protection in times of trouble…

let’s do one more step.

the fourth step is you pray for GOD’s help.  you talk to HIM.  that’s what we have been dealing with here on the front porch, prayer.

if you’re not talking to GOD regularly you have no protection against temptation.  that’s what JESUS said, matthew 26.41 (nlt).  JESUS gave this advice to HIS followers. keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.  talk to GOD about it. 

now as simple as this is i don’t know about you but i often forget to pray.  i forget to pray about my temptation.  sometimes it’s because i’m selfish.  i want to go my own way.  but more often than not you know why i forget to pray?  i’m too busy.

i’m just rushing off to the next thing.  i don’t take the time to talk to GOD about it because i rushed on to the next thing.  because we’re all busy we need to learn what i would call microwave prayers.  quick prayers.  just send it up.  pray it immediately.  you pray it in the middle of the circumstance.  when you’re going through it.

the bible says in psalm 50.15 (gnt), call to me when trouble comes.  I will save you.  when trouble comes.  not a long conversation but you immediately call when trouble comes. 
learn one word prayers: help!  that’s a great one word prayer.  just say GOD i need help.  and you do it when the trouble comes. 

if you’re out on the freeway and the jerk next to you in the lane is making you angry and you want to cut him off you don’t think, i should add this to my prayer list for my devotion time tomorrow morning.  that’s not going to work.  you have to pray a prayer for help in that moment.  when you do, GOD answers.

the bible is filled, literally filled, with examples of how when people call for help GOD answers.  david and daniel and peter and paul and mary (and all the other music groups in the bible) when they call for help, GOD provided assistance to those who asked 

why?  why should GOD help me?  because HE cares.  because HE is sympathetic to your needs. 

just a thought from the front porch…

now, let’s talk to HIM…

you may be struggling in an area of temptation which has been bothering you for years.  what is your weakness?  what is your hot button?  where does satan bait you?  just say in your heart, “LORD, you know what it is.  i’ve got a tendency to ... exaggerate, be double-minded, not to stand up for what i know is right but be wishy-washy, always worry about what other people think, become sarcastic and say some hurtful things to my wife/husband.  i’m insensitive to the needs of my spouse.  i tend to be selfish.

there is something in my life that is out of control.  my time is out of control, LORD.  my spending is out of control.  my weight, my exercise.  i just keep falling in this same area and i feel bad about it.”  just confess it to HIM.  HE knows your frame.  HE loves you. HE’s not going to condemn you.  HE wants to forgive you, wipe the slate clean.  HE wants you to start over today.  that’s why HE brought you here to the front porch.  just say, “GOD, i want to be realistic about this.  it is a problem in my life.  i drink too much ... or whatever.”  admit it to HIM.  accept responsibility. don’t blame your parents, your spouse, your boss, anybody.  admit there is a weakness.  there would be no outside temptation if there were no inward drive that matches it. 

“LORD, help me to recognize those patterns of weakness and avoid them.  help me to refocus on you, to fill my mind with the good things, the true things, the right things, not to resist my feelings but to replace them with what YOU have to say.”

most of all, if you’ve never opened up your heart to the LORD, do it now.  say, “JESUS CHRIST, i want to be reborn.  i want a fresh start on life.  would you forgive all the sins i’ve ever committed and help me start over right now.”  HE will. that’s why HE died on the cross for you.  say, “JESUS CHRIST, come in and be the manager and controller of my life.”  HE will. “LORD, YOU promised to make a way out of these temptations.  give me the strength.”  some of you need to break off a bad relationship.  some of you are flirting in the wrong areas.  say, “LORD, help me to quit compromising.  help me to do what’s right.”  and HE will help you,  if you come to HIM with an open and sincere heart and say, “GOD, YOU know all about me.  i can’t fool you. help me get victory over this temptation.”

