What Should I Pray For?

The Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer is repeated daily by millions who have not the slightest intention of letting anyone’s will be done but their own.–Aldous Huxley

 

This is a powerful quote. I was raised Catholic and remember being taught to say the Lord’s prayer, but I had no understanding of the words that I was repeating and continued going about doing my own will.

What are some things that we can pray that are definitely the will of God? We need to look to the Bible, the infallible Word of God to answer this question.

Here are a few I found in searching the Scripture. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

2Peter 3:9

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”

We can pray for people that we know to be lead to truly repent before God. Repentance is the very first step we make in coming to God, so to pray for others to be lead to repentance is definitely in the will of God. Baptism is void without repentance, and one can definitely not be filled with the Holy Ghost until they repent, so repentance is vital!

 

Romans 12:1,2

 

 

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

 

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

 

1Thessalonians 4:3,4

 

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

 

 

That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;”

Once we are saved and on the road to living for God, we need to pray that He will help us to be holy and pleasing to Him and that we would keep ourselves from the immorality that is so rampant in this world.

 

1Thessalonians 5:18

 

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

We need to regularly pray prayers of thanksgiving to God, whether we are going through good times or not so good times. Wherever we are at in life, there are always things for which we can be thankful, if we will but look for them. Ask God to help you to have a thankful heart.

 

The Only Prayer Request Jesus Ever Made

 

 

Mat 9:35-38

 

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

 

 

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

 

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest trulyisplenteous, but the labourersarefew;

 

 

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

In verse 38,  the man, Christ Jesus, tells us to pray that the Lord would send labourers into His harvest. We can pray and ask God to raise up more pastors, missionaries, evangelists, teachers and good strong saints in the church that have a burden to share the gospel with those who have not heard. This is something I need to give more attention to in prayer. 

Besides praying for our own needs which is something Jesus instructs us to do in what has come to be known as The Lord’s prayer, these are just a few other things that we should make matters of prayer. 

 

 

 

 

 

Blown Away – Part 2

On Monday evening, October 24th, we met at my elder sister’s house to discuss funeral arrangements. While we were there, my sister and I were talking about a particular aunt with whom my brother corresponded on a regular basis. She mentioned how that 2 weeks earlier, that aunt had received a letter from Tom in which he had said that this was the last time he was going to write to her about God. Did he somehow know that his time left on this earth was short? I was blown away.

My brother John who lives in Wisconsin is married and has 3 wonderful children. He told his kids that it was likely that only him and his wife could fly out for the funeral, because they probably would not be able to afford airfare for the whole family. His 10 year old daughter told him that she was going to pray that God would make a way that they could come. My other brother Bob was checking into airfares. A few days later, he found an incredible deal through Southwest Airlines. The deal was so good that John was going to be able to fly out his whole family. God had answered Natalie’s prayer, and I was blown away.

The funeral home that handled the arrangements posted Tom’s obituary online along with a tribute wall where people could post about their memories of Tom. Quite a few people shared stories about how Tom had touched their lives. Some of the stories I knew, and some I did not know or had  forgotten. While reading the various submissions, I realized afresh that the little things that my brother did made a big difference, and I was blown away.

The most pleasant surprises were experienced at the funeral. I saw many people whom I hadn’t seen in years that came to pay tribute to Tom and/or support the family. Beth and Rachel had traveled several hours to be there. As I was on the platform taking my turn to give a eulogy, I saw a blond haired lady standing in the back that looked like someone I knew. “Is that Carmen?” I wondered.  Indeed, I found out later that it was her. She had flown out from Chicago. I was blown away.

The biggest “blow away” for me was yet to come. It was something that my sister Karen revealed when she stood up to give her eulogy.

to be continued…………………………….

