Daily Devotionals

Pray: Anywhere, Anytime

Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty.
-Ephesians 6:18

This important verse lets us know that we can pray anywhere at any time about anything and that we should be watchful to do so. If we believe and practice this scripture, it can be life-changing and certainly prayer changing.

It seems even when we do think about some prayer concern, we almost always follow that thought with another type of wrong thinking: I need to remember to pray about this during my prayer time. Why don't we stop and pray right then? Because we have a mental stronghold in this area. We think we must be in a certain place, in a certain frame of mind, and in a certain position before we can pray.

It's no wonder we don't get much praying done. If the only time we can pray is when we are sitting still and doing absolutely nothing else, most of us certainly won't be praying without ceasing.

We should all set aside a time to spend with God when we are doing nothing else, and we should discipline ourselves to keep our appointments with Him. Yes, we should have these set-apart times, but in addition to that we should be exercising our privileges of prayer all day long. Our prayers can be verbal or silent, long or short, public or private-the important thing is that we pray!

Believing Is a Win-Win Situation

May the God of your hope so %uFB01ll you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be over%uFB02owing (bubbling over) with hope.
-Romans 15:13

Romans 15:13 is one of my favorite scriptures. It says that joy and peace are found in believing. I remember when I was going through a period of time in which I had lost my joy and my peace. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but I knew something was wrong. One night I was pretty desperate, so I went over to the little "promise box" full of scriptures and began %uFB02ipping through it. I pulled out one of the little cards in it, and immediately the Lord spoke to me through it. It simply said, "Romans 15:13: Joy and peace are found in belief."

As soon as I got back to believing, my joy and peace came back. And the same is true for you. As soon as you start doubting, you lose your joy and peace; but as soon as you start believing again, your joy and peace come back to you. God has given us a tool to keep ourselves radically happy and peaceful. All we have to do is believe. Of course, as soon as we start believing, the devil starts screaming in our ears, "That's stupid! What if you believe and you don't get what you are believing?" That's when we have to answer back, "No, it's not stupid. What if I believe and get what I am believing? But even if I never get it, I am still happier and more peace¬ful by believing than I am by doubting."

So it is a win-win situation. There is no way to lose when we believe; because if we believe, we are liable to get what we are believing for. But even if we don't, we will stay happy and peaceful. So it is vital that we keep a believing heart.

A 60-year-old hotel in Kansas is being renovated into apartments. A rusty ship that is docked in Philadelphia is being restored and may become a hotel or a museum. Hangar 61, an admired piece of architecture at the old Stapleton Airport in Colorado, is being transformed into a church. Each structure had a specific use that is no longer viable. Yet someone was able to see promise and a new purpose in each one.
If structures can find new life and purpose, why not people? Think about these men in the Bible whose lives took an unexpected direction. There was Jacob, who wrestled with the angel of the Lord (Gen. 32); Moses, who talked to a burning bush (Ex. 3); Paul, who was temporarily blinded (Acts 9). Their stories were different, but all had a change of purpose when their encounter with God sent them down a new path.
We too may experience circumstances that change the course of our lives. But God reminds us of this: I loved you before you loved Me. I want to give you hope and a future. Give all your worries to Me because I care about you (1 John 4:19; Jer. 29:11; 1 Peter 5:7; John 10:10).
As you cling to God's promises, ask Him to reveal new direction and purpose for your life.

God has a purpose for your life,
So what you have to do
Is follow Him, believing that
He'll keep directing you. -Sper

Keep your eyes on the Lord
and you won't lose sight of life's purpose.