The Joy Of Early Morning Prayer

October 3, 2023 Gracie

Starting Your Day Off Right With Early Morning Prayer

What better way to start the day off right than with early morning prayer.

Rise and shine!

It’s a new day to praise the Lord. 🙂

early morning prayer

How can a person really enjoy a beautiful sunrise or a sunset, a beautiful spring day or even a beautiful winter day, if he can’t thank the One who creates these things? – Warren Wiersbe, Moody Bible Church.²

Early Morning Prayer – Does Lengthy Equal Better?

Many times, I wake up as early as 4:30 in the morning.

That would have sounded awful to younger me, but I look forward to the early morning hours now.

I relish the peace and the quiet at the start of each new day.

And, as a bonus, in a few hours I get to watch that magnificent sun rise!

For me, it’s the perfect time for praying and seeking God’s wisdom.

Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth! – Psalm 46:10, (ESV).³

Do you know who else engaged in early morning prayer?

Jesus!

Mark 1:35 tells us that, “in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and prayed there for a time.”⁴

How long do our early morning prayers have to be?

That’s between you and God.

Not only does He hear our longer prayers, He also hears our short praises, even a simple, “Thank You Jesus.”

When I first became a Christian, I got a little caught up in that.

I would hear a friend pray a lengthy prayer and it would sound so eloquent.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that it’s not the length of our prayers that matter.

Long or short, eloquent or simple, He hears us!

# # #

²Warren Wiersbe quotation from the Psalm 113 Commentary, [2021] Courtesy of Precept Austin. Subheading, “The Responsibility of Praise” Web. Accessed 2 October, 2023.

Our Exceptional God

When Suffering Comes Knocking at Your Door

Have you ever heard someone say, “If this is a test, I’d rather take the written”?

Yes, that was me (and too many others to count).

Every once in awhile, life can throw you a curveball.

Something really surreal or challenging is thrown in your direction (like a curveball) and you wonder if God is watching and will respond.

Child of God – He is and He will.

We may not like what’s going on, but God’s timing is always perfect.

Trust God when life (or even people) let you down.

Satan will use “people” to do his dirty work here on earth.

Look at how far our country has fallen in a matter of a few years.

Even with that heartbreak, as Christians, we know that ultimately, the Adversary . . . doesn’t . . . win.

Stand firm in the truths that God gives us in His Word.

One thing that’s helpful is to look back and remember every time God has carried you through past challenges.

Remember how happy you felt when a particular problem was resolved, or how your faith grew even stronger?

We are never promised tomorrow, but when tomorrow comes, it is a new day to strengthen your trust in the Lord.

I’ve been there – from dealing with a frustration(s) to having complete joy in God’s timing.

You and I can remember who we are in Christ and these obstacles are only temporary.

Joy

¹³In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, ¹⁴who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. – Ephesians 1:13-14, (NASB).¹

How beautiful is that passage from God’s Word!

The Apostle Paul assured the Ephesians of their inheritance as believers.

An “inheritance” is a guarantee.

Likewise, as believers today, we inherit God’s promises as well.

It’s through the gift of Jesus Christ that our Sovereign God has given us the final victory.

To Him be the glory!

When Suffering Comes, Pray!

In the midst of life’s challenges, we can be so wrapped up in our suffering, we can forget to pray.

Turning to God’s Word, what does the Bible say about this?

For one thing . . .

Suffering produces endurance

Endurance means you have “staying power.”

Pray for staying power!

God will carry you through.

when suffering comes

When suffering comes, and it will, perspective is everything. The question is, how will we respond?

We may suffer briefly, or all our lives. But let us not give up hope or engage in self-pity or bitterness. The end-result is what we all look forward to. Being with the Lord in heaven will put all things into perspective! – Bible.org.²

Seeing Beyond Your Suffering

When suffering comes of any kind, our weaknesses and doubts may resurface.

Never doubt God’s love for you!

A long, long time ago, God sent His Son Jesus to earth – as a baby born in a manger so that, at the appointed time, He would grow up to save us from our sins.

In the meantime, keep your eyes on Him, no matter what happens.

Trust

Until I learned to trust,
I did not learn to pray,
And I did not learn to fully trust
Till sorrows came my way.

Until I felt my weakness,
His strength I never knew,
Nor dreamed till I was stricken
That He would see me through.

Who deepest drinks of sorrow
Drinks deepest too of grace,
He sends the storm so He himself,
Can be our hiding place.

His heart that seeks our highest good
Knows well when things annoy,
We would not long for heaven
If earth held only joy.

Author unknown

²Bible.org quotation is from “Reasons for Human Suffering” February 2, 2009. Web. Accessed September 14, 2023. Retrieved from https://bible.org/illustration/reasons-human-suffering

Our Exceptional God

To Sing For Joy – God-Exalting Reverence

Occasionally on Delight-in-God.com, I like to share beautiful spirit-lifting music with you.