“LORD, i want to thank YOU for those who prayed this prayer, opening their hearts for the very first time, saying they want you in their lives.  in JESUS’ name i pray.  amen.

what we tend to do in uncontrolled circumstances…

have you noticed that usually when you face an uncontrollable circumstance you tend to do one of two things?  these are the extremes and most of us do one or the other.

some of you when you face things that are out of your control you just redouble your efforts.  you try harder. 

you say, “i’m going to make this thing work!”  and the more your life tends to spin out of control the more controlling and compulsive you become.  when you feel like you’re threatened by, “i can’t control the situation” you start and react by trying to control everybody and everything in your life.  you become compulsive about it.  you want to control this and you want to control that.  you’re a hyper controller.  and you’re certainly not at peace because you’re trying to run the whole world out of the fear of what’s uncontrollable in your life

then others of you, you do the exact opposite.  you throw in the towel.  you give up. 

you throw your hands up and say, “forget it!  i’m a victim.  i’m going to roll over and play dead.  i’m a victim of despair.”  and you play mary martyr.  you swallow and wallow.  you swallow your anger and you wallow in self-pity. 

both of those choices, trying to control everything and everybody around you and giving in and saying, “i’m just a victim!” those are stupid foolish choices.  what you need to do is the alternative. 

what you need to do is pray the prayer of surrender.  YOUr kingdom come, YOUr will be done in my life.  YOUr will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

why do we pray that, YOUr will be done on earth as it is in heaven?  because in heaven GOD’s will is done perfectly.  is GOD’s will done perfectly on earth?  absolutely not.  in fact most of the things that happen on earth are not GOD’s will.  GOD’s will is not always done.  that’s why we have sin.  that’s why people get hurt.  but when you pray, YOUr will be done, you’re saying, i accept your plan.

just a thought from the front porch…

GOD’s children trust HIM…

listen, GOD’s children trust HIM.  that’s what marks one of GOD’s children.  So, how do you need to trust GOD?  i invite you to pray along with me, recognizing GOD for who HE is in your life and asking for GOD’s peace.  just make a place there with you and GOD and just take a moment to stop from everything in life and talk to HIM.

let’s pray…

FATHER in heaven, today i choose to make YOUr name something more than just to talk about.  i choose to trust in YOUr name.  i trust YOU as my SAVIOR.  that’s your name.  i trust YOU as the one who is willing to forgive my sins.  i trust YOU as my LORD.  that’s YOUr name.  one who’s willing to lead and guide my life, who has the power to make me the kind of person YOU created me to be.  i trust YOU as my provider.  i trust YOU as my healer.  i trust YOU as my rock of security.  i trust YOU as my FATHER in heaven.  and i pray that YOUr name, YOUr character, will be recognized as of greatest importance in my life.  may my life be a continual invitation for others to join YOUr family.  i pray this in JESUS’ name.  amen.

just a thought from the front porch…

let’s pray…

would you pray this prayer right now?  “LORD, would you help me think of others and not just my own desires?  help me to be willing to admit when i am wrong.”

maybe you need to go to somebody this week and apologize.  say, “i’ve been selfish and i’m sorry.”  the bible says, GOD opposes the proud but he gives grace to the humble.  GOD will give you the power to change and become the person you’ve always wanted to be and HE’s always wanted you to be.  the bible says HE lifts you up.  before honor is humility. 

then would you pray, “ dear GOD, today i want to give into YOU.  i give YOU my life, my marriage, my career.  i submit it all to YOU.  i ask YOU to put the peace of CHRIST in my heart to rule.  help me to get wise about satan, to realize he plays on pride and tells me things i want to hear but really only makes matters worse.  FATHER, help me to grow closer to YOU, to make time in my schedule for time with YOU.  FATHER, i admit that many times i’ve put me first and i ask YOU to forgive me.  help me to become like JESUS, to have the attitude that HE had, to not only look after my own interest but the interest of those around me.  teach me to say, ‘THY will be done’  instead of me first.” 

if you've never invited JESUS CHRIST into your life, do it.  ask HIM to come in.

