I have been having one of my periodic times of respite at my dad's house. I will have been here just shy of a week come this Thursday when I go home. During this time here I have two MD appointments. I know I need to post an article today here but really have nothing on my heart to say.
The last time I wrote here I mentioned that I was awaiting the results of the colonoscopy. For awhile, also, my gastroenterologist suspected that I was bleeding internally from taking my pain med which can be be tough on a stomach. Well everything worked out as far as I know. The only caveat may be the upper part of my bowels where he was unable to look with the scope due to a "roadblock"...he will probably want to either repeat the colonoscopy or do a barium test. My labs looked good and didn't indicate any bleeding. So thank you for your prayers (if you did pray for me).
I have been reading an excellent book by Derick Prince called "Secrets of a Prayer Warrior"...it has challenged me and kick-started my flagging prayer life. The book has illuminated me as to what I could do better at in terms of readying my heart to intercede. And it has shown me how the focus of my prayers has been almost completely wrong. While praying for Susie's Great Aunt Tillie is important, prayers like that should not take up so much off my praying time. The real focus should be on praying for governments and world leaders...It is by these matters that "prayer warriors" should be consumed. Praying through a prayer list is not truly the kind of prayer God is looking for. He wants His Spirit to inspire and direct my prayers.
I do want to amend the statement above about our intercessory prayers on the behalf of others....Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are to love God (and those who love Him, will obey Him)...God has commanded that we pray for our leaders and country. But we must not neglect the second greatest command which is to love others as yourself. And I believe that it is here where "Aunt Tillie's " needs will be addressed. To pray for someone is to love them. And even when you pray for those who hate and mistreat and abuse you---we are commanded to love them too. It is very difficult to truly pray for someone and hate them. Love is always tangled up in prayer...you can't easily separate them.
I do not watch TV and I do not read a newspaper or involve myself in political debate with friends or people on Facebook. Thus I have been quite insulated from world affairs and politics. But God is showing me that this is wrong. I know that you can't trust the media for your news but there are other resources. There is at least one Christian news service that I used to subscribe to and it was a high motivation to pray for the nation and for the world governments. Anyway, the point is...it is not pleasing God for me to bury myself in a cocoon and ignore what is happening around me.
I'm about 70% of the way through the book and already want to go back and read it again because there is so much in it that I know I have already forgotten or missed some important stuff. While some of Prince's statements may seem shocking as they tend to upset the apple cart of common conceptions, as far as I have seen so far, His comments and teachings are based solidly on Scripture. I would highly recommend this book to you. If you read it, prepare to be changed.
Well it's time for breakfast. I pray that God will direct your steps and keep your heart in tune with the moviings of His Spirit.
The last time I wrote here I mentioned that I was awaiting the results of the colonoscopy. For awhile, also, my gastroenterologist suspected that I was bleeding internally from taking my pain med which can be be tough on a stomach. Well everything worked out as far as I know. The only caveat may be the upper part of my bowels where he was unable to look with the scope due to a "roadblock"...he will probably want to either repeat the colonoscopy or do a barium test. My labs looked good and didn't indicate any bleeding. So thank you for your prayers (if you did pray for me).
I have been reading an excellent book by Derick Prince called "Secrets of a Prayer Warrior"...it has challenged me and kick-started my flagging prayer life. The book has illuminated me as to what I could do better at in terms of readying my heart to intercede. And it has shown me how the focus of my prayers has been almost completely wrong. While praying for Susie's Great Aunt Tillie is important, prayers like that should not take up so much off my praying time. The real focus should be on praying for governments and world leaders...It is by these matters that "prayer warriors" should be consumed. Praying through a prayer list is not truly the kind of prayer God is looking for. He wants His Spirit to inspire and direct my prayers.
I do want to amend the statement above about our intercessory prayers on the behalf of others....Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are to love God (and those who love Him, will obey Him)...God has commanded that we pray for our leaders and country. But we must not neglect the second greatest command which is to love others as yourself. And I believe that it is here where "Aunt Tillie's " needs will be addressed. To pray for someone is to love them. And even when you pray for those who hate and mistreat and abuse you---we are commanded to love them too. It is very difficult to truly pray for someone and hate them. Love is always tangled up in prayer...you can't easily separate them.
I do not watch TV and I do not read a newspaper or involve myself in political debate with friends or people on Facebook. Thus I have been quite insulated from world affairs and politics. But God is showing me that this is wrong. I know that you can't trust the media for your news but there are other resources. There is at least one Christian news service that I used to subscribe to and it was a high motivation to pray for the nation and for the world governments. Anyway, the point is...it is not pleasing God for me to bury myself in a cocoon and ignore what is happening around me.
I'm about 70% of the way through the book and already want to go back and read it again because there is so much in it that I know I have already forgotten or missed some important stuff. While some of Prince's statements may seem shocking as they tend to upset the apple cart of common conceptions, as far as I have seen so far, His comments and teachings are based solidly on Scripture. I would highly recommend this book to you. If you read it, prepare to be changed.
Well it's time for breakfast. I pray that God will direct your steps and keep your heart in tune with the moviings of His Spirit.
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