The song today is not only worshipful, I want to sing for joy every time I hear it!

I’ve listened to “Precious Jesus” dozens of times by now and it never gets old.

You might want to turn up the sound on your speakers for this one.

Jesus!

He is precious to God, a beloved cornerstone, described as such in 1 Peter 2:4-5 . . .

Sing for Joy to our precious Savior

We, as Christians, are the living stones of God’s church.

His Son Jesus, our precious Savior, took the weight of our sins upon Himself and, through Him, we have eternal life.

Spurgeon writes, “He is preciousness, He is an honor, He is everything that is glorious to you. You can never think highly enough of Him, or speak well enough concerning Him. All the world beside may disallow Him, but unto you He is precious.” – as quoted in Precept Austin.org.²

To Sing for Joy – A Call to Worship!

What does the Bible say about singing?

Actually, singing is mentioned a lot in God’s Word.

Here’s just one example in Book of Psalms . . .

Psalm 95:1-2 says:

¹Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord,
Let’s shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
²Let’s come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving,
Let’s shout joyfully to Him in songs with instruments.³

Together in churches across the nation we gather on Sundays to praise God by the reading of His word and through our singing.

When we sing for joy with a song like this, we are shining the light of our Savior to a dying world in need of Hope.

“Hope” – as in the confident expectation of our precious Lord’s return.

As beautiful as this song is, can you imagine how heaven will sound?!

# # #

²Precept Austin quotation is from the 1 Peter 2:7-8 Commentary, [2022] Courtesy of Precept Austin, Subheading, “The Preciousness of Belief” Web. Accessed 12 September, 2023.

Our Exceptional God

A Day Like Any Other

September 11, 2023 Gracie

A Day Like Any Other . . . Until It Wasn’t

September 11th – it was a day like any other . . . at least it started out that way.

I got up, showered, fed the dogs, kissed my husband goodbye and headed to work.

Moments later, everything changed.

I’ll never forget watching those horrific moments on TV as the planes crashed into the Twin Towers.

Replayed over and over on the news, those images and memories are indelible in my mind.

God help us, I thought, as the news got worse and worse.

Planes crashing

Desperate souls jumping out of burning buildings

People running for their lives

The Twin Towers crashing to the ground

Smoke and ashes everywhere

Thousands of lives lost

The bravery of first responders rushing headlong into the fiery chaos

A nation grieving

A day like any other A few days ago, I heard someone say that many in the younger generation don’t even know what happened on 9/11.

How is that possible?

Has the teaching of important historical events taken a backseat to social and sexual ideologies?

Apparently so.

Don’t let your kids be among those who have absolutely no idea what happened on this day 22 years ago.

Life can change in a moment.

Hug your loved ones extra tight today.

There are families who are still mourning their losses from that fateful day known as 9/11.

It was a day like any other . . . until it wasn’t.

# # #

Our Exceptional God

The Power Of Hope

September 5, 2023 Gracie

The Power of Hope in These Uncertain Times

Hope versus wishful thinking

Here’s a million dollar question for you:

Do you think it’s going to be cooler tomorrow?

“I certainly hope so” . . . said everyone in Texas.

And, by the way, every other person in every other state facing daily temperatures well over 100 degrees!

Hope – it’s a comforting word, isn’t it?

It’s that wonderful feeling we get when we expect something good to happen.

Is something good happening right now?

You’d have to live under a rock not to see how chaotic things are . . .

Devastating wildfires

Intense hurricanes

Multiple earthquakes

A huge homelessness problem

Growing depression among adults and teenagers

Constant attacks against God’s design for marriage and family

This is all very disheartening to observe.

So, how do we unleash the power of hope in these uncertain times?

What is our hope going forward?

Or, should I say, “Who?”

The power of hope

The Power of Hope Lies In God’s Promises

The author of Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.”¹

This is just a small part of the whole blessed chapter which emphasizes a faith that will endure through anything. We can be encouraged by the examples the author presents of great biblical heroes whose faith sustained them.

Our hope in God’s promises isn’t about a “maybe.”

Dear Christian, the power of hope is so much better than that!

Most people understand hope as wishful thinking, as in “I hope something will happen.” This is not what the Bible means by hope. The biblical definition of hope is “confident expectation.” Hope is a firm assurance regarding things that are unclear and unknown (Romans 8:24-25; Hebrews 11:1, 7). – gotquestions.org ²

With confident expectation, we can look to the future, even in these uncertain times, and say “Amen.”

# # #

²Quotation from gotquestions.org, from “What is the Christian’s hope?” n.d., para. 1. Web. Accessed August 31, 2023. https://www.gotquestions.org/hope-Bible.html

Our Exceptional God

« 1 … 10 11 12 13 14 … 98 »