RAISING THE DEAD vs RAISING YOUR KIDS - PART SIX

(PART SIX??? WHO KNEW??)
Do you pray for the right reason? Do you know what the RIGHT reason is?
Well, any time you reach out to God.. for ANY REASON AT ALL... you are doing the right thing.  It isn't wrong to ask Him for what you need.  As a matter of fact, He encourages us to make our requests known to Him. Any prayer is a good prayer. Especially when you believe God is there and He is hearing.

So instead of right or wrong...let's use the word EFFECTIVE.  Prayer has the MOST EFFECT in your life.. and therefore in the lives of your family.. .when you pray when you don't NEED anything.. and you pray just to know God. Just to thank God.  Just to worship Him for all He has done for you.  Worship Him for who HE IS.    Pray every day.  Find a time to get alone and PRAY.  JESUS gave us the example of GETTING AWAY and GETTING ALONE to pray to His Father... there must be something to it.. don'tcha think??  "He rewards those who diligently seek HIM." 

Let me ask you something sweet wife... sweet mother.. sweet daughter...

How would you feel if your child described your love this way: "Well, yes, my mother loves me. I know that because when she is feeding the rest of the family, she lets me eat. And when she washes everyone else's clothes, she washes mine too. And when she does things for the rest of the family.. she lets me be there."  Is that the kind of love you want your kid to describe?  I doubt it.

But sometimes that's the way so many of us feel about God's love for US. We know He loves us in a general way... like He loves the world.. like He loves the Body of Christ... But...sometimes we find our faith a little too weak to believe that HE LOVES ME.  HE loves you.

And in that place of prayer... through the power of the Holy Spirit... when we give our Heavenly Father the time...HE WHISPERS TO YOUR HEART.. (AND MINE) that He loves YOU... just the way you are.  He reminds you that HE created you.. in your mother's womb.. and made you EXACTLY the way you are because HE DELIGHTS IN YOU.

But here's the secret.....the place of prayer is the place that God reveals His love for you.

That's why our enemy does his best to keep us from prayer. To keep us too busy.  To keep us distracted.  To keep our faith weak.  Because he knows that ONCE God, through the Holy Spirit, reveals to YOU that He adores YOU....that He will NEVER LEAVE you... that HE SEES YOU.. that HE CARES about you...
you will be an unshakeable force to be reckoned with.

What did Paul pray for the Ephesians?  "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,"

POWER? What does Paul PRAY they have POWER for?

Great miracles? Better understanding of the Scriptures? A greater desire to witness? 

"to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

You know.. God speaks through His Word.  He will never "whisper" anything to anyone's heart that He hasn't already SHOUTED in His Word.  But Paul is describing something that GOES BEYOND merely having a knowledge of God and His Word... He prays they will KNOW GOD'S LOVE... which goes beyond knowing God's Law... and that IN ORDER TO BE FILLED completely with all the FULLNESS OF GOD.. 

There must be a REVELATION from the HOLY SPIRIT of GOD'S LOVE.

GOD'S LOVE.

If you will begin to take the time.. to be alone with God..

Take your Bible with you... and turn the TV off... and leave your cell phone somewhere else...

And do it every day.

YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE HOW YOUR LIFE.. AND THE LIFE OF YOUR CHILDREN.. AND YOUR MARRIAGE.. AND EVERYTHING AROUND YOU...

will change.

O.K. 

Long enough.

Love you,

Mrs. Older