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Effective Communication With God

  • June 25, 2010 at 2:54 pm

Prayer is an important part of any Christian’s life,. Without prayer, you do not have that personal, intimate  connection to your Lord and Savior, the God that created life from the beginning of time and who created each of us. Prayer is our personal connection with God. Through prayer we can thank God for all of our blessings. and express our gratitude to Him.  We can pray for others who may have needs. We can confess our sins and seek His forgiveness. We can seek wisdom from God as we deal with the struggles in our daily lives. It allows us to take our deepest thoughts and concerns to Him and to feel His presence as we develop an intimate relationship with Him.

Prayer does not have to be done in a private setting where there is no distraction although we should definitely make this a part of our prayer lives. Prayer can also be spontaneous and brief as we whisper prayers as we go about our daily life. These prayers may be requests for emergency situations, personal cries for help, or of some other nature.  Pray as you walk on your treadmill or as you drive to work. We can even prayerfully sings hymns of worship and praise throughout the day.

If you check out the Southeast Outlook this week, you will see several feature articles on prayer. These include articles on types of prayer to help you connect with God, the power of prayer, prayer journaling, praying couples and divorce-proofing their marriages, teaching children to pray, unanswered prayer, and a survey of American’s prayer life. Effective Communication with God Includes Several Types of Prayer is included as a featured article  for many to view online, but the Southeast Outlook newspaper is available at many locations throughout the Louisville and southern Indiana area, including  many restaurants, grocery stores, and of course both Southeast campuses in Louisville as well as the southern Indiana location.

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Prayer

  • June 20, 2010 at 8:46 pm

Strength in PRAYER is better than length in PRAYER!!!

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The Lord’s Prayer

  • May 27, 2010 at 5:56 pm

THE LORD’S PRAYER

How many times have you recited the Lord’s Prayer without understanding the complete meaning or putting much thought into it? Recently I received the following email which I thought was very cleverly done. It definitely makes you stop and think. It  is in two parts, the prayer in blue type, the prayer’s response in black type, and GOD’s response in red type.

“Our Father Who Art In Heaven.”

Yes?

Don’t interrupt me. I’m praying.

But — you called ME!

Called you? No, I didn’t call you. I’m praying.

“Our Father who art in Heaven.”

There — you did it again!

Did what?

Called ME. You said,  “Our Father who art in Heaven” Well, here I am… What’s on your mind?

But I didn’t mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord’s Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like fulfilling a duty.

Well, all right. Go on.

Okay, “Hallowed be thy name .”

Hold it right there. What do you mean by that?

By what?

By “Hallowed be thy name”?

It means, it means . . good grief. I don’t know what it means. How in the world should I know?  It’s just a part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean?

It means honored, holy, wonderful.

Hey, that makes sense.. I never thought about what ‘hallowed’ meant before. Thanks.

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.”

Do you really mean that?

Sure, why not?

What are you doing about it?

Doing? Why, nothing, I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control,of everything down here like you have up there.We’re kinda in a mess down here you know.

Yes, I know; but, have I got control of you?

Well, I go to church.

That isn’t what I asked you. What about your bad temper?  You’ve really got a problem there, you know. And then there’s the way you spend your money — all on yourself. And what about the kind of books you read ?

Now hold on just a minute! Stop picking on me! I’m just as good as some of the rest of those People at church!

Excuse ME.. I thought you were praying for my will to be done. If that is to happen, it will have to start with the ones

who are praying for it. Like you — for example …

Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably name some others.

So could I.

I haven’t thought about it very much until now, but I really would like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be really free..

Good. Now we’re getting somewhere. We’ll work together — You and ME. I’m proud of You..

Look, Lord, if you don’t mind, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does.

“Give us this day, our daily bread.”

You need to cut out the bread.. You’re overweight as it is.

Hey, wait a minute! What is this? Here I was doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hang-ups.

Praying is a dangerous thing. You just might get what you ask for. Remember, you called ME — and here I am. It’s too late to stop now. Keep praying. ( pause . . ) Well, go on.

I’m scared to.

Scared? Of what?

I know what you’ll say.

Try ME.

“Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”

What about Ann?

See? I knew it! I knew you would bring her up! Why, Lord, she’s told lies about me, spread stories. She never paid back the money she owes me. I’ve sworn to get even with her!

But — your prayer — What about your prayer?

I didn’t — mean it..

Well, at least you’re honest. But, it’s quite a load carrying around all that bitterness and resentment isn’t it?

Yes, but I’ll feel better as soon as I get even with her. Boy, have I got some plans for her. She’ll wish she had never been born.

No, you won’t feel any better. You’ll feel worse. Revenge isn’t sweet. You know how unhappy you are — Well, I can change that.

You can? How?

Forgive Ann. Then, I’ll forgive you; And the hate and the sin, will be Ann’s problem — not yoursYou will have settled the problem as far as you are concerned.

Oh, you know, you’re right. You always are. And more than I want revenge, I want to be right with You . . (sigh). All right, all right . . I forgive her.

There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?

Hmmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all! In fact, I feel pretty great! You know, I don’t think I’ll go to bed uptight tonight.

I haven’t been getting much rest, you know.

Yeah, I know. But, you’re not through with your prayer, are you? Go on.

Oh, all right.

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Good! Good! I’ll do that. Just don’t put yourself in a place where you can be tempted.

What do you mean by that?

You know what I mean.

Yeah. I know.

Okay. Go ahead. Finish your prayer.

“For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”

Do you know what would bring me glory — What would really make me happy?

No, but I’d like to know. I want to please you now. I’ve really made a mess of things. I want to truly follow you.. I can see now how great that would be. So, tell me . . . How do I make you happy?

YOU JUST DID!!!

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Matthew 6:25-33

  • November 22, 2009 at 12:00 pm

Do Not Worry

Matthew 6:25-33

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 “Andy why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Worry according to dictionary.com is to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts, cares, or anxieties. So often we find our lives filled with disturbing thoughts and we are overcome with anxiety and worry. We worry about what to wear, what to eat, what is going to happen, what if … and many more. We can let worry overtake us and take control of our lives if we allow it.It can overwhelm you and destroy the peace, joy, and contentment that you should have present in your life.

God commands us not to worry. He tells us that we should not worry about anything. Worry cannot change any given  situation. Therefore, what is the point in worrying? Instead, rely on God and ask that His will be done. Then put your worries and cares in God’s hands and trust Him. We know that God has a purpose and a plan for each of us. Sometimes it is difficult to turn our lives over to Him. But when we hold on to our worries, it only dominates our lives. Let God give you peace and contentment about the situation.

Worry doesn’t change anything.

Prayer can change your life.

Let prayer change your life today!!!

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The Grocery Store . . .

  • October 25, 2009 at 12:00 pm

This story of The Grocery Store was received as an email to be passed on to others. I make it a point not to pass emails to large numbers of people although I do pass them on to a few. This story I had to share with others. I hope you enjoy and are blessed by this story.

Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries. She softly explained  that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food.

John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store at once. Visualizing the family needs, she said: ‘Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can.’ John told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his store.

Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family. The grocer said in a very reluctant voice, ‘Do you have a grocery list?’ Louise replied, ‘Yes sir.’ ‘O.K’ he said, ‘put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries.’

Louise hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed.

The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down. The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, ‘I can’t believe it.’

The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more. The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement. It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said:

‘Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands.’

The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence. Louise thanked him and left the store. The other customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said; ‘It was worth every penny of it. Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs.’

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