“LORD, thank YOU for YOUr word.  it’s practical and it helps us in the very area that we need it the most.  use this in our lives so we can have more peaceful relationships, less conflict, less strife, less arguing and more love, joy, and peace.  in JESUS name we pray, amen.

just a thought from the front porch…

i need supernatural power…

now to control my tongue i need GOD’s help everyday.  i can’t do it in my own power, i need supernatural power.  we can’t do it on our own so we need to ask GOD to help us. 

a good way to start every morning is to pray what the psalmist in psalm 141.3 (ncv) prayed, LORD, help me control my tongue; help me be careful about what i say.  pray that when you are about to criticize your spouse.  pray that when you are about to be judgemental. “ LORD, don’t let me say things without thinking.  please don’t let me say things off the cuff and then i regret it.”  just pray that daily, LORD, help me control my tongue; help me be careful about what i say.  

sidlow baxter said,  “the proof that GOD’s SPIRIT is in your life is not that you speak in an unknown tongue but you control the tongue you know.”  if you are careful about what you say and you ask GOD then HE will give you the power to not slander, not lie, not exaggerate.

another thing to be reminded of is to read GOD’s word.  this is also a way HE will help us.

there is a computer statement that says, garbage in, garbage out.  what goes into your mind, goes into your heart.  what goes into your heart, comes out of your mouth.  fill your mind with the word of GOD – with positive things, whatsoever things that are true, etc. – think on these things.

GOD is there to empower us through HIS word and through HIS SPIRIT.  just read and ask.

just a thought from the front porch…

let’s pray…

some of you possibly have been struggling with doubts about whether you are a CHRISTian or not.  you say, “i don’t remember the time that i specifically asked the LORD to take over my life.  i’ve believed about CHRIST but maybe i’ve never really believed in HIM.  i want to settle it today.”

if you’re not sure, if you’ve got doubts, settle it right now.  just pray this, “LORD, i want to have real faith, not a phony faith.”

what does it mean to believe?  it means commitment.  would you say in your heart right now,

“JESUS CHRIST, i give every area of my life to as much of you as i understand and i want to learn more about you.  GOD, i give my past, all the things that have happened, the good and bad, achievements, the faults, the sins, the mistakes.  i ask you to take it all.  i admit that i’ve done my own way many times.  i haven’t consulted you.  i’ve made my own decisions without talking to you about them. i ask you to forgive me.  LORD, i not only give you my past, i want to give you my future.  i don’t know what it holds but i know you know it.  i want to follow you as best as i know how.  i want to be a real believer.  JESUS CHRIST, i give you my present, right now.  take my life and make me the person you want me to be.  help me to grow.  help me to know that i’m a CHRISTian and help me to show it in my life by obeying your word.  thank you for loving me.  thank you for dying for me on the cross.  help me to understand it more.  LORD, i want to get into the wheel barrow right now.  i want to commit all of it to you, the problems and the possibilities of my life.”

if you prayed that prayer in your heart and meant it i believe GOD heard you.  the bible says, whoever calls on the name of JESUS will be saved.  HE says, you do your part and I’ll do my part.

FATHER, i want to thank you for these who’ve made this decision in their heart and today they're settling it.  i pray that your HOLY SPIRIT will put a confirmation in their heart that today they’re giving themselves to you.  i know this isn’t a promise to be perfect but it is a promise to let you take control.  you said that you will come into our lives and make us new people.  thank you that it wipes out all the things we’ve done wrong in the past and gives us a new look on life.  thanks you for this word.  thank you that it’s so clear.  we can understand that real faith is not something we say or feel or believe but it is something we do.  we commit ourselves to you today.  in JESUS name, amen.

just a thought from the front porch…

let’s pray…

no doubt there are people reading this who are overwhelmed.  you may be overwhelmed by fatigue – you’re really tired.  you may be overwhelmed by loneliness and there’s an ache inside your heart.  or any other number of things that could be overwhelming.  regardless.  let go of control, let other people help, let GOD give you strength.

