Have you ever had a time in your life where you had a trial and you just knew you had to push thru, but the how of pushing left you bewildered and searching for answers? If your answer to this question is yes, please know that you are not alone.

 Like you, many of us have experienced trials, circumstances, situations, and issues that warrant action, but seem to inspire confusion.   Yet there are things that we must remember when pushing thru.


#1 When reminded of what the Bible says, remember that God is not the author of confusion.

BAM! There it is, right there... God has not orchestrated the mess, so now you and I both know where to take a stand in the midst of pushing through. -Pardon me as take a brief moment to cut my nails, so that I don't wake my dear husband, as I type away at 5am.  You see, I had determined within myself that I was going to share with you this inspiration that God had blessed me with this morning, no matter what. You might be wondering why I felt it necessary to say "no matter what." We'll, wonder no more, you are about to find out. A few weeks ago, when taking over Prayerful Bloggers, I had been in prayer, seeking God about His will for this ministry.  Yes, ministry, not just a group.  I wanted to know how He desired for me to lead and what He wanted us to do.  Well, don't you know that He began to fill my heart with great plans and activities for us to get connected and fellowship together; Great ways for us to honor Him. However, in the midst of executing these plans, rather preparing to execute them, I was sideswiped by our enemy, the adversary. My husband's mother and father were both hospitalized.  Two of my four children got sick.  My finances got attacked and so did my friendship with my best friend.  As if this were not enough, my biological family began to experience such troubles, that if I had not had the Lord to lean on, I would have been traumatized.  Yet, in the midst of all of this, I have held on to the promises of God and he has kept me.

  #2 Hold on to God's promises and He will keep you.

 I truly believe that all of these things have happened because of my "yes" to God.  And that is expected, but what is not expected is that my God would fail.  No it is not.  So for the past few weeks, I have just continued to pray and push. There are so many things that God has in store for us, but we must remember to walk in faith, no matter what the circumstances look like.  Our God is so much bigger than our problems.  He is more powerful than any trial and there really is nothing that He cannot do.

  #3 Walk in Faith

 In the midst of all of my planning & praying for Prayerful Bloggers and the ambush sent by the enemy to stop this, I can say one thing.   It is the thing that keeps rising up in my spirit and encouraging me. I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread. Psalm 37:25 This is a testimony and reminder of the Lord's faithfulness to us, His people. Some prayers are unspoken and there are times when we push through without telling anyone that we are pushing, but I want you to know that when we are pushing, we are not alone.  The Lord is right there with us.  His Holy Spirit is leading and guiding us.  He is pulling us thru...encoraging our spirits and motivating us to keep on going.

  #4 We are not alone

 I had this great plan for us to study the book of Romans this month.  I was working on our reading calendar, affirmation calendar, blog contribution calendar, praying, and seeking Him for direction, when all of this happened.  I have been determined that we are going to do these things together because the Lord has brought us together for such a time as this.  However, I am taking all of this, one stride at time. Below are our group updates, but the last thing to remember is that our God is faithful.  Do you hear me?

#5 He is FAITHFUL.

• Reading the book of Romans: Yes, we are in the second week of May, but there are 16 chapters in Romans and 19 days left in this month.  Lets read this book and study it together.  What do I mean by study?  Well, as we read it and questions/observations come up, lets discuss them in our Facebook group.  I don't want this to be some lecture type of study.  It would be great if you could share with us what the Lord is showing you regarding this book of the Bible.  If you want to write a post on your blog, periscope, create images, write a poem, post a topic/question, or do other things to communicate your thoughts with us, do it and freely share all of this with us in the group.  Let's have a conversation about the book of Romans.  I am really looking forward to this!  I hope you are too.
• If you are a blog contributor, and have submitted a post, please know that it is being approved and scheduled.  We are so honored to have you all with us, to encourage and inspire us.  You are a blessing from God.  Thank you for your patience. :)
• Prayer:  Let's not stop praying.  Pray for friends, family, strangers, our country, and other countries, ministries, governments, and individual situations.  Continue to pray and make your prayer lists.  Remember that the Lord has heard our plea and has accepted our prayers. (Psalm 6:9)
• End of the month Prayer Call: At the end of the month on May 27th at 1pm EST, Lord willing, we will be having a prayer call.  We will be praying for all of the prayers submitted this month and taking requests over the phone.  We will be praying for those requests live.
• End of the month book discussion:  At the end of the month on May 26th, Lord willing, we will be having an online discussion on the book of Romans.  It will be at 1pm EST.  I will send out an invite through our Facebook group.
• Are you looking for an accountability partner?  If so, sign ups will be starting very soon.  I will post the sign up form to the Facebook group, so that we can all get connected.
• Would you like to receive a daily affirmation text directly on your cell phone?  I know that social media can be distracting at times.  :) If so, please text EZAFFIRM to 313131
• Last but not least, I wanted to announce the boo of the month for June.  It will be What happens when women say yes to God by Lisa TerKerust

