“The primary object of prayer is to know God better; we and our needs should come second.” -Florence Allshorn
“The childish idea that prayer is a handle by which we can take hold of God and obtain whatever we desire, leads to easy disillusionment with both what we had thought to be God and what we had thought to be prayer.” -Robert L. Short
“God tolerates even our stammering, and pardons our ignorance whenever something inadvertently escapes us — as, indeed, without this mercy there would be no freedom to pray.” -John Calvin
“Secret, fervent, believing prayer lies at the root of all personal godliness.” -William Carey
“All that a college course can do for a student is coarse and external compared with the spiritual and delicate refinement obtained by communion with God. …All our libraries and studies are mere emptiness compared with our [prayer] closets. We grow, we wax mighty, we prevail in private prayer.” -Charles Spurgeon
The Bible says that Abraham was a man full of faith. On the surface it looks like he walked with God without the struggles I face in my life. But, if we dig a little deeper we see a much different story. What about the time God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son? And God said, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou has not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” (Genesis 22:12 in the King James Version of the Holy Bible). When the faith test ended God said, “now I know.” In other words, Abraham proved just how much he trusted Him. God wasn’t sure how Abraham would react to His request. The tests you are facing will prove to God whether you trust Him or not.
Prayer: Lord, I know You are always faithful. I’m never alone in any situation. You are always with me. I want to be faithful and prove my faith by my actions.
Devotion by: Kaye Singleton
“If I should neglect prayer but a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith.” – Martin Luther
“Reading without meditation is unfruitful; meditation without reading is hurtful; to meditate and to read without prayer upon both is without blessing.”
My husband is an avid fisherman. He will take our grandson and spend hours baiting his hook with those nasty worms to catch a few fish. I must admit, he rarely goes fishing without catching anything. Reading in the Book of John, I can imagine the exasperated fishermen who fished all night and caught NOTHING. John 21:3 says, “Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a- fishing. They say unto him, we also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately: and that night they caught nothing” (In the King James Version of the Holy Bible). The Bible says Jesus asked them to fish on the other side of the boat and their long night of nothing turned into something. It always amazes me how quickly Jesus can turn things around. What a fish story they had to tell!
Prayer: Today, I need to hear from You, Lord. My efforts seem to have been in vain. Let me hear Your voice directing me. I know You have the answer! In Jesus’ Name! Amen!
Devotion by: Kaye Singleton