if you will do these three things, you will find yourself developing the attitude of micah.  micah was an old testament prophet and he went through a period of despair and he said this: micah 7.1 & 7 (msg),   i’m overwhelmed with sorrow, sunk in a swamp of despair.  but me, i’m not giving up.  i’m sticking around to see what GOD will do.  i’m waiting for GOD to make things right.

let’s pray,

FATHER, i pray for those here on the front porch today who feel overwhelmed.  overwhelmed with responsibilities, time demands, deadlines, weighed down by worries, plagued by problems.  help them to experience new strength and energy today.

now you pray this prayer in your heart, in your mind.  “FATHER, i know i need to stop trying to control the uncontrollable.  it’s a waste of time.  so right now, once again, i’m letting go.  i’m asking you to take charge of the situation and take control of my life.  JESUS, i need you in my life.  forgive me for all the times i act like it all depends on me.  it doesn’t.  help me to let go of my pride and allow other people to help me.  i want to be connected to your family so i can receive support and i can give it to others.  help me to remember to praise you and to think about your word when i feel overwhelmed.  in JESUS’ name I pray.  amen.” 

just a thought from the front porch…

ask “what”, not “why”…

another way that james tells us how to handle our problems is by request.  pray.  of all times to pray, pray when you've got problems. 

what do you pray about?  james 1.5 (tniv), if any of you lack wisdom, you should ask GOD who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him.  you ought to pray for wisdom when you’re in the middle of problems.

why should i pray for wisdom?  so you won’t waste the opportunity to grow.   if you don’t learn it this time there will be one more lap around the desert!  GOD will give you another opportunity.  learn from the problem.  we become overwhelmed when we don’t understand what GOD’s doing.  pray for wisdom to understand the problem.  request.

there is no situation of life that you can’t learn from if you have the right attitude.  don’t ask “why?” ask “what?”  why is to purify your faith, fortify your patience, sanctify your character.  but ask, “what do you want to teach me in this problem, LORD?  what do you want me to learn?  what characteristics can i develop?”

just a thought from the front porch…

the secret to GOD’s blessing…

so here’s the question: who will i bless with affirmation this week?  who could you just give a word of encouragement: “you know what you’re good at?  you know what i like about you?”

here is how GOD blesses you.  HE treats you with dignity and courtesy.  HE offers you mercy.  HE expresses sympathy for your hurts.  HE is honest about your faults.  HE affirms you expectantly.  so here is the secret.  you can’t offer these to other people until first you’ve accepted them from GOD.  you can’t do these with other people until first you’ve accepted them from GOD.  why?  because your pot’s empty.  you don’t have anything to give.  so you need to accept these things from GOD.  you can’t treat people the way JESUS would unless you’ve got JESUS in you.  i’m not just talking about being a CHRISTian.  i’m talking about HE’s at the center of your life.  then you can do these things.

let’s bow our heads right now and talk to GOD about it.  pray these words:

“dear GOD, i want my words to be a blessing to other people this week.  but i realize that before i can offer these things to others i have to accept them from YOU.  so today, dear GOD, help me to see and feel my value in YOUr eyes.  thank YOU that YOU show me mercy.  thank YOU that YOU’re sympathetic to my hurts and my fears and my doubts.  thank YOU that YOU understand me and YOU bring out the bet in me.” 

if you’ve never asked JESUS CHRIST into your life add this sentence. 

“JESUS i want to get to know YOU and i ask YOU to come into my life.” 

then pray,

“FATHER, this week i ask you to give me the courage to face the truth about myself and what needs changing in my life.  then give me the courage to speak the truth in love with my family and with those around me that i care about.  help me to show courtesy and mercy and sympathy to those who cross my path this week.”  in JESUS’ name.  amen. 

just a thought from the front porch…

we tend to forget…

JESUS said over 2000 years ago in luke 18.1 (jb), you need to pray continually and not lose heart. 

