How Prayer Works 2

Prayer is simply God speaking to you and with you, about what He wants to accomplish in you, through you and for you. God initiates prayer in the human heart,  the very yearning for help beyond what you are able to accomplish for yourself. He is in constant communication with you through His Spirit. The signs of these communications are seen in your everyday decisions as a child of the Most High God.

The decision to be kind for instance, is a fruit of God’s communication with your spirit to display His grace to a soul in need. The very recognition of sin is God’s Spirit communicating to your spirit there is a difference between good and evil, right and wrong. He is the One who leads you to do right even in the face of scorn.

He is the one that completely understands your weaknesses when you fall. He is your loving Father in heaven that carries you even in your fallen state to a place of rest to heal from the world’s dangers that have so easily wounded you. He is the One who then heals your wounds, and encourages you to take up the fight again when others right you off as not useful or fit for service in the kingdom of God.

Take courage, child of God, God loves you with an unconditional love that only those you have reached the bottom; and stretched forth their hand in absolutely totally dependency on Him understand. The mark of a son is not what God does for him, but what he allows God to do with him, through him and for him.

For God is seen greatest in weakness and known best in times of struggle. For His love ever sustains you. He is the Great I AM, the one set of footprints in the sand that carries His child in times of trouble. Your very high tower of protection. The Father whom has engraved your very name in His hand.

Even when the you are in the lowest mire I AM is there to lift up His Child. He will not forsake you, nor leave you without aid or support. For even at this moment your name is known in heaven as a precious child of God. You are dear to God the Father, so IHe honors you with favor and success because you love Him and He love you.

Others look for some formula of blessing. There is none. For God has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus as a birth gift. He is not just meeting your needs, but has already meet you needs abundantly above what you can even ask, think or imagine.

There is no aspect of your life that God is not intimately involved. God is closer than your very breath and His very presence, His glory, illuminates through as a light to the world. Go in His strength and power and glory; fully commissioned with all might, authority and power to do the works He prepared you should walk in. Works even greater than you can imagine because His presence is now with you, in you and upon you. He can do greater works through you, because He now resides in you to accomplish the work He gave you to do from the foundation of the world.

His very presence, glory and power have been multiplied in those who call on His name and depend on the blood of His eternal sacrifice to given them everlasting right standing before the Father forever. Place your trust in Him with the smallest of details and you will begin to notice His constant communication with you. The problem with prayer is not whether God is listening, but whether you are listening to God. He is talking to you all the time, who are you talking to instead of Him?

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Article adapted by God Only Weblog from original paper.
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Contact: Richard Sandlin
rsand24@yahoo.com

What is having God’s POWER?

My spirit soars in being presented the question. 

First of all there is no power without peace. For without peace that surpasses all understanding operating in our soul, the flow of God’s power through you will be hampered by anxiousness, discontent, worry and doubt. So if you understand what having God’s peace is, then you are well on the road to discovering what it means to have God’s power flowing through you. 

Just like God’s Peace, God’s Power is active and alive in His temple, your body, all the time. For even God’s Peace is manifested by God’s Power. When God’s calming comes into your life and act as umpire in the affairs of life facing you; then God’s power has just been manifested in peace. A peace that is calm when the entire world is spinning out of control. Now that is God’s power! 

Or when the opportunity to add your two cents to what everyone around you is crumbling and complain about, and you offer a word of encouragement and hope. Now that is the power of God at work within and manifesting itself through you.  You know God’s POWER is manifested within you and is flowing through you:                       

When you love the unloving           

When you trust when all glimmer of hope seems lost           

When you express kindness in a cruel world           

When you think of others and their interest ahead of your own           

When you speak a kind word in the face of hate           

When you’re thankful for everything in life that comes your way           

When you treat others the way you hope to be treated.`          

When you walk away from temptation           

When you act wisely in the middle of adversity           

When you walk in favor with others           

When you are accepted when you expect to be rejected           

When you know that all things are going to work out for your very best           

When you know God loves you and accepts you just the way you are 

These are all manifestations of God’s power working in you and through you. Most people are looking for what they call “the miraculous”, not seeing the miraculous change in their thoughts, actions and deeds that are occurring daily. God’s power is ALWAYS at work in a true believers life. 

