Bible-Religion.com

“PRAYER“

The following scriptures referenced with this second habit are related to Praying to the Almighty Father God and those in need of prayer.

We start with II Chronicles 7:14,15
14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.15 My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place.

Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Matthew 7:7,8
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Matthew 11:17
We played wedding songs,
and you didn’t dance,
so we played funeral songs,
and you didn’t mourn.

Matthew 21:22
You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.

Luke 18:1
One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.

Acts 12:5
But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Philippians 4:6
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

James 5:13-16
13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

I pray that you will Pray in Spirit with each one of these scriptures.

Be blessed beloved!
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9 Pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need,*
12 and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
13 And don’t let us yield to temptation,*
but rescue us from the evil one.*
Matthew 6:9-13

Outstanding Vision…  The content of this post comes from an email I got from another faithful Christian friend this past weekend.

Title: VISION - The GREAT SEPARATION
by Dianna de Valle
September 24, 2009

‘”As I was in a quiet prayer time this morning The Lord began to show me a vision of a great pot that was being stirred. This large and very full pot was made of clear glass so that it was quite easy to see the contents inside. As the pot was being stirred the contents were churning and swirling wildly around and there was no definition or distinction whatsoever between any of the ingredients. Then, the stirring began to slow down and continued to slow until finally it stopped. As soon as it stopped, there began to be a faint line appear in the middle of the pot which quickly grew wider and wider and clearer and clearer. After every particle in the pot had ceased to move, there remained three pronounced sections. A top section and a bottom section with a very distinct middle section that was so crystal clear it looked like pure glass. There was absolutely not one single particle to be seen in that middle section. The ingredients of the pot had all very definitely either settled to the bottom or risen to the top.

As I began to ask the Lord about the meaning of this vision He told me the following:

Right now in all of creation, there is a great stirring going on. It is a stirring that will eventually affect every single ingredient in the pot and leave no ingredient untouched or unturned. Every particle WILL be stirred. This includes the government, the media, pop-culture and celebrity, the education system, the financial institutions and economy, the church and religion, and every single person’s individual life. Every single particle must be stirred because once the stirring is over then a great separation will begin to occur. At that moment each and every person will make a decision on where they stand in My Kingdom. That decision will determine whether they rise to the top where I am, or sink down to the depths of eternal pain, loss, and frustration. There has never been a separation this pronounced, and it will be such a defined separation that there will not be ANY question about it. For too long there has been no line and no separation and people have been able to be right in the middle and walk with one foot in both sides without having to really declare and determine where they stand. The stirring has begun so that there will no longer be a middle section. Everything is being forced to churn. Those who were on the bottom, those who were in the middle, and those who were at the top are being forced to churn so that in the end there will be only be two sides and each will choose whom they will serve and where they will stand for eternity.

As I have processed and meditated on this I have the following thoughts to share:

There are both good and bad sides to this of which we always knew were coming, but our complacency in the Body of Christ has kept us from fully grasping the scope of it all. The good news is that some who are steadfastly stuck in the darkness are going to be broken free in the churning and they will have a new opportunity to see the light and the truth and be made free! Those whom we have so earnestly prayed for who seemed hopelessly lost are now being churned!!! The bad news is that those who were in the middle and wanted to walk dangerously close to the line so as not to have to choose, are now being forcibly churned this way and that and will be faced with a decision.

So where does that leave us as the Body of Christ? Well, if we had a foundation built upon rock and not sand, and roots that were deeply and firmly planted, and a mind set upon the Spirit and not the flesh, then we don’t have to worry!!! Yes, we may experience the effects of some churning and shaking, but that is good for us sometimes, lest we get lazy and complacent and forget our Great Commission. But our firm roots and foundation will keep us securely fastened and able to withstand the wind and the waves. Once the hurricane is over, we will go outside and clean up the debris and press on!!!

