We Pray Wednesday: Praise in our Praying

Praise in our Praying

A couple of weeks ago, I helped a church group that went downtown in New Orleans and worked with many homeless people that were living in conditions that many of us could not imagine.  I had seen many people living in conditions that are this way before or begging for money; however, this was my first time picking them up and giving them things that would help them to better the condition that they were in or to get out of it altogether.  This prompted me to begin thanking and praising God daily in my prayer time for the many things that He has provided to me that I have begun to take for granted.  I believe that there are many of us that use our prayer time as an opportunity to ask God for things that will make our life easier instead of praising Him for the things that He has given to us already.  Many of us have heard the phrase, “What if we only had tomorrow what we were thankful for and praised God for today?”  Do we believe it?  We need to take time daily in our prayer time to praise God for the things that He has done for us.  Do we actually know what praise is and how to accomplish it?  Here are a few things to think about concerning praise.

            Psalm 34:1 says, “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”  This verse leads to several questions that we should ask ourselves.

1.  What is praise?

The dictionary definition of praise is, “To commend; to applaud; to express approbation of personal worth or actions.”  This is how our praise should be to God when we pray to Him daily.

2.  Who is to praise God?

Psalm 150:6 says, “Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.”  That means if you are breathing, you should praise God.  Now if you are no longer breathing, then you don’t have to praise Him; otherwise, we should be praising God.

3.  Who should we praise?

Again Psalm 150:6 says that we should praise the Lord.  Here is a list of things that the Bible says why He should be praised: His majesty, His glory, His excellence, His greatness, His power, His lovingkindness, His salvation, His comfort, His judgments, His counsel, His mercy, His forgiveness, His protection, His deliverance, His answer to prayer, His blessing both spiritual and material, and His daily blessings.

4.  When do we praise Him?

Again Psalm 34:1 say that we should bless Him at ALL time.  I Thessalonians 5:18 say that in everything we should give thinks,whether it seems good or bad, because it is according to His will. 

5.  Where do we praise Him?

We should praise God everywhere.  There is not a place on the earth that He is not, so we should praise him everywhere.  I believe that a good time is when we are talking directly to Him during our daily prayer time.  We should also praise Him in His house when we attend church.  The Bible say in Psalm 100:4 that we should enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. 

6.  Why do we praise Him?

We should praise Him because He is worthy of our praise on a daily basis.  Too often we only praise Him when we want to praise, but He is always worthy of our praise no matter what situation we may find ourselves. 

Teen Tuesday: Emily's Testimony

     

 

My Testimony    

by Emily Moragne

When I was younger, many kids on my street would always talk about attending church.  I started to wonder “Why don’t I go?”  I was hanging out with my grandma one afternoon, and finally built up the courage to ask her, “Why don’t we attend church?”  She responded, “Well, I don’t know, we just don’t have the time.”  I told her that I would go, and she promised to take me.  I was so happy that I was finally going to attend church.  Not long after, my grandma was diagnosed with stage four cancer and became very sick.  Even though she had cancer, she still wanted to take me to church.  Shortly after, she passed away and was not able to keep her promise.

The way we found out about Grace Baptist Church was through close friends of my parents, the Brumley family.   They told my parents that Grace Baptist also had a school and they immediately want to send us there.   Sending us to Grace Baptist Academy would require us to attend church at least 2 times a week, which we weren’t used to doing. While attending Grace Baptist Academy we began to get involved in church, which after a year became a true blessing. I never told anyone why I was so bitter while attending my first year at Grace Baptist. I absolutely hated the fact that my grandma didn’t get to attend church with me like we had planned.   I started to realize my grandma would be happy and very proud of the decision I had made.  I began listening to preaching and allowed it to move in my heart.  One day Pastor Shannon was preaching a message on hell and I was sure I didn't want to go there.  I sat there saying “it's okay I don't need this.”  As I continued to listen my heart began to soften and when he gave the invitation I raised my hand wanting to know how to get to heaven.  One of our teachers, Mrs Cherry pulled me into the hall and we sat on a bench as she explained to me that I was a sinner and that I needed to trust Jesus as my Savior.  She asked me if I want to bow my head and ask Jesus to come into my heart.  I immediately said, “yes!”  On October 24, 2012 I got my salvation settled.

