Jim tells a story about one of his darkest days in prison when he turned his face to the wall and cried out to God. Suddenly, he felt as though he was being lifted up out of his troubles and he asked God, “what is this?” God replied, “these are the prayers of the saints.”
There is nothing in this world any more powerful than the prayers of the saints. Prayer can and does affect every single aspect of our existence in this world. It will comfort, cover, correct, caution, and encourage us and others for whom we pray.
The testimony of answered prayer always builds faith. Let’s never get tired of telling how God answered our prayers because the Bible says we overcome by the Blood of the Lamb AND the word of our testimony.
Sometimes we get so enthralled with so many other aspects of our Christianity that we forget the most basic thing – prayer. When you pray, you are talking with the God of the universe. Prayer and the Word together are powerful enough to change any circumstance, and to change the hardest of hearts (including our own.)
As the days get closer to the return of Jesus, we must make time to talk with God and hear His replies.
The Lord instructs the church at Ephesus to return to Him in Revelation Chapter 2, Verses 4 and 5: “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first.”
The love the church had at first was to always be in the Lord’s presence and out of that flowed love for one another. Our churches need that love more now than ever before because Jesus will soon return. But, instead, we see more and more people biting and devouring one another. It’s sad – and it shouldn’t be.
Remember the times you had with the Lord when you first came to Him? Remember the times you couldn’t wait to be alone so you could pray and listen for what He would say? Remember when your greatest joy and fulfillment came from hearing His voice? Remember when you would go to bed with praise on your lips and wake with joy in your heart? Remember when you loved everybody?
It’s time to return to Jesus and never cease from praying.
Love,
Lori
Hey Lori! California blessings sent via “air mail” to you on the wings of the Spirit of the Living God! Hallelujah!
I love hearing cross sections of people’s stories… the bits and pieces that are like a gazillion piece puzzle and piece by piece we get to know one another better! Glad eternity is “eternal” because there is so much to know about the Lord Jesus as we spend eternity with Him! To also have a clear understanding, then, of all the saints that have been interwoven into our lives that we have and had no idea of the weaving God was and is doing all because Jesus in each of us, the Hope of Glory!
Precious opening of your blog sharing: Jim’s moment all alone in that prison cell feeling so isolated and alone but in a twinkling of an eye God brought joy and comfort all because the prayers of the saints being prayed to the Lord that were being saved up and poured back upon Jim when needed. God is good, so amazingly good!
I LOVED your closing paragraph and it caused me to look up the word “REMEMBER” on BibleGateWay.com… in the NIV the word “Remember” is listed in 162 scriptures! I read every one of them! To remember is to “re” … “member”; bringing together the members of any given thing such as thoughts, deeds, memories, past actions, present actions. TO RE~MEMBER! Jesus tells us to remember in many of them lest we forget! So Thank You for reminding us all to:
“Remember the times you had with the Lord when you first came to Him? Remember the times you couldn’t wait to be alone so you could pray and listen for what He would say? Remember when your greatest joy and fulfillment came from hearing His voice? Remember when you would go to bed with praise on your lips and wake with joy in your heart? Remember when you loved everybody?”
Thank you and I pause reflect and “REMEMBER”! It brings joy to me this morning! Truly truly: “PRAYER CHANGES ME… & THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING! Hallelujah!
Love Hugs Blessings & many thanks to you from California!
Love in Him, Kathlene
You’re a blessing, Kathleen!
thank you for sharing about prayer We need to pray against some of the horrible things that are happening in our nation.