The crucial thing that we must be aware of and focus on is that this stirring is a HUGE opportunity for us to affect eternity and build The Kingdom of God by saving souls. It is not enough for us to just make it to the top! As the pot is being stirred and we are swirling around we have an opportunity to reach out and grab those that we see flying by. That is the people that God puts in our path every day. Our purpose in being on this Earth can be boiled down to two things: The Great Commission of Mark 16:15 and the Great Commandment of Matthew 22:37-39. We must ask ourselves if the MAJORITY of our time and energy REALLY is (not just in theory - not just intending to be) being devoted to these two things. If not, then we are burying our talents (Luke 19)!!! We have each been given talents by God that SHOULD BE BEING USED for His purposes. Too often, we either bury them, or use them for our own gain. This has to stop. We must be found actively using our talents for building of The Kingdom through fulfilling the Great Commission and The Great Commandment. Otherwise, we will not be found by Him doing that which we are called to and will therefore not hear “Well done, my good and faithful servant”. We all have different gifts, callings and talents and we must prayerfully seek how God has intended those to be used in our individual lives AND THEN ACT UPON IT. We also must spend (waste) less time looking at everyone else’s gifts and talents and wishing we had them AND/OR spend less time thinking we know how everyone else should be using their talents while ours are conveniently buried! Let us be found bringing as many people as we can to the top with us, for that is what LOVE would do! God is Love and if we claim to be in Him with His Spirit then we also will be Love.”‘

Who will you serve for eternity?
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Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
James 1:22 NIV/NLT

I came across the message of this post from my Christian neighbor and wanted to share it with all of you.

I think this post explains it better than any of the ways I would have explained it.

“The Ultimate Source Of Wisdom”

As you go through life you discover that there are many ways to gain wisdom, such as: (1) Writing down and reflecting on what you learned through experience. (2) Gleaning from the collective knowledge of others. “by pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well advised is wisdom” (Proverbs 13:10 NKJV). (3) Thinking outside the box. Statements like, “This is the way we do things around here” warrant scrutiny when they’re used to defend ways that no longer work. (4) Not rushing to closure. Growth is always a work in progress. Creativity is untidy and unnerving. The ability to stay focused and faith-filled in the midst of change is a hallmark of maturity.

But the ultimate source of wisdom is God! If you need wisdom, talk to God: “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6 NKJV). “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally…and it will be given to him” (James 1:5 NKJV). “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (Jamse 3:17 NKJV). “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go, I will guide you” (Psalm 32:8 NKJV).

Ask the Lord God Almighty for the spirit of wisdom as often as you need to!
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Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:20-21 NIV/NLT

Since I started reading the bible, I’ve always kept a list of encouraging bible verses. I use this list, from Genesis through Revelation, to refresh my comprehension and enlightenment when ever I read a verse that inspires me to connect the proverbial dots…

Today we can always hop on-line and get a plethora of information on any subject. But being able to tell the good from bad or the right from wrong isn’t always as easy as we might think.

The subject of this post is: What Encouraging Bible Verses Are Your Favorites? This question came from a reader of the Bible-Religion.com blog last week.

In all fairness I think  each one of us have different bible verses that encourage us.  However, I will share some of my favorite verses with all of you here, in no particular order of preference:
___________

And this is what He says to all humanity:
‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom;
to forsake evil is real understanding.’”
Job 28:28 NLT

“But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
1 John 4:8 NLT

The Bible says, “…those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life is begun!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

“Now turn from your sins and turn to God, so you can be cleansed of your sins.”
Acts 3:19 NLT

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Philippians 4:6 NLT

May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
2 Peter 1:2 NLT

“You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”
Matthew 21:22 NLT

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God.
Romans 12:19 NLT

There is no peace for the wicked,”says my God.
Isaiah 57:21 NLT

For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.
1 John 5:4 NLT

But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT

Be stewards of the earth. “The land itself must observe a Sabbath rest”
Leviticus 25:2 NLT

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile
Romans 1:16 NLT

I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.
Psalm 119:30 NIV

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14 NIV

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
James 1:22 NIV
___________

If you are not keeping your own list of encouraging bible verses and would like to start one, perhaps you will be inspired by these favorite verses of the bible at the New Living Translation.com! This will allow you to view the collection of favorite verses by simply selecting a book from the bible to view a list of all the favorite verses from each book.

I will sometimes even take the verse and go to Biblegateway.com and look it up in multiple versions, up to five at a time, that can give me a different perspective on the verse I am interested in.

What encouraging bible verses are your favorites?
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Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Philippians 4:6 NIV/NLT/NKJV