Prayer

He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayer-less studies, prayer-less work and prayer-less religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray”. - Sam Chadwick

“The best time for prayer isn’t found. It’s made. The average Christian spends very little time in prayer - then wonders why they have no faith and experience no power. If we are too busy to pray, we are too busy to experience the power of God. We can be very busy, but not necessarily productive because we lack faith. One of the main reason we lack faith is because we don’t pray. Consistent prayer builds consistent faith.” - Girlfriends in God, Devotionals.

“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is any  one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:13-16)

I’ve felt tired for a while now. It’s a combo of the seemingly never-ending school days, thoughts of the upcoming changes in our family life, and waiting on future plans and relationships.

But the ever-gracious and merciful God never fails to remind me of His love and power when I finally remember to turn to him and seek. Too often I forget the power of prayer - the power He has to relieve me of the burdens by reminding me of His promises. And I need to pray. 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” - Matthew 7:7

something to think about

-supjchwa:

How to Avoid Jealousy

We all know what it is like to be green with envy. We all struggle with jealousy at some point in life. Let’s be honest. How often do we look at another person and covet what we perceive to be their success? How many of us are not content to serve God with the gifts He has given us while whining about the fact that others have the gifts we want. We convince ourselves that our longing for a bigger platform is to further the Kingdom when, in reality, that longing is for self-promotion, fame and recognition. Ugly, isn’t it? Jealousy is one of the most dangerous emotions because it is one of the most destructive.

“Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but who can survive the destructiveness of jealousy?” Proverbs 27:4 (NLT) 

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(Source: -supjchwa)

The Myth of Perfect Dating →

thehumblerejoice:

“There is a… motive that exerts pressure on Christian relationships, one that is far more prone to lead couples astray. It is the desire for perfection.

After slogging through the world of dating, many couples yearn for that perfect relationship that makes it all worthwhile. For some, perfection looks like a fairytale—a romantic love story with a happily ever after. For others, the perfect relationship is a holy bargaining chip: As long as you can stay pure and keep Christ central, God will reward you with marriage. But this [if-then] approach can easily become an attempt at bribing God.

Here’s the problem with the perfect relationship: It doesn’t exist. Whenever you bring two sinners together, there will be brokenness. It’s not a matter of if, but when. Even the best relationships and the strongest marriages are marred by sin. But here’s the good news: the Gospel is not the story of our perfection, but of God’s redemption. When we screw up, when we sin against one another and against God, He is faithful still. That’s why so many marriages endure in spite of sin—of course sin is toxic in any relationship, but God is greater.

Are you placing expectations on your relationship that God Himself does not have? Are you pursuing holiness in order to earn the reward of marriage? Are you trying to perfect your love life apart from the grace and mercy of God? By trying to avoid idolatry of a person, are you idolizing the perfect relationship instead?

Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more: What would it look like to date in the freedom of that reality? What would it look like if the goal of dating was not the perfect marriage, but a better love of God and neighbor?”

The Life of the Branch: Abiding in Christ →

thehumblerejoice:

“If you will learn for a time to put aside other work and to get into this abiding contract with the heavenly Vine, you will find that fruit will come.

It means close fellowship with Christ in secret prayer.

Close personal actual communion with Christ is an absolute necessity for daily life. Take time to be alone with Christ. Nothing in Heaven or earth can free you from the necessity for that, if you are to be happy and holy Christians.

Oh! how many Christians look upon it as a burden and a tax, and a duty, and a difficulty to be often alone with God! That is the great hindrance to our Christian life everywhere. We need more quiet fellowship with God, and I tell you in the name of the heavenly Vine that you cannot be healthy branches, branches into which the heavenly sap can flow, unless you take plenty of time for communion with God. If you are not willing to sacrifice time to get alone with Him, and to give Him time every day to work in you, and to keep up the link of connection between you and Himself, He cannot give you that blessing of His unbroken fellowship. Jesus Christ asks you to live in close communion with Him. Let every heart say: ‘O, Christ, it is this I long for, it is this I choose.’ And He will gladly give it to you.”

"Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity."

Margaret D. Nadauld (via thehumblerejoice)

(via thehumblerejoice)

"Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference."

Max Lucado (via thehumblerejoice)

(Source: pastorjdminerella, via thehumblerejoice)

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(Source: thehumblerejoice)

"It’s not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless."

L.R.Knost (via thehumblerejoice)

(Source: hopefullyraw, via thehumblerejoice)

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