 

 

Blown Away – Part 1

It was Saturday, October 22, 2011 and we had just been dismissed from an anniversary service we were attending for a pastor and his family with whom we are friends. We would head over to a nice dinner and fellowship in another room, but before we did that, I decided to check my cell phone for any calls or messages. I saw I had missed calls from both of my sisters, a voicemail and a text from my sister-in-law. I clicked on the text from my sister-in-law and was alarmed to read that my older brother Tom had been rushed to the hospital. I stepped outside and tried calling my older sister. I was only able to get her voicemail, so I called my younger sister. I got through to my sister Ann who tearfully informed me that our brother had passed away. It was so sudden, so unexpected. I felt like my mind was reeling, whirling and trying to grasp what I had just heard. I was blown away.

The next day was Sunday, and I was praying that morning. We had already been in revival for a couple of weeks with an evangelist. I remembered when my dad passed away in 1994, my pastor at the time told me and my sisters who attended the same church that God would make it up to us. I remembered telling God how I wanted Him to make it up to me. I had a friend at the time who was coming to church with me, and I was also teaching her a home Bible study. I told the Lord I wanted Him to make it up to me by filling her with the Holy Ghost. She did receive the Holy Ghost in a church service just a short time later. I remembered this as I was praying, and I asked God to do it again. I asked God to fill someone with the Holy Ghost that Sunday morning, October 23, 2011. Do you know what? God answered my prayer that morning as 14 year old Emily received the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues during the altar call. I was blown away!

To be continued………………

 

Drive ‘Em Out!

 

Joh 2:13-17

 

And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,

 

And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

 

And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;

 

 

And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.

 

 

And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

 

This portion of Scripture seemed to leap out to me today as I was doing my Bible reading. If I could go back in time, I think it would have been something to see Jesus’ driving the money changers out of the temple. There are just some things that do not belong in the house of God, and Jesus was not the least bit afraid to say so. While Jesus is not physically present here today doing what he did in the temple on that day, I’m thankful that He does have men of God with a zeal who are not afraid to drive out bad attitudes, spirits and doctrines of devils through the preaching of the Word of God! Over the years, I feel like God has invested in me and put a lot of good things into me through the preaching of the Word of God, but I know I could not be complete with just “positive preaching”. I have had bad attitudes and wrong thinking that needed to be driven out through the preaching of the Holy Bible.  A loving, earthly parent will correct their child and administer the rod of correction when it is needed. I’m thankful that our Heavenly Father is the same way, and that if we will let Him, He’ll drive out our “stinkin’ thinkin” through an anointed man of God that delivers the Word!

 

Got Milk?

Got milk? Got pasteurized milk? You might want to thank God and Louis Pasteur, who died on this day in 1895. I like the quote of Pasteur at the bottom of this American minute below. I am so thankful to know that there is a loving Creator and that my life is not just a series of mere random events!

American Minute with Bill Federer

September 28

He developed vaccines for rabies and anthrax, revolutionized medicine
with his germ theory of disease, and laid the foundation for the
control of tuberculosis, cholera, diphtheria and tetanus.

While Dean of the Faculty of Sciences at Lille University in France,
he developed the process of “Pasteurization” of milk.

This was Louis Pasteur, who died SEPTEMBER 28, 1895.

President Eisenhower wrote January 8, 1954:

“Pasteurization of milk has prevented countless epidemics and saved
thousands of lives.”

President Johnson stated April 7, 1966:

“Years ago Louis Pasteur said, ‘I hold the unconquerable belief that
science and peace will triumph over ignorance and war; that nations
will come together not to destroy, but to construct; and that the
future belongs to those who accomplish most for humanity.’”

President George H.W. Bush stated February 13, 1989:

“You know, Louis Pasteur once said: ‘Chance favors only the prepared
mind.’…For America to be prepared for the future, our children must
be educated.”

Dr. Louis Pasteur wrote:

“The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the
Creator…

There is something in the depths of our souls which tells us that the
world may be more than a mere combination of events.”

 

Preserved!

