Tag: prayer

a prayer of thanks for the DR

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Early Sunday morning we got back into town. We are tired.

I didn’t want to leave the ministry in the Dominican Republic. Personally, I wanted to adopt at least 5 kids from the villages or orphanages we visited. I am so proud of our team for the spiritual initiative and giftedness they pour out on this mission. The fruit was immediate in their lives and ours. God is glorified. May we repeat more of the same here on our home turf.

Father,

thank You for the opportunity to  glorify Your name in the Dominican Republic.

thank You protect us and keep us safe as we flew, during Kiko’s bus driving, and walking around the various villages.

thank You for the strength empowered within us as we did new things in a strange place.

thank You for opening up the floodgates for you glory to shine through us.

thank You for using us as lights of your Sons grace.

thank You for Your love and allowing us to show Your love to the unlovable.

thank You for bring our team together as One.

thank You for using our hands to touch minister to Your orphans, and allowing Your love flow through us.

thank You for spiritual nourishment and immediate fruit the people we feed, clothed and played with in the sugar cane villages.

thank You for the spiritual healing those we sought to nurse in the medical clinic.

thank You for the numerous souls redeemed through our drama “Tired” and Your gospel message.

thank You for being the center of our worship.

thank You for humbling my prideful heart from the joyful poverty of the people we met.

thank You for my new friend Kiko [thank You for rescuing him and giving him a passionate heart]

thank You for creating a beautiful island with beautiful people.

Amen.

a prayer for the DR

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On Friday we leave from Battle Ground Bible Church with 16 team members for the Dominican Republic. We are gearing up for a stretching 10 days of ministry. Here is my prayer for our trip…

Father,

may Your name would be glorified in the Dominican Republic.

may You protect us and keep us safe as we fly, bus, and walk.

may Your strength empower us as we enter a world unknown.

may You open the floodgates for you glory to shine through us.

may You use us as lights of your Sons grace.

may our love be Your love.

may our team be One.

may our hands touch minister to Your orphans, may your love flow through us.

may You spiritual nourish the people we feed in the sugar cane villages.

may you spiritual heal those we seek to nurse.

may souls be redeemed through our drama “Tired”.

may You be the center of our worship.

Amen.

too busy

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“We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power. We have a great deal of activity, but we accomplish little; many services, but few conversions; much machinery, but few results.” -R.A. Torrey, How to Obtain Fullness of Power  
 
Busyness or fruitfulness-that is the question… Is your life full of meaningful activities or just busy activities? 
 
It’s easy to be involved in many different efforts and good causes, but the truth is, busyness does not guarantee fruitfulness. It also does not authenticate the fact that I am in God’s will. It is the quality of what our lives produce that determines whether or not we are truly fruitful. 
 
One good way to help determine if you are being fruitful or just busy is by asking yourself some questions like: 
 
Am I spending my time doing what helps fulfill God’s purposes for life?
Am I doing what I really desire to do?
Am I using my God-given gifts and talents?
Am I being controlled and pressured by circumstances and expectations of others?
Do I see concrete results-good fruit-from my busyness? 
 
Being fruitful begins with putting God first. John 15:5 says, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much fruit. However, apart from Me you can do nothing. 
 
In Luke 10:38-42, we read the story of Martha and Mary. Martha was very busy serving, even serving Jesus. She got angry because her sister sat at Jesus’ feet listening to Him talk instead of being busy helping her serve. Jesus’ response to Martha was that Mary had chosen the best thing to do at that time-sit and listen to Him.  
 
I can be a lot like Martha. I have to constantly be busy doing something, even busy serving God. It does take long to figure out that this busyness can have bad effect on your relationship with God and others. While being busy I didn’t want to sit and listen to God, and it made me very angry when others did. Why? They aren’t busy accomplishing “things” like you.  
 
You can never do everything you want. And certainly you cannot do anything on your own strength very long before needing to rely upon the everlasting reserves of Jesus Christ. 
 
Busyness often has its roots in pride. It says, “Look at me, look at all that I can do, and see how busy I am.” If you pride yourself on your busy schedule or ability to juggle a packed day timer, you have a problem with busyness. Make time for God. Be still and wait upon Him. This may be the hardest thing for you to do, but in the midst of busyness it is the most fruitful thing. 
 

disturb us

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Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore.
 
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.
 
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.
 
Sir Frances Drake