Apr
5
When Prayer is Really Prayer
By Carrie | 1 Comment
This guest post is contributed by Karen Anderson, who writes on the topic of online bible colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email id : karen.anderson441@gmail.com
Some people pray because they want something, material goods, happiness, health, and so on. Others get down on their knees to offer thanks and praise the Lord. And yet others think of prayer as conversation with God. It’s the time they’ve set aside to talk to him, to tell him about their plans and goals, to ask for his opinion and seek his support and blessings, and to cry on his shoulders when things are not going too well. Each of us prays in different ways, but prayer is really prayer only when:
• It’s not mindless repetition: We have many prewritten prayers that we know offhand and we’ve been repeating them since we were children; but just saying the words doesn’t make them prayers. To really pray, you must mean every word you say, and this means you must concentrate on the words and their meanings even though they are etched in your memory and are sent to your tongue automatically.
• It does not seek to harm anyone: When you pray explicitly or implicitly that others come to harm or fail in their ventures, you’re mocking the power of prayer. God does not answer prayers that are vengeful, deceitful and detrimental to others, because all of us are his children and he has no favorites. Even in a competition, pray that you must win rather than that your opponents must lose. When you do your best and leave the rest to God, that is genuine prayer.
• It does not bargain with God: You cannot ask God for favors and then promise to do certain things in return if he agrees to your demand. Nor can you claim to have done something and then demand that it is God’s turn to do something else in return for you. Prayer does not work that way; it does not bargain with God. Ask for what you need, and if God thinks you deserve it, it will be given to you.
• It comes from the heart: A real prayer should come from your heart, not your lips. It should be a genuine need to connect to God and to share your thoughts and fears with him. Learn to pray not only when you’re sad and in trouble, but also when you’re happy and content in your life. It is as important to give thanks as it is to ask for help.
• It is not a visual display: Prayer is a private conversation between you and God, not a visual display that you put on to impress or attract other people. When you resort to gimmicks and tomfoolery in prayer, you are belittling and mocking God, not praying to him.
Prayer is salvation, because it is your time with God. And when done correctly, it brings redemption and peace of mind.
Apr
1
My Easter Story
By Carrie | 3 Comments
This is a guest post by Ann Hawkins. Ann is a wife, mom and granny, who loves to write and has her “Eye on the Sky”..Heb. 9:28
I threw the covers off and hopped out of bed. Today was Easter. I was seven years old and the happiest kid in the world.
I pulled off my PJ’s while listening to the sounds of my cousins waking up all over our grandparent’s big farmhouse. It was tradition for our whole family to spend Easter Eve at their house. We got up early for an egg hunt, breakfast and church.
I tied my shoes in a hurry and joined the herd thundering down the stairs. I pushed open the squeaky screen door and let out a whoop as it slammed with a bang. Papa was in the porch swing with coffee in his hand and a smile on his face. The wonderful smells coming from the kitchen told me where mom, mama and my aunts were.
I jumped off the porch and headed for the “egg patch”. My uncles were already passing out baskets and directions. The signal was given and the hunt was on. After all the scurrying ceased and our baskets had been viewed, Uncle Willy announced that no one had found the prize egg. At that moment I tripped over a shoestring I had too hurriedly tied and lost my balance. I hit the ground and there it was, the prize egg, peeking out from under the lilac bush. I squealed as I grabbed it and placed it securely in my basket. The prize egg would be traded for the biggest stash of chocolate a kid could ever wish for.
As soon as Papa said “Amen”, the sound of forks on stoneware got deafening. I hurriedly topped off bacon and eggs with a big biscuit and mom’s homemade raspberry jam. I gulped down my orange juice and with my cousins headed upstairs to get ready for church. Time was getting closer.
Dad couldn’t be here today but after church mom and I was heading his way. I was busting at the seams to tell him what had happened yesterday morning. I was sitting in moms lap, listening to the rhythm of her rocking chair. She was reading from the Bible she and dad had been reading to me from ever since I could remember. But this time was different. As mom read this story of death and life, I understood John 3:16 and I embraced it with all my heart. I knew what Easter meant and that changed everything.
I remember my seventh Easter with clarity. In quiet moments I can still hear the laughter, smell the food and feel the comfort of family. Never again was the prize egg found under the lilac bush, though I looked there first every year. The chocolate that egg had won me was a prize indeed but it paled as mom and I got closer to the bend in the road. My skipping halted as I pulled my hand from moms and ran ahead of her. “Dad,” I yelled excitedly, “I know what Easter means,” I said as I danced around him. I reached out and whispered, “It means this stone can’t hold you either.”
- Ann Hawkins
Mar
24
Can You Dig It?
By Carrie | 1 Comment
Our very own Julie B Cosgrove has a Press Release out on her book P.R.A.Y.I.N.G.- Bringing Power and Purpose to Your Prayers
If you are on Digg, please stop by and show your support by giving her a vote (digg):
Devotional Writer Julie B Cosgrove (link to Digg page)
You could also add the press release link (below) to Facebook or give it a Tweet:
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Thanks!
Mar
5
Top 100 Christian Women’s Blogs
By Carrie | Comments Off
I just received the following email from Internet Cafe Devotions:
Congratulations!
Every year Internet Café Devotions hosts Blessed Aroma, a call out to blog readers to nominate their favorite blogs, in specific categories, written by Christian Women. Those with the most nominations are compiled into a list that gives us the TOP 100 Christian Women’s blogs each year.
Your blog was chosen this year in the category of: “Gathered Together”. We hope this blesses you as much as you have blessed others!
You can view the list here: Top 100 Christian Women’s Blogs
Thanks so much to the wonderful Christian Women who write here and congrats!
Feb
28
Comment Oops
By Carrie | Comments Off
I am getting alot of spam and I think I just accidently deleted a bunch of legitimate comments.
If you posted a comment recently and it has disappeared, I apologize.
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