowledge this truth.

So Lord, teach us more of Your Ways that we may grow in the righteousness which You demand of those Who walk as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Search our hearts oh God, and see if there is any wicked way in us, and remove it ...root it out...reject it and release us from the stronghold and grip, that anything has over Your end time saints.

Scorch us with Your Refining Fire, until every tiny portion of dross is removed completely from us, floats to the top and is removed by the cleansing scoop from the Master's Hand.

Saturate our minds, via the Power of the Holy Spirit, that the more we learn about You in this lifetime, even if it is 5% of Who You are, the more we will wish to marinate and soak in the Presence and Knowledge of the Holy.

Sing a new song over us, as we break free from the chains that held us back from living Free and Holy, as You wish ALL Your children to live, so that as we see the day getting more evil by the hour, we can be steadfast in faith, abounding in Grace and overflowing with love, power and a sound mind.

Great Father in Heaven, the Foundations are being destroyed. The spirit of antiChrist is evident not just in communist China, the Middle East, Europe and the Far East, but in this country and throughout the West. But Lord,while sinful men and women have brought unthinkable disasters and evil into everything from family life and church, to schools and businesses at every level of society, You did not and will not give up Your plan, Your purpose and Your protection, until the job is done.

While the Foundations of Family, Faith and Fellowship have been systematically dismantled, today we join with other brothers and sisters in Christ who by our lifestyles, seek after the righteousness and uplifting moral guidance daily, which comes from Christ and His Holy Spirit Who lives in us. Lord hear our prayer. Seal Your Powerful Word in us! Hallelujah.

May we, by our actions, fueled accurately by the Spirit and the Leading of the Lord, grounded in truth and walking right before You, become that effective man, that effective woman of God, of whom it can be said, He has been with Jesus (or she has been with Jesus). Lord, today, right now, we ask and come to You with this powerful pleading and petition, in the Mighty and strong Name of Jesus. Amen.

PRAYER FOR A NEW MONTH, HOPE, HEALING

Holy God in Heaven, Master and Ruler of all things, we come before You at the start of a new month, seeking more of Your powerful, yet kind and gracious Hand, in everything we see, say and do. Father, and most Glorious God, we also seek Your intervention in certain places, countries and continents where sickness and worse have followed in the wake of the worse human pandemic in modern history.

We pray for discernment, wise decisions and rational choices to be made by people who are in charge of all medical decisions and that medicine, along with health professionals will be the main decision-makers in treating this virus, even months after the world thought it was defeated.

 

We pray for our young people, in the month of August, Holy God, who may or may not be going back to K-12 schools, who suffered so much emotional and spiritual harm during more than a year of lockdowns so much so that we are now in a mental health crisis. Lord, many of these children are now over a year behind where they should be in their education. We pray for their parents who tried their level best for their kids and even the education establishment which sometimes put obstacles in their way. We know the Lord Jesus said “suffer little children to come unto me, for such is the Kingdom of Heaven”.

 

Lord, intervene on behalf of Your children, for the sake of the soon-coming Kingdom.

 

We pray for those who are preparing to go on to college or return to their classes, that education and not indoctrination will be the main thing.

We pray for all campus ministries both in Colleges like Cru and others and in High Schools – the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  Father, so many of our young people – those called Generation Z, have expressed hopelessness and no Faith, as we, Your servants, have sometimes failed in our mission to bring them up in the way that they should go….and those who have absolutely no Faith, are increasing daily. Father, we pray that not just those great traditional campus ministries, but that these young people will divine appointments with many in the working outside world who are Yours: whether it be a waitress at the diner, the cashier at the gas station or the custodian at school who prays daily for these kinds.

Make all kinds of divine appointments for these young people oh God. Bring many in their paths who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and are not ashamed of the gospel but have a burning and urgent desire to see the trend flip for our young people, insomuch as they will go from Hopeless to Hopeful.

 

Father, as we pray for all these things, let us never falter, fall back, fall out or fall down in our daily walk with You. Stir our hearts, minds and spirits that we may thirst and hunger for you.  As a deer pants for the water. May our soul long for You, O God. Help us to pour out our hearts before You, that we may remain a transparent book whose pages ring out for the Glory of God in all that we do, hallelujah!

 

Help us to consider those who are less fortunate than we are, no matter how little or much we have. We know You save and rescue such a one, in the day of adversity.  Keep and preserve us. Help us to persevere and stay on the straight and narrow. Keep us from stumbling. Guard our hearts. Protect our minds. Fill us daily with Your Joy, regardless of circumstances and then, may we reflect the love, hope, peace, joy and contentment, which can only be found in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is in His Name we pray, amen.

 

A HYMN OF PRAISE TO OUR GOD

Our King, Creator and Lord of the Universe, all Creation worships You. All who are called by Your Name, most gracious Yahweh, stand in awe of You and one day, every knee shall bow, even those lost to perdition and cry out - Jesus Christ is Lord.