 I hope that you continue to have a great week.  Reach out to us if you need anything.  I look forward to connect with you more.  If you have any prayer request, remember to submit them here Let's recap quickly on the 5 things to remember when pushing through

1. The Lord is not the author of confusion
2. Hold on to God's promises, He will keep you
3. Walk in faith
4. We are not alone
5. He is FAITHFUL

I hope that you found inspiration and encouragement in this post.  I'd love to hear from you?  Share with us your thoughts below in the comments and don't forget to connect with us through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  We are a community her to support, encourage, and pray for you.
(Please be reminded that our new website and blog is now located at http://prayerfulbloggers.org)

 Thanks for reading,

 Your prayerful sister Makeda

1 comment Bible Study, Blog Housekeeping, Life Seasons, Makeda, Prayers

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Join us, won't you?

Today is National Day of Prayer. I think this idea and day is absolutely fabulous, and wanted to include a little history behind it, as well as provide links in case you wanted to get more involved for next year!


 Quote from National Day of Prayer.org site-

"The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. Our Task Force is a privately funded organization whose purpose is to encourage participation on the National Day of Prayer. It exists to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials, and to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America’s leaders and its families. The Task Force represents a Judeo Christian expression of the national observance, based on our understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible."

Y'all, how great is that? Below is the 2015 Theme & Verse- (again, quoting from  National Day of Prayer.org site)

 "2015 Theme and Verse

The 64th annual National Day of Prayer, May 7, 2015, will have profound significance for our country.  It is an unprecedented opportunity to see the Lord’s healing and renewing power made manifest as we call on citizens to humbly come before His throne.Our theme for 2015 is Lord, Hear Our Cry, emphasizing the need for individuals, corporately and individually, to place their faith in the unfailing character of their Creator, who is sovereign over all governments, authorities, and men.  To further highlight our theme, we’ve chosen I Kings 8:28 as our Scripture for this year:  “Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day.”

For the May 7th observances, Dr. Jack Graham, the 2015 Honorary Chairman, wrote a special prayer to be simultaneously read throughout the nation at noon (EDT).  This recitation will create a huge wave of prayer, flowing from one coast to the other, illustrating the unity of God’s people and acknowledging His dominion over the circumstances facing us.  Millions of people will gather to pray at thousands of events facilitated by our volunteer coordinators and people just like you!  We hope you’ll join with our staff again as we seek to bring more communities than ever before together in prayer.  As a way of assisting you, we have assembled a variety of resources that describe how to organize and publicize citywide prayer breakfasts, worship services, and rallies.  These materials also present creative ideas geared toward helping individuals and families to establish meaningful devotional times.  If you have any questions after reviewing these items, please don’t hesitate to contact our NDP staff at (800) 444-8828.  We would count it a privilege to lend a hand in whatever manner we are able.

At this crucial time for our nation, we can do nothing more important than pray.  Thank you in advance for making this spiritual discipline a personal priority and for standing with us as we encourage others to incorporate prayer in their lives.  The Lord has graciously anointed our efforts, empowering them to touch and change many hearts and lives.  We look forward to seeing His hand move across our land in exciting ways each May in response to our petitions!  In closing, we ask that you prayerfully consider becoming a volunteer in your church or community to lead a National Day of Prayer gathering. May the Lord’s peace fill your heart as you rest in Him throughout the days ahead.