Now I am no theologian, just a believer who has personally experienced God’s Power working in me and through me on a daily basis. God’s power is His Holy Spirit in you. Just as your life is no longer your own, so the power of God in you is not your own to direct at your will but His. The Holy Spirit manifest God’s power in our life’s to help in our time of need and others. His Power carries us when we are too weary to take another step. And when doubt and fear raise their ugly heads and we are to weak to have any faith left, God’s might power at work within us lifts us up on wings of eagles; pulls us from the miry clay and sets us on the solid rock we stand in Christ Jesus.  

Yes, His mighty power Scott is ALWAYS at work within in us enabling us to do far more in every situation and circumstance than we can ever dare to ask of even dream of – infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. 

God’s Power is the manifestation of His love at work in the life of His child. As a child of God most people say less and believe less about themselves than the Bible teaches. That’s because the power of the enemy is active and alive all around us attempting to destroy the confidence we have in Christ Jesus. Praise is to God that has equipped us for the battle raging all around us. For He has not given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, the Holy Spirit (God’s very own Spirit), and of love and a sound mind – the very mind of Christ to bring to remembrance our position in Christ and before the Father; and empower us to live the life God has ordered before us to travel. 

We just have to stir up this inner power, fan into flame, the gift of God by calling on the Holy Spirit’s power when needed instead of relying on our own capabilities, strengths, education, status and power. The question is whose power are you going to trust: your finite power or God’s infinite power within you. Both reside in the regions of your body; the one you turn to is self evident of the power in which you place your trust. 

So what is having God’s Power? Knowing God is actively operating in your live on a moment by moment basis developing you into the person He wants you to become. The power to believe in the One in whom you trust. 

These are just a few insights the Lord shared with me for you. There are many more if you would like to know them. May God add His riches blessings on the words on this paper to equip the body of Christ for the life set before them.

© 2005 Richard Sandlin

Hope for Today

Hope in God never disappoints. God always triumphs in times of despair, difficulty and trouble. He is God. There is no greater power and He has no enemy who can ever overpower Him. God is greater than the greatest. He is all powerful. He is present everywhere in the past present and future all at once. And He is all knowing. There is not a thought that He does not already know before His creation has it.  

Yes, God always triumphs. And you are more than a conqueror who is in Him. Do you feel the weight of life pressing you down a bit? Are you wondering where God is in the middle of your struggles? Has the days of fretting, worry and despondency multiplied in your life? Do you wonder where God is? Then look up, shake off that spirit of deception and praise God. Offer him a sacrifice of praise. For the hidden forces of darkness are busily setting temporal things around you to appear as if God has forsaken you.  

When you feel inadequate to handle life’s pressures and without the strength to go another step; then know God is absolutely with you. He is with you now. When you are weak; He is strong for you. The greatest place you can find yourself is in total, absolute dependence upon the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient God. He cares you when you are too feeble to walk. He watches over you when you are to down to look up. He is faithful to take care of you who have been hit hard by life’s pressures and events. You may feel forsaken, but he is closer than you’re beating heart. He is the strength behind your going on, the encouraging words behind every smile. 

Hope in Him, He will never disappoint you or let you down. Before you call upon His Name He is there. Before you knew the pain, He was directing your footsteps away from the fatal ambushes of the forces of evil set against you. Greater is He who is with you and in you, than he who is in the world.  

God is surprised by the situations you find yourself and He knew them everyone before you were ever born. So, He is never surprised, but you are guaranteed to always be delighted who place your trust in Him. For He is Sovereign God, all things happen for a purpose and are fitting perfectly into His plan. When you feel forsaken, He is carrying you. When you feel alone, He is comforting you. God is you Helper. He is your Standby. Be still, quiet yourself and you will know He is there. He will never disappoint you and always do greater for you than you can even think, hope ask or imagine. 

© 2005 Richard Sandlin

God Cares For You

Today is the day the Lord has made rejoice and be glad in it. God has not forsaken you dear child. He loves you and wants the very best good for you. Each day brings a new opportunity for God to show Himself faithful to you.

The God of the Universe is your example of faithfulness. He shows Himself faithful on your behave each and every day; so be encouraged. Even if you are faithless, He remains faithful to you. His very character is faithfulness and He cannot deny Who He is. He remains faithful to you even when you are untrue to Him. This is Love.   

