Tag: be still

The Joy Of Early Morning Prayer

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!

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1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

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

3 Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

4 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

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Be Still And Know

What Does It Mean to “Be Still and Know?”

Be still and know

We can find the answer in Psalm 46.

YHWH speaks through His Word to His covenant people throughout the ages.

With Christ as Our Savior and, by His death and resurrection, we are now His covenant people.

Here’s just a portion of this beautiful psalm of peace and praise written for the younger sons of Korah.

Psalm 46

We can have peace knowing that God is our fortress and that He is “with us.”

The God who moves mountains

Who created the smallest and the largest living organisms

The God who created you and me

No problem, whether emotional, physical, or spiritual, is too big for our God. If we will learn to take refuge in Him and lean on Him alone for strength, then with the psalmist we can face the most extreme crises with quiet confidence, because God is with us and He is sufficient. – Steven J. Cole, author and theologian.2

God allows troubles, frustrations, and hardships in our lives.

Don't lose heart

Minor molehills to sky-high mountains.

But we have to trust and take our refuge in Him.

“Quiet confidence”

“Be still”

That’s hard sometimes, isn’t it?

In our quiet moments of prayer, we want everything fixed in our timing.

We may seek out Christian friends, perhaps a Christian counselor – all of whom can be helpful and supportive through the rocky journeys we may be experiencing, but ultimately, God is our strength.

Don’t Lose Heart – We Will See Eternal Restoration

Referencing Isaiah 40, Pastor Mike Fabarez reminds us that some day, at the appointed time, the Glory of the Lord will be revealed. He is the Restorer of all things.

Keeper of promises

No matter where in the world we are at that time, we will all see it.

That should give us confidence that our Lord is a keeper of promises and everything wrong going on will be made right.

Count on Him!

“Have you read the news? Things are not as they ought to be – in the world, in the country, in our state, in our county, probably not in your home and certainly not in our lives. It’s broken and it’s painful and it’s frustrating, and I recognize that. But, as Christians, we don’t lose heart because the mouth of the Lord has spoken, and we understand what He says and we believe what He says and we have confidence in what He says and He’s proved that He can do what He has promised. As a matter of fact, when we study the gospels, we recognize that Jesus assures us of an absolute permanent fix to all things, an eternal restoration of all things.”– Dr. Mike Fabarez, pastor and teaching minister.3

Be Still and Know That I Am God

If you haven’t yet heard Steven Curtis Chapman sing “Be Still and Know”, you’re in for a real treat.

It’s simply beautiful.

This is the song I listen to before I start my Bible study every day.

I hope it blesses you as much as it blesses me.

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1 Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

2Steven J. Cole quotation, courtesy of  bible.org, from the series “Psalms.” n.d. 1993. para. 9. Web. Accessed 3 January, 2020. Retrieved from https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-46-our-sufficient-god.

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