Prayer without Ceasing ~ Simply as if Breathing

“Think As Jesus Taught.” 
By Oswald Chambers.
“Pray without ceasing.” I Thess. 5:17

"We think rightly or wrongly about prayer according to the conception we have in our minds of prayer. 

If we think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts, we think rightly. 

The blood flows ceaselessly, and breathing continues ceaselessly; we are not conscious of it, but it is always going on. 

We are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect joint with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is. 

Prayer is not an exercise, it is the life. 

Beware of anything that stops exclamatory prayer. “Pray without ceasing,” keep the childlike habit of exclamatory prayer in your heart to God all the time."

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I loved this devotion. Of course there is more than one aspect to prayer, we were possibly were taught, as I was as a very young Christian: 
ACTS = Adoration Confession Thanksgiving Supplication
This prayer is Supplication, requesting, interceding, pleading, beseeching... and yes, exclamatory!

I think such prayer is like "texting" God, not in a disrespectful or demanding way, but simply a cry for help!

If your child uses poor grammar when they've a really urgent need - do we correct grammar or attend to the need?

Prayer without ceasing, contains a fervency, a spirit of urgency, and even to vocalise it is not needful. 

A breathed prayer.. an ongoing deep, heavy, overwhelming burden for someone contains this breathed prayer.

If we lack this level of intimacy in our prayer life, perhaps we've become rote-like in our prayer.

Performing the mechanics is not prayer.

Prayer is Spirit-breathed, it is not hollow, or a vacuum.

If we see as God sees, we will be burdened, we will cry out, plead for mercy, for salvation for this or aid for that one.

We will yearn, we will ache in and through every fibre of our being.. for this may be an overwhelming sorrow or another such great burden.

To see circumstances or people as God sees, we must feed on the Living Bread, the very Living, God-breathed Word of God. 

In Jesus is life, and life abundant, free for all eternity by simple childlike faith in His sacrifice for us.

Childlike faith for salvation, and childlike heart for breathed prayer to our Father, in Jesus name. 

Such fellowship and prayer gives off such an odour of sweetness that delights the Heavenly Father.

As a dear prayer warrior, Brother Mac said:

"Prayer is Power, it brings about the Mighty Action of the Almighty."
The Lord Jesus frequently drew apart to pray, to commune with His Father.
May we follow His example.
 Give us grace, Lord, thus to do.
******

May our dear Father God bless all who read this. I'm deeply burdened at the moment, as perhaps are you. If you are, I agree with you in your aching heart-felt prayers, at the throne of grace, where we find "grace to help in time of need". (Heb.4:12).

When I read the Oswald Chambers blessing on prayer this morning I wanted to share it. 
We are still HERE, dear ones, because our God has a work for us to do.

The greatest thing we can do is pray.

One for another.

Without ceasing. 

Prayer hugs, Shaz in Oz.x. 
*** may I please suggest you read all of Oswald Chamber's post link here?
For brevity I did not put all in, but its VERY pertinent in its entirety. 
I'm conscious long posts can be overwhelming to some.

The Word Only - Follow Thou Me...

Are my burdens hard to bear, do I want out? 
Let me look to my LORD for my example. 

*****
It pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief. Isa. 53:10

Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. John 12:27, 28

Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. Luke 22:42, 43

Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Phil. 2:8

Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. John 10:17

For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. John 6:38

The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? John 18:11

The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. John 8:29

My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matt 3:17

 Mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. Isa. 42:1

I think as I read these passages afresh in the Daily Light, what really struck me was that the Lord Jesus also suffered 
from the feeling of:  
“I don’t want to... I’d really rather not..” just like me. 

But it’s what He did with those feelings that is for us to follow. 
Is my heart filling me with fear?

"When trouble comes, remember that the God of all comfort is able to carry you through your darkest moments and deepest fears. 

He promises that one day He Himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4). 
Strengthened by this assurance, we can confidently trust Him with our tears now.”

By Bill Crowder in Our Daily Bread (9th May 2019)

In God is light, hope  and peace in the midst of the depth of any trial, for we are never, ever alone. 

May we in the depths cling to the cross, and in the deep pain of heart let us remember the cost of the cross. 

Lord bless dear ones, I lift all who read this that the Lord God will be their Guide, Comfort and Strength. He faileth not.

Prayer hugs,

Shaz in Oz.x

The Light Shineth in Darkness

Dear ones,

Read these verses on today's  calendar and thought they ought to be shared.  Especially in light of our post on Dwelling in Thick Darkness. See last post. These verses have always been  a great blessing to me.

I hope they are to you also.

From "Daily Light" calendar  by  Bible Truth Publishers. 
Hymn below is the one quoted at end, "Turn Your Eyes Upon  Jesus" ..

In God is light, hope  and peace in the midst of the depth of any trial, for we are never, ever alone. 

May we in the depths cling to the cross, and in the deep pain of heart let us remember the cost of the cross. 

Lord bless dear ones, I lift all who read this that the Lord God will be their Guide, Comfort and Strength. He faileth not.

Prayer hugs,

Shaz in Oz.x

P.S. I am praying on doing a sequel to Dwelling in Thick Darkness as there was too much for one post.  If Lord wills.

Dwelling in the Thick Darkness

Darkness is a time, a season for drawing near to our God, of testing trial, grief of heart, ill health and the many varied burdens of the flesh.. 