pray continually and lose heart are the two options you have in life.  you will always be doing one or the other.  if you pray continually you will not lose heart, you won’t be discouraged.  if you don't pray continually, you will lose heart.  you will faint.  you will get discouraged by the problems you're facing in your life – family, school, wherever.  you’ve got to keep on praying. 

what do i pray during the delay phases of life?  pray “help me hold on and not give up.”  the bible says, they that wait upon the lord, shall renew their strength.  they shall mount up with wings, as eagles.  they shall run and not be weary.  they shall walk and not faint.  they won’t give up.  they’ll keep on keeping on. 

also during the delay, time causes us to forget many things.  when there is a delay, we tend to forget our dream.  we tend to forget what GOD had done in our life.  we tend to forget GOD’s goodness to us in the past.  we tend to forget that GOD is with us.  we tend to forget GOD’s power.  we tend to forget how important it is that we stay in GOD’s strength and we start focusing on all our problems than on what he has done for us.  the bible says, don’t forget.

this was the fourth mistake that the israelites made out in the wilderness while they were headed to the promise land.  psalm 106.7-8 (tev), 13 (lb) tells us they forgot the many times GOD showed them HIS love, and they rebelled at the red sea.  but HE saved them as HE promised.  but they quickly forgot again!  they wouldn’t wait for GOD to act. 

this says many times.  it’s unbelievable how short their memory was.  in egypt, GOD does ten plagues and the children of israel forget it because a couple days later they’re at the red sea and saying “we’re all going to die!”  they’ve forgotten just what GOD’s done.  GOD does a miracle and opens the red sea.  they walk through to the other side and immediately forget that miracle.  “we’re going to die of thirst!”  GOD provides water miraculously.  they forget that and complain, “we’re going to die – no food!”  they were always forgetting. 

but we should not be too quick to judge them because we do the exact same thing.  when a delay occurs in our lives we start acting like GOD’s never done anything for us.  has GOD done things for you in the past?  sure HE has.  you can count on HIM to do it tomorrow, or the next day...  when you act like, “GOD’s not going to bail me out of this one!”  you’re forgetting all the other times HE’s bailed you out.  some of the times you didn’t even know about it but HE did. 

just a thought from the front porch…

here’s the law of the harvest…

when you go through the delays in life don’t faint, instead be persistent and pray. 

remember GOD told joshua to march around the walls of jericho and they’ll all fall down.  it didn’t happen the first time they did it.  they had to do it seven times.  seven days in a row.  and on the seventh day they had to do it seven times.  why the delay?  if GOD was going to make the walls fall why didn’t HE make them fall the first time?  HE was teaching them to be persistent and pray. 

galatians 6.9 (mof), let us never grow tired of doing what’s right, for if we do not faint, we’ll reap a harvest at the right time. 

this is the law of the harvest:  in life, you will reap whatever you sow.  what you plant you will reap.  if you sow criticism, you will reap a lot of criticism in your life.  if you sow love, you will reap love back in your life.  if you sow generosity, you will reap back generosity.  it’s one of the laws of the universe.  we’ll always reap more than we sow. 

if i plant one kernel of corn, do i get one kernel back?  no, i get a whole stalk with thousands on it.  you always reap more than you sow.  but in the law of the harvest there is always a delay between sowing and reaping.  there’s always a season.  you plant in one season and you reap in another.  there is a delay in between. 

GOD wants to see if you’re going to keep cultivating, planting, sowing – see if you really mean business.  if GOD sees consistency in your life then the harvest comes.  it will not come immediately because it proves nothing if HE does it immediately.  no delay, no character development, no stretching your faith. 

calvin coolidge:  “nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. talent will not.  there is nothing more common than unsuccessful men with talent.  genius will not.  unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  education will not.  the world is full of educated derelicts.  persistence and determination, alone are omnipotent.  the slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

just a thought from the front porch…

not if but when…

the question is not if we’re ever going to regret this frantic paced, overloaded, stressed to the limit lifestyle that everybody is living.  it’s not if we’re going to regret it.  the only question is when?  when it’s too late?  after the family’s fallen apart?  if you have kids the time to love them is now. 