Father, as we come to the final week of what has to be the swiftest month ever, we stand grateful that You delivered us from the dominion of darkness, into the Kingdom of Your marvelous light.

While we were lost in our transgressions and stuck in the filthy miry clay, of rebellion, stubbornness and sin, like even some who call themselves Christians today, You turned to us and heard our cries. 
While we waited patiently, You brought us up from the desolate pit.

While we were sinking in the quicksand of a vortex of sin, You set our feet upon a rock

You put a new song in our mouths. A hymn of praise to our God.

You put a new birth of freedom in our hearts. We rejoice, oh we rejoice.

You put a blanket of shalom over our troubled souls. You are the balm of Gilead

You put our bitterness aside and cause us to run to You. Then Jesus came.

Jesus came, oh Lord, and set us free

Jesus came, oh joy and happy are we

Jesus came, when the dark night threatened hopeless and fear

Jesus came, and fill our hearts with His loving care.

Lord, we are not proud. We are delight in You. We will sing mightily of Your wondrous works. We will tell the world, from the rooftops, even the mountaintops, of the great things You have done for us. 

Your plans will not be thwarted. No man can defeat You. No devil or his demons can place obstacles or bad people in Your Way. 

You are for Your Elect, dear Holy One of Israel. Your Eyes runneth to and fro across the whole earth in search of those few who remain loyal to You. Lord, here we are - send us. We have overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimonials to a lost and dying world of what a good, good Father You are. There is none like You. There is none like You.

So as we come to the end of one and the start of another, help us to remember that Time is in Your Hands. Our Time is in Your Hands.  Eternity draweth nigh. Help us to not play games, to not sin or become narcissists and to not bring shame upon Your Holy Name.

Give us wisdom and direction, day by day, as the times are evil and we never know what one day would bring or the next. May we always trust You completely in everything we do, say, or think and may it all be for the Glory of God, Who sits on the Throne with the Mighty Savior, the Lord Jesus at His Side, in His Name I pray, amen.

PRAYER IN TROUBLED TIMES

Oh Great Father in Heaven, You are alone are worthy to be praised. When Your great prophet Elijah stood on Mt. Carmel in front of the pagan priests of Baal and all their fancy accoutrements, You stood alone with the prophet and in all Godly simplicity and reality, Elijah cried out to You in Heaven, as recorded in 1 Kings 18:36  " “Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel". Lord, You are not only God in Israel but in ALL the Earth.

We face a pagan system, like the Baals,  of rank unbelief today which is markedly absolutely no different that what Elijah faced with those doomed for perdition on Mt. Carmel. Today in the face of secular humanism, there are people who think they can alter the Climate which You created and which therefore, only You can change. 

We face a system of callous disregard for innocent unborn life and those at the end of life, at our senior homes and elsewhere. 

We face a corrupt system that seeks to ruin our children with their education systems from Kindergarten and up through College ages with no regard for the effects of their indoctrination and perversion on young peoples' souls, hearts, minds and emotional make up. 

We face systems in the culture with feeds the beast and leads many astray, ignoring your warning that about the fate of those who harm Your young ones.

All of that at more, we see, as many are devastated, dear Holy Father. But You, oh God, are not asleep. You judge the hearts of all men -   saved and unsaved. 

You see the end from the beginning and not just the end of all evil but the possibilities of those who can be restored.

You see the deeds of the ungodly, but the fullness of time has not yet been reached.

You see the hopelessness and hunger for something real out there.

You see the many who are unable to even make it through another day, sleep at night or just function as we all should.

You, of God, are the God of all Hope. 

You desire that none should perish but that all come to repentance and eternal life.

You desire that all will come to reason together with You as there is no doubt of fear which You cannot put to rest.

You desire that all Your children live together in peace, love and harmony.

All this and more, can happen, but for the prideful and stubborn hearts of even some in Your church.

Lord, bring a fresh wind of revival of spirit, hope and understanding. 

Let Your Holy Spirit inspire Your Redeemed to excellence that we may serve as a beacons of light to draw men, women and children closer to you.

Let us be lighthouses to serve as red flags and warning signals of the days of Judgment to come, so we can lead many to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our Faith, Who for the joy set before Him, endured the Cross.

Let all of this happen, oh great Father in Heaven, and let it begin in our homes, with each one of us with our nose to the heavenly grindstone. We know this cannot be done in a day, Father, but inch by inch, it's a cinch. Yard by yard, it's hard. 

There is nothing too hard for You though, so we surrender all of this and our mission here on earth, at the Foot of the Cross, from whence cometh our Deliverance. Give us the courage and wisdom to discern the times and who the modern day acolytes of the current crop of Baals are, so we can stand like Elijah, strong in our faith and trust in You, the Lord God Almighty, the King of Heaven and the Lord of all the Armies of Heaven, which cannot and will not be defeated....give us the strength to proclaim like the Prophet to all the earth "the Lord, He alone is God"....We believe it, receive it and no one will deceive us, as it is in the Mighty, Powerful and Strong Name of Jesus I pray, amen and amen.