Pray Without Ceasing

You must love the LORD your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength. These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up. You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on your forehead. Inscribe them on the door frames of your houses and gates.  Deuteronomy 6:5-9 NET

We all know people who don’t understand or desire the good news of Jesus. Their lives may appear happy but until we are followers of Jesus the Christ, we know that a truly abundant life, as well as our eternal salvation, can only come from Jesus. 

Psalms 34:1-8 NASB “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them. O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”

A few years ago when the churches were meeting for Sunday services outside, we were practicing the worship set early in the morning in the parking lot across the street from a police station. Prompted by Holy Spirit I began to pray for a lady who had come out of the station. She was disheveled, no shoes on, and she got into a parked car and sat with the door open on the passenger side. She appeared to be weeping as she tried to clean herself up, fix her hair and find shoes - I kept praying- the worship team was playing - Mike was singing to our God most high- as we continued to worship I continued to pray and she looked up towards us and I saw chains crashing around her and God’s words heavy on me…

Addiction is not the end

Failure is not the end

Abuse is not the end

Shame is not the end

For the shattered heart that repents of sin and seeks God it is the beginning, a stark truth? There is Blessing in the Breaking - And it is not for us to withhold a blessing from God’s created - God alone can bless - His judgement is fair and right, it is true and enduring - we are to respond to each circumstance we face with whatever Holy Spirit is asking of us in that moment - prayer  - help - encouragement - a simple hello are you alright, a meal or more.

We thank You God for that reminder, that truth! Have you ever gone through a breaking, an undoing, an unraveling in your life? Relationally? Emotionally? Financially? Physically?

Oh boy I have and I’m certain we all have - The devil wants us to believe that God cannot use broken circumstances or broken people. But the truth is, we are all broken. And the very thing you might think disqualifies you is what God uses through you.

When we know Jesus as our Saviour, we  an relect on our walk to Him and learn that there’s purpose in the pain. There’s hope in the unraveling. And I totally believe God is wanting to take the little you feel you can offer Him and multiply it for His kingdom, to glorify the Lord of all creation.