For the past 3 years, we have been blessed to attend a wonderful conference called PATH. The acronym PATH stands for Preserving Apostolic Truth and Holiness. I started thinking about this acronym, and in particular that first word, “preserving”.  When we preserve something we are keeping it alive or keeping it from becoming spoiled and of no use.  We tend to want to preserve things that are of value to us. Memorabilia may be preserved in a scrapbook to be tucked away and taken out once in a while when we feel like remembering good times from our past.  We can preserve fresh cut flowers given by a loved one a little longer by adding the powdery contents of the little packet that comes from the florist. My wedding dress that I wore 28 years ago was dry cleaned and sealed in a special box to keep it from yellowing and disintegrating.

There are many things that can be preserved, and it’s worth going through the process to preserve them. However, there is nothing more important to preserve, nothing of greater value than our soul.  It is a truly wonderful and glorious thing to see a soul liberated through repentance, water baptism in Jesus’ name and the infilling of the Holy Ghost, but this is only the beginning. We must continue to keep ourselves in the love of God, and keep our souls, because the Scripture does teach that there is a danger of losing our souls.

Colossians 2:8

 

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Here is the Amplified version of this verse.

 

 

See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah).

 

There are many philosophies and ideas in our world, but the only thing that will save and keep our souls is hearing the Word of God preached and taught in truth and obeying it. I’m so thankful for men of God who are not afraid to declare the pure, unadulterated Word of God!  

 

 

Psalm 119:133

 

Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

 

Hebrews 12:14

 

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

 

Psalm 97:10

 

Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

 

 

 

 

How To Scare The Liver Out Of Your Pastor’s Wife

It was Tuesday night, and it was just the dog and I at home.  My family and I were originally planning on going to a revival meeting in San Jose, but I chose to stay home with our sick dog who had just been released from the hospital at 5:30 that evening. After taking care of some chores around the house, I was sitting on the couch taking care of some business on the computer and also texting back and forth with my younger sister. (multi-tasking – LOL) It was around 9:30 p.m. when suddenly, I heard our side gate open. It’s very easy to recognize the sound of our side gate, because the wood scrapes against the concrete pavement when you push it open. My heart gave a start, and I wondered who in the world would be coming through our gate and into our backyard.

Immediately, I looked over at the latch on the sliding glass door that leads out to the backyard and saw to my horror that it was in the unlocked position. I quickly got up, went to the door, slammed down the latch and pulled the drawstring to close the curtain that hangs over the door.  The dog was also barking about this time too, for which I was glad. “Maybe whoever is out there will hear her and get scared away.”, I thought to myself. I also remembered that our latch doesn’t always work properly, and sometimes it doesn’t lock on the first attempt. Swiftly, I pushed with all my might against the door handle in case it was still unlocked. That way, if someone tried to open it, they would feel the resistance and hopefully assume that that meant the door was locked.  As I stood there listening with my heart pounding, 2 Timothy 1:7 popped into my mind.  Mi corazon was still rapidly palpitating, but I silently thanked Jesus for reminding me of the verse. I tried not to make a sound and just listen, but what I heard puzzled me.

