Anxiety and prayer

Philippians 4:6-7

Amplified Bible (AMP)

⁶Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (^[a]definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

    ⁷And God's peace [shall be yours, that ^[b]tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall ^[c]garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

What does this mean?

Anxious: (care) distracting care; to draw in different directions

Prayer/supplication:  a wanting or a need then to God/asking

Peace of God: complete perfect; peace completeness welfare health

Understanding:  (mind) comprise the faculties of perception and understanding and those of feeling judging and determining the seat of understanding

Guard: military term, block –up every way of escape as in a siege/providing protection against the enemy as a garrison does- puts up all his matters into the Hand of God

To be content:  to be sufficient, to be possessed of sufficient strength , to be strong, to be enough for a thing, to defend or ward off.

Joy:  relief in comparison of circumstances

Reverence: to feel respect for, to show deference

Thoughts to Ponder for the week:

Whose nature are you in?

Where do you find your joy?

How do you react? Talk? Silent? Advise?

What controls you (thoughs/emotions/)?

Who controls you (God/Satan/Others)?

What does it take for me to be content?

What are my wants verses my needs?

What are my motives when I am praying?

What is my attitude like on a daily basis in and out of prayer?

Where is my contentment?

How do you find relief from depression and hopelessness?

Where is fear from?

How do we contain and get rid of fear?

Blessings

Blessings
Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that I might not cause pain. I Chronicles 4: 9-10
I recently pulled out this little book that touched my life in years passed, well about 9 years passed. This book was given to me by a dear friend.. It made a huge impact on my life then and now again close to ten years later. This little verse is hidden in scripture. It is called the Jabez Prayer. The Lord led me to pick this book up one weekend when all the family was sick and we were lying around recouping.
I have now put this verse on note cards and displayed them in my home. I pray this prayer daily. I helps me to focus on my purpose. My god given call to reach out to others. Whomever God puts in my path for the day I want to be ready. I do not want to miss a single blessing from Him. What a tragedy it would be to stand before my Lord and him say. “You just were not paying attention and missed so many blessing I had for you.” I am ready for Jesus to open up the path before me only His path though. I do not want to go on my own anywhere. I want to be in His wing and under His umbrella. His plan and protection are so important to me. If I am in His will I am ticking off Satan ROYALLY. Therefore I want to be on the victorious team of Christ. If I am living for an audience of ONE--Jesus Christ, than everything that comes my way will and does pass through His hands…good, bad, ugly or painful. He has the plan. I am to obey. I am human. I will make mistakes and mess up. The last part of this scripture verse is so important to me. I want to cause pain to NO ONE.
If you are ready to show the love of Christ to those around you take this challenge. Pray this prayer each day and open your heart to whomever crosses your path. You will have divine appointments daily. I am always asking God “Put someone before me?” someone who need to know Jesus and his love. Smile always. Say Hello to everyone. Slow down. You don’t want to miss the Blessings He has for you.

Today's tears maybe tomorrows blessings!

Wherefore He is ABLE(powerful to...) to save(protect, heal, make whole) them to the uttermost(all, completion, result, purpose) that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth (lives, thrives) to make intersession(God's will, purpose, thoughts, counsel, deliberation) for them. Hebrews 7:25


My faith is being utilized today! I am a teary mess having thoughts of a friend who has her 5 year old baby placed at the foot of the cross; a situation she has no control over. She must trust that human hands, thoughts, and decisions are being over powered by God's all knowing presence and power. As I ponder Hebrews 7:25, I am reassured that nothing that comes our way is not haphazardly thrown our direction from "the big guy" who is just waiting to see us 'dance' for him. Everything in our lives is talked about and thought about with deliberation and purpose. God and His Son have thoughts for you and for me. Jesus lives to talk about you and to love you. It is when we have no power that we gain ALL power from Christ who is able. He has power to...whatever! That whatever is so comforting. In Luke 22, Satan asked for all the disciples but Christ only allowed him to sift like wheat Simon Peter. But Christ prayed for Peter and utilized his sifting to help others.