When you wonder how another could love you, the answer is sacrificially. For you see in yourself all the reasons not to love you, but God reveals to another all His traits in you that make you loveable.  

You see where you are at. God sees where you are going. God knows the plans He has for you to give you’re a future and a hope. Trust Him who loves you. Trust Him who is faithful. His light is shinning on you. You are a special child in whom He took great care in creating. You were delivered to earth at just the right time to fit into His perfect plan for your life and those you touch. He is faithful to accomplish the work He has begun in you. You are His workmanship; skilled by the very hand of God to be a blessing in the place where life’s path has directed you. Bless those around you.  

You have not been left alone.  He is with you. “I will never, never, no never leave you without aid or support my precious child.” says God. You are precious in His sight. God loves you.  

And you know if He loves you; then you know He, the author of faithfulness, has your very best good in mind. You can trust Him with your life, because He is faithful even when you are faithless. Trust God today with the details of you life.

Tell Him right now,  “Father God, I trust in you with all my heart. I don’t know the details of today, but you do. So, I trust you to work today’s events together for my very best good. Thank you for Your faithfulness and goodness. You are with me this day, bless me indeed, make Your face shine on me and show me favor in all I do.  

In the Name of Jesus.

© 2005 Richard Sandlin 

 

Expect the Best Today

“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” Mk 9:23 

Believing is expecting that those things you are hoping for will happen. Expect the best and you will have it. Your faith is based on expecting God to do what He says He will do. He said, “If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead you will be save.” Rm 10:9 You expected God to save you on the basis of His word, never before having seen Christ.You simply proclaim what the Holy Spirit is confirming in your heart, Jesus Christ is Lord. He is risen from the dead indeed. How do you know? Because He lives big in you.   

In verse 11 God says,”Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” You can always expect God to keep His covenant with Christ in which you are a partaker. So, starting today confessing what God says. God will not let His word fall the ground, but will accomplish every jot and tittle. Make a positive confession because you are a gift to God from Christ, who God has made His child. God is your Father and Partner and Friend. Expect God to be the greatest factor in everything your life. Expect Him to empower you for each new day. Praise Him in the morning for the strength He is giving to you this day, and thank Him at bedtime for the strength He empowered you with throughout the day.  

Remember God never reckons with evil in mind. He is not ignorant of evil, He just does not calculate it into what He is doing; because not can stop God from accomplishing what He sets out to do. So never think on the worst, drop it out of your thoughts child of God. Confess, “I expect the best and with God’s help attain the best.” By expecting the best, you believe God is giving you the best in all things and intentionally working everything out for your very best because you love Him. And Your Father will every time.

Start expecting God to give you the best in everything today. Practice expecting the best and start receiving the best in every situation. Renew your mind to expecting God to give you His child the best. Transform your thinking confess all day long, “I expect the best and get it with God’s help.”  In Jesus Name. So be it.

© 2005 Richard Sandlin

God Empowers You To Choose Happiness

The Power of the Holy Spirit empowers you to choose happy thoughts over unhappy thoughts. He manifest the fruit of Joy in your life so…

Who decides whether you will like a place or don’t like a place?  You do!

Who decides whether you will be happy or unhappy?  You do!

Who decides whether you will like co-workers or don’t like co-workers?  You do!

Who decides whether you will be enthusiastic or unenthusiastic?  You do!

Who decides whether you will accept people or reject people?  You do!

Who decides whether you will like a situation or don’t like a situation? You do!

Who decides whether you will give your best or not give your best?  You do!

Did you notice who decides?  You do! 

Did you notice who decides?  You do! 

Every day you make decisions about how your brain will process thoughts into attitudes that become actions. Abraham Lincoln remarked that people are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be. You can be unhappy if you want to be.  It’s the easiest thing in the world to accomplish.  Just choose unhappiness.  Go around telling yourself that things aren’t going well, that nothing is satisfactory, I don’t like this place, I don’t like my co-workers, I don’t want anything to do with these people, I’m better than everybody else, and you can be quite sure of being unhappy.

