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| Praying Hearts Sanctuary |
| Newsletter |
| October 2001 |
| Hello dear reader. This month, we have another full newsletter with some scripture verses just below, the words of a favorite song, some recommended web sites, an article on "The Power of Prayer, an editorial and the traditional closing prayer. We prayerfully hope that this newsletter helps to meet the needs of your heart today and in the days to come. ******************************************************* VERSES OF ASSURANCE Here are some verses recommended by one of our readers. You may want to read the entire chapter in which each of these verses are found to gain a better understanding of the verses in context. "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Revelation 3:20 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!" Isaiah 55:1 "This is what God the LORD says-- he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness." Isaiah 42: 5 - 7 **************************************************** ONE OF ANG'S FAVORITE SONGS: When I'm struggling, when I'm feeling detached from God, I turn to music for comfort. This song released by New Song reminds me of what Praying Hearts purpose here is. This song was written by Eddie Carswell and Leonard Ahlstrom. I hope it touches you the way it does me. Sheltering Tree We all need sheltering trees Friends in our lives who get down on their knees And lift us up before the King of Kings We all need sheltering trees. It's been said a friend is like a mighty sheltering tree A place of refuge we can run when trouble comes for you and me Someone we can count on through thick and thin When the storms of life are blowing there's just nothing like a friend (There's just nothing like a friend ) [Chorus: We all need sheltering trees Friends in our lives who get down on their knees And lift us up before the King of Kings We all need sheltering trees.] There've been days that I was sure that I couldn't make it through Clouds of doubt came rolling in and I didn't know what I would do I would've given in and said I just can't go on If it hadn't been for a friend that helped me to be strong (Helped me to be strong) [Repeat Chorus: We all need sheltering trees Friends in our lives who get down on their knees And lift us up before the King of Kings We all need sheltering trees.] You can face the highest mountain and the climb won't feel so high Or cross the darkest valley and it won't seem so wide Nothing is impossible when a friend is by your side [Repeat Chorus 2X: We all need sheltering trees Friends in our lives who get down on their knees And lift us up before the King of Kings We all need sheltering trees. We all need sheltering trees Friends in our lives who get down on their knees And lift us up before the King of Kings We all need sheltering trees.]" *** We all need sheltering trees.Let us be yours. We are still available for any prayer needs you have. *** ~Ang ***************************************************** Some articles from the World Wide Web on Mental Health and Spirituality have been found and can be seen on the Articles page of our website. Please check them out when you have time. Also some new links have been added to the Links page. We've added them here for your convenience as well. www.christians-in-recovery.org - Lots of links and a good stepping stone into other sites. www.billygraham.org/spiritualhelp - Rev. Graham answers questions about most aspects of spirituality. www.geocities.com/heartland/ranch/9112/ - This site is by The Llama 4 Christ. It has lots of links to mental health sites and Christian sites. www.christian-depression.org - This site is a little tough to navigate and not graphic intensive but it offers an active Christian support message board that you should take a look at. ~Ang *************************************************** THE POWER OF PRAYER As we pray, do we have some hesitation about just how effective our prayer will be? Do we have a sneaking suspicion that events will relentlessly unfold whether we pray or not? Do we feel that we are unworthy to pray or make a request of God because we have worried-- before we thought of prayer? Do we really think, down deep, that God will not or cannot alter a certain circumstance? What other hesitant thoughts do we bring into our "prayer closets"? Just why are many Christian lives NOT filled with confident, easily expressed, sure and certain prayers? There are at least two important considerations: 1) We should know what God says to us through Scripture and, 2) We should fully believe what He says. Jesus said that "men (including women) aught always to pray and not to faint (be weak or weary)." So it is possible to be strong and confident in prayers "always"! Hum.....what are we doing wrong? The parable which followed concerned a widowed woman who kept after a careless and "unjust" earthly judge until he "avenged her" of her adversaries and made them quit harassing her. In Biblical times widows had a tough row to hoe and couldn't expect much justice, which is why she worked so hard. Jesus drew the conclusion to His parable by saying that God will certainly answer the prayers of His elect, but in His time and not ours. The point is that we need self-confidence (that we are being heard) and patience for the answers. A second thought is, though we hear of (impatient and "fainting") folks who say they do not get answers to their prayers, let us not approach prayer in a doubting manner. God is often (usually?) not in the express delivery business, for His own reasons. John, the Lord's beloved disciple, says we Christians "are of the truth and shall assure (convince) our hearts before