a few years ago cherry boone, one of pat boone’s daughters wrote a book about her struggle with anorexia called starving for attention.  who do you know like that?  who do you know that is starving for attention? 

the answer is everybody.  everybody is starving for attention.  so what are you going to do about it?  are you going to change?  or are you going to stand before GOD one day and explain why things were more important than people?  what excuse are you going to give for not putting first things first in your life?  who do you need to start spending more time with?  what do you need to cut out of your schedule?  what financial sacrifice do you need to make for things that really count? 

the best use of life is love.  the best expression of love is time.  the best time to love is now.

let’s pray…

FATHER, it is so easy to get distracted from what’s most important in life knowing and loving YOU and knowing and loving those around us.  forgive us from being task-driven instead of love-driven.  forgive us for valuing things and accomplishments and the praise of others more than people. 

now you pray, “FATHER, thank you for this wake-up call today.  i know what matters most even when my schedule doesn’t show it.  i thank YOU for the reminder today.  i know that the people who love me are a gift from YOU.  please forgive me for taking them for granted.  please forgive me for allowing other things to crowd out my relationship to YOU and to others.  i want to change.  i want to slow down.  i want to make time for loving relationships.  i know that this may mean making some personal sacrifices, probably financial.  but JESUS, YOU modeled real love when YOU sacrificed YOURself for me.  thank YOU.  i want to be like YOU, and i want to make love the primary aim of my life for the rest of my life.  in JESUS’ name i pray.  amen.”

just a thought from the front porch…

three requirements in life by GOD…

micah 6.8 (Gw), this is what the LORD requires from you. that you do what is right, to love mercy and you live humbly with your GOD.

GOD says there’s only three things required in life. what does GOD require or want from me? HE tells us real clearly here in micah 6.8: do what is right, love mercy [that means have good relationships, show forgiveness and mercy and love to people] and walk humbly before GOD. if you do those three things, you’ve done all that GOD requires of you in life. do the right thing, love mercy [show it to other people] and walk humbly before GOD. that simplifies life enormously. you say, “GOD, here are the things i need to do today – do the right thing, show love in my relationships, and walk humbly before YOU.”

we need to pray this next verse, psalm 119:37 (lb), GOD, turn me away from wanting any other plan than YOUrs. humility is surrendering your plans to GOD for HIS.

so much of our lives we live with the myth of being in control. we think we’re controlling our destiny, our careers, our families, etc. we’re not in control of any of that. it’s all an illusion. you cannot even guarantee your next breath. if GOD didn’t give it to you, you cannot even guarantee your next breath. you can control your responses in life, you can control your reactions in life and you can control your attitudes in life, but you can’t control anything that’s going to happen to you. you don’t even know what it’s going to be, much less control it. it’s all a myth.

jeff friend writes, “i was reared in a CHRISTian home, and i was active in church activities. i was the perfect CHRISTian. or at least that’s what i wanted everybody to believe. it was the perfect scam. i knew all the right CHRISTian phrases and appropriate prayers. i spent a lifetime building elaborate walls and defenses to keep people from seeing the real me. then one day i got a tiny mosquito bite. it kept itching, and after a few days the welt had gotten so huge, i visited the doctor. he tried everything to stop the pain and swelling but nothing worked. within another week, the constant pain in my leg was indescribable. i was in agony. i was referred to a surgeon who diagnosed it as a brown recluse spider bite. the next two years were a procession of surgeries and treatments, but none of them worked. i was in constant pain, depression and had a marriage falling apart. years of keeping people, including my wife, at a distance had taken its toll. i knew i needed JESUS CHRIST to be in control of my life, but my pride kept me from giving up to his control. i made an appointment with one of our pastors and said with tears in my eyes, ‘i’ve been around church all my life. everybody will tell you that i am a CHRISTian. but it’s a lie. all a lie. i’ve never really accepted CHRIST. i’ve never really completely surrendered my life to HIM.’” the pastor then led him in a humble commitment prayer. he said, “when i did, years of pent-up frustration came out, and i felt complete peace and forgiveness and freedom. i gave up control of my life, and i let GOD take over. since then, i have felt completely released from the secrets and the self-made prison i was in. it was amazing. it is also amazing to me to realize how GOD used something as insignificant as a little insect bite to show me how much i needed HIM and to draw me to HIM.”

