When You Pray

When You Pray

Today's Scripture:

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
Mark 11:25, NKJV.

Today's Word:

Many times, people wonder why their prayers aren’t answered. They feel distant from God but can’t explain why. They love God and try to do all the right things, but deep inside they sense that something isn’t right.

Scripture tells us there are many things that can hinder our prayers. One of them is unforgiveness. God knows that holding unforgiveness is destructive because it puts up a wall between us and God. But when we choose to forgive, the wall comes down. Someone said it like this: “Forgiveness is setting the prisoner free and realizing the prisoner was you.”

When you go before God in prayer, ask Him to search your heart and mind. See if there is any unforgiveness that is blocking your prayers and affecting your relationship with Him. The other person may have been wrong, they may have hurt you deeply, but there is nothing on this earth that is worth losing your peace with Almighty God. Forgiveness doesn’t excuse the other person, it means you are trusting God with it all. Today, when you pray, choose forgiveness and don’t let anything stand in the way of the good things God has in store for your future!

Prayer for Today:

Father, today I humbly come to You with an open and willing heart. Search me. Know me. Show me if there is any unforgiveness in my life or anything that would displease You. Thank You for showing me Your ways so that I can walk with You in peace all the days of my life in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

***

 Are You Only Fooling Yourself?

14 hours ago

by Rick Warren

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” (James 1:22 NLT)

Nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific. That’s why when you read God’s Word, you try to move it from what it was to what you need to do now — your application.
A great habit to get into after you read your Bible is to write a one-sentence application to what you’ve just read. It’ll help you become a “doer of the Word,” not just a hearer.
What makes a good application sentence? It has four characteristics:

• It’s personal. You can't write an application for somebody else. It’s not about what the world needs to do or what your husband needs to do or what your kids need to do. It’s about what you need to do!
   
• It’s practical. Your application should be something you can actually do and something you are able to make a plan to do. Broad generalities won’t help you. In fact, they’ll produce little action and will make you feel helpless.
   
• It’s possible. If you can’t actually accomplish your application, you’ll likely get discouraged. If your application is that you need to pray five hours a day, you won’t do it. Don’t go a day without prayer. That’s practical. Praying for five hours isn’t practical.
   
• It’s provable. You need to set yourself a deadline to check on yourself. Until you set a deadline and a goal, you can’t check yourself. Then it’s just a dream.

You can do this with any portion of the Bible you’re reading. The Bible says, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:22 NLT).
Talk It Over

• After reading this devotional, how will your quiet time change?
• What one-sentence application will you try to put into practice today?