But say to yourself,” things are going well. I have favor with my clients, customers, co-workers, and supervisor. People want to do good things for  me. I like the people, and they like me.  Life is good.  I choose happiness,” and you can be quite certain of having your choice.  To become a happy person, have happy thoughts toward others, see the best in others, have a child’s heart, and a simple faith. Most of the time, we manufacture our own unhappiness. By our own thoughts and attitudes, we determine whether we will be happy or unhappy.  The process is simpler than buying a can of Coke. Anyone who desires to go to the store, locate the drink section, pick up a can, and go to the checkout counter, and pay for the drink can buy a can of Coke. 

This is an easy 5-step process. Choosing to be happy or unhappy is only a two step process. First you make a simple decision to be happy; secondly, you replace unhappy thoughts with happy thoughts.Happiness is determined by your thoughts.  So you have to drive off negative thoughts you have about people, places and things and replace them with happy thoughts about people, places and things. “As a person thinks in his heart, so is he.”  Proverbs 23:7.  If you think you’re unhappy, you become an unhappy person. 

But if you think you’re happy, you become a happy person.  Happy thoughts produce happy attitudes that become a happy life.The secret to being happy is having happy thoughts.  Fix your thoughts on looking for the good in others, the doors of opportunity God has opened for you, what is true and honorable and right.  Think about things that are  pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Thank God in everything, no matter what the circumstances, be thankful and give thanks.

When unhappy thoughts come to your mind, you have to chase them out with happy thoughts. The easiest way to do this is to say in a strong, clear voice and with positive tones and  emphasis, “This is the day which the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it. I like people and people like me. People want be good to me.  I believe I have the favor of God, supernatural doors are opening for me and God is bringing into favor and success. I think the best of others.  I feel good, physically, mentally, emotionally.  It’s wonderful to be alive.  I am grateful for all that I  have done, for all that I do and for all that I will accomplish. Things are getting better and better. God is here with me and helping me.  In Jesus name.”

As you start to say these words over and over the most astonishing thing will happen, your thoughts will be conditioned to looking for the best, expecting the best and receiving the  best.  These faith filled words with their happiness producing thoughts will run out unhappy thoughts, and create in you happy attitudes that will give you the greatest surge of happiness and success you have ever now.

© 2005 Richard Sandlin

John Wesley on Grace

God’s grace is a wonderful gift to humankind. Grace is God’s love freely offered to us. We do not do anything to “earn” it. Take a moment and reflect upon how you have experienced God’s grace in your life. Jot some notes down, if you like, before reading the next paragraph.

Did you know that John Wesley believed that God provides us with three kinds of grace? He believed in:

1. prevenient (preparing) grace
2. accepting (justifying) grace
3. sustaining (sanctifying) grace

God’s prevenient grace is with us from birth, preparing us for new life in Christ. “Prevenient” means “comes before.” Wesley did not believe that humanity was totally “depraved” but rather God places a little spark of divine grace within us which enables us to recognize and accept God’s justifying grace. Preparing grace is “free in all for all,” as Wesley used to say.

Today some call God’s justifying grace “conversion” or being “born again.” When we experience God’s justifying grace, we come into that new life in Christ. Wesley believed that people have freedom of choice. We are free to accept or reject God’s justifying grace. Wesley emphasized “Free Grace” saying:

The grace or love of God, whence cometh our salvation, is FREE IN ALL, and FREE FOR ALL…. It is free in all to whom it is given. It does not depend on any power or merit in man; no, not in any degree, neither in whole, nor in part. It does not in anywise depend either on the good works or righteousness of the receiver; not on anything he has done, or anything he is. It does not depend on his endeavors. It does not depend on his good tempers, or good desires, or good purposes and intentions; for all these flow from the free grace of God; they are the streams only, not the fountain. They are the fruits of free grace, and not the root. They are not the cause, but the effects of it.

Wesley believed that, after we have accepted God’s grace, we are to move on in God’s sustaining grace toward perfection.Wesley believed the people could “fall from grace” or “backslide.” We cannot just sit on our laurels, so to speak, and claim God’s salvation and then do nothing. We are to participate in the what Wesley called “the means of grace” and to continue to grow in Christian life.

