"Praying with a Purpose" - Watching

Take time to...
1. Praise God!
2. Wait on the Lord.
3. Confess Sin and remove any barriers between the Lord and ourselves.
4. Claim Scripture promises and apply God's word to our prayer life.

Just adding a few different aspects to our prayers can help our prayer life be more effective.  We spend time with God because we love Him and want to have His world affect our world.  Sometimes our prayers can sound like this...
"Dear Lord,
Thank you for this day.  Please bless the missionaries around the world.  Please help Uncle Bill.  Thank you for your blessings.  Please give me _________, and _______, and _________.  Help me to be a good girl today."
Amen
Today we're going to add another part of prayer - watching.

Jesus specifically told his disciples to "watch and pray"  because "the spirit is weak".  This isn't talking about keep your eyes open during prayer.  It is talking about being aware of distractions, focusing on who needs our prayers, going beyond just our four walls. It is about being aware, awake, and vigilant.  How can we watch and pray?
1. Be aware of current events and situations that need Christian's prayers - people affected by natural disasters, tragedies, droughts, fires, etc.
2. Pray for social needs around the world - hungry people, lonely people, hurting people, people who've lost loved ones
3. Pray for the salvation of people on your street, in your neighborhood, your city, your county, your state, your country
4. Pray for the missionaries in troubled areas of the world - protection and provision, souls saved
Just doing this will get you out of the "me" prayers and make you a part of the vision that God has.  John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world", do you love the world?  Pray for the United States and the world and remember that God loves each individual.  I always feel that my problems seem to diminish after this part of prayer.
II Chronicles 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

"Praying with a Purpose" Part Three

I sure hope you have a desire to know the Lord more today than you did yesterday.  You can't know someone unless you spend time with that person.  Hearing about someone is not the same as meeting with that person.  In Sunday school we learn about Jesus, the words of God, and about characters in the Bible.  This is great but it is nothing like having time alone with God.
The nice part about spending time with God is that you don't need an appointment, a new outfit, or a taxi or bus ride to get there.  You can meet with God anytime and anywhere.  You can even wear your old clothes.  He doesn't mind.
So far, we've discussed five different parts of prayer: praise, waiting, watching, confession, and intercession.  Some of these might sound like difficult tasks, but they are not.  If you've added any of these to your prayer life, I'm sure your time with God has increased and meant more to you.
Today we're going to talk about Scripture praying.  What is that?  Well, it's taking a passage of scripture that you might have read or a verse that has a promise of God in it, and taking it to God.  Today I read, James 4:8, "Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you..."  So, I prayed something like this, "Lord, I am doing my best at this moment to be closer to You and to know You.  Please draw nearer to me as you promised in James 4:8.  Help me to know that the distance between us is always up to me, I must take the first step, be humble, and know that You are there."
Does that make sense?  The next part of a verse says, "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded."  We must ask God to cleanse our sinful actions and to purify our hearts of known and unknown sin.  We cannot be doubleminded about the things of God.  We can't have the attitude of having a second path to take if this one doesn't go exactly our way.
Scripture praying is agreeing with the words of God.  Going to God with His promises.  And having the faith to believe God will do His will in our lives.  

"Praying with a Purpose" Part II

Last time we went over four parts of prayer: praise, waiting, confession, and watching.  If you took just five minutes on each one of those aspects you'd have twenty minutes of prayer time!  That would be revolutionary for most Christian young ladies.  The next part of prayer is really the heart of prayer - intercession - praying on the behalf of another.
If we would look at the average prayer list, most of the requests would be for others.  This is important. Praying for others is prayer that pleases God and helps us become more caring Christians.  We should pray for ourselves and we'll get to that part, but others should come first in our lives, right after the Lord!
Types of intercessory prayer...
1. Praying for those that don't even know they need prayer
a. the unsaved
b. those we minister to on a weekly basis - Bus route riders, Sunday School friends, elderly, visitors at church, neighbors
c. friends who are out of church or who are struggling
d. our authorities at school, work, or in the community
2. Praying for those who ask for and desire our prayers
a. missionaries and evangelists around the world - I pray for several missionary families every single day, plus I have a list of thirty-one missionaries and I pray for a different one each day of the month.
b. church leadership - pastor, assistants, Sunday School teachers, bus captains, music leaders
c. ministries in the United States - churches, camps, evangelists, colleges
3. Praying for our loved ones
a. parents
b. siblings
c. grandparents
d. uncles and aunts
e. cousins
f. nieces and nephews
4. Praying for our friends
a. close friends
b. acquaintances
c. new friends
d. sick or injured
e. those who've had a tragedy or bad news
Just listing the options of those can pray for makes for a long list!  When we turn our spiritual vision outward we can have a wonderful prayer time of intercession - praying on the behalf others!

