Greetings in the name Of Jesus Christ! Even though our late summer weather continues, there is a noticeable change in sunrise and sunset. The seasons, they are a changing…and that is difficult, because we simply do not like change in any way, shape, or form! Therefore we need to make the most of our “nows” and prepare ourselves. Today I will be praying for you, asking Father to reveal the areas in your life where you need to prepare for the changes ahead.
As many of you know there are certain ‘things’ – beyond the normal – that create excitement and joy in my life. One, of course, is music and then there is some good quotes and then a great book. Now remember, this is after people (especially a beautiful wife) and special places and serving God and learning and…. Therefore, I was blessed to come across a new book, written by a Canadian with lots of good quotes and things to learn and places to visit…in my mind for now and to be able to share with people. Great!
I had read an excerpt from the book a few months back and thought at the time it would be an interesting read. So when I was simply browsing at the book store, my eye The title of this book right there in front of me…a ‘sign’, obviously. After I had purchased the book and was sitting down to read, I couldn’t remember what the excerpt was or why I thought at that time it would be a good read. However, I soon found out and this is one of those books I would recommend to people who want to be gently challenged about their prayer life. The book: A Year of Living Prayerfully by Jared Brock – is humorous, informative, insightful, and inspirational…okay, I am a preacher and like alliterative main points.
I want to share some of the quotes for you to ponder: “God, pity us that after years of writing, using mountains of paper and rivers of ink…we are still faced with gross corruption in every nation, as well as the most prayerless church age since Pentecost”…Leonard Ravenhill – “Yes! Prayer is opening up your heart to God! In silence, it is letting God’s power come inside you” … Pope Francis – “Prayer is a cannon set at the gate of heaven to burst open its gates” … an unknown Puritan prayer – “How to pray? This is a simple matter. I would say: Pray any way you like, so long as you do pray” … Pope John Paul ll – “Hesychasm, stillness. God isn’t known in noise in the Orthodox Church. He’s rarely found in the onfusion of sound and light. He’s known in the still, small voice.” … Father Philotheos – “Do not forsake prayer, for just as the body becomes weak when it is deprived food, so also the soul when deprived of prayer” … St. Gennadius of Constantinoble – “The early church didn’t have a prayer meeting; the early Church was the prayer meeting. In fact, in the early church every Christian was a prayer-meeting Christian” … Armin Gesswein – “There is a mighty lot of difference between saying prayers and praying” … John G. Lake – “A vacant chamber of prayer means a believer has gone out of business religiously” … E.M. Bounds – “Prayer is not a check request asking for things from God. It is a deposit slip–a way of God depositing God’s character into our bankrupt souls” … Dutch Sheets.
This is but a sampling…and I am only half-way through…a good book. One incident that the author mentions, happens in Jerusalem at a dinner table. A man named Joseph says, There’s a future call on Canada to be a healing of the nations…Canada, is the only flag with a leaf on it, and it always reminds of the verse in Psalm1 about a tree planted by streams of water, who yields its fruit in season and whose leaf doesn’t wither…maybe I’m wrong, but who knows?” … I would recommend this book to you.
Enjoy all of God’s blessings today!