"Hill Country Thoughts:Walking Daily With The Lord -Thoughts, Hopes,and Living in the Real World" "Without having seen Him, you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult {and} thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy.
“Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” Luke 18:1
E.M. Bounds in Purpose of Prayer, Chapter 7, makes the following statements:
"The words are the words of our Lord, who not only ever sought to impress upon His followers the urgency and the importance of prayer, but set them an example which they alas have been far too slow to copy."
"The always speaks for itself. Prayer is not a meaningless function or duty to be crowded into the busy or the weary ends of the day, and we are not obeying our Lord’s command when we content ourselves with a few minutes upon our knees in the morning rush or late at night when the faculties, tired with the tasks of the day, call out for rest."
"God is always within call, it is true; His ear is ever attentive to the cry of His child, but we can never get to know Him if we use the vehicle of prayer as we use the telephone—for a few words of hurried conversation."
"Intimacy requires development. We can never know God as it is our privilege to know Him, by brief and fragmentary and unconsidered repetitions of intercessions that are requests for personal favours and nothing more. That is not the way in which we can come into communication with heaven’s King."
“The goal of prayer is the ear of God,” a goal that can only be reached by patient and continued and continuous waiting upon Him, pouring out our heart to Him and permitting Him to speak to us. Only by so doing can we expect to know Him, and as we come to know Him better we shall spend more time in His presence and find that presence a constant and ever-increasing delight."
"Always does not mean that we are to neglect the ordinary duties of life; what it means is that the soul which has come into intimate contact with God in the silence of the prayer-chamber is never out of conscious touch with the Father, that the heart is always going out to Him in loving communion, and that the moment the mind is released from the task upon which it is engaged it returns as naturally to God as the bird does to its nest."
"What a beautiful conception of prayer we get if we regard it in this light, if we view it as a constant fellowship, an unbroken audience with the King. Prayer then loses every vestige of dread which it may once have possessed; we regard it no longer as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege which is to be enjoyed, a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty."
How awesome are these quotes and how blessed I was as I read them and realized that this has been the very thing that the Lord has been doing in my life over the last three years.
That he has been teaching me what it means to be in an attitude of prayer, of worship and praise. That he desires that intimate relationship with us so that we are attuned to Him. To hear His voice as we go about our everyday life. To pray for those He brings into our lives no matter where we are.
Learning to be intimate with the Lord is very important. For it is during these times that we learn to hear His voice, to hear His heart and it is during these times that He brings healing to our inner most being and He begins to show us how to pray for others, to lift them to Him in prayer. To intercede and stand in the gap as needed.
One of the most important things that I have learned is that no matter where I am at or what I am doing, I can always be in that attitude of prayer, that relationship with the Lord and it is the same for you my friends.
He calls us into this intimacy so that we can learn to be one with Him, leaning upon Him and hearing His heartbeat.
There have been many times while sitting at Starbucks, drinking coffee, journaling and reading, that I will pray for different ones that come into Starbucks.
An attitude of prayer keeps us open and alert to that still small voice of the Spirit speaking to our hearts to pray, to intercede and to pray as He leads.
It can be at home, at WalMart, or walking around the neighborhood, that you can be in that attitude and relationship with the Lord.
Let us go to the Lord with a heart that is open to Him, receive and to give out of that which has been given to us!
My daughter Elise and her husband, Hunter just recently got back from Texas.
One of the things that they brought back was a plant. It looked familiar, like I had seen it before. Actually I have. Nearly thirty-three years ago.
This particular plant began as one leaf in a glass of water in upstate New York where I was in Bible School and over the years it grew into a very large plant. It was my pride and joy, as it survived Bible School, a long trip to Texas and nearly thirty years of Texas weather.
But in the last three years it was neglected, left to fend for itself and when I left Texas in December I thought it was gone.
So when I saw this plant, I was amazed. Even though the original plant was dying, appeared beyond hope, Hunter, was able to take a part of the plant that still showed life, transplanted it and now there are four or five leaves as you can see.
So the plant lives on. Out of death comes life and it is the same with us, when it appears that the enemy has won, out of the battle of life, comes hope, that is focused on the Lord.
He takes that little bit of hope and waters it with His Spirit and draws us to Him and as we soak in His presence, as we absorb the word, as we stir up the gifts, He molds us, shapes us and makes us vessels that can be used for His glory!
Till later,
Paul
Hill Country Thoughts Paul E. Dawn Jr.
Kennesaw, Georgia
Think on This:
“As we spend that time with the Lord, as we ponder His word, it will bring forth fruit in due season, and it will be life to others as we share those things that the Lord has made real in our lives as we walk with Him, as we go through the trials of life, the dealings, as we mature little by little, we will be able to share with others that which has been made real in our life, not theory but the life changing power of the word" - Paul
Words Aloft
Let my words soar on the
rising currents of your spirit
Let my words be powered by the
heart of your inspiration
Let my words lead others on the
incredible journey to your heart
Let my words reflect the vastness
of your Mercy, new every morning!
