"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16
I love that it is not a throne of terror or fear. Rather God's throne is one of grace--and one we are to approach with confidence, because our God is utterly loving and kind.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
How wonderful that the result of presenting our requests to God is that His peace will guard our hearts and minds.
Prayer changes things. Thomas Merton, then a young man pursuing great success in a career in literature, felt drawn for reasons he did not understand to spend some time in a religious community with men who devoted much of their days to prayer. He wrote that when he left he was struck by the haste and anxiety of "normal" life: "My heart sank within me. I thought: 'What am I getting into? Is this the sort of thing I myself have been living in all these years?'" The thought occurred to him that in some real way these few men devoted to prayer "are doing for their land what no army, no congress, no president could ever do as such: they are winning for it the grace and the protection and the friendship of God."
You don't know how many people have been strengthened because you asked God to encourage them; how many people have been healed because you prayed for their bodies; how many spiritual runaways have come home because you prayed for their souls. None of us may ever know the true effects of our prayers this side of death. But we do know this: History belongs to the intercessors. - from The Life You've Always Wanted, by John Ortberg
Go boldly before God today with your requests. He is listening!
4 comments:
I'm glad you are doing these posts Tracy. They are making me stop in my tracks and thank the Lord for all my blessings. :)
wow - Thank you for this wonderful posting. it was just what I needed to read. thank you for sharing such uplifting materials and thoughts.
tracy, i cannot describe to you how much i have felt God listening to me when i've prayed so far this month.
it's been a long LONG time since i've spent so much time talking to him, and i feel so free and cleansed just praising Him and thanking Him. i know He is listening!
i hope you feel the love of thankful prayers give you a huge HUG today!
Josey,
That is so awesome! Thanks for the hugs!
xo,
Starshine
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