Him" and, "If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God." This confidence is given us as we keep His commandments and do those things which are pleasing in God's sight, so whatever we ask we shall receive from Him. That is God's blank check with our names written on it based upon our paying attention to (believing) His truth and living our lives under His directions found in the Bible. Once saved, it is our responsibility to learn how to please God, add to our faith (belief) and grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It takes commitment to study and learn the Scriptures as God's real truth, and to pray for help in understanding. "Commitment" means making the time for study and prayer. Here are some attention-getting verses in the Bible worth thinking about. James, the Lord's brother and pastor of the first Christian church in Jerusalem, was talking about praying for the sick. He wrote, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." "Effectual" here means to be active and mighty. James then points to Elijah, who prayed one of God's promises and caused a three year drought in Israel. It is Good Prayer to use God's promises in the right situation. We should know them well enough to use them with confidence. James writes that we should ask in faith, nothing wavering, if we are to expect results from our prayers. Jesus said a remarkable thing, recorded in Matthew, chapter 21, regarding a fig tree that withered and died. "If ye have faith (belief) and doubt not" the destruction of a fig tree is nothing! If we believe in the power of God without doubting, we can say "unto this mountain, Be thou removed...and cast into the sea, (and) IT SHALL BE DONE"! Jesus followed this up by saying, "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, BELIEVING, ye shall receive" So there are two aspects of powerful prayer: God's promises and our faith (belief). Minor correction: powerful prayer must also be "in the Holy Spirit." Wow! Some will say, that's a big promise! Surely He was talking about mountains of difficulty in our lives, and not really about casting mountains into the ocean or lake. --Are you sure that's what He meant? That is the thought most often expressed about the verse, and I have heard it most of my life. But are "Mountains of difficulty" all there is to those words? Let us remember that Peter, by faith, did something no other person in the world has ever done except Christ Himself: HE WALKED ON WATER! Maybe only just one step, but Peter did walk on water! Think you can do it? We have all heard sermons on Peter lacking faith and "beginning to sink" so that Jesus had to rescue him. And what did Jesus say? "Congratulations, Peter, you were able to walk a step or two on water!"? NO! He said, "O thou of little faith; wherefore didst thou doubt?" Goodness sakes alive! Jesus said Peter could have continued ....even SHOULD have continued his faith-walk! Peter was upbraided for his "little faith"! How strong and developed is your faith? Do the stormy waves of life take your attention off Jesus? Well now, what should we think about all this? One thing comes to mind: our normal faith [belief in the Scriptures] is normally very superficial! Jesus said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Ask, seek and knock are in the present tense, meaning, "keep on doing it"! We can easily hesitate to do this, feeling we are annoying God too much. But we are commanded to keep on asking, seeking and knocking! How is this different from the Heathen's "much speaking" which Jesus condemned? The difference is that Christians belong to God through Christ, but "the heathen" do not even know how to pray. We will get results by dedication, knowledge and persistence. The secret of powerful prayer lies in Jesus' words: "If ye abide [dwell or continue] in me, and my words abide in you (we believe them!), ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." That describes powerful prayer! Christ continues, "Herein (in this way) is my Father glorified [honored, magnified], that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." God will honor His word and we will be able to produce fruit to His glory. Can you believe that? You must, if your prayers are to be meaningful. Furthermore, John says that whatever we ask, we will get from God "because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." So, abiding in Him and treasuring His words, plus keeping His commandments and living in a way which pleases God, opens a sure way to powerful prayer. Powerful prayer? Yes, and confident prayer! "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will (which we learn by studying and abiding in Him), He hears us; and if (since) we know that He hears us ...we know that we have (by faith) the petitions we desire of Him." In this way we can "be careful (anxious, worried) over nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let [our] requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which surpasses (is superior to) all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds through Jesus Christ." Yes, men (and women) should always pray and not faint. The treasures of God are available to faith-full Christians. "According to your faith ( the strength of your belief in God's words) be it done unto you." Powerful prayer doesn't depend upon God, but upon what we do with His revelations in the Bible. Amen. Paul Francisco, [email protected] (Chapters in the Scriptures behind the above article are Matthew 4, 7, 9, 21; Philippians 4; James 1; John 15; first John 3, 5) ~ Paul ************************************************************************************* It has been difficult for your editor to put together