THE POWER OF PRAYER

“And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.”- 2 Chronicles 20:10–12

William Cowper lost his mother when he was very young and grew up struggling with depression. Though a gifted student and poet, Cowper sought in vain for a purpose and direction for his life. Amid his depression, he tried to commit suicide and was sent to an asylum for a time. There at the asylum he heard and understood the gospel and put his faith in Christ. On his release, he moved to Olney, England, where he met John Newton. The former slave trader was a great help to Cowper, and it was during this time that he wrote “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood.” Cowper was physically weak and often ill, and continued to battle depression. But he learned some deep lessons during his battles. He found himself forced to rely on God for his every need. Cowper wrote:

Restraining prayer, we cease to fight;
Prayer makes the Christian’s armor bright;
And Satan trembles, when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees.

The constant temptation we face is to go our own way and to work in our own strength. This temptation is especially attractive to those who are trying to make a difference for the Lord, because we fail to realize the subtle pride involved. Yet in truth, we are completely unable to serve and live for God apart from His power. And that power can only be found on our knees. We do not need more strength and ability. We need more prayer. Through prayer we seek and receive God’s power and provision for our daily lives. ( Daily in the Word)

When you have a problem you can’t solve, and you don’t know what to do, do this–fix your focus on Jesus! The power of prayer is greater than any problem you will ever face.- HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

FINISHING GOD’S PURPOSE

“Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.”– Acts 13:35-37

There were many times in David’s life when he was in great danger. He fought with wild animals as a boy keeping his father’s sheep. He faced a trained warrior in the giant Goliath with nothing but a sling. Saul tried to kill him repeatedly. The Philistines wanted him dead. His own son, Absalom, raised an armed insurrection against him and sought his life. Yet through all of those dangers and threats, David survived because God’s purpose for his life was not finished. David died at an old age, only after he had completed the mission God gave him.

The great missionary David Livingstone said, “I am immortal until the will of God is accomplished in my life.” While we should not be foolish or cavalier in our approach to life, we should also not live in fear and bondage, no matter how difficult our circumstances may be. Some people die unexpectedly in accidents or a sudden health crisis, while others have plenty of time to prepare for an end that seems long in advance. But in none of those cases is God taken by surprise.

God knows His plan and purpose, and He knows exactly how long we will live. Every one of those days, including the final one, will be under His care. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” (Psalm 23:6). Rather than living with fear and worry, we should live joyfully, committing our lives to fulfilling God’s calling and purpose.(Daily in the Word)

Dear friend if we can trust God for our eternal salvation, we can depend upon Him to meet all our earthly needs. As a child of God in the will of God we have good reason to believe that our every need shall be supplied and that we will live to the second the amount of time God has planned for us. “Safe am I” not only describes our salvation- it also can be said of His watch- care over us on earth!- HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

A DAILY DUTY
“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:”-Eph. 4:26

The only way to make our life continuously beautiful, and to keep it ever sweet with love—is to insist on judging ourselves day by day. Old accounts are hard to settle. Each setting of the sun, should be a signal to us to apply the law of Christ to all our life for the day. The hour of evening prayer, should always be a time for getting right all that may have gone wrong in us during the day. Then every feeling of bitterness against another should be cast out of our heart. Life is too critical for us to venture into any night’s darkness, nourishing anger or envy. “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” is a wise counsel.

 

The anger left in the heart tonight—will be harder to overcome tomorrow, than it is today; for bitter feelings grow more bitter as they are cherished and nursed, and who knows what the end may be? They may grow into crimes—unless quickly put out of the heart. Evening prayer should bring love’s flood into all the life.- J. R. Miller

Sinful anger makes us miserable. It also causes us to make mistakes. It impairs our reasoning and causes us to do things we ordinarily wouldn’t do — things we will regret later. If we are wise we will settle down before sundown. – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

STRONG CRYING AND TEARS
“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;”– Heb. 5:7

I often say “Prayer is important because everything depends on prayer”. I believe that’s true. Yet prayer isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Prayer takes great
effort. The late Adrian Rogers confessed that prayer was the hardest thing for him to do. He said:

“I read in the book of Hebrews how my Savior prayed with “strong cryings and tears.” How that rebukes me. When is the last time you shed a tear over some soul that was mortgaged to the devil? When is the last time that you, like Jacob, said, “Oh God, I will not let You go, except You bless me” (Genesis 32:26)? When is the last time you labored with God in prayer as the Bible says? Prayer is hard work! For the energy it takes, I’d rather preach than pray. I’d rather study than pray. It takes work to pray. And here’s a man—our Savior— Who was praying passionately. He cast himself upon the ground. We need that kind of passion in our prayers. The effect of my preaching is not  measured by how my sermons are outlined or illustrated, but by the power of Almighty God upon my life because I’ve been alone with God in prayer. Jesus knew what it was to get alone with God in prayer. Do you know what it is?”
I wonder how many would be so honest as to confess that the same is true in their lives. We can’t expect things to get better until we acknowledge our problem. Many folks pretend that they pray as they should when deep down in their heart they know it isn’t true. If we hope things will change for the better–that we will see great things from God, we first have to admit what miserable failures we have been when it come to prayer. So how is it with you? If we’re honest I suspect we all admit that there is much room for improvement. Prayer might be hard, but it is of such great importance that we dare not neglect it!–HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

DO YOU KNOW?– DOES IT SHOW?
“Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” (1 John 3:6-10)
It happens everyday. I’m talking about the failure of professing Christians to give evidence that they are truly saved. While we all act out of character and fail at times, the manner of life for some people is un-Christian. Both their attitude and actions are unlike Christ — habitually, not just on occasionally. That’s a cause for great concern.
Do they not know? Do they not care? How can a person know or care enough to see the importance of professing Christ as their Savior and then be so careless in their manner of life? Yet it happens all the time– and raises serious questions. Do they make a profession simply to ease their conscience, or to convince others that all is well with them spiritually? Are they deceived as to what true salvation is? The fact that they show no concern about examining themselves, nor interest in exhortation from God’s word forces us to conclude that they are indeed deceived. Especially when we their lifestyle is anything but Christ-like.
Let’s face it, it’s common to see certain sins deeply ingrained in the lives of people who claim to be Christians. Things such as pride, selfishness, dishonesty, anger, jealousy, hatred, etc. And yet these folks will argue until they are blue in the face that they are good Christians. Really! It is no wonder that the world is repulsed by such claims, and so quick to label all Christians hypocrites. That calls for attention.
John wrote his first epistle “that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1 John 5:13), and he warns us about such a life-style ( 3:6-10). What John said should cause some folks to quake in their boots! Contrary to what they think, say, or feel there is no evidence that they have been born again. So, judged from the scriptures, do you know? Does it show?–HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346