The school year went on and I was saved but wasn’t really living like I was a child of God.  I was not used to attending such a small school and I would felt very alone, until two very special people named Kelsey and Abigail came into my life.  These two girls showed me what it was like to be a true Christian they would encourage me in the Lord and through the years we have become best friends.  Having such godly friends encouraged me to go to church more often and this whole idea of church became fun!  In 2015, I began to realize I was attending church for all the wrong reasons and I wanted to get serious about God.  Shortly after, I became a bus worker on the Compeller's bus route and started to realize I could be an example to these young kids.  Before I could try to be an example to the kids I knew it had to work on myself first, which gave me the idea to start reading my Bible every day and praying for the kids on my bus route.  In the last two years the kids have impacted me to become a better person and to be the example that they can follow some day.  Now in 2017, I am starting my senior year and I can honestly say that I am the happiest I have ever been .

Monday's Message: What a Friend

What A Friend

(Source)

   This was written by a young man for his mother who was ill. He tried to comfort and encourage her, and intended the poem just for her. No one knew about the words of this beloved hymn until a neighbor was visiting and found it.

   Born in Ireland, Joseph Scriven graduated from college and was engaged to a beautiful girl. On the eve of their wedding, the girl drowned. Overwhelmed with grief, he came to Canada and devoted his life to helping the underprivileged, giving them clothes and sharing his food. If anyone could afford his service, he would not work for them.

   In 1875, Sankey put up Gospel Hymns No. 1 and included it as the last one in the collection. But later, the last hymn became one of his favorites.

 

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

  

(1) What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer.

  

(2) Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged-

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Can we find a friend so faithful,

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness-

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

  

(3) Are we weak and heavy-laden,

Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge-

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Do thy friends despise, forsake theee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In His arms He'll take and shield thee-

Thou wilt find a solace there.

Monday's Message: I Need Thee Every Hour

I Need Thee Every Hour

(Source)

       A great man once said that his greatest moment of joy was on a crowded street of a big city, when a little child looked up into his face, put her hands into his big hand, and said: “Take me across the street to the other side.”

       It was an honor to take that trusting child to the other side! Are there streets in life ahead for you to cross? Is there some difficulty you must meet and need a stronger arm to take you across? Put your hand in the hand of Christ. To simply trust Him is to bring delight to both you and Christ.

 

       ++++++++++

I Need Thee Every Hour

      

(1) I need thee every hour,

Most gracious Lord;

No tender voice like Thine

Can peace afford.

 

CHORUS:

I need thee, O need Thee;

Every hour I need Thee!

O bless me now, my Savior-

I come to Thee.

      

(2) I need Thee every hour,

Stay Thou near by;

Temptations lose their power

When Thou art nigh.

      

(3) I need thee every hour,

In joy or pain;

Come quickly, and abide,

Or life is vain.

      

(4) I need thee every hour,

Teach me Thy will,

And Thy rich promises

In me fulfill.

Family Friday: How Big Is God?

How Big Is God?

            Have you ever heard the song “My God Is So Big”?  I sing that often with my Sunday School class, and we make big hand motions with it.  It’s a fun song that gets the children moving with positive energy instead of misbehaving.  How often, though, do we sing the song automatically and not really think about what it means?  I want my children to realize at an early age that God is awesome!  His attributes are countless, and they are eternal!  My children will not learn by accident how wonderful God is; I must bring it to their attention each and every time I notice God in circumstances around us.  Get in the habit of praising Him in front of your children.  Praise and worship can be private, but it should also be public sometimes for others to learn from you.  Tell them when God answers specific prayers.  Be the magnifier in their lives and show them that God is so big!

