Always Give Thanks: 1 Thessalonians 5:18KJV

In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Allow me to give words of encouragement because we are living in some dark, troubling days in our country; be mindful of the words spoken in the Psalm; crying endures for a night; joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5 KJV).

If the question was raised, why should I be joyful when there is so much trouble in my life and the world? We rejoice because God, through His internal alarm clock, woke us up this morning and each morning that we are alive; that is praiseworthy. Each day is a new day to tell God thank You even during pain and suffering, tears, and stressful situations; we must say God thank You.

We rejoice because we have a God who cares deeply for each of us and asks that we cast all of our cares upon Him and He will take care of them (1 Peter 5:7 KJV). The God we serve keeps His promises; this is no different.

We rejoice because we have a God who is in the storm with us; reflect on Psalm 23:4 that states, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. If the above verses don't give us the comforts to thank God then read Psalm 27:1-4KJV, and then ask why am I fearful and or ungrateful? God is worthy of all praises, glory, and honor. We honor God with our thankfulness.

We thank God for His love, grace, and mercy; thank God.

Cry Deliverance: Isaiah 58:1

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

                      

Today's message is a continuation of my passionate plea for a healing of this nation. Just as

our scripture verse states, we must cry out to God in a loud voice calling out sin and all wickedness so that the people will see and know their transgressions. Regardless of the sin, it must be called out for what it is. God punishes sin, and all will be judged for his/her sins because He is the righteous judge.

Prayer changes things, and our faith unlocks the door so that God's wonder-working power is released in answer to our prayers. James 5:16b states emphatically that the prayers of the righteous availeth much. What this means is that we, as believers, pray and having faith in our prayer, then God moves. The situation in American is no different than it was in the Bible days and during the time of the writing of our scripture text.

Just as Isaiah was commanded to deliver warning to the people of his day, believers today are commanded to call out sin, and we must do so with urgency.

Praying in Jesus' name

A Clarion Call for Prayer

America, join me in a 30-day prayer vigil for a healing of this nation. 2 Chronicle 7:14 (healing prayer) Psalm 91:1-5 prayer of protection. Prayer is our weapon against Satan (Trump) and our faith will unlock God's power that will remove Trump and his corrupt, evil and demonic cronies out of office. Far too many of our babies and innocent people of dying for no reason other than hate. Love trumps hate and was demonstrated on the cross at Calvary.

Why is Prayer important in the lives of humanity?

The answer to this question is taken from my book, A Prayer Study Guide, which looks at

prayer from many different perspectives; therefore, today we will provide an answer to the question, by stating:

1.     Since the beginning of time man has always prayed to his God, regardless of the religious persuasion. It matters not if the prayer is saved or unsaved, the person can go to God in sincere prayer. God hears and answers.

2.     Prayer has a definite value and the prayer has faith in what he or she prays for to his or her God of that particular religious persuasion.

3.     In the Biblical faith prayer plays a vital role in the believer's life and that the true and living God of this universe encourages prayers as this is the believer's and non-believer's communication with God. The non-believer can ask God for mercy which He faithfully gives. God the Holy Spirit convicts unbeliever's heart convicting him/her of their sins and bringing the person into the realization that they need saving, which comes through believing in and accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

4.     Jesus Christ Himself made prayer an essential part of His earthly ministry, and He encouraged His followers to pray daily.

5.     Prayers are part of worshipping the Lord God our creator. We worship our Lord when we pray to Him because He is the creator and sustainer of the universe.

6.     More importantly, "prayers of the righteous availeth much" (James 5:16). Lastly, prayers are essential to our walk with God as we are establishing a closer relationship with Him.

It can be concluded, that prayer is our weapon in this fight against Satan, and it builds a strong bond between the prayer and God.

Comments are welcomed.          

Praying through Adversities: Psalm 27:17 KJV

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

We are in a dark place right now in this country, many are fearful; having anxiety attacks, and just plain worried about what is going to happen to our democracy as we know it today. Evil seems to have no end, and evildoers are parading themselves as if they are above the law.

I came to encourage all of us the best that I can, and that is have no fear for God is with us. His word is right, and what it says will come to pass. God will and is going to punish sin, hate, bigotry, and the other evilness that is being carried out in this country. What all 65+ million of us must do is trust God because He is trustworthy and answers prayer. What is our prayer request? It is God move the man in the Whitehouse and his corrupt regime out. There is no problem that He can't solve, no valley is too low that He can't reach down and pick us up, and no mountain too high that he can't bring us down to the level where we are supposed to be; simply call on Him through prayer with confidence that He will answer. I am a living witness to His answered prayers.

Our scripture text gives us the assurances that God is our refuge, our deliver, our strength, our salvation, and our God; therefore, we are to have no fear, because when our enemy came upon us, they stumbled and fell. We are in a warfare people; rest assure we are victorious because of who we are and to whom we belong. Verse 5 of the text gives us the assurance we need, which states, For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock.

Let me close by referencing verses 6 and seven which provides further assurances that God is our warrior who is fighting our battles; therefore, we can sing joyful, joyful because the political corruptions that we are living through will be over soon. Just as King David said, weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5 KJV).

Our political climate of corruption is going to change; our voices are being heard, and God is moving on our behalf. Prayer changes things, but faith unlocks the door.

Your comments are welcomed.

Author's contacts:

white3285@sbcglobal.net

https://willie-writing.blogspot.com

www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com

www.theshepherdministries.org.

What are some hindrances that render prayers ineffective? James 5:16

 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Today's message is the second in a series on prayer taken from my book A Prayer Study Guide. Our focus is to answer the above question as follows:

(a) Unconfessed sin in the prayer's life is a significant barrier that prevents prayers from being answered and effective. 

(b) The lack of faith is another barrier that prevents prayers from being effective.

(c) A lack of honesty and sincerity is still another barrier that prevents prayers from becoming effective.

(d) A lack of praying with authority in Jesus' name.

(e) A failure to align our will with God's and being in harmony with Him.

(f) Still another barrier to effective praying and prayers are the lack of persistence in our prayers. Persistence is important because God's answer is wait as this is His method of preparing us to receive the requested petition.

(g) A failure to give God praises, adore Him and worship Him as this is significant to prayers being effective. Constant praise and worship of God result in blessing for us.

We welcome your comments.

Author's contacts:

white3285@sbcglobal.net

https://willie-writing.blogspot.com

www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com

www.theshepherdministries.org

What makes our prayers Effective? James 5:16

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Today's message is an excerpt from my A Prayer Study Guide that is available from Amazon, Barnes& Nobles and the author by emailing me with the book title in subject line. This is a two part series; Friday's message will be, What are some hindrances that render prayers ineffective? That said; let us take a look at the answer to today message question, and the answer is as follows:

 (a) Prayers are considered effective when the prayer receives an answer from God, but the prayer's faith plays a vital role to answered prayers. Prayers are effective when they offer praise and adoration to God (Psalm 150; Acts 2:47; Romans 15:11). At the heart of all prayers is a sincere heart for which the prayer is made. Yes, no and wait are answers from God.

(b) Prayers are effective; when we give them authority by asking in Jesus' name as this gives authority (John 14:13-14).

(c) Prayers are most effective when they align with the will of God and His Word. Christ provided our model that all prayers should follow. It is noteworthy to say that the believer must be living in harmony with God's will.

(d) The righteous' prayers must be persistent and in faith, which means that we are to ask, seek and knock (Matthew 7:7-8) while waiting for God's answer as His time is not our time.

We welcome your comments:

Author's contacts are:

white3285@sbcglobal.net

https://willie-writing.blogspot.com

www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com

www.theshepherdministries.org