Showing posts with label Prayer Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prayer Life. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 01, 2019

Happy New Year 2019: Entering the New Year With Hope and Prayer!



Read: Jeremiah 29:11-13, Mark 11:17, James 4:2, Matthew 7:7, Hebrews 4:16, Romans 5:1-5, 1 Corinthians 3:16, and Numbers 6:24-26

Happy New Year 2019!

Can you believe it’s a new year already!? As we look forward to any new year, we often look forward with the hope of better things to come and if you’re in Christ, you have much to remain hopeful about!

If we’re honest, sometimes we can lose sight of the hope we have because of the circumstances we face, but, we need to be sure that our hope is grounded completely in The Lord or it’s not true hope at all! Why? Because if our hope is in Christ, this is not a temporal hope as hope in Him is an unshakable hope! This is the true hope that is built on the unshakable foundation of Jesus!

Let me encourage you to remember during every season of life, including all that’s ahead in this New Year, that nothing you face can shake the hope you have in Him!

Hold on to hope in Christ! Don’t allow anything to steal your hope and may you realize that your faith and hope should grow even stronger through the help of The Holy Spirit.
It’s been an especially challenging year for many of us for sure and for some it’s been a year of blessings upon blessing.

Regardless of what you’ve experienced, it’s still a perfect time to reflect on all the Lord has done in your life and to take a perspective, or “pulse” check to see where you are in your walk and life with the Lord.

He calls each of us to seek Him with all of our heart and promises that we will find Him and He will listen. Enter the New Year focusing on building and enhancing your prayer life. Based on His Holy Word we know that He wants our churches, the Body of Christ as whole, and ourselves to be “Houses of Prayer” or in sum, focus ourselves on prayer as He emphasizes that prayer should be a priority.

If the Lord wants us to pray, and it’s a true priority to Him, then why don’t we in turn really pray!? In fact, the Lord is the best role model of this for us as He constantly went to pray to the Father and He called His Disciples to pray many times. Each of us should be a house of prayer as we are His temples. (See 1 Corinthians 3:16) Not only this, but, He just plainly deserves our prayers and everything we are. Not to sound somewhat cliche but we should really become true “Prayer Warriors”, as this life is a real battlefield, spiritually and physically.

In Jim Cymbala’s book "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire", he has this to say about the apostles’ priority of prayer,
“The apostles had this instinct: When in trouble, pray. When intimidated, pray. When challenged, pray. When persecuted, pray.”

What a great observation! What a truly awesome challenge for us- Can we like the apostles, make prayer our priority in every circumstance, even when we’re not facing troubling times? Just making prayer so much a part of us that we pray throughout the day or set a special portion of the day a side to, intercede, cry out, praise, thank, communicate, etc., with Him through prayer! He wants to hear from us. It pleases Him so much when we focus our attention on Him through prayer.

Why not forget the New Year resolutions this year and consider instead, seeking God’s will for your life and telling Him the desires of your heart? Why not pour yourself out to Him through your fervent prayers and serving Him and others?

May you renew your commitment or begin making prayer a vital part of your life- every day! This can begin with you and I then maybe, just maybe, our example of a prayerful and a “prayer full” life will spread to the Body of Christ as a whole, then on into every Christian Church locally where ever we live around the world?! We can then be the houses of prayer, as the Lord would desire us to be.

Why not make this year an even more special New Year, by entering it in prayer! Seek Him today with all of your heart and be encouraged that He desires this and is ready and waiting to hear from you.

Ring in the New Year filled with hope and prayer!

Questions To Get Started With:
-What or Who is the foundation of your hope?
-What are the barriers in your life to holding on to true hope in Christ?
-Do you remain hopeful no matter the circumstances you face?
-Will you help build others up with the hope you have in Christ?
-Will you make prayer a priority in your life this New Year?
-Will you “pray in” the New Year this New Year’s Eve?
-What kind of changes do you need to make in order for prayer to be a priority?
-If prayer is already a priority for you, what can you do to encourage others to pray?
-Do you know someone that can help you be accountable to your commitment to the Lord in your walk with Him?
-Consider keeping a prayer journal chronicling / highlighting your prayer times with Him, answers to prayer, the revealing of His will for you over time, etc. This is a great exercise for us to make a habit to see Him at work in our lives.

