PrayerLife

If you know the living God then you know that whatever you are facing today is not the end of the story. As you walk through difficult days I encourage you to allow God's truth to minister deeply to your soul. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13).

One of the primary purposes of Bible Prophecy is to provide comfort in the midst of pain. Prophecy provides the ultimate perspective that Jesus is coming back and the future for all those who have trusted Christ is eternal joy. "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed...

Today we want to pray for those parents who have suffered the catastrophic loss of a child. The full Christmas story includes the gut wrenching and heart breaking account of Herod ordering the slaughter of young male children in Bethlehem in the attempt to eradicate the threat of a "coming King." Matthew 2:18 declares, “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for h...

Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Jesus invites us to come to him in the midst of our heartache and pain and He promises to provide rest for our weary souls.

In the Old Testament, Job lost everything that was of value to him in a matter of minutes. His family and possessions were gone! Only his embittered wife remained. Job grieved his loss but continued to direct his heart and his faith toward God. If you are in the midst of catastrophic loss, I urge you to remain tender toward the Lord and invite His healing presence into your painful situation.

If you are walking through dark days with a broken heart ... you are probably shedding many tears. We find comfort in realizing that the Son of God, Jesus, wept over the death of a dear friend (Jn. 11:34-35). The Psalmist writes, "You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?" (Ps. 56:8) Our tears matter to God and none of them escape His notice.

In the midst of our pain it is easy to feel as though God is distant or that He doesn't care. Nothing could be further from the truth. Psalm 34:18 declares, "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." Psalm 46:1 reminds us that our "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Whatever your need today, let's draw near to God in prayer.

The Apostle Paul was passionate for the unity of the Body of Christ. He wrote to the believers in Rome, "May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 15:5-6). The Church can be so easily divided, but it is God's design that...

Paul prayed for the inner strengthening of believers by the Holy Spirit of God. Let's allow Paul's prayer to be our own today. "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family[c] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being" (Ephesians 3:14-15).

To grasp the principles and truths of Scripture, God must enable us to understand and perceive what He wants us to know. The Apostle Paul Prayed for the believers in Ephesus, "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which...

We have seen that the Apostle Paul dearly loved the Church. His greatest delight was enhancing the spiritual vitality of believers and receiving their ministry investment into his own life. Paul wrote to the church in Rome, "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may n...

The Apostle Paul frequently prayed for the spiritual vitality of the Body of Christ. He prayed, "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledg...

The Apostle Paul loved the Body of Christ and he constantly prayed for the health and well-being of the church. He wrote, "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints" (Col. 1:3-4). Let's pray for the health and vitality of our church and the broader body of Christ.

The Apostle Paul passionately prayed for the salvation of the lost. "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved" (Romans 10:1). In fact, he was willing to give up his own salvation if he could see more come to Christ. "For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh" (Romans 9:...

The more we know about our wonderful God, the more we are moved to draw near to Him in prayer. Jesus reminds us that when we pray, we can come with absolute freedom and confidence because He already knows the concerns of our heart. Jesus says, “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for y...

One of Jesus' most powerful prayers is for the unity of His followers - the body of Christ. He prayed "that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become p...

In the Garden of Gethsemane we see Jesus praying in the midst of crisis. Mark writes, "And he said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.' And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, 'Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will,...

When making important decisions, Jesus prayed. "In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12). What important decision was Jesus preparing to make? Luke tells us, "And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles" (Luke 6:13). Choosing a college, moving to another city, selecting a mate ... t...

Jesus not only models a devotion to prayer, he models a commitment to praying with others. Luke's gospel tells us that Jesus "took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray" (Luke 9:28). Jesus builds relationship and includes others in seeking the accomplishment of the Father's plan. Join with me as we invite God to deepen our prayer life with others.

Jesus had a daily routine. We read in the gospel of Mark, "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed" (Mark 1:35). Luke tells us that as more and more people gathered to listen to Jesus and be healed. He "would withdraw to desolate places and pray" (Luke 5:16). The lesson here is clear - if the son of God faithf...

Jesus modeled a vibrant, personal, conversational relationship with the Father. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray ... like He did. This week on PrayerLife, we want to learn how to pray like Jesus.

With God ... nothing is impossible! Your marriage can be raised from the dead. But you must walk in relationship with the God of resurrection power. If, today, you feel like their is no hope for your marriage, I invite you to yield your heart to Jesus and ask Him to raise your marriage from the dead.

Your marriage can experience the healing touch of God. The Father of the prodigal son never thought he would be reunited in relationship with his boy. When the son humbly returned home with a repentant spirit, the father declared, "... let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate" (Luke 15:23). Join me as we invite...

"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony" (Col. 3:14). When God calls us to love one another, He doesn't call us to feel a feeling but rather engage a commitment. We are to take the love of Christ and apply it to our marriage relationship.

Your marriage can be raised from the dead because as believers in Jesus, we have been spiritually raised form the dead. The Apostle Paul writes, "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth ... Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,...