Quick Links:

• National Prayer by Dr. Jack Graham
• Theme Resources
• Event Ideas"

This year's prayer, say it with me-

"Heavenly Father,

We come to You in the Name that is above every name—Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Our hearts cry out to You.

Knowing that You are a prayer-answering, faithful God—the One we trust in times like these—we ask that You renew our spirits, revive our churches, and heal our land.

We repent of our sins and ask for Your grace and power to save us. Hear our cry, oh God, and pour out Your Spirit upon us that we may walk in obedience to Your Word.

We are desperate for Your tender mercies. We are broken and humbled before You.

Forgive us, and in the power of Your great love, lift us up to live in Your righteousness.

We pray for our beloved nation. May we repent and return to You and be a light to the nations. And we pray for our leaders and ask that You give them wisdom and faith to follow You.

Preserve and protect us, for You are our refuge and only hope.

Deliver us from all fears except to fear You, and may we courageously stand in the Truth that sets us free.

We pray with expectant faith and grateful hearts.

In Jesus’ name, our Savior.

Amen.

– 2015 National Prayer by Dr. Jack Graham"

Thank you for participating! There are other links that you can go to if you want to be more involved than just saying the prayer every year. Please check out this awesome organization! Prayer changes everything! 

Leave a Comment Jessy H., prayer, Prayers, praying

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How to Keep a Prayer Journal

Throughout my daily life, I am constantly telling people I will pray for them. I have a really great group of friends that my husband and I meet with every Sunday night after church and we are constantly sharing prayer requests with one another. I always have every intention of keeping those promises to pray. And sometimes I do, but a lot of times I forget or I pray about something and I forget about those prayers days later. I'm not being intentional about remembering to be thankful when God answers those prayers (even when the prayer is not the answer I was hoping for.) This is why a few years ago I started keeping prayer journal. Here is my system:

1. Get A Journal
Have a separate place for keeping your prayers. I bought a journal that was separated by days and had a small verse or quote in each day. That way if I couldn't think of what I wanted to say to God that day, the verse might spark some inspiration. I made sure I got one where I could write my own date in so that if I missed a day, it wouldn't matter and I wouldn't have wasted space in my book. It doesn't have to be fancy. Any sort of notebook will do.

2. Peaks
What were the high moments for today? Before I come to God with all of my challenges, I like to remember what he has blessed me with today. Most of the time they are little moments like drinking coffee in the morning with my husband or a lunch with a friend, but they remind me that I have so much to be thankful for.

3. Pits
Sometimes I struggle with praying for myself or admitting that I'm having any challenges. I write down what moments were especially challenging for the day and this allows me to see the areas I am continuing to struggle with. Are you having continual challenges at work? Arguments with friends? Trouble keeping calm in traffic? Bring these issues to God.

4. Praises
Keeping a journal allows me to remember what I prayed about months ago. Was one of my pits a challenging work situation? Maybe that situation has been resolved now months later. I like to go back through my journal and highlight any prayers I believed were answered in some way. Back in my journal several years ago I have many entries asking God to help me figure out a tough relationship situation. I remember at the time being devastated that the relationship didn't work out the way I wanted to. Many months later, I see the praises during the beginning of my relationship with my now husband and I can see God was answering my prayers. He heard my struggles and brought me out of that relationship so that I could meet the man that he had for me. Going back through my journal helped to see that God was working in my life.

5. Prayers
Is there something specific you told a friend you would pray for? A request for yourself? Writing it down here to remember to continue to pray about it.

This is just one way to keep a prayer journal. I'm sure there are tons of other ways to organize your thoughts and discussions with God but I believe the important things is just find a way that works for you to remember to bring everything to God in prayer and to be able to remember how God answered those prayers.

Do you keep a prayer journal? How do you organize it?   

Rebecca C.

1 comment Jesus, Journal, Prayers, Rebecca

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