this article on the tragedy that happened here in the United States on September 11th. A New Yorker myself, I have felt quite close to the disaster though I live a few hours away from "the City". It seems like every day I hear the name of another person who is grieving over the loss of a loved one and it saddens me that we have to deal with the deaths of so many. Yet, death is a part of living and I realize that the United States is but one country where innocent lives have been taken and are being taken as people take sides of opposing issues. I have a good enough understanding of the hatred that seems to co-exist with traumatic events to know that a lot of irrational thinking and behavior is going on all over the world. I am a Christian, living in a nation whose shores were settled by people came to seek religious freedom. I have always tried to respect others' beliefs, while standing firm on what I believe to be the truth as found in the Apostles' Creed. It has always been difficult to understand why others cannot accept me and my beliefs as I have tried to be accepting of them. I try to live my life as the best person I can be and hope somehow the peace and joy that Christ has given me can be passed to others with whom I am in contact. I have seen sign after sign that says, "God bless America" and each time I have seen it I have thought, God HAS blessed America and we need to recognize and appreciate it. Over three decades ago, I visited two other continents. I saw poverty like I had never seen. I saw political signs and graffiti indicating peoples' hatred for Americans. It was then that I first began to realize that just because the U.S. gave financial aide to other countries did not mean that we were loved and appreciated. It reminded me of people even here in the United States who would take what they could get from some generous soul, then call that person a fool for being "suckered into" giving their money away. Sometimes I have found it difficult to know where giving to another stops being emotionally supportive and starts being harmful to their psyche. I have seen examples of the "rich American" flaunting his wealth and can understand how those with so little can be seduced into doing evil because of the jealous thoughts that continue to fester within. I know that we are the "richest country in the world" and yet I have tried to live a humble life. Not too long ago I asked my thirty three year old, "Did you ever feel poor when you were growing up?" She looked startled and exclaimed, "Mom, we WERE poor!" Well, I knew we were but had hoped that she hadn't realized it! I have never felt poor but have always felt that it was important to put the Lord's work first and have felt that giving tithes and offerings must come before other expenses. In retrospect, I know that God blessed us abundantly and so I never felt poor because we were rich in what mattered - spirituality. So, as I have pondered the terrorists motivation, their fears and lack of hope, I have seen how they have been victims even as they were victimizing thousands of innocent people. I have tried to look beyond their faults to see their needs. I have sought to understand, though I find it very difficult. In August, our television gave up and we have not yet replaced it. I have gotten most of my news from the radio and reading the NY Times on line. That amount of news has been enough for me to digest and I've been grateful not to see the vivid telecasts that many of you have seen. I have prayed for our leaders as well as those who grieve and I've done what I can for the relief effort in ways that I think are practical. Amid the tragedy, I can't help but believe that God is good, that He is in control and that good will continue to triumph over evil. I truly think there's a "peace that passes understanding" that allows me to go about my life with as few changes in it as possible. As my middle daughter said to me today, "Mom, if we die, we die and then we will be in heaven. There's nothing to fear." I do rest in that knowledge that, as Paul wrote to the Philippians, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." I would like to close my thoughts with these verses that lead up to that verse in Philippians, chapter 1. Paul was in chains in prison and yet he continued to understand that God's grace was more than sufficient and was giving him the strength to continue to be Christ's ambassador. We can choose to be in bondage to the events of September 11th events or we can choose to agree with the early Christians who had the courage to speak God's word more courageously and fearlessly. Here are Paul's words spoken to the church at Philippi: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly. It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1: 2 - 21. ~ Grandytoon ****************************************************************************** CLOSING PRAYER Our blessed Lord and Heavenly King, we are so grateful for Your presence in our lives and power you have bestowed upon us so that we are able to live abundant lives with Your help. We come to you right now on behalf of all those who are hurting, either physically, mentally or spiritually. You know each pain that is afflicting the person who is reading this prayer. You know the desire of the heart and we know that You want only what is best for each of Your children. We pray that you will bestow Your healing touch wherever it is needed right now. And we pray that your children might sense the presence and power only You can give. We pray in the matchless name of Jesus Christ, Amen. ~ Grandytoon Grandytoon @Hotmail.com |
| Volume 1 Number 6 |
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