I am so torn up about the pain but know that God's purpose will prevail. Maybe not to my understanding on this side of heaven BUT to His glory when Christ reigns Victory!

You know like in that song maybe today tears are tomorrows blessing! Just saying....

HE thinks about me.  He talks to God about me.  There is purpose to everyting!

Happy Fall!

Orange, brown, yellow--Ohh the wonderful crisp air! We have traditions here at the St.Pierre home. Many of which were started by my sweet mother-in-law. I get sentimental during these days of decorating and spending time with family. I am studying the tabernacle and am utterly amazed at how much the Israelites grumbled at God. They were physically grumbling to Moses and Aaron but ultimately they were not trusting and complaining to the ULMIGHTY! Seriously now, we do this today!

We don't understand why this or that happens. We can not get what we want. We are on top of the world or we are in the wilderness. Is not our first response to blame, complain, and grumble? Wasn't it Paul who said, "Do everything without complaining" and wasn't it James who said, "Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged."


When the Israelites were following Moses they had God with them in a cloud protecting them in the front and in the back. Did you realize that the “Cloud” came between them and their enemies? God loves us so much that after he saved them, protected them and heard their grumblings of thirst and hunger he didn't throw up his hands and scream at “those little whinny children” he provided them with food and water...in time they complained about that too!

That must have been one of those moments I call “God in the Crazy”. When we just don’t get it and we can not wrap our minds around what is going on in our lives. Take heart my friends. God is in every crazy moment. He is leading us by the cloud.



 Remember to look up… Put your head in the clouds and ask for HIM! That is just what one sweet daughter of the KING did and this was her heart message from Jesus the morning after her prayer.

TAKE ACTION!

I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  WAIT for the Lord; be strong and take heart and WAIT for the Lord.  Psalm 27 13-14

There are days that I forget that Jesus is always with me.  Those days when my to do list just keeps growing and growing.  Those days that change in a second at 5am: sick children, the 'oh I forgot' conversations, or 'boy, I wish I would have looked at the calendar'.  It is in the midst of "craziness" that I try to stop and see the goodness of God in this world.  The land of the living is truly eternity with my savior although searching for his goodness in the land of the dead is searching for life in Christ amongst the pain, sorrow, doubt, and loneliness of this fallen world.

It is amazing how the land of the living keeps on living no matter what is on my to do list.  Have you ever just STOPPED!  Waiting on the Lord is one huge task; one HUGE blessing.  I know it is important and extremely hard or David would not have told us to do it twice in one sentence.  As I read this,  David declares for us to Wait on the Lord!  Then, he gives us instructions on how to WAIT on the Lord: 

 Be strong:  this word means to strengthen, persevere, be helpful, used to describe battle scenes.

Take heart:  this phrase represents the innermost feelings, mind, senses, perceptive nature.

There are many ways we are told to be strong.  Take the focus off of us and turn to God.  Read, listen and study elements of faith.  Go beyond yourself to help others.  Keep moving forward.  Battle scenes take preparations and hard work to persevere through the enemy to victory.

Taking heart is like the phrase 'the heart and soul.'  God will strengthen our innermost being when we take action to be strong in HIM.  Our mind and emotions will be in the will of God when we move to be strong in Christ.  Using our time wisely to become mature in Jesus is our goal during the wait.  That may be simply asking the question 'what am I to learn?' and search out the answer through quiet prayer and devotion...  Listening is an action word!

Waiting is actually an action also.  We are to actively wait on the Lord.  David gives us instructions on how to wait on the Lord and then reminds us to continue to wait.  In our society we wait for little.  We want what we want when we want it!  We may think we are waiting but David waited from the age of 16 to 30 before he was crowned king.  Have you ever waited that long on God's plan?  You know HIS plan always prevails against man's plans.