Wednesday Devotional: Prayers for You

Hi! I am so glad you are joining me for this Wednesday’s Devotional! I am excited about this one because I am doing something a little different today! I hope you enjoy!

Colossians 1:3-8 says, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing -as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.”

In Colossians, Paul is writing to fellow believers encouraging them to continue to grow in their faith, thanking God for the growth they have and praying growth will continue to happen among them.

 

So today, I am going to do something a little different, instead of sharing something with you, I am going to share how I am praying in light of reading these verses.

Today, I am praying for you, who is reading this right now, thanking God for you. I am praying that you will understand God has a plan and a purpose for your life.

I am praying for you if you are not a Christian, that you will come to understand who God is, and He will change your life! I am praying you will begin to search for information about this God and Jesus that I am writing about.

I thank God for those of you reading this who already know Him. I thank Him for saving you. I thank Him for your faithfulness to Him. I thank God you are sharing your faith with others. I thank God you are searching out answers to the questions you have about your faith in order to grow stronger in Him.

I thank God that He protects us from false Christianity, and He gives us guidance on Biblical truths.

Thank You God for the people You have placed in each of our lives, who told us about You! Thank You for the people You send all over the world to share Your love with people who would otherwise have no chance of hearing it. Thank You for growing your kingdom because of the bold soles who are faithful to going where You send them.

God, I pray for the many people in Thailand, where I live, that they would be able to hear the Word of God and believe it!

I thank God for heaven! Thank You, God, that we will be able to live with you in heaven for eternity, and we are not forever thrown into an unimaginable, heart wrenching hell that we so deserve! Thank You for Jesus and Your gift of grace.

God, thank you for the many people you have placed in my life. Thank you for those who taught me about the Gospel and those who continue to teach me. Thank you for those you entrust me with to teach the Gospel. Forgive me for not always being intentional in teaching the Gospel to the people You place in my path. You deserve all the credit and thanksgiving for everyone who believe in You. Use me as a tool to share Your love to those You place in my path. Give me the eyes to see the people you put in my path. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

Now I want to ask you to join me in praying for those God is laying on your heart right now? Maybe it is a friend? Maybe it is a group of people? Thank God for the people He has placed in your life and for giving you eternity with Him.

Wednesday Devotional for Pinterest

Wednesday Devotional: Petitioning God

In light of all the heavy things going on in the world right now, especially the “Black Lives Matter” vs. “All Lives Matter” vs “Police Lives Matter” vs “{Insert whatever you like} Lives Matter” (which I am not weighing in on), I thought this would be a good verse to look at this week. 

1 Timothy 2:1-2 are great verses to teach us about prayer. Let’s take a look at them before we start. 

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intersessions and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” ~1 Timothy 1:1-2

I think we should start by looking at some of the keywords in this verse.

Supplication means to ask for something or a petition for something.  

Prayer is being in communication with God.

Intercession refers to making requests on behalf of others. 

Thanksgiving is a way to give gratitude and be grateful to God.

The verses say we should be in communication with asking for our needs, asking for others needs, but not forgetting to be grateful for the things God has already given us. The Bible tells us we should do this for ALL PEOPLE and on behalf of ALL PEOPLE! This is whom we should pray for-all people! It is easy to pray for ourselves, for our family and for our friends, but the Bible is telling us to pray for everyone! This way of prayer includes the people we are in conflict with, people who are different than us and those who are leading us that we wish would just outright go away! We need to be praying for that annoying coworker and that girl that just won’t let go of the situation that happened last year when you accidentally said something you shouldn’t have said, even though you have apologized for it, and she still won’t let it go. 

Yes, it is easy to pray to God to continue to grow up your Christian friends, but what about your non-Christian friends? Are you praying for them? Are you praying fervently for your pastors to lead the church and flee from impure actions that we repeatedly shake our heads about? Are you spending all your time complaining about who the next President of the United States will be or are you praying for the state of our country and praying for whoever comes into office to lead well? Are you praying for the leaders of your country to make moral decisions that benefit the entire country instead of themselves or the elite few?

