1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 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.
~ Who will you thank God for today?
~ Do you find joy in praying for others? Why or why not?
After thinking about the second question for a bit, I think it is great that I even get to pray. And not only that but it is encouraged by God. And He will listen! That only should bring me joy, but sometimes, in my human selfishness, I see it as a burden. I want that to change. I want to remember that it is a privilege that I GET to pray to God and he does listen.
ReplyDeleteOver the past several years I've found much joy in praying for others. I feel like the Spirit totally encourages me to do this - even when I'm too stubborn, hard-headed or selfish to do it. It's never a gentle nudge - I feel like I get knocked over the head. (Get in your prayer lair woman! NOW!!)
ReplyDeleteI think I find it so peaceful to pray for others, too. Because I know God is faithful and all things work for His glory. I know He LOVES it when we intercede on behalf of others.
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ReplyDelete1) Today I thank God for my sis-in-law, Cindy. She is such a jewel and one of those you don't know how anyone could ever live without. Cindy comes around and suddenly things work better, work quicker, and just flow with such ease. Suddenly there is a place of laughter and fun...even amongst the necessary "to do's" each day brings. Suddenly you feel inspired to have some good ol' girly fun with dressup, makeup, and getup outta the house and go grab some chocolate and coffee and go shopping! ha! What a treasure she is. Today,I thank God for Cindy.
ReplyDelete2)I *really* enjoy praying for others. I enjoy it because I *know* God is immediately at work in their life and *that* is what is exciting for me! Whether I *see* anything immediately or not doesn't really matter because I know/believe God is always faithful to His Word and answers when we pray.All He needs is a willing heart to pray and I count it a privilege to be partnered/used by Him to help somebody! And even more exciting is when we get to see/hear the testimony of what God did! whoohoo!
--With that, vs. 6 is one of my *favorite* scriptures and in fact I pray it over many people. God is always faithful to work to completion what *HE* starts in us! WOW! Yes, of course we still get to choose if we want to yield to what God is working in our hearts, but HE is ALWAYS faithful to *His* part. Right before this vs. he says "because of your partnership in the gospel..". Meaning, as we partner with God, as we set our will, our hearts, on what *He* desires to do in and through us, He WILL INDEED continue to work inside of us(grow us, mature us) and to it's completion! What an awesome promise that is. Knowing that we can trust God to finish the job...knowing that if we're not where we know we should be today, God IS WORKING in us so we can be more of who He made us to be tomorrow! Yaay!
Amber - I totally agree about vs. 6. It's one I keep close to my heart. Getting discouraged is part of life, but knowing that God won't give up on me is all I need to remember! I just need to remain faithful and surrender everything to Him so He can do His work in me : )
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