just a thought from the front porch…

be flexible in your plans...

we need to be flexible in our plans.

wrong attitude: presumption. that's when i say, “i don't need GOD and i can figure it all out. i know exactly what i'm going to do.” i just assume that everything is going to go the way it's intended to go, that's presumption.

the bible says that since life is uncertain we should not presume on it. james 4.13-15 (niv), now listen, you who say “today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make money.” why, you don't even know what will happen tomorrow! instead, you ought to say, “if it is the LORD's will, we will live and do this or that.”

it's ok to make plans as long as you understand that they are tentative. a mature person makes his plans flexible. some people make plans and if anything varies in the plan they get an ulcer. mature faith is changeable. i make plans but i realize ultimately that GOD calls the shots in my life.

right attitude: cooperation. i include GOD in my goal setting. how? you pray. anything without prayer is presumption.

instead of saying, “GOD, i want you to bless what i'm doing” we should say, “GOD, help me to do what you're blessing.”

people used to write at the end of letters “dv” which stands for DEO vilente – “GOD willing.” “i'm going to come see you LORD willing. i realize that ultimately my plans may be changed.” that's the right attitude.

proverbs 16.9 (tev), we should make plans counting on GOD to direct us. that's cooperation. make plans but realize they are tentative. GOD, what do you want me to do? pray about your plans. ask him for wisdom.

since GOD is in control my plans have a limit.

just a thought from the front porch…

be quiet and then talk...

there are some secrets to practicing the presence of GOD, and the first one is to invite JESUS into your life. and then you need to be quiet. just be quiet. close your mouth and don't talk.

i believe the reason why so many people never feel GOD's presence is because they're too busy. they're too distracted. they've always got their radio or ipod on. too much noise. the bible says in psalms be still and know that i am GOD. paschal said, “most of man's problems come from his inability to set still.” just be quiet.

several times a day, “tune in and drop out”. tune in to GOD's presence and drop out of the environment around you. just say, “GOD i realize that YOU are present with me right now, that YOU are by me, with me, and in me” if i'm a believer. tune in to HIS presence. take these little breaks during the day to be quiet and recognize that no matter where you are GOD is with you.

the bible says in james 4.8 (niv), draw near to GOD and HE'll draw near to you. as you tune in to HIM you'll begin to be aware. HE's always there but you have to be aware of it.

and then talk to GOD about everything. just pray about anything and ask him for help. the bible says in 1 thessalonians 5.17 (niv), pray without ceasing. pray continually.

how do you do that? how can i get on with life and be continually in prayer? do i walk around fumbling a rosary all day or stay in the lotus position? how do i do that?

it's talking about maintaining a continual conversation with GOD. talk to HIM about anything. walk outside in the morning, “LORD, it's a beautiful day!” you get in your car, “oh, LORD, i'm low on gas.” as you're driving, “GOD, these are some things i'm thankful for.” talk to him about everything. – a continual conversation with the companion who is always with you. that's what it means to pray without ceasing.

the bible says in psalms 62.9 (niv), trust HIM at all times and pour out your heart to HIM. you maintain an ongoing conversation with HIM at all points.

some of you say, “when i pray i feel like my prayers never get above the ceiling.” surprise! GOD is below the ceiling. HE's right next to you. HE reads your mind the moment you think it. HE knows what you're going to think before you even think it. you don't have to have these super duper pious prayers that blast off from earth and get a million light years away up to GOD in heaven on HIS throne. HE is right there. you don't have to feel like you're getting them up to heaven. you just think it; HE knows it. so you talk to him about everything.

just a thought from the front porch…