The purpose? Well, I asked him. He spouted off several purposes in rapid-fire response and my little fingers typed away as fast as they would fly, while I gazed into his passionate eyes with deep admiration and respect (I've always loved the challenge of typing without looking at the keyboard!). He said...
"to illicit praying and help me love Christ;
to remember specific statements that have encouraged me in prayer;
to direct my thinking/passions in a way that encourages communion with God;
to give a greater vision for my life (for God to use my life);
to encourage effective prayer and to get to the place where I can pray life-changing, world-altering, community-impacting, church-infecting prayers;
to pray in such a way that it can be used as a tool to help other men and women to live effectively for the glory of God..."
I quietly smuggled a small page from his prayer book and inserted it into here, my unheralded blog, in order to share a thumbnail glimpse into the heart and mind of my dear husband. (Then...(teeheehee...I asked permission to share...)
Prayer book August 2008
Come with boldness to the throne of grace. Heb. 4:16
Love Christ, Nancy , Charis, Con, Cam , Caleb
Apply with spiritual liberty, not regimented legality.
Prayer is claiming God’s promises
You control the effort, God will control the outcome.
Holiness, not reputation.
Take care of depth of your ministry, and God will take care of the breadth of it.
Attack vision 1 bite at a time. Even if small bites.
Not perfection it is passionate climbing. Phil.3:12-16
Do something and fail.
Avoid temptation of neglect.
I Thes. 5:16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit;
Word Of God is full of promises
Spurgeon: Plead the promises of God.
God is sovereign!
CJ: “Grace and the adventure of leadership.” See them for what God is doing in them.
Jesus’ ever smiling face.
Take God at His word.
Keep asking questions.
Argumentation, then change.
Lead us not into temptation.
Lord, if you want me to preach, serve, pray, I will do that as long as you give me strength and breath to do so. Otherwise, take me home.
Job 31:1 "I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a woman?
Phil 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
James 1:19-20 19 This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Cast don’t carry. I Peter 5:5-7
God will finish it Phil. 1:6
Armor of God Eph. 6
Worry or worship. Opposite of worry is worship Matt. 6:25-34
Admin and leadership. Plan it or it won’t happen. Write it down. (Jeff Mills)
Life is about Relationships.
Know my sin more than others'.
Stay balanced, physically, mentally, or ineffective.
Stopwatch prayer. It breeds attentive prayer.
Refuse afterthoughts. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Don’t forget the gift of life and people.
Remember the calm after the job
Enjoy Gods word.
Look at the birds.
Prayer is the slender nerve of power
Spurgeon (Like teller at a bank). Let prayer be simple, straight forward, and words be few.
What are obstacles, could be doors.
God is all powerful and His power is not diminished if I use it.
Start Sunday with trinity worship. Get eyes off self.
Grace Church of W. Ottawa 1. Worship God humbly and passionately in every aspect of life (Ps. 62:1-2), 2. Loving others selflessly and sacrificially, as Christ loved us I John 4:7
- Teaching Gods word practically and without apology Ro. 1:16 4. Impacting lives by Gods power and for his glory Col. 1:28-29
Authorial intent of the passage
Be yourself; Forget about yourself
Funeral prayer for Maxwell. “Lord I don’t know how you answer and hear prayer, but I do know you answer and hear prayer.” (Ps. 18 - Prayer-hearing God)
I Thess. Making mention of you in our prayers.
Jer. 29:11
Pray until you pray
Don’t lounge in His presence. (in the sense of being lazy in His presence)
Preach positively, by grace.
Stay away from gloomy imagination. Phil. 4
Owen: “Blood of Christ is still always in the same condition as if it was that hour in which it was shed. It is the same strength and effectiveness. It is always living, yet always as if newly slain.
Name out loud His attributes. (it focuses you on His character and gets your eyes off of yourself)
***I (Nancy) hope you have gained encouragement from this as I know I have. Take the time to muse on each of these one-liners and let the truths feed your soul. That's what I call WORSHIP!
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