Setting Up a Pillar
Genesis 28
Building a Community centered on Love
This blog is where I do a Bible Reading. I read a passage from the Bible and then I write down my own thoughts on what I read. I would love to know your thoughts as well!
Showing posts with label pray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pray. Show all posts
Saturday, 17 September 2016
Bible Reading #211 - Setting Up a Pillar
Sunday, 5 June 2016
Bible Reading #185 - Prayer of Faith
Prayer of Faith
James 5
Saturday, 16 April 2016
Bible Reading #170 - Devote Yourself to Prayer
Devote Yourself to Prayer
Colossians 4
Wednesday, 16 December 2015
Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #87
Pray for Your Enemies
Psalm 35
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| I pray blessings on you as you read. |
(v. 27) "May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, 'The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.' "
My Thoughts
Okay, I have to be honest here. When I first read this, I chose this verse because I, for some reason thought the word 'vindication' had something to do with being attacked or oppressed. David seems to be praying against his enemies in this whole Psalm, saying things like "May those who seek my life be put to shame..." and to ruin and disgrace. I was obviously wrong about the word 'vindication' because it means to have your name cleared.
The title of this post still stands and still works perfectly fine. If David was saying these things against his enemies, that's fine, but we can still do the opposite and pray for our enemies. Why would you want to pray for your enemies? Well, we are supposed to love them as well, right? We usually pray for those we love, however it is that we love them.
We should never have malicious thoughts for our enemies because, whether they deserve it or not, whether we feel that way or not, whether we are justified in feeling that way or not, they are still evil thoughts. Evil thoughts are never appreciated by God and never something that He wants from us. God is the one who ultimately gives punishment anyway, and His punishment is ultimate. Nothing we could ever think of could ever come close to what God could do. People are not always mean to others by malicious choice. Sometimes that is all they know because that is all they got, or sometimes it's because of things that have happened to them. You never know what could have happened in someone else's life.
It is very difficult to let go of what someone has done to you sometimes. The worse their deed, the harder it is usually. It may take some time, and that is perfectly alright. Once you are able to forgive and move past it, you can't hold a grudge. Holding a grudge is not letting go. If you never want anything to do with them again, that's fine, but how would it be if you could bless them?
If you could bless those who hurt you in return for their deeds, or even pray positively for them, you would have the ultimate comeback! People love to one-up each other, and if you blessed in return for a curse, that would be the best thing you could possibly do. Do that, give a blessing to those who hurt you from now on. You don't have to do it to their face, you can just talk to God. If you cannot think of a way to bless them, ask God to bless them however He chooses to. After all, God does know best.
If you are unable to give a blessing to them, then try praying positive things for them. If the person stole from you, pray that they would realize stealing is wrong. If they hurt you with words, pray that they would realize how hurtful their words are. Pray that they would change from these things. That's still a positive request. The next time someone hurts you, give yourself time to cool down from how you feel about it, then pray for them, and if you can, bless them.
The title of this post still stands and still works perfectly fine. If David was saying these things against his enemies, that's fine, but we can still do the opposite and pray for our enemies. Why would you want to pray for your enemies? Well, we are supposed to love them as well, right? We usually pray for those we love, however it is that we love them.
We should never have malicious thoughts for our enemies because, whether they deserve it or not, whether we feel that way or not, whether we are justified in feeling that way or not, they are still evil thoughts. Evil thoughts are never appreciated by God and never something that He wants from us. God is the one who ultimately gives punishment anyway, and His punishment is ultimate. Nothing we could ever think of could ever come close to what God could do. People are not always mean to others by malicious choice. Sometimes that is all they know because that is all they got, or sometimes it's because of things that have happened to them. You never know what could have happened in someone else's life.
It is very difficult to let go of what someone has done to you sometimes. The worse their deed, the harder it is usually. It may take some time, and that is perfectly alright. Once you are able to forgive and move past it, you can't hold a grudge. Holding a grudge is not letting go. If you never want anything to do with them again, that's fine, but how would it be if you could bless them?