Again, Happy New Year! Keep Seeking, Serving, and Loving Him with all that is within you! 

Your Brother and Servant in Christ,
Randolph Koch
-Founder and Servant-Shepherd of A Shepherd’s Heart

Tuesday, October 04, 2016

Prayer...It's not just a lifeline!


Can you imagine if you never spoke to people, especially important people in your life? Or, if you never shared your joys, struggles, trials and pains? It would be a lonely and depressing existence!

It's the same with prayer except you're communicating with your Creator who is your Father in heaven!

Prayer isn't just a lifeline, rather, it's a daily moment-by-moment communication with Him.

Prayer is a privilege as you talk to Him about what's going on in your life, seek wisdom and intercede for others and more!

Hebrews 4:16 encourages us to:

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." -
Hebrews 4:16

Simply put, approach Him with confidence and never ever think that He's too busy for you! He always is there so...pray!
"God does things in and through our lives by prayer that He does in no other way."  -Henry Blackaby
God is at work in you when you pray my friend!

We're also told in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Prayer is a constant activity as you abide in Christ and through every and any circumstance you pray through it.

Don't wait for a struggle or trouble to come to start communication / prayer with the Lord! If you aren't already... Start praying each day or moment as He created you for relationship with Him and He wants to hear from you!

In Christ Alone,

rlk

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Awkward Prayer




"Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the One who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference." -Max Lucado

Hello!


It's good to know that the power in prayer is in the One Who is all powerful! 

When you pray, pray from the heart, pray with confidence, pray unceasingly, be reverent, be honest (He knows your thoughts and heart anyway...no fooling Him!) don't get caught up in the words of your prayers or in repeating a "form" prayer that someone prescribes. (Even the Lord's prayer wasn't about a "form" prayer)

The One with whom you are communicating through prayer is important and He's not concerned with the exact wording but with our hearts and simply spending time hearing us communicate with Him. He's not impressed or extra-moved by "perfectly" worded prayers. So, don't worry as much about wording but focus instead on how and with whom you're communicating. Take the pressure off of yourself and humbly and honestly approach Him with prayer.

Purpose to simply pray and communicate from your heart to God, the One who hears your prayers along with His Son our one and only mediator between God and ourselves as well as with His Spirit who intercedes for us as well! What prayer team we have each time we pray!

Your prayers do make a difference! Keep on praying!


Blessings,

rlk

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The Lord's Prayer: Learning to Pray as Jesus Taught us How to Pray - Part 2

Here's part two of a 2 week mini sermon series I preached on The Lord's Prayer.

In order to properly hear the audio of this you'll want to put the music audio player on the right side of this blog (Scroll down and you'll see it where it say "Tunes" above it) on pause so it doesn't interfere with the audio of this message.

I pray that this message will encourage and challenge you to focus on your prayer life and recalibrate where you need to in order to rightly devote yourself to prayer.

In Christ,

rlk

“The Lord’s Prayer: Learning to Pray as Jesus Taught us to Pray” - Part 2 from Randolph Koch on Vimeo.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

The Lord's Prayer: Learning to Pray as Jesus Taught us How to Pray - Part 1

Here's part one of a 2 week mini sermon series I started last Sunday on The Lord's Prayer. In order to properly hear the audio of this you'll want to put the music audio player on the right side of this blog (Scroll down and you'll see it where it say "Tunes" above it) on pause so it doesn't interfere with the audio of this message.

I pray that this message will encourage and challenge you to focus on your prayer life and recalibrate where you need to in order to rightly devote yourself to prayer.

In Christ,

rlk

"The Lord's Prayer: Learning to Pray as Jesus Taught us to Pray" - Part 1 from Randolph Koch on Vimeo.