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty
There's nothing my God cannot do!
My God is so big, so strong and so mighty
There's nothing my God cannot do!

The mountains are His, the rivers are His
The stars are His handiwork, too.
My God is so big, so strong and so mighty
There's nothing my God cannot do!

We Pray Wednesday: Ask, Seek & Knock - Part 4

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:7

We have looked at “Ask”, “Seek” and “Knock”.  

As I said at the outset, God opens doors to produce growth in the lives of His children. I want to point out four areas where we can see immediate growth as a result of those prison doors being opened by the Father.

1.    Faith

Not only did the faith of Silas and Paul grow that night, the faith of the other prisoners and jailer grew also. In fact, the jailer and his entire family trusted the Lord for salvation that very night. Imprisonment was part of the journey that led to the door God would open for them. Pain and punishment was on that same path. Those two men of God were stripped and beaten in the town square before they were imprisoned, and yet there is no mention of doubt in this entire passage. Their faith grew.

2.    Patience

Because they had to be willing to sacrifice to self to see that door open, they also had to be willing to wait for God's perfect time. As I said earlier, they had no guarantee of God opening those doors that night. We are commanded in the Scriptures to “Wait patiently for him.” In my opinion, this is one of the hardest commands in the Bible. At times, God is going to bring us to a closed door, and He will find out just how much we want to go His way. We must be at the right place while knocking on the right door, waiting patiently for God to answer in his time. As the saying goes, “When God closes a door, praise Him in the hallway.” Another saying goes, “When God closes a door, He opens a window.” You know, that may not be God opening the window. The window, that is often an escape rather than an entrance to God’s path. After a storm on the Sea of Galilee, God gave this message to the Apostles when they questioned Him, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” He rebuked the winds, saying “Peace, be still”, then He turned and said, “How is it that you have no faith?” They had prayed for escape rather than praying for the power of God to guide them through the storm. God is not planning to rescue us from our circumstances. God wants to guide us through our circumstances. When God closes the door, praise Him while you patiently wait in the hallway or praise Him in the dungeon.

3.    Knowledge

They gained a better grasp of how God works. God allowed them to establish a church where the Jewish customs would not impede its growth or confuse its doctrine. Paul did not have to correct doctrine that had been contaminated by what the Jews believed in the Old Testament time period. God was doing something great! God was doing something powerful! They were able to learn a little bit about how God works because they were willing to ask. They were willing to seek. They were willing to knock until God opened the door. Paul and his group received some experience. God showed Himself powerful through the earthquake. None of the prisoners dared to move. God put Paul and Silas right in the middle of the people with whom the magistrate had a problem. There was camaraderie there. They grew in understanding; realizing, God always has a plan. You and I benefit from the Epistle written to this church. Think of all the wonderful truths that are recorded for you and me today in the book of Philippians.

4.    Desire

Ask yourself this question, “Do you want to see God work and bring glory to His name, or do you just want to have God's blessing on whatever it is you do?” He is not going to open doors for those He cannot trust with what is on the other side of their doors. If you're going to get to the other side of that door and bring glory to yourself and gratify your flesh, mark it down, that door will remain closed. Does it seem that the Apostle Paul was trying to establish a church at Philippi so everyone would say, “Wow! What amazing job Paul did.”? If that had been his desire, this might have been the last we ever heard of him. He would have died a prisoner in Philippi. God saw his desire was pure. and allowed him to be used in a great way. Our true intentions to go beyond the door and our level of desire for God’s glory are revealed by how hard, how often, and how long we're willing to knock. I believe, Silas and Paul's desire for God grew that day.  

God is never going to open a door you don't knock on. You can't knock on doors you can't reach. You must be willing to go where those doors are and be willing to let God open the door. Ask Him! Seek Him! Knock until He answers! Paul did not begin to develop a prayer life when tragedy struck. Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Those are definite terms and absolute promises given by Almighty God.