If you could bless those who hurt you in return for their deeds, or even pray positively for them, you would have the ultimate comeback! People love to one-up each other, and if you blessed in return for a curse, that would be the best thing you could possibly do. Do that, give a blessing to those who hurt you from now on. You don't have to do it to their face, you can just talk to God. If you cannot think of a way to bless them, ask God to bless them however He chooses to. After all, God does know best.
If you are unable to give a blessing to them, then try praying positive things for them. If the person stole from you, pray that they would realize stealing is wrong. If they hurt you with words, pray that they would realize how hurtful their words are. Pray that they would change from these things. That's still a positive request. The next time someone hurts you, give yourself time to cool down from how you feel about it, then pray for them, and if you can, bless them.
Prayer Time
Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.
Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!
Saturday, 12 December 2015
Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #83
Don't Give up on Others
Daniel 4
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| I pray blessings on you as you read. |
(v. 27) "Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.' " (v. 37) "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble."
My Thoughts
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a tree and he called on Daniel to interpret it. What the dream meant was that Nebuchadnezzar would become big and powerful, but then he would be cut down. Daniel didn't give up on Nebuchadnezzar and he stayed faithful to God through everything that happened. Nebuchadnezzar even knew that Daniel had the Spirit of God in him.
Even though the king knew this about Daniel, he did not himself fully, if at all, believe in God. It took a long time for Nebuchadnezzar to get to that point where he praised God. This dream of his became real and was fulfilled before then though. God doesn't always answer prayer immediately, and not always with a yes either.
Never give up on others. If you have been praying for a long time for someone, a family member or a friend or whoever, to come to know God, and they still haven't, even if it has been years, still do not stop. Keep praying and give that person to God. Sometimes other events need to take place before they will accept Christ.
One of my cousins recently came to know God. My aunt, her sons, my mom and myself have been praying about the rest of our family for a long time. My cousin called my aunt and they talked for a bit, and after a day or so, he called again and accepted Christ! It is amazing because we have been praying for so long about this, and finally, even though it was only one person, God answered our prayers!
This is what happens when you stay faithful to God and you don't give up on others. See, you can't force anyone to believe in God and to accept Christ. That is a choice only the individual can make. What you can do to aid in this is pray and keep showing them Christ in you. You lead as an example, they may follow. If they don't, you did all you could.
Pray constantly for those you love to come to know Jesus. Eventually, it may just happen.
Even though the king knew this about Daniel, he did not himself fully, if at all, believe in God. It took a long time for Nebuchadnezzar to get to that point where he praised God. This dream of his became real and was fulfilled before then though. God doesn't always answer prayer immediately, and not always with a yes either.
Never give up on others. If you have been praying for a long time for someone, a family member or a friend or whoever, to come to know God, and they still haven't, even if it has been years, still do not stop. Keep praying and give that person to God. Sometimes other events need to take place before they will accept Christ.
One of my cousins recently came to know God. My aunt, her sons, my mom and myself have been praying about the rest of our family for a long time. My cousin called my aunt and they talked for a bit, and after a day or so, he called again and accepted Christ! It is amazing because we have been praying for so long about this, and finally, even though it was only one person, God answered our prayers!
This is what happens when you stay faithful to God and you don't give up on others. See, you can't force anyone to believe in God and to accept Christ. That is a choice only the individual can make. What you can do to aid in this is pray and keep showing them Christ in you. You lead as an example, they may follow. If they don't, you did all you could.
Pray constantly for those you love to come to know Jesus. Eventually, it may just happen.
Prayer Time
Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.
Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!
Monday, 26 October 2015
Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #36
Hope for Non-Believers
Ezekiel 20
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| I pray blessings on you as you read. |
(v. 39) "As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterward you will surely listen to me and no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and idols."
My Thoughts
No matter what you do or have done, God will accept you if you will accept Him. The Israelites turned from God how many times, and God still accepted them back. God loves us all so much, and again, nothing will ever take that away from us.
There is hope for all our friends who don't believe. Just because they don't believe now, does not mean that they never will. You just have to give them time and give God time. Don't lose hope for them. You are a positive influence on them if you stay true to who you are in Christ, and that's what matters. You cannot force your friends, or anyone else for that matter, into following God, it has to be their own personal choice to do so.
