Pray with expectancy

  Note - For the next several days I will be off the grid with no Internet or phone service. I will resume my morning writings on Monday.
  Greetings:
  The Apostle Paul shows us many examples of a man who was strong in The Lord and filled with his Holy Spirit.
  Paul was a man who knew how to pray and shared that passion for prayer with others
  In Ephesians 3:14-19 (NIV), Paul prays for the brothers and sisters in Ephesus.
  “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
  Paul is on his knees.
  He is interceding for the brothers and sisters in Ephesus.
  He is asking God to do something more than just fix their problems.
  He is asking God for a greater blessing than financial prosperity or health or mental and emotional stability or a happy life.
  Paul prays that God might “strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” He prays that “you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
  Another example of bold prayer by Paul is found in Philippians 1:9-11(NIV).
  “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.”
  We need to pray expecting an answer.
  Be blessed.

Surrender all through worship

  Greetings:
  Worship is surrender.
  We need grace to endure tough times; yet finding the strength to actually worship during those seasons is another matter. Many times I’ve been reminded that God is more interested in our character than in our comfort.
  That is where surrender comes in. We have to surrender to self and turn out attention to God and simply worship him.
  Once we find the strength to worship, how do we then sustain this posture in the middle of adversity?
  I believe it often starts by reaching out to others who are also going through adversity. We can always find someone else who’s going through tougher stuff than we are.
  Remember that Nehemiah helped the poor as he restored the walls and fought against discouragement caused by his enemies. We can do the same. Somehow, each of our lives needs to touch others in some positive way. This increases our gratitude, and a spirit of gratitude sustains us through the tough times.
  Every time we connect with God in prayer, we are praising Him because we are acknowledging our need to set our burdens on His strong shoulders. 
  Isaiah 25:4 (NIV) says, "You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat”.
  God is there as a stronghold to keep us standing against the crashing waves and raging winds.  A man on his knees in prayer can stand before any tragedy.
  When we read Psalms, we can find so many verses about God’s children singing praise even in the midst of hard times.
  David writes in Psalm 142:5 (NIV), “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
  The song "Oceans" by Hillsong speaks to me loudly about surrendering and trusting God in our daily walk.
  Part of the song goes like this: "So I will call upon Your name,
  And keep my eyes above the waves
  When oceans rise
  My soul will rest in Your embrace
  For I am Yours and You are mine."
  That is powerful.
  Let us remember that when the Apostle Paul wrote that we should rejoice always, and in everything give thanks.
  He wasn’t kidding.
  Be blessed.