 It sounded like somebody was doing something with the water spigit which is right next to the door. It seemed kind of odd to me that somebody would be messing around with the water. It was definitely way too late for someone from Diablo Water District to be in the backyard, and why would they be back there anyway? The activity in the backyard probably only lasted a minute at the most. Then I heard the scraping sound of the gate again, and all was silent.(except for my heart, which sounded like lots of cannon booms in succession)I stood there probably about 3 minutes still braced against the door handle and wondering if I should let go. I finally let go and decided to text my sister. “Hey, could you pray for me? I just heard the side gate open and someone was in our backyard. I’m pretty sure they’re gone now, but that sure scared the liver out of me.” Questions came to my mind. Should I call the police? Should I call one of our neighbors? I was a little unarmed by the incident, but oddly enough, I wasn’t really worried. A couple of minutes later, I get a call from my daughter. “Mom, are you okay?” she asked.  “Yeah, why?” I replied. Now that was a stupid answer. Obviously she would not be calling now unless my sister had gotten ahold of her. She is very close to my sister.(her aunt) I explained to my daughter what happened, and my husband was talking in the background too and said that he was going to call our neighbor Bill to have him come check the backyard. I hung up with Jen, telling her I would call back in a few minutes. Bill came to the door with his flashlight, and we purused the yard together. As I looked around, I noticed the black hose was neatly coiled and reattached to the water spigit. I knew it was not there earlier, because I went to use it the day before and noticed it wasn’t there. At that time, I thought maybe my husband had taken the hose off to use it somewhere else. Anyhow, as I saw the hose there, I had a hunch. Someone from our church had borrowed our shop vac a couple of days ago, and maybe my husband had loaned them our hose too. I called my husband back, explained my hunch and asked him if anyone had borrowed our hose. He said, “No, not that I know of. Wait a minute, let me ask Paul.” I heard them talking in the background and Paul explaining that yes, someone from the church had been using the hose. My husband came back on the phone and said, “Let me call Bro. So and so to confirm and see if he did return the hose.” A few minutes later, the hubby calls me back. Bro. So and so’s kind, conscientious son decided to come over and return our hose, thinking that all of us had gone to San Jose. After all, my husband had announced the revival in church and opened it up to whoever wanted to go.

The neat thing about this whole scenario is that even though my heart accelerated during the incident, God brought the Scripture in 2 Timothy to my mind and also a message I had just heard at Pacific Coast Camp preached by Bro. Frazier entitled The Spirit Of Fear. Y’all that went to camp remember that one? If it wasn’t for those 2 things, I think I would have been way more unnerved and almost panicky. Thank God for His Word and for putting a little excitement and laughter into my evening!

 

There’s Nothing Like The Face Of A Kid Getting The Holy Ghost!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are so thankful that Sonia received the baptism of the Holy Ghost at Pacific Coast Camp 2011!

 

Pacific Coast Camp 2011

Pacific Coast Camp 2011 is still in progress at the time I am making this post. It has been absolutely wonderful, and I just wanted to share a few things about the camp for which I am thankful.

 

I am thankful……………………

-to be able to come to this camp(Things are really tight for us financially, but God made a way for us to come!)

-that we have 4 other young people from our church with us in addition to our 2 kids this year

-that Sonia received the Holy Ghost Tuesday night! (Years ago when I was a kid, and we had a television, I remember a commercial for Hershey’s chocolate bars. The slogan was, “There’s nothing like the face of a kid eating a Hershey bar.” The commercial went on to show the faces of various children happily eating this sweet confection. I would like to say, “There’s nothing like the face of a kid getting the Holy Ghost!” I hope to post a picture of Sonia up at the altar receiving this glorious gift when I return home. It was awesome!

-for the preaching of the Word of God! It has been tremendous, and it is beautiful to see many young people responding to the preaching and pouring themselves out to God in praise, worship and deeper consecrations at the altar. This will be a life changing camp for many. Thank you Brother Frazier and Brother Lambeth for being sensitive to God and preaching the Word to us!

-that Sis. Joslyn received a healing touch on Wednesday morning! She took off her back brace and told me she had no more pain. To God be the glory!

 

More later……………………………………….. 

 

A Day I Never Want To Forget

It was 32 years ago today that I repented of my sins, was baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the Holy Ghost! When June 16 comes along each year, I always like to take time to remember and reflect on the day that truly changed my life. I am so thankful for God’s great salvation!! It’s hard to imagine what my life would be like without the Lord. I shudder to even think of it. The thought crossed my mind that now I have been living for God for exactly 2/3 of my life. I won’t go into all the details of my testimony here, but if you want to read my story, click on the words “my testimony” above.

 

I apologize also for the lack of posting. We had interrupted Internet service and were on dial up for 3 weeks. Dial up is SO SLOW that I was only on the computer when it was absolutely necessary.(like to fill in my time sheet and check work e-mail) Hopefully, I will soon be back to posting a little more regularly.