Always pray for them. Keep praying for God's lost children, that they would be found. We are all God's children and some of us are lost. If you lost your child, even for a few minutes, what would you do? That horrible feeling you'd get, thinking something bad could have happened. God feels the same way about all His lost children. We can help bring them back by living a life of Christ, outwardly, so that those around us see Him in us.
It is very hard watching someone you care about constantly suffer the consequences of their sins, especially when they do so willingly. If you have already tried to help them, and you can say so honestly, in your heart, and they still won't listen to you, then unfortunately, there isn't much else you can do. Eventually, they may finally realize, but if not, then you can say that you did all you could. Even if they still choose the other way, they will likely realize their mistakes. That is something at least.
Whatever happens, don't lose hope for them. Do what you can, and then leave the rest to God. You can't let yourself continue to worry about them either, give your thoughts and your worries and feelings all to God. Put them in His hands so that you can be at peace, but don't forget to pray. Pray for those you love, whether they know God or not, pray for them and have faith in God.
Previous PostNext Post
Prayer Time
Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.
Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!
No matter what you do or have done, God will accept you if you will accept Him. The Israelites turned from God how many times, and God still accepted them back. God loves us all so much, and again, nothing will ever take that away from us.
There is hope for all our friends who don't believe. Just because they don't believe now, does not mean that they never will. You just have to give them time and give God time. Don't lose hope for them. You are a positive influence on them if you stay true to who you are in Christ, and that's what matters. You cannot force your friends, or anyone else for that matter, into following God, it has to be their own personal choice to do so.
Always pray for them. Keep praying for God's lost children, that they would be found. We are all God's children and some of us are lost. If you lost your child, even for a few minutes, what would you do? That horrible feeling you'd get, thinking something bad could have happened. God feels the same way about all His lost children. We can help bring them back by living a life of Christ, outwardly, so that those around us see Him in us.
It is very hard watching someone you care about constantly suffer the consequences of their sins, especially when they do so willingly. If you have already tried to help them, and you can say so honestly, in your heart, and they still won't listen to you, then unfortunately, there isn't much else you can do. Eventually, they may finally realize, but if not, then you can say that you did all you could. Even if they still choose the other way, they will likely realize their mistakes. That is something at least.
Whatever happens, don't lose hope for them. Do what you can, and then leave the rest to God. You can't let yourself continue to worry about them either, give your thoughts and your worries and feelings all to God. Put them in His hands so that you can be at peace, but don't forget to pray. Pray for those you love, whether they know God or not, pray for them and have faith in God.
Previous PostNext Post
There is hope for all our friends who don't believe. Just because they don't believe now, does not mean that they never will. You just have to give them time and give God time. Don't lose hope for them. You are a positive influence on them if you stay true to who you are in Christ, and that's what matters. You cannot force your friends, or anyone else for that matter, into following God, it has to be their own personal choice to do so.
Always pray for them. Keep praying for God's lost children, that they would be found. We are all God's children and some of us are lost. If you lost your child, even for a few minutes, what would you do? That horrible feeling you'd get, thinking something bad could have happened. God feels the same way about all His lost children. We can help bring them back by living a life of Christ, outwardly, so that those around us see Him in us.
It is very hard watching someone you care about constantly suffer the consequences of their sins, especially when they do so willingly. If you have already tried to help them, and you can say so honestly, in your heart, and they still won't listen to you, then unfortunately, there isn't much else you can do. Eventually, they may finally realize, but if not, then you can say that you did all you could. Even if they still choose the other way, they will likely realize their mistakes. That is something at least.
Whatever happens, don't lose hope for them. Do what you can, and then leave the rest to God. You can't let yourself continue to worry about them either, give your thoughts and your worries and feelings all to God. Put them in His hands so that you can be at peace, but don't forget to pray. Pray for those you love, whether they know God or not, pray for them and have faith in God.
Previous PostNext Post
Prayer Time
Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.
Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!