Perhaps our usual understanding of God is as God is Light. "I am the Light of the world" was one of Jesus’ seven "I am" statements in gospel of John.

John 8:12 

“I am the Light of the World: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.”

Praying much over this topic, I’ve been seeking where the Lord would have it go.

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The following verse in my daily reading was the trigger of the topic. The timeline setting is at the time of building of Solomon's temple..

2 Chronicles 6:1

..." said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness."

“Thick darkness” , this seems a contrary description of the LORD God, Who went as a pillar of cloud in the day before His people, and a pillar of fire in the night ... I also immediately thought of a number of references elsewhere of those who “sit in darkness”, some shown below.

Psalm 107:10-11

"Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;

Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:"

Isaiah 42:6-7

"I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, .... for a light of the Gentiles;

To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house."

Micah 7:8

"Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness,the LORD shall be a light unto me."

Luke 1:76-77,79

(Zachariah, John’s Father, speaking of John, the Baptist.)

"And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways;

To give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins,

To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

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Curiously in these verses there is a real progression.

Psalm 107 speaks of those in darkness as consequence of their (our) sin.

Isaiah 42 presents the hope ... opening of blind eyes (an aside:- this is a good verse to claim for salvation, etc of loved ones).

Micah 7 (a verse I’ve loved for decades) ... when in darkness there’s light! Rejoice not my enemy... I shall arise..  though in darkness, the LORD shall be my light! Joy indeed!

Luke 1 refers to Christ and His work upon salvation, He will guide our feet in peace. Peace brings contentment, contentment leads to joy.

Yet even in a saved, surrendered, rejoicing Christian walk following the One, Who is the Light of the World, there are periods of the darkness of the valleys. 

We can’t always live on the mountaintop, the valleys are needful.

One thing I’ve really realised, God dwelling in darkness does not mean He has darkness in Him. 
God dwelling in deep darkness merely shows God is omnipresent.
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And so for us in period of darkness,
there is a purpose in God's plan for us. 

O, may we be teachable in this dark valley. 
There is rich treasure here, spiritually. 

We will never learn this on the mountaintop of good times.

As stated in introduction:

Darkness is a time, a season for drawing near to our God, through the testing trial, grief of heart, ill health and many varied burdens of the flesh.. 

https://youtu.be/1-fFQ47wxeA
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
Thou my best thought, by day or by night;
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father and I, Thy true son;

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
.......
O King of glory, my victory won;
Rule and reign in me ’til Thy will be done;
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall;
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
******

Drawing near to God ... this is what the valleys are, times of drawing near .. learning afresh to trust, rest in Him ... for the LORD “dwells in deep darkness”. 

He is there in the midst of our heartache, our grief, loss of loved one, health, financial security, etc.

We are not alone.

“Lo, I am with thee alway, even unto the end of the world.”

May we always recall, when in Darkness... deep darkness, that our Lord is our light.

Praying for each of you in your burdens. 
May this bless your heart as it did mine... 
I pray so.

'Draw near to God, and He will draw nigh to you.'

Prayer hugs, Shaz in Oz.x 

PS. If this has blessed you I'd love it if you would join as a wonderful encourager of this blog ...  link HERE.

Thank YOU to those who have done so already. You really encourage me to keep on! 💕

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Thank YOU. 😊

The Word Only - How Great Thou Art!

Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness. II Pet. 3:8, 9

My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth.... so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isa. 55:8-11

God hath concluded them all in unbelief; that he might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! Rom. 11:32, 33

Be instant in season, out of season. II Tim. 4:2

*****
Are you burdened today for a near  or dear one? 
Or  is there some Burden that seems heavy to bear?

We have a Burden  Bearer.
 It is  not WE who need to be strong. 
In my, your, OUR weakness - let us rest in the One Who is Almighty.

He is not blind  to our plight. 

In His time, His way....
******

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Zech. 4:6

Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Heb. 12:2


We have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Heb. 4:15, 16

Sending prayer hugs 🙏🏻🤗 for you, in your burdens,

Shaz in Oz.x

PS . If you haven’t I'd love it you to join as a wonderful encourager of this blog ...  link HERE.  Thank YOU to those who have done so already. It really encourages me to keep on.
If you'd like these posts in your inbox, you can add your email to email link option on side bar. If you're on a mobile device on which there is no sidebar, then scroll down and select "View Web Version" at very bottom of post. This will bring up sidebar and "follow by email" link. Thank YOU.

Be of Good Cheer

Prayers slow in being answered?

Oh how this blessed me... 

https://odb.org/2019/05/02/praying-the-distance/

May our faith in our God be unchangeable as He is.

And remember your prayers, which  are in accordance with God's will, will continue in intercession through the Spirit of our Great God... until they're answered. 

Look how long Jeremiah wept and prayed? And his prayers are still being fulfilled for the nation of Israel.

So it is with ours.
Our prayers are not dependent upon our presence here on earth, but upon our faith at the time which we prayed them. 
Faith is the key. 
God answers them now or in decades or generations to come!
*******

Be of good cheer those loved ones will come home, as surely as my dad did after 54 years of prayer. 
Praise Him. He faileth not.

I'm not great at moment... but our God is, so that's all that matters. LORD bless dear ones, comfort, help  and strengthen you with might in your inner man (for these verses click here).

Prayer hugs 

Shaz in Oz. X