Devotionals
Moment of Transformation
- Pray for the items listed in your Prayer Journal
- Pray for the transformation of the five individuals/families you chose
- Pray to be transformed by Christ’s LOVE
- Pray for the transformation of your country
PRAYER, THE CHANNEL OF ALL BLESSINGS
And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. Matthew 21:22
Prayer is the breath of the soul, the channel of all blessings. As, with a realization of the needs of humanity, with a feeling of self- loathing, the repentant soul offers its prayer, God sees its struggles, watches its conflicts and marks its sincerity. He has His finger upon its pulse and He takes note of every throb. Not a feeling thrills it, not an emotion agitates it, not a sorrow shades it, not a sin stains it, not a thought or purpose moves it, of which He is not cognizant. That soul was purchased at an infinite cost, and is loved with a devotion that is unalterable. Christ our Saviour … had bodily wants to be supplied, bodily weariness to be relieved. It was by prayer to His Father that He was braced for duty and for trial. Day by day He followed His round of duty, seeking to save souls. His heart went out in tender sympathy for the weary and heavy laden. And He spent whole nights in prayer on behalf of the tempted ones. The Christian is given the invitation to carry his burdens to God in prayer, and to fasten himself closely to Christ by the cords of living faith. The Lord authorizes us to pray, declaring that He will hear the prayers of those who trust in His infinite power. He will be honoured by those who draw nigh to Him, who faithfully do His service. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You..” Isaiah 26:3. The arm of Omnipotence is outstretched to guide us and lead us onward and still onward. Go forward, the Lord says; I understand the case and I will send you help. Continue to pray. Have faith in Me. It is for My name’s glory that you ask, and you shall receive. I will be honoured before those who are watching critically for your failure. They shall see the truth triumph gloriously. “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” True faith, true prayer – how strong they are!
Ellen G. White, Our High Calling, p. 127 – May 1
Quote of the Day“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” Corrie ten Boom
Did You Know?
For many Americans, every day is a day of prayer. More than half (55%) of Americans say they pray every day, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey, while 21% say they pray weekly or monthly and 23% say they seldom or never pray. Even among those who are religiously unaffiliated, 20% say they pray daily. Women (64%) are more likely than men (46%) to pray every day. And Americans ages 65 and older are far more likely than adults under 30 to say they pray daily (65% vs. 41%).
Going Deeper
Prayer is regarded throughout Scripture as a fundamental means of religious expression. This is because praying to God assumes in faith that He is powerfully willing and also graciously able to hear and respond to the prayers of His people – and further, that He chooses to work in and through these prayers.
Daniel DeWitt Lowery, “Prayer,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).
Question…
What decisions do you need to make so that you can daily “take your burdens to God in prayer”?
This Week’s Homework
- Memorize: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14, 15 NKJV
- Choose five individuals/families to pray for.