Let’s not forget to thank God for the people he has placed in our lives also! Take it a step further and thank God for those in our lives that make it difficult. God is sovereign, right? Give thanks for our leaders, even when we don’t agree with them. Thank God for specifically putting them in the position they are in. God knows what He is doing, even when we cannot grasp it. Thank God for the peaceful states our nations are in currently. 

Maybe it is time we step down off of our Christian high horses and do what God has called us to do, myself included. If we change our prayer life to a Biblical praying perspective, it could potentially save lives, churches, communities, our countries and our world. Prayer is powerful because God listens, and He answers our prayers when we believe He will. 

So, I ask you what changes do you need to make in your prayer life?

God, thank you for allowing us to have open communication with you. Forgive me for not using it in the way you have instructed me to do so. Pour out your love to those I pray for. Help me to remember to not only pray for those who are close to me, but to pray for those I often don’t want to pray for. God, I believe You will answer my prayers when I ask you. Thank you for loving me that much. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

 

Feeling Thankful

I know I have done a post like this one in the past, but I think it is so important to remember the things we are thankful for and not take them for granted.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Christian or non-Christian, it is always good to remember what you are grateful for  in order to appreciate everything in this beautiful life.

After spending a week at an orphanage a few weeks ago in a village outside of Bangkok, I have continued to think about all the things I am thankful for. They had limited running water to save money, the did not have hot water to shower with, and we slept on mattresses on the floor with mosquito nets to keep out the mosquitos. None of these things truly bother me, but it does make me thankful for all the things I do have.

Anyway, here is the short list of the things I am thankful for:

• The Bible that teaches me God’s truth and how to apply it in my life
• Our church-here in Bangkok, in America and in Brussels
• Those that serve in our church here at LifePoint BKK
• The lovely ladies who make our Women’s Ministry so enjoyable
• Our leaders-of America, of Thailand, of our church-both here and in America (no matter your opinion of them, they are still so brave to stand up and lead despite the many harsh criticisms they often receive, especially in America-let’s pray for them, shall we?)
• Our supporters, who allow us to live and do ministry in this beautiful country
• My husband to do this crazy journey with
• Our family
• Our friends both near and far
• My funny kiddos
• My family’s health-thankfully our family is healthy with no health issues
• Other bloggers, who make this blogging journey a little easier and much more fun
• Western food in Thailand (Thank you, God!)
• Laughter, especially my kids
• Internet to be able to talk to our family and friends across the ocean
• Fruit-it just tastes so good
• Hot water-I love a H-O-T-T shower
• A comfy bed to sleep in at night
• Running water to cook, wash and flush (all important things to me!)
• Electricity that runs 24/7 (we did not have reliable electricity in Haiti), so that I can stay in contact with my family & blog

What are some things you are thankful for in the crazy, beautiful mess we call life?

Overwhelming Thankfulness

Since we have been in Tennessee, I have been overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the love from our family. Overwhelmed by my daughter’s memory of all the things she did from a year ago. Overwhelmed by the true kindness in our friendships. Overwhelmed by my Christian friends pursuit of the One True God! Overwhelmed by my church family and their support of us and our church in BKK. Overwhelmed for too many reasons to list here.

As I sat in a Women’s Bible Study, we were encouraged to think about things we are thankful for. As I began to think about the things I am thankful for, I become overwhelmed all over again. This time, I was overwhelmed at God’s Grace. I am so undeserving of the things He has entrusted me with, but I am thankful He did.

Here is the short list of things I am thankful for that I want to share with you:

My Savior

The Bible

God chose me to be His child

God’s patience with me

God’s forgiveness and grace

My husband

My fabulous kiddos

My LifePoint BKK family

LifePoint Church & it’s amazing leadership

Family

My amazing friends

Trials in my life that have made me stronger

Friends overcoming Satan’s stronghold

The people that support us so we can spread God’s love to the nations

Good health

God-given boldness

My passion to help others

Furlough for encouragement and growth

Internet to keep me connected to family and friends

 

What are some things you are thankful for? Let’s shout them out and proclaim them to God!