Praying with a Purpose, Part I

Hello Bible girls and ladies,
2012 has been a year of learning and blessings.  Right after the holidays I had the chance to spend an hour on the phone with my sister, Paula.  We don't talk much on the phone because it will last over an hour each time.  We love to talk about what the Lord has taught us along with what our kids are doing, how we're getting old, and the books we've read.
She recommended that I get a book about prayer called "The Hour that Changes the World".  I've never been able to spend an hour in prayer, much less thirty minutes without falling asleep, getting distracted, or running out of things to say.  Basically, the book teaches that prayer has several components and if you spend five minutes on each area it will equal one hour with God.  Wow.  I wanted that.  I have to say that I believe it has changed me for the better.  I'm not bragging but I wish that someone would have taught this to me when I was a teenager.  I might not have been able to spend five minutes on each area and have one hour, but I could spend two minutes on each area and have 24 minutes, or one minute on each area and have twelve minutes.  Girls, anytime that we spend with God is a help and blessing in our lives.
Here are the components to a time with the Lord - prayer time.
1. Praise - Praise God for who He is, what He does, His name, His qualities, His work - make a list and focus on several different areas each day.  He is the Almighty, Bread of Life, Comforter, Deliverer, Everlasting Father, Friend, Guide, Healer, Image of God, Judge, King, Lamb, Master, Nazarene, Omega, Power, Prince of Peace, Rock, Shepherd, Teacher, Vine, Way, etc.
2. Wait - This is where we put ourselves in our place.  We are to wait on the Lord, to listen and realize that we are existing only for His glory.  This is a time to humble ourselves before God's throne.  Sometimes we treat God like Santa Clause, just show a list of what we want.  We need to realize we are nothing without the Lord.  He is all.
3. Confess - This is where we remove the barriers between ourselves and the Lord - our sins.  I John 1:9 says that we should confess our sins and He will forgive us.  Doing this daily takes a load of guilt off of our hearts and keeps the channels open and clear between us and our Lord.
4. Watching - Jesus told his disciples to  "Watch and pray".  It has nothing to do with keeping your eyes open, but being alert.  What's going on in the world, in your neighborhood?  Are you aware of the needs of the lost around the world?  Expand your prayer life globally instead of thinking only of yourself.

Part II coming next.

"Jesus First"

Choices, choices, choices.  We all have so many choices and decisions to make every day!  What to do with our time.  What cereal to eat for breakfast. (like the bookmark idea?) How to spend our money. What to read.  What to watch.  What to listen to.  What friends to call or spend our time with. It keeps going and going.   

The best path to take is the "Jesus First" path.  If we consider Jesus in every decision we can stay on track and have a blessed day and future!

Jesus First

First day of the week - John 20:19 - Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

First hour of the day - Psalm 5:1- Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. ² Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.³ My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

Psalm 199:62 - At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.

First book to read - the Bible!

First 10% of each dollar earned

First Love - Deut. 6:4 - Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: ⁵And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

First Name on my lips - Phil. 2:⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: ¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; ¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

First call in a crisis – Ps. 107 :13 - Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.

¹⁴      He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

¹⁵      Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

First counselor in a decision - Proverbs 3:5 - 10 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. ⁶In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

⁷Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. ⁸It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. ⁹Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: ¹⁰So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

First defender in danger

First friend to consider

First song played or sung

First physician to seek

First fashion expert to follow

First appointment to schedule

First comforter in sadness

First face I will see in death

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 

John 3:30 - ³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease. 

Giving God our Mind

Hello Bible Girls!
I hope you are still working on your walk with the Lord.  There are so many things, even good things that compete for our time with God.  Have you ever noticed that when you sit down to read your Bible a hundred things start going through your mind of things you could do?  Things like...
...checking email
...answering the phone
...letting the dog out
...straightening a picture
...texting
...studying for a test
...taking meat out of the freezer
...checking the weather
...filing your nails
...putting lotion on your elbows
...turning on your curling iron
...turning off the curling iron
I've just listed some of the things I've thought about.  If I listed all of them we'd be here all day.  The battle that the devil wants to fight is for our mind.  If he can get our mind off of the Lord he's got us where he wants us - too busy doing and not thinking or meditating on the Lord.
When we don't put the Lord first in our thoughts we will quickly follow our own path.  Doing things our way seems right but it will never work out right.  God's ways are so opposite of ours.  God says "give and ye shall receive", "die and you will live", "weeping endures for the night but joy cometh in the morning".  God's ways just don't make "sense" sometimes.
If we give God the first minutes of the day He makes the other minutes so much more productive and flowing.  Days aren't perfect, but we know that they are ordered by the Lord since we have gone to Him first for the days instructions.
How many minutes should we give God?  In truth the whole day belongs to Him, but why don't we set aside some special time that's His alone?  If I were eight-years-old again, I would try to give the Lord the first eight minutes of my day.  If I were ten-years-old, I would try for ten minutes.  If you aren't doing this I think the Lord would be pleased with FIVE minutes!
As school begins, schedules get tighter, and lives get busier, let's keep our Lord first every day.

Others

One of the best ways to encourage yourself in your Bible time is to share what you learn with others.  It doesn't matter how old you are, how young you are, or how long you've been saved.  The more you share with others, the more excited you will be.  The next time you see the person you spoke with they might ask you about your Bible reading!  That is real motivation.
Accountability is a big part of success in your daily walk with God.  The Walking with God notebook has been used by our teenagers for years and might help you stay on track.  However, vocalizing what God has given you does MORE!  You say it, you hear it, someone else hears it - then it becomes a part of who you are and it helps develop your testimony.
Take this challenge: Tell one person every week about what you read in your Bible.  Tell your Sunday school teacher, or pastor's wife, or mom, or sister.  Just say something for Jesus - that's what being a Bible girl is all about!