Some Christians tend to focus on God’s justifying grace, but Wesley asserted that the Christian walk does not stop with acceptance of new life in Christ. Wesley said in his sermon, “On Repentance of Believers”:

It is generally supposed, that repentance and faith are only the gate of religion; that they are necessary only at the beginning of our Christian course, when we are setting out in the way to the kingdom…. And this is undoubtedly true, that there is a repentance and a faith, which are, more especially, necessary at the beginning: a repentance, which is a conviction of our utter sinfulness, and guiltiness, and helplessness…. But, notwithstanding this, there is also a repentance and a faith (taking the words in another sense, a sense not quite the same, nor yet entirely different) which are requisite after we have “believed the gospel;” yea, and in every subsequent stage of our Christian course, or we cannot “run the race which is set before us.” And this repentance and faith are full as necessary, in order to our continuance and growth in grace, as the former faith and repentance were, in order to our entering into the kingdom of God.

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Article adapted by God Only Weblog from original release.
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Contact: United Methodist Church
God’s Preparing, Accepting, and Sustaining Grace

Presidential Message: Yom Kippur, 5768

For it is a Day of Atonement, on which expiation is made on your behalf before the LORD your God. – Leviticus 23:28

On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, the faithful leave behind their daily concerns and gather together to draw near to God. This day is a time when Jews everywhere reflect on their lives, seek forgiveness, and find solace in God’s merciful nature.

The Shofar’s call signals our recommitment to our Creator and to each other. In the year ahead, may we all be reminded of the Almighty’s steadfast love for His children and achieve the peace we all seek.

Laura and I send our best wishes for a blessed Yom Kippur.

GEORGE W. BUSH

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Article adapted by God Only Weblog from original press release.
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Contact: White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 202-456-2580
The White House

President Bush Thanksgiving Day, 2007 Proclamation

Americans are a grateful people, ever mindful of the many ways we have been blessed. On Thanksgiving Day, we lift our hearts in gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy, the people we love, and the gifts of our prosperous land.

Our country was founded by men and women who realized their dependence on God and were humbled by His providence and grace. The early explorers and settlers who arrived in this land gave thanks for God’s protection and for the extraordinary natural abundance they found. Since the first National Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed by President George Washington, Americans have come together to offer thanks for our many blessings. We recall the great privilege it is to live in a land where freedom is the right of every person and where all can pursue their dreams. We express our deep appreciation for the sacrifices of the honorable men and women in uniform who defend liberty. As they work to advance the cause of freedom, our Nation keeps these brave individuals and their families in our thoughts, and we pray for their safe return.

While Thanksgiving is a time to gather in a spirit of gratitude with family, friends, and neighbors, it is also an opportunity to serve others and to share our blessings with those in need. By answering the universal call to love a neighbor as we want to be loved ourselves, we make our Nation a more hopeful and caring place.

This Thanksgiving, may we reflect upon the past year with gratefulness and look toward the future with hope. Let us give thanks for all we have been given and ask God to continue to bless our families and our Nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 22, 2007, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all Americans to gather together in their homes and places of worship with family, friends, and loved ones to reinforce the ties that bind us and give thanks for the freedoms and many blessings we enjoy.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.

GEORGE W. BUSH

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Article adapted by God Only Weblog from original press release.
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Contact: White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 202-456-2580
The White House

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America — National Family Week, 2007

As families gather together to celebrate Thanksgiving, we underscore the comforting and positive role they play in our society.  During National Family Week, we celebrate the contributions of families everywhere.

Families strengthen our communities by teaching important values such as compassion and honesty to their children.  Families also offer a supportive environment and help ensure that children grow into responsible members of society.  By providing guidance and unconditional love, parents shape the character of their children.

My Administration believes that the strength of our Nation is built upon the foundation of strong families.  To help support families, we have doubled the child tax credit, reduced the marriage penalty, and lowered tax rates.  We are also committed to promoting positive youth development.  The Helping America’s Youth initiative, led by First Lady Laura Bush, supports organizations, including faith-based and community groups, that continue this important mission.

All Americans are grateful to our Nation’s military families, who have stood by their loved ones in times of war and peace.  Our country will always be especially thankful for the sacrifices of our military personnel and for their devotion to duty and their love of country.  During National Family Week, we pray for their safe return and for the families who await them at home.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 18 through November 24, 2007, as National Family Week.  I invite the States, communities, and all the people of the United States to join together in observing this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities to honor our Nation’s families.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.

GEORGE W. BUSH

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Article adapted by God Only Weblog from original press release